Many groups and governments throughout history have engaged in book burning to destroy ideas or cultures they opposed, including:
- In 213 BC, China's Qin dynasty burned all Confucian books except for one copy kept in the state library to consolidate power and eliminate opposing ideas.
- The Romans under Tiberius enacted policies to burn books and execute authors. Giordono Bruno and Lucilio Vanini were burned at the stake along with their works in 1600 and 1619.
- Missionaries destroying almost all indigenous books in an effort to Christianize Native Americans in the New World.
- The Nazis burning books in Germany to remove "un-German" thoughts from the country.
- Various