News
In 1965, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was brought in to end racial discrimination Read more
now playing
How bloodshed in Selma led to the US Voting Rights Act 1965
In 1965, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was brought in to end racial discrimination
The invention of GPS
The Global Positioning System, also known as GPS, was created in the late 1970s
King Kong: South Africa's first all-black musical
South Africa’s first musical with an all-black cast opened to critical acclaim in 1959
The Capitol Crawl
On 12 March 1990, hundreds of wheelchair s crawled up the steps of the US Capitol
The Gambia’s ‘Queen of Recycling’
In 1997, a Gambian woman started an environmental initiative
Bardo Museum attack in Tunisia
In March 2015, 22 people were killed when two gunmen stormed the building
The rocket that revived Brazil’s space programme
On 23 October 2004, Brazil launched its first rocket following a devastating accident
First spacewalk
On 18 March 1965, cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first person to spacewalk
In event of moon disaster: 'The speech that never was'
Richard Nixon's contingency speech in case the moon landing astronauts never made it home
The historic handshake in space
In July 1975, Russian cosmonauts and American astronauts met in space and shook hands
The visionary behind the European Space Agency
In October 2012, a visionary letter about the European Space Agency was sent into space
The Germanwings plane crash
General David Galtier who led the search operation recalls the 2015 crash
Goodluck Jonathan’s phone call that changed Nigeria
President Goodluck Jonathan's call to Muhammadu Buhari to concede election defeat in 2015
The suspicious death of Rear iral Durović
In 1991, a Yugoslav People’s Army commander died in mysterious circumstances
Harold Riley’s 'one of a kind' portrait of Nelson Mandela
A specially commissioned portrait of Nelson Mandela by Harold Riley was unveiled in 2005
The father of Ethio-Jazz
In 1966, Ethiopian musician Mulatu Astatke recorded a new genre of music, Ethio-jazz.
The 'ghost town' of Namibia
In 1908, the first Kolmanskop diamond was found. It's now abandoned, buried in the desert
The invention of superglue
In 1951, Harry Coover noticed a chemical he was working with was sticking to everything
The Wonder Woman of DC Comics
In 1976 Jenette Kahn became the first female head of DC Comics, home of the superheroes
JFK’s 1963 Ich Bin Ein Berliner speech
The US President spoke at the newly constructed Berlin Wall at the height of the Cold War
Resusci Anne: the world’s first life-saving resuscitation dummy
In May 1960 a Norwegian toy-maker unveiled a life-sized, life-like training manikin
The UN retreat from Somalia
In 1995, a United Nations mission to restore peace in Somalia ended in disaster
The Reichstag fire
In February 1933, the home to the German Parliament in Berlin was burned down
Liberia’s women in white who helped end civil war
In 2003 the Women of Liberia Mass Action for Peace began protests calling for peace
Oklahoma City bombing
On 19 April 1995, a huge truck bomb killed 168 people in a US government building
’s ‘Green Belt’
In December 1989, environmentalists met to secure the future of ’s ‘Green Belt’
The Bali Nine drug smuggling case
In 2005, nine Australians were caught trying to smuggle heroin out of Indonesia
The invention of the white LED lightbulb
In 1993, a lightbulb moment led to the invention of the first white light emitting diode
The Khmer Rouge take power in Cambodia
In April 1975 the four-year rule of the brutal Khmer Rouge began in Cambodia
Clearing landmines in Cambodia
Aki Ra laid hundreds of landmines for the Khmer Rouge, but began clearing them in 1992.
The origin of World Book Day
23 April 1996, saw the first World Book Day. It originated from a Spanish tradition
