News
In February 1933, the home to the German Parliament in Berlin was burned down Read more
now playing
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
The creation of YouTube
In April 2005, the first video was posted onto YouTube
Coca-Cola’s ‘New Coke'
On 23 April 1985, Coca-Cola changed the secret formula of its fizzy drink
Staging Othello in apartheid South Africa
Dame Janet Suzman recalls directing Shakespeare's classic in 1987
The death of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler's secretary recalls his last days in 1945
Exercise Tiger: Disastrous D-Day rehearsal
In April 1944, a German fleet sank two allied ships. Around 749 US servicemen died.
Doi Moi: Vietnam's economic miracle
Radical reforms introduced in 1986 lifted millions out of poverty
Surviving the fall of Saigon in 1975
When South Vietnam fell, most people couldn’t escape
The Cu Chi tunnels of the Vietnam War
The story of North Vietnam’s underground tunnel network in South Vietnam
Ten countries the EU in one night
On 1 May 2004, the European Union went through its biggest ever enlargement
Snake: Popularising mobile gaming
In 1998, the Snake game made its debut on mobile phones.
Conclave: How a new pope is chosen
In 2005, Pope Benedict XVI was elected to be the next head of the Catholic Church
The invention of the automatic electric rice cooker
In 1955, entrepreneur and engineer Yoshitada Minami, revolutionised rice cooking.
Sinking of the Lusitania
During World War One, the British ocean liner was sunk by a German submarine
VE Day celebrations
The scenes of celebration in London on VE Day 1945
Rescuing Palmyra’s treasures from the Islamic State group
In 2015 Khalil Hariri risked his life to save centuries-old archaeology in Syria
Intervision Song Contest
In 1980, Finnish singer Marion Rung won Intervision, the USSR's answer to Eurovision
Tesla and Edison: Electricity rivals
In 1915, two rival electricity pioneers were told they would share a Nobel Prize
The founding of the Warsaw Pact
On 14 May 1955, eight Soviet countries met to sign the Warsaw Pact.
Mexico’s soda tax: Confronting soft drink giants
In 2013 a new tax was approved in one of the world’s biggest consumers of fizzy drinks
Sweden’s shocking sugar experiment
In the 1940s vulnerable hospital patients were fed sugar to see if their teeth decayed
Lunch atop a Skyscraper
In 1932, a photo was taken showing 11 ironworkers eating lunch at the top of a skyscraper
Nigerian photographer’s iconic 'Hairstyles' series
J. D. 'Okhai Ojeikere, known as Nigeria’s top photographer gained international acclaim