Witness History

My father directed Seven Samurai

10 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Akira Kurosawa's film, Seven Samurai, is an epic three-and-a-half hour long black and white film set in 16th century Japan.It was released in 1954 and...

Triumph of the Will: A Nazi propaganda film

09 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In 1934, one of the most controversial propaganda movies ever made - Triumph of the Will – was filmed at the Nazis’ Nuremberg rally. The two-hou...

The invention of the mobility scooter

06 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In 1967, American plumber Al Thieme promised his wife with multiple sclerosis that he would find her an alternative to a wheelchair. He came up with a...

India’s first nuclear test

05 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In May 1974 India successfully detonated its first atomic device. It had been developed in secret with the codename Smiling Buddha. India called it a ...

Portugal’s worst train disaster

04 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On 11 September 1985 in Mangualde, central Portugal, an express train collided head-on with a regional train killing an estimated 150 people.The impac...

Elvis visits Scotland

03 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In 1960, as he headed home from military service, the King of Rock ’n’ Roll made an unexpected stop at Prestwick Airport.It's believed to be the o...

The Origins of Ska Music

02 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Jamaica’s musicians have had a profound impact on modern music. It’s best known for Reggae, but before that came Ska. Many of the early Ska stars ...

Sweden’s diplomatic freeze with the USA

02 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Outraged by the Christmas bombings of Hanoi in 1972 by the USA during the Vietnam War, the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme made a critical speech. ...

Syria's secret library

27 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A group of young men in the besieged town of Darayya came together to build a secret library during the Syrian civil war, which started in 2011 and en...

Charles Taylor and the blood diamond trial

26 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In 2008, the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, faced a courtroom in the Hague accused of war crimes.His trial would last more than three ye...

The Japanese invasion of Malaya

25 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On 8 December 1941, Japanese troops landed in northern Malaya marking the start of the second world war in the Pacific.Invasion forces moved quickly d...

The Aga Khan meets Florence Nightingale

24 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In 1898, the British founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale, invited the Muslim leader Aga Khan III around to her London home for tea. They w...

The storming of Spain's parliament

23 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In February 1981, armed Civil Guards tried to take control of the Spanish parliament.A total of 350 politicians were held hostage for 18 hours in the ...

The playboy spy who inspired James Bond

20 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

During the 1940s, a playboy spy became one of wartime’s most successful double agents, as well as the reported inspiration behind James Bond. A gamb...

'I taught the Dalai Lama'

19 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In 1944, two Austrian mountaineers fled into the forbidden land of Tibet to escape from a prisoner-of-war camp in India.Heinrich Harrer and his friend...

The photo which symbolised Argentina’s resistance

18 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Adriana Lestido, an Argentinian newspaper photographer, captured a mother and her young daughter raising their arms in protest in 1982. With clenched ...

Toxic shock syndrome and tampon safety

17 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In 1980, toxic shock syndrome (TSS) emerged as a public health crisis among women who used tampons. There were hundreds of cases, and The Centers for ...

World War Two’s Shetland Bus

16 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

During World War Two, whilst Norway was occupied by Nazi Germany, a group of Norwegian sailors set up a base on the Shetland Islands and began aiding ...

The flooding of Florence

13 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In November, 1966, Florence suffered one of the worst floods in its history after heavy rainfall caused the River Arno to burst.The Italian city was s...

The Mont Blanc Tunnel

12 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In July 1965, a 12km tunnel dug deep beneath the Alps was opened to traffic, making it the longest vehicular tunnel in the world. Linking France and I...

Gina Lollobrigida interviews Fidel Castro

11 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Gina Lollobrigida was one of the biggest stars of European cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. Often described as "the most beautiful woman in the world", ...

When Pink Floyd played in Venice

10 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In July 1989, Pink Floyd played a free concert to 200,000 people in Venice, Italy. The British rock band took to a stage made of floating barges as cr...

The discovery of nerve growth factor

09 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

During World War Two, Italian scientist Dr Rita Levi-Montalcini was forced to do experiments in her bedroom after being banned from universities becau...

My dad created Mr Men and Little Miss

06 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In 1971, advertising writer Roger Hargreaves's eight-year-old son Adam asked him an unusual question: 'What does a tickle look like?'Inspired, Roger g...

Austria's wine scandal

05 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In 1985, government scientists discovered anti-freeze in bottles of fine Austrian wine. No one died or fell ill from drinking the poisoned wine, but t...

Jimmy Carter visits Cuba

04 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In May 2002, former US President Jimmy Carter paid a controversial visit to Cuba, which had been subject to a US trade embargo for more than 40 years....

Cuba's Mariel boatlift

03 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In April 1980, thousands of Cubans tried to escape the country by claiming asylum at the Peruvian embassy in Havana. In response, Cuban President Fide...

The 'Jugroom Fort' rescue mission

02 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In 2007, four British servicemen perched on the wings of an Apache helicopter in Afghanistan, in an audacious mission to rescue a fallen comrade. Lanc...

Ötzi: The Iceman of Bolzano

30 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In September 1991, two German hikers found a dead body while walking through Europe’s Ötzal Alps. It turned out to be a perfectly preserved 5,000-y...

The Kaohsiung Incident

29 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On 10 December 1979, pro-democracy activists clashed with police in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.The incident, which happened during Taiwan's martial law period,...

Chile's 'Penguin Revolution'

28 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In 2006, hundreds of thousands of school children in Chile took over their schools and marched in the streets, in a protest about inequality in educat...

The liberation of Auschwitz

27 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On 27 January 1945, prisoners at the Nazis’ largest death camp were freed by the Soviet Union’s Red Army.General Vasily Petrenko commanded one of ...

John Logie Baird invents television

26 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On 26 January 1926, John Logie Baird first demonstrated his 'televisor' in public. It was the prototype for television. Many people couldn't believe w...

Agatha Christie: best-selling novelist of all time

23 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On 12 January 1976, author Agatha Christie died peacefully, aged 85.She created the detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.By the time of her death...

The Challenger space shuttle tragedy

22 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On 28 January 1986, a space shuttle launch went wrong.Six astronauts and a teacher, Christa McAuliffe, were killed.In 1984, US President Ronald Reagan...

Operation Mincemeat

21 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In the early hours of 30 April, 1943, the most audacious hoax of World War Two has just got underway. Its code-name - Operation Mincemeat.The body of ...

The Irish priest who built an airport

20 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In May 1986, a new airport opened in Knock in the west of Ireland. It was the dream of an Irish priest, Monsignor James Horan, who raised millions to ...

Exiled Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran

19 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In February 1979, after the Shah left Iran, religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini flew back to Tehran from Paris.He had been in exile and was greeted by...

Weekend listening: The History Bureau

17 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

If journalism is the first draft of history, what happens if that draft turns out to be flawed? The History Bureau revisits the defining stories of ou...

Afghan Star

16 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In 2005, a new show was launched on television in Afghanistan to find new musical talent – it was called Afghan Star and was inspired by formats lik...

The deadly Vargas mudslides in Venezuela

15 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In December 1999, torrential rain in Venezuela led to floods and mudslides. Government estimates put the number killed at 3,000 but other reports sugg...

Creating Cluedo

14 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Air raids and blackouts during World War Two helped Anthony Pratt invent one of the most popular family board games: Cluedo.But the musician's real in...

The creation of the modern kitchen

13 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In 1926, Austrian architect Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky created the modern kitchen. It was called the Frankfurt Kitchen and was something she didn’t...

The first PC virus

12 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The first virus for personal computers in 1986 became known as 'Brain'. 'Welcome to the dungeon' was the message that flashed up on computer screens. ...

Battle of Gallipoli

09 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It's 110 years since the end of the Battle of Gallipoli. It was one of the deadliest in World War One. Among the 40,000 dead was a large contingent of...

Sazae-san: World's longest-running cartoon

08 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In 1969, a cartoon about a traditional Japanese family premiered on Fuji TV.More than 55 years later, Sazae-san still airs in its original time slot. ...

Tracey Emin’s unmade bed

07 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In 1999, Dame Tracey Emin’s unmade bed was nominated for Britain’s prestigious Turner art prize opening up conversations about how we define art.T...

Isabel Allende: The House of the Spirits

06 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In 1982, Isabel Allende published her debut novel, The House of the Spirits. The characters are based on her family, and the story reflects Chile’s ...

The Hillsborough Disaster

05 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On 15 April 1989, there was a crowd crush at a football match in Sheffield, England, which led to the death of 97 fans. It was the semi-final of the F...

South Africa's luxury train

02 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In 1986, South African businessman Rohan Vos was sitting in the bath when he decided to pursue his passion and launch a vintage railway business. Howe...

The American Freedom Train

01 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In April 1975, the American Freedom Train set out on a tour across the United States to celebrate 200 years of American independence.On-board were mor...

The longest musical composition

31 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On 31 December 1999, a piece of music started playing in a lighthouse in East London. It’s called Longplayer, and it’s set to keep going, without ...

Radio Free Europe

30 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Seventy-five years ago, Radio Free Europe started broadcasting news to audiences behind the Iron Curtain.It initially broadcast to Bulgaria, Czechoslo...

SMS: The invention of text messaging

29 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In October 1984, as the market for mobile phones was just opening up, one man decided it would be useful if the new technology could be used to send a...

Creating the board game Catan

26 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1995, Klaus Teuber’s board game Catan launched in Germany. The board is made up of hexagonal tiles, and it's a game about strategy and collecting...

Tamagotchi is born

25 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Tamagotchi was first released in Japan in 1996 after it was developed by Akihiro Yokoi and his colleagues at his toy development company.Measuring...

How the hoverboard was created

24 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It was Back to the Future II that made a generation of children dream of travelling by hoverboard.In the 1989 film, the hero Marty McFly escapes from ...

Inventing Play-Doh

23 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1956, one of the world’s most beloved children’s toys went on sale for the first time, but its origins were surprising.The modelling clay had s...

The invention of Jenga

22 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's just over 30 years since the brick game was introduced to the world at a department store in London. Made of 54 wooden blocks stacked into a towe...

The first television opera

19 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On 24 December 1951, in the United States, television history was made with the live broadcast of Amahl and the Night Visitors, the first opera ever c...

When Laurel and Hardy spent Christmas at an English pub

18 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In December 1953, Hollywood film stars Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy spent a few weeks at the Bull Inn, Bottesford, Leicestershire, while they performe...

When Norway introduced salmon sushi to Japan

17 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the late 1980s, Norway needed a new market for its growing farmed salmon production. Fish-loving Japan and its lucrative sushi market seemed to fi...

India's disability law

16 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In December 1995, India's parliament passed the country's first disability rights legislation.The landmark law aimed to give full participation and eq...

How NFL tickets caught fugitives

15 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Operation Flagship was a U.S Marshals sting operation, where some of Washington DC’s most wanted fugitives, were lured to a convention centre under ...

Introducing The Bomb: Kennedy and Khrushchev

13 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The world is on the brink of nuclear war. How can the Soviet Union and the USA prevent it? Hosts Nina Khrushcheva and Max Kennedy, relatives of the su...

The Paris climate agreement

12 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On 12 December 2015, 193 countries and the European Union adopted the Paris climate agreement. It legally committed countries to climate action plans,...

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa

11 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Following the abolishment of Apartheid in the 1990s, South Africa had to find a way to confront its brutal past without endangering the chance for pea...

The discovery of the coelacanth

10 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1938, South African museum curator Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer discovered a coelacanth, a fish that was believed to have been extinct for 65 million...

Dismaland: Banksy's dystopian theme park

09 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2015, Banksy turned a derelict swimming pool in Weston-super-Mare, England, into a dystopian theme park which drew huge crowds and Hollywood stars....

The Balcombe Street IRA siege

08 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In December 1975, four members of one of the IRA’s deadliest units were chased by police through the streets of London before hiding out in a small ...

How Lagos Fashion Week began

05 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2011, Lagos Fashion Week debuted, putting Nigerian style on the map. Omoyemi Akerele founded the event which helped to launch the careers of design...

Wole Soyinka: Imprisoned during Nigeria’s Biafra war

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1967, Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka tried to stop the country’s Biafra war, in which Nigeria’s Igbo people responded to violence by seceding fro...

Escaping Nigeria's Biafra war

03 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When the south-east region of Nigeria declared itself to be the independent state of Biafra, civil war broke out in May 1967. More than a million peop...

Building the New Afrika Shrine in Nigeria

02 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's 25 years since the opening of the New Afrika Shrine, an open-air entertainment centre in Nigeria. A hub for Afrobeat music and culture, it's dedi...

West Africa fights back against Boko Haram

01 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2015, West African countries fought against the jihadist militant group Boko Haram which controlled large areas of northeastern Nigeria. The group,...

Ravi and George

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Following the Beatles' final concert tour, George Harrison travelled to India in 1967 to learn sitar under the renowned musician Ravi Shankar. Fleei...

India goes to the UN

27 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1946, an Indian woman made history by leading her country’s first delegation to the United Nations.Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit described it as a moment...

The Howard Hughes literary hoax

26 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1971, the publishing world was rocked by one of the biggest hoaxes in literary history – a fake autobiography of the reclusive billionaire Howard...

Colombia's Salt Cathedral

25 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1995, a cathedral was built 180m underground in the Zipaquirá Salt Mine in Colombia. The idea came from the miners building makeshift altars in th...

Toy Story: the first digitally-animated feature film

24 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Released in 1995, this buddy movie about a cowboy doll and a toy astronaut was the first to use entirely computer-generated images. The story, about a...

How the Bosnian war ended

21 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Dayton Peace Accords were signed on the 21 November 1995, ending the three-and-a-half-year war in Bosnia. The war was part of the break-up of Yugo...

The Spanish king reclaims his throne

20 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1975, the death of General Francisco Franco was announced in Spain, bringing to an end 36 years of dictatorship.Franco had already chosen his succe...

The death of Franco

19 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

General Francisco Franco died in November 1975, ending 36 years of dictatorship over Spain. The general had been in power since 1939 after winning the...

Angela Merkel suspends EU asylum rules in 2015

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the summer of 2015, there was a surge in the number of people from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, seeking asylum in Europe. Social Democrat politicia...

Reagan and Gorbachev: The Geneva Summit

17 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Forty years ago, in November 1985, two of the world’s most powerful leaders met for the first time. With Cold War tensions running high and the nucl...

When Maldives' ministers met underwater

14 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On 17 October 2009, the Maldives’ top government officials donned their scuba gear for the world’s first underwater cabinet meeting. Fish floated ...

Bataclan attack in Paris

13 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On 13 November 2015, 90 people were shot dead by gunmen at the Bataclan theatre in France during an Eagles of Death Metal concert. A further 40 people...

Prosecuting Nazis at the Nuremberg Trials

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In November 1945, the first major war crimes trial in history opened in the German city of Nuremberg. Senior Nazis who had committed atrocities during...

Birth of the G7

11 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In November 1975, a summit took place at Rambouillet, France, where the heads of six of the world’s most industrialised nations and their finance mi...

Breaking the sound barrier

10 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On 14 October 1947, American Chuck Yeager became the first pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound. Despite having two broken ribs, Chuck reached ...

Discovering the largest dinosaur ever

07 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2012, a shepherd uncovered a bone belonging to a new species of dinosaur on a ranch in Patagonia, in Argentina.A team from the Museum of Paleontolo...

The ‘father of e-books’

06 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1971, an American historical document typed out on a university computer played a vital role in the digital revolution of electronic books. It beca...

The creation of Miffy

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's 70 years since Miffy was created.The little rabbit with two dots for eyes and an X for a mouth went on to feature in 32 books translated into mor...

President Clinton is impeached

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1999, the US Senate chamber in Washington DC was turned into a court to put President Bill Clinton on trial, after he admitted lying about an affai...

The brains behind Thunderbirds

03 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1965, a groundbreaking children's show using cutting-edge puppets first blast onto television screens. Thunderbirds was set in 2065 and followed th...

Emerante de Pradines: Haiti’s musical trailblazer

31 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Emerante de Pradines was a Haitian singer, dancer and folklorist who became the first person from her country to sign a record deal. She was dedicated...

Orson Welles broadcasts The War of the Worlds

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The night before Halloween in 1938, 23-year-old Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre on the Air performed a radio adaptation of HG Wells’s The War o...

Srebrenica massacre

29 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's 30 years since a massacre of Bosnian Muslims during the war in the former Yugoslavia. The Srebrenica massacre, recognised by the United Nations a...

The invention of the balloon-expandable stent

28 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

An estimated 2 million stents are implanted into people’s hearts around the world each year – making it one of the key treatments for heart diseas...

Death of a priest

27 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The 1977 murder of Father Rutilio Grande sent shockwaves through El Salvador. The 48-year-old Jesuit priest was an outspoken champion of the poor in t...