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The Dambusters
Eighty years ago a daring raid destroyed dams in Germany's Ruhr Valley
Creating New Zealand's national walking trail
Geoff Chapple's vision was to create New Zealand's national walking trail
Pippi Longstocking
In Stockholm in 1941, Astrid Lindgren made up a story for her daughter about a young girl
The sergeants' coup in Suriname
Sixteen army sergeants seized power in the South American country in 1980
Fikret Alić
In 1992, a photograph of a starving man in a Bosnian concentration camp stunned the world
Chasing the world’s biggest tornado
In May 2013, the widest tornado ever recorded hit the US state of Oklahoma
Trying to unite Africa
On 25 May 1963, leaders of 32 newly-independent African nations came together
The deadliest glacial avalanche in the world
On 31 May 1970, the Huascarán avalanche destroyed the town of Yungay, in Peru
Edmund Hillary conquers Everest
In 1953 Edmund Hillary became the first human to reach the top of Mount Everest
Tenzing Norgay conquers Everest
In 1953, Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Mount Everest
Mallory’s body discovered on Everest
In 1999 the body of the British mountaineer, George Mallory, was found on Mount Everest
Tragedy on Everest
Michael Groom is one of the survivors of a tragic climbing expedition to Mount Everest
The first Indian woman to conquer Everest
In May 1984, Bachendri Pal became the first Indian woman to stand on top of the world
Inuit children taken from families
In 1960s, the Canadian government took academically gifted Inuit children from the homes
Facial reconstruction: From mummy to murder
In 1975, Richard Neave invented a method to rebuild the face of an Egyptian mummy
Fighting slavery in Niger
In 2005, Ilguilas Weila organised a ceremony to free 7,000 enslaved people in Niger
Last communist march before Hitler
On 25 January 1933 the last legal communist march was held in Berlin
1955 Le Mans disaster
In June 1955, more than 80 people were killed and 100 injured at the Le Mans 24-hour race
Lee Miller in Hitler's bath
In 1945 the war correspondent Lee Miller was photographed in Adolf Hitler's bath
A Great Day in Harlem: The story behind the iconic jazz photo
In 1958, aspiring photographer Art Kane captured 57 jazz legends in one immortal image
Malick Sidibé: Mali’s star photographer
Malick Sidibé photographed life in Mali after its independence from France in 1960.
Sir Don McCullin’s photo of a US marine
In 1968, British photographer travelled to Vietnam for his second ever war assignment
Ming Smith makes history at MoMA
MoMA bought photos from an African-American woman for the first time in 1979.
Uprising in East Germany
On 16 June 1953 East German workers went on strike in protest at Soviet rule
The Somali pilot ordered to bomb his own country
Somali fighter pilot Ahmed Mohamed Hassan faced a terrible choice in 1988
Anti-gay police raid at Tasty nightclub
On 7 August 1994, police raided Tasty, a gay nightclub in downtown Melbourne, Australia
The Empire Windrush arrives
On 22 June 1948, the Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury in England
My dad played golf on the moon
In 1971 Alan Shepard played golf on the moon
JFK’s Ich Bin Ein Berliner speech
On 26 June 1963, United States President John F Kennedy gave a speech in Berlin
First reports of Ebola
Ebola's first documented outbreak emerged in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1976
Sampoong department store disaster
On 29 June 1995 the Sampoong Department Store in South Korea collapsed killing 502 people
The 'graveyard' for communist statues
Communist statues in Hungary's capital Budapest were moved to Memento Park in 1993
I made Lady Gaga's meat dress
In 2010 Lady Gaga attended the MTV Video Music Awards in a dress made out of beef
The trial of John Demjanjuk
In 1986, John Demjanjuk was accused of being ‘Ivan the Terrible’
Longest-serving democratically elected communist government
A democratically elected communist government came to power in eastern India in 1977
The National Health Service begins
The UK’s National Health Service started on 5 July 1948
When tourism came to the Maldives
In February 1972 the first group of tourists arrived in the Maldives
A right royal night out
Princess Diana, Kenny Everett and Freddie Mercury went on a night out in London in 1988
Invention of the ballpoint pen
In 1938 a Hungarian journalist László Bíró invented the ballpoint pen
Inventing Rubik’s Cube
In 1974, a Hungarian architect, Ernő Rubik invented his bestselling puzzle
Aibo: The world’s first robot dog
The world's first robot dog called Aibo, sold out in just 20 minutes in 1999
When disposable nappies were invented
Valerie Hunter Gordon, from England, invented disposable nappies in 1947
Creating the first emoji
In 1999, Japanese designer Shigetaka Kurita created a global phenomena - the first emoji
Tamoxifen: Breast cancer ‘wonder drug’
How the drug tamoxifen became a global success in breast cancer treatment
The ‘Barricades’ of Latvia
More than 500,000 people barricaded the streets of Riga in January 1991
Japan surrenders in China
A first-hand account of the Japanese surrender ceremony in Beijing in 1945
The birth of Barbie
Ruth Handler created the Barbie doll which was first sold in 1959
The US singer who became the Soviet Union’s Red Elvis
In 1966, American Dean Reed was the first western rock star to tour the Soviet Union
Escaping the Nazis in Greece
Yeti Mitrani and her family escaped deportation from Greece by the Nazis in 1943
Brain: The first personal computer virus
In 1986 a computer virus was developed accidentally by two brothers in Pakistan
The Pope’s controversial Nicaragua visit
Pope John Paul II angered supporters of the Sandinista government during a 1983 trip
The 1960 coup against Haile Selassie
There was an attempt to overthrow the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie in December 1960
Mr Bigg's: The birth of Nigeria's iconic takeaway
It’s been 50 years since Mr Bigg's was first launched in Nigeria
José Mujica: Prison break to president
Uruguay's former president recounts his revolutionary past as a member of the Tupamaros
First dinosaur eggs identified in India
In 1982, Ashok Sahni discovered nests of dinosaur eggs for the first time in India
Birth of a new language
In the early 1980s deaf children in Nicaragua invented a new sign language
Treehouse on the Berlin Wall
In 1982 a Turkish worker in Germany built a treehouse against the Berlin Wall
Dinosaur in court
In 2012 a dinosaur skeleton became the subject of a restraining order and a court case
Brownie Wise: The creator of Tupperware parties
How Brownie Wise inspired an army of US housewives to sell Tupperware at parties
The Great Train Robbery
In 1963, thieves held up a Royal Mail train on its journey from Glasgow to London
Sarajevo’s haven of peace
The Jewish charity that helped people in the Bosnian war during the siege of Sarajevo
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing's diamonds scandal
Journalist Claude Angeli broke the story that helped topple France's President in 1981
Jean-Michel Basquiat bursts onto the New York art scene
The success of graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
The boy who discovered a new species of human ancestor
Matt Berger tripped over a hominid fossil whilst exploring with his dad in South Africa
Iran: How the prime minister was overthrown in 1953
It's 70 years since the US-backed coup which brought the Shah of Iran to power in 1953
Returning Benin Bronzes
In 2004, a chance encounter in Nigeria led to the return of two looted art treasures
Judy Garland: The final shows
The last performances of Judy Garland in January 1969
The Wizard of Oz: The stolen ruby slippers
Ruby slippers used in the film 'The Wizard of Oz' were stolen in 2005.
Easter Rising in Ireland
In 1916, a group of Irish rebels launched an armed revolt against British rule
How electricity came to rural Ireland
The Rural Electrification Scheme brought power to 300,000 homes in the Irish countryside
The first Rose of Tralee
In 1959, the first Rose of Tralee festival was held in Ireland
Celtic Tiger: Ireland's 'ghost estates'
How the collapse of Ireland's Celtic Tiger led to thousands of abandoned housing estates
Women invade Dublin's male-only swimming spot
In 1974, women campaigned to swim at the Forty Foot in Dublin, Ireland
The Bristol bus boycott
How a protest by black activists in 1963 led to the UK's first anti-racism laws
North and South Korean leaders meet for the first time in decades
In June 2000, the first inter-Korean summit since the Korean War took place
Egypt's Rabaa massacre
In August 2013, the army killed hundreds of protestors in Cairo
Saving Guadalupe from goats
An island expedition helped save Guadalupe's wildlife from extinction...and goats
Leaving China to study after the Cultural Revolution
We hear from one of the first students to study overseas after the Cultural Revolution
Arctic 30: Russian arrest of Greenpeace campaigners
In 2013, campaigners were arrested for protesting against oil drilling in the Arctic
Bi Kidude: Zanzibar's 'golden grandmother of music'
Bi Kidude was one of the first women from Zanzibar to sing in public without the veil
Murder of Swedish politician Anna Lindh
In 2003, Swedish politician Anna Lindh was attacked and killed in Stockholm
Organising Chile's 1973 military coup
On 11 September, General Augusto Pinochet deposed President Salvador Allende
Victor Jara: killed in Chile's coup
The musician's widow recounts his murder at the hands of Chile's army in 1973
Oslo Peace Accords: The secret talks behind Middle East deal
How a couple in Oslo brokered peace in the Middle East
Camp David Summit: How Middle East peace talks failed
President Bill Clinton’s failed attempt to end the conflict in the Middle East.
Ariel Sharon visits al-Aqsa
In 2000, the Israeli opposition leader visited the al-Aqsa Mosque compound
The siege at the Church of the Nativity
The final days of one of the most dramatic sieges of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Ramallah concert
In 2005, an orchestra made up of young Arab and Israeli musicians performed in Ramallah
Nazi eugenics
In 1933, Adolf Hitler ordered the sterilisation of people with disabilities
Fighting for legal abortion in Italy
In 1978, campaigners won their fight to legalise abortion in Italy despite the opposition
The first person inside the 'Gates of Hell'
In November 2013, George Kourounis descended into the 'Gates of Hell'
Kenya: Nairobi shopping mall attack
In 2013, a Somali militant group attacked the Westgate Mall in Nairobi
The year of the vuvuzela
Freddie 'Saddam' Maake tells the story of how he became known as 'Mr Vuvuzela'
Vietnam War: Stopping nuclear disaster
In 1975, physicist Wally Hendrickson prevented nuclear disaster in Vietnam
Concorde's first flight
On 2 March 1969 Concorde took to the skies for the first time
Kassandra: The peacekeeping telenovela in Bosnia
The Latin American soap opera Kassandra helped keep peace in Bosnia
The Lampedusa shipwreck tragedy
In 2013, a ship carrying more than 500 migrants sank off the coast of Lampedusa.
The first cat cafe
In 1998, the world’s first cat cafe opened in Taiwan
The oil crisis of 1973
In October 1973, Arab nations slashed oil production causing prices to sky rocket
The oilfield that changed Kazakhstan
In 1993 Kazakhstan partnered with Chevron and started drilling for oil