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Witness History Episodes

  1.

    Iran Hostage Rescue Mission

    Rob Walker reports on an attempt to free hostages from the US embassy in Iran in 1980.

  2. The Church of the Nativity siege

    In May 2002 a five-week siege at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem finally ends

  3. India's Billionth Baby

    On May 11th 2000 a baby girl born in Delhi was designated as India's billionth citizen.

  4. VE Day

    The celebrations in London at the end of World War II in Europe, as reported by the BBC.

  5. The Sinking of the Lusitania

    1,200 died when a German submarine torpedoed the passenger liner off Ireland in 1915

  6. Aden's Independence Struggle

    The fight to end British rule in the colony of Aden - today part of Yemen

  7. Chemical Weapons Tests at Porton Down

    In May 1953, a British airman died in nerve gas tests at a government research base

  8. The Iranian Embassy Siege

    In May 1980 British special forces stormed Iran's embassy in London to end a siege

  9. US Evacuation from Saigon

    The last remaining US forces pulled out of South Vietnam on April 30th 1975.

  10. The Man Who Removed His Own Appendix

    In April 1961, Russian doctor Leonid Rogozov developed appendicitis in Antarctica.

  11. President de Gaulle resigns

    In April 1969, France's great statesman, Charles de Gaulle, resigned as president

  12. The Jane Fonda Workout

    In April 1982, film star Jane Fonda launched her first workout video

  13. The Mass Trespass on Kinder Scout

    A 1932 protest which helped win the right to roam freely across the English countryside

  14. The Iran Hostage Rescue Mission

    On 24 April 1980, the US launched a disastrous attempt to free its hostages in Iran

  15. The Hunt for Saddam's Weapons of Mass Destruction

    In April 1991 weapons inspectors were allowed into Iraq to search for WMDs

  16. NATO bombs Serbian TV

    In April 1999 Nato bombed the Serbian state TV station in Belgrade, killing 16 people.

  17. The Death of Einstein

    The great theoretical physicist Albert Einstein died on 18th April 1955

  18. Carousel - The Musical

    In April 1945 one of the most successful musicals of all time premiered on Broadway.

  19. Oklahoma City Bombing

    On April 19 1995 a huge truck bomb killed 168 people in a government building in the USA.

  20. Joe Orton

    He was the young working class playwright who changed British theatre.

  21. Bloods and Crips truce

    In April 1992, the main black street gangs in Los Angeles started a historic truce.

  22. Train puts Letchworth Garden City on the Map

    In April 1905 the arrival of a passenger train put Letchworth Garden City on the map

  23. The Khmer Rouge take power

    In April 1975 the four-year rule of the brutal Khmer Rouge began in Cambodia.

  24. Glenn Gould Retires

    On 10 April 1964, famously eccentric pianist Glenn Gould gave his last live performance

  25. The ‘Death of a Princess’ film

    In 1980 a film about a public execution caused a row between Britain and Saudi Arabia

  26. India's State of Emergency

    In 1975, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency

  27. The Fall of Idi Amin

    In 1979 Tanzanian troops invaded Uganda and ousted its brutal dictator.

  28. 1968 US Race Riots

    In April 1968 cities across America were rocked by race riots.

  29. Jackie Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis

    The romance between the widowed US First Lady and the Greek shipping tycoon in the 1960s.

  30. The Sophiatown Removals

    How apartheid destroyed one of the last multiracial communities in 1950s South Africa.

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