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Witness History Episodes

  1.

    Harold Riley: Painting Nelson Mandela

    In 2005, Harold Riley's painting of Nelson Mandela was unveiled

  2. Kinder Scout mass trespass

    Walkers trespassed on Kinder Scout to demand access to the countryside in 1932

  3. The gathering that helped shape decolonisation

    In 1945, Manchester's Pan-African Congress helped shape the struggle against colonialism

  4. ‘Baby’ computer is invented

    In 1948, the ‘Baby’ paved the way for today’s computers

  5. The nightclub that changed Manchester

    In 1962, the Reno became Manchester's first racially inclusive nightclub

  6. The discovery of the San José shipwreck

    In 2015, the 'holy grail' of shipwrecks was found off the coast of Colombia

  7. The birth of India's call centre industry

    Pramod Bhasin set up India’s first call centre in 1997

  8. Stardust: Ireland's deadly nightclub fire

    In 1981, a fire in a Dublin nightclub killed 48 people

  9. Connecting homes to the internet using cable TV

    In 1991, Rouzbeh Yassini created technology enabling millions of homes to access the web

  10. Norway’s teacher resistance in World War Two

    During the Nazi occupation of Norway, the country’s teachers resisted teaching propaganda

  11. Firefighter: Surviving the 9/11 North Tower collapse

    On 11 September 2001, firefighter Jay Jonas was inside the North Tower when it collapsed

  12. The weather report that changed the date of D-Day

    In 1944, a weather report predicted a storm that changed the course of WW2 history

  13. Bayeux Tapestry: the lost Nazi archive

    In 1994, a French curator helped recover documents thought lost since World War Two

  14. The 'moving' statue of Ballinspittle

    In 1985, reports of a moving Virgin Mary statue drew thousands to a small Irish village

  15. Surviving the Long March

    In 1935, thousands who had followed Mao Zedong on the Long March struggled to survive

  16. Star Trek: America's first interracial TV kiss

    In 1968, American television broadcast what's claimed to be the first interracial kiss

  17. The making of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

    Peter Coyote reflects on the making of the movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

  18. ‘Genius’ sci-fi writer Octavia E Butler

    In 1995, Octavia E Butler received a MacArthur “genius” award for science-fiction writing

  19. Making Turkish Star Wars

    In 1982, a classic of Turkish Copy Cinema, was released

  20. How the Star Wars toys were created

    In 1976, toymaker Jim Swearingen had to convince his boss to take a chance on a new film

  21. The hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73

    In 1986, Pan-American Airways Flight 73 was hijacked at Karachi Airport

  22. Hurricane Luis hits Antigua

    In September 1995, Hurricane Luis devastated the Caribbean island of Antigua

  23. Peace People: The Northern Ireland campaign group born from tragedy

    In 1977, Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams won the Nobel Peace Prize

  24. Auschwitz: An SS officer’s photo album

    In 2007, an abandoned photo album revealed the chilling normality of life in Auschwitz

  25. Uruguay's water referendum

    In 2004, Uruguayans voted to enshrine water as a human right in their constitution.

  26. Defeating the screwworm

    In the 1950s, Edward Knipling's bold idea launched a historic campaign against screwworm

  27. 'I created the duck cake from Bluey'

    In 1980, an Australian birthday cake book was launched that would inspire generations

  28. Canada's controversial resettlement programme

    In 1954, thousands from isolated fishing communities were relocated to 'growth centres'

  29. The battle of Mandalay in WW2

    The story of a crucial battle in the Burma campaign in 1945

  30. Asha Bhosle: The world's most recorded artist

    Asha Bhosle became the world's most recorded artist in 2011

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