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Witness History Episodes

  1.

    Returning Benin Bronzes

    In 2004, a chance encounter in Nigeria led to the return of two looted art treasures

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. Jean-Michel Basquiat bursts onto the New York art scene

    The success of graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat

  5. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing's diamonds scandal

    Journalist Claude Angeli broke the story that helped topple France's President in 1981

  6. Sarajevo’s haven of peace

    The Jewish charity that helped people in the Bosnian war during the siege of Sarajevo

  7. The Great Train Robbery

    In 1963, thieves held up a Royal Mail train on its journey from Glasgow to London

  8. Brownie Wise: The creator of Tupperware parties

    How Brownie Wise inspired an army of US housewives to sell Tupperware at parties

  9. Dinosaur in court

    In 2012 a dinosaur skeleton became the subject of a restraining order and a court case

  10. Treehouse on the Berlin Wall

    In 1982 a Turkish worker in Germany built a treehouse against the Berlin Wall

  11. Birth of a new language

    In the early 1980s deaf children in Nicaragua invented a new sign language

  12. First dinosaur eggs identified in India

    In 1982, Ashok Sahni discovered nests of dinosaur eggs for the first time in India

  13. José Mujica: Prison break to president

    Uruguay's former president recounts his revolutionary past as a member of the Tupamaros

  14. Mr Bigg's: The birth of Nigeria's iconic takeaway

    It’s been 50 years since Mr Bigg's was first launched in Nigeria

  15. The 1960 coup against Haile Selassie

    There was an attempt to overthrow the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie in December 1960

  16. The Pope’s controversial Nicaragua visit

    Pope John Paul II angered supporters of the Sandinista government during a 1983 trip

  17. Brain: A personal computer virus

    In 1986 a computer virus was developed accidentally by two brothers in Pakistan

  18. Escaping the Nazis in Greece

    Yeti Mitrani and her family escaped deportation from Greece by the Nazis in 1943

  19. 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

  20. The birth of Barbie

    Ruth Handler created the Barbie doll which was first sold in 1959

  21. Japan surrenders in China

    The signing of the Japanese surrender documents at the Forbidden City in Beijing in 1945.

  22. The ‘Barricades’ of Latvia

    More than 500,000 people barricaded the streets of Riga in January 1991

  23. Tamoxifen: Breast cancer ‘wonder drug’

    How the drug tamoxifen became a global success in breast cancer treatment

  24. Creating the first emoji

    In 1999, Japanese designer Shigetaka Kurita created a global phenomena - the first emoji

  25. When disposable nappies were invented

    The story of how disposable nappies were invented.

  26. Aibo: The world’s first robot dog

    The world's first robot dog called Aibo, sold out in just 20 minutes in 1999

  27. Inventing Rubik’s Cube

    In 1974, a Hungarian architect, Ernő Rubik invented his bestselling puzzle

  28. Invention of the ballpoint pen

    In 1938 a Hungarian journalist László Bíró invented the ballpoint pen

  29. A right royal night out

    Princess Diana, Kenny Everett and Freddie Mercury went on a night out in London in 1988

  30. When tourism came to the Maldives

    In February 1972 the first group of tourists arrived in the Maldives

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