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Witness History Episodes

  1.

    The murder of Federico Garcia Lorca

    How the great poet and dramatist was murdered at the start of the Spanish Civil War.

  2. The Kray Gang

    Maureen Flanagan on her relationship with London's gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray.

  3. Fleeing Deportation to the USSR

    After WW2, many Soviet citizens who had ended up outside the USSR, refused to go home.

  4. The Nairobi Embassy Bombing

    In 1998, al-Qaeda killed more than 200 people in attacks on US embassies in East Africa.

  5. The Excavation of Masada

    Nearly two thousand years ago, Masada in Israel was the site of a mass suicide.

  6. The Twin Towers High-Wire Walk

    Philippe Petit recalls his daring feat high above the New York streets in August 1974

  7. American Air Traffic Controllers' Strike

    In August 1981 over 11,000 air traffic controllers were fired after two days on strike.

  8. Lebanon's Baalbek Festival

    The Middle East's oldest arts festival, in Baalbek in Lebanon, started 60 years ago

  9. The Reclusive JD Salinger

    It's 65 years since JD Salinger's classic novel The Catcher in the Rye was published

  10. Jacqueline Du Pre

    Jacqueline Du Pre makes one of the most famous classical recordings of the 20th Century

  11. The University of Texas Shooting

    In August 1966 14 people were shot dead in America's first mass shooting at a university

  12. Spying for America in Russia

    The story of Russian spy Alexandr Ogorodnik and his CIA handler, Marti Peterson.

  13. The Tangshan Earthquake

    In 1976, one of the deadliest earthquakes in history hit the city of Tangshan in China

  14. Meeting Picasso

    In the summer of 1951 art historian John Richardson met Pablo Picasso for the first time.

  15. The First CIA Coup in Latin America

    In 1954 CIA-backed officers overthrew Guatemala's elected government.

  16. Race Riots in Liverpool

    In 1981 police used CS gas for the first time in mainland Britain to control race riots

  17. The Beilis Case: an Anti-Jewish Trial

    In 1913, a Russian Jew, Mendel Beilis, was falsely accused of a murder.

  18. Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

    In 1958 the Nigerian writer published his first book, revolutionising African literature.

  19. The Death of Bruce Lee

    The film star and martial arts legend died suddenly in Hong Kong in 1973.

  20. The Srebrenica Massacre

    In July 1995 Bosnian Serb troops murdered thousands of Bosnian Muslim men and boys.

  21. Medicare

    In July 1966, the US government health insurance programme Medicare came into force.

  22. Dutch Elm Disease

    In the 1970s Dutch Elm disease killed millions of Elm trees in England, France and the US

  23. 1916: Central Asia Rebels Against the Russian Empire

    In 1916, Muslims in Central Asia rose up against Russian imperial rule.

  24. Child refugees from the Spanish Civil War

    In 1937, Britain took in 4000 Basque children at the height of fighting in northern Spain

  25. The Nestle Boycott

    In July 1977 US campaigners launched a boycott against Nestle over the sale of baby milk.

  26. The Mumbai Train Bombings

    In July 2006, seven coordinated explosions tore through packed commuter trains in Mumbai.

  27. Forced Sterilisation in Peru

    In the 1990s, President Alberto Fujimori launched a family planning programme in Peru.

  28. War in Slovenia

    In 1991, Yugoslav army tanks moved into Slovenia to try to stop it becoming independent

  29. The Assassination of Anwar Sadat

    On October 6th 1981, Egyptian president Anwar Sadat was killed by army officers.

  30. Executions in Cuba

    In July 1989 four Cuban army officers were convicted of drug trafficking and executed.

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