Witness History Episodes Available now
Pong and the birth of the computer game
It is 40 years since a video game was invented which would change the way we play.
Big Brother - the beginning of reality TV
In December 1999 a young Dutch man won the first ever Big Brother reality TV show.
Maitatsine
In 1980 thousands died in the Nigerian city of Kano in an uprising by an Islamic sect.
Vietnam War - Christmas bombing campaign
40 years ago the US launched its heaviest aerial bombardment of the Vietnam War.
The Execution of the Ceauşescus
On December 25th 1989, Nicolae and Elena Ceauşescu were executed by firing squad.
Dusty Plays South Africa
The British popstar Dusty Springfield went on tour in apartheid South Africa in 1964
Mad cow disease - CJD
In the 1990s it became clear that a brain disease could be passed from cows to humans.
Libya and Weapons of Mass Destruction
In December 2003 Colonel Gaddafi announced Libya was giving up trying to make WMD
The last men on the moon
The story of the last US space mission to the moon 40 years ago
Piltdown Man
In 1912, Britain's top palaeontologists were hoaxed by a "missing link" in human evolution
