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History told by the people who were there. For nine minutes every weekday, Witness History takes you back to moments which have shaped our world.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron 鈥� Argentina鈥檚 Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous 鈥榯ear down this wall鈥� speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler鈥檚 List; and Jacques Derrida, France鈥檚 鈥榬ock star鈥� philosopher.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal ; and the death of one of the world鈥檚 oldest languages.

Updated: daily
Episodes available: indefinitely

Episodes to download

  •

    When TV Came to Bhutan

    Mon 13 Jun 2016

    In June 1999 the tiny Himalayan kingdom broadcast its first TV programme

  • The Battle for Mixed Race Marriage in the US

    Fri 10 Jun 2016

    How a white man and a black woman won the right to marry in America in the 1960s

  • Iraq's Secret Nuclear Programme

    Thu 9 Jun 2016

    In 1981 Israel destroyed Iraq's nuclear reactor; it began Iraq's secret nuclear programme

  • Restoring 'The Last Supper'

    Wed 8 Jun 2016

    In 1999 Italian art experts completed an ambitious restoration of da Vinci's masterpiece.

  • Ritalin

    Tue 7 Jun 2016

    The drug Ritalin was developed in the 1940s - it's now used to treat ADHD.

  • The Arrest of James Earl Ray

    Mon 6 Jun 2016

    How the man convicted for killing Martin Luther King was detained in London in June 1968.

  • Date Rape

    Fri 3 Jun 2016

    In 1991 Katie Koestner went public with her experience of date rape and divided America.

  • Tanzania's Ujamaa policy

    Thu 2 Jun 2016

    In the late 1960s Tanzania experimented with a new form of socialism called Ujamaa.

  • Concordski Plane Crash

    Wed 1 Jun 2016

    In June 1973 Russia's supersonic rival to Concorde crashed at the Paris Air Show

  • Karakoram Highway

    Tue 31 May 2016

    In 1979 the Karakoram Highway between Pakistan and China was opened to the public

  • The Assassination of Trujillo

    Mon 30 May 2016

    On May 30th 1961 Rafael Trujillo, the dictator in the Dominican Republic, was shot dead.

  • The Thalidomide Trial

    Fri 27 May 2016

    In May 1968, executives of the German company that made the drug thalidomide go on trial

  • Yeltsin And The Chechen Rebels

    Thu 26 May 2016

    In 1996, a Chechen rebel delegation negotiated peace with Russia's President Yeltsin.

  • The Israeli Airlift of Ethiopian Jews

    Wed 25 May 2016

    In 1991 14000 Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel during Operation Solomon

  • Hands Across America

    Tue 24 May 2016

    The day millions of Americans formed a human chain to try to end poverty and homelessness

  • The Execution of Anne Boleyn

    Mon 23 May 2016

    In May 1536 the Queen of England was executed on the orders of her husband, Henry VIII

  • Kia Ora: Maori Rights Breakthrough in New Zealand

    Fri 20 May 2016

    Telephone operator Naida Glavish became known for saying good morning to callers in Maori

  • Dien Bien Phu

    Thu 19 May 2016

    The French surrender at the siege of Dien Bien Phu ended their colonial rule of Vietnam

  • Marcus Garvey

    Tue 17 May 2016

    In 1916 Marcus Garvey arrived in the US urging black people to unite in a new nation.

  • Citizen Kane

    Mon 16 May 2016

    Archive interviews with Orson Welles about one of the greatest films of all time

  • The Pope in Syria - 2001

    Thu 12 May 2016

    In May 2001 Pope John Paul the Second made a historic visit to Syria

  • Kim Philby: The Third Man

    Wed 11 May 2016

    In May 1988, the death was announced in Moscow of the English spy Kim Philby.

  • Escape from the South Atlantic

    Tue 10 May 2016

    In the spring of 1982 Britain and Argentina went to war over the Falkland Islands.

  • The Imaginary War Heroes

    Mon 9 May 2016

    During World War Two, Soviet propaganda promoted a heroic feat that never happened.

  • Hitler's Nuclear Programme

    Fri 6 May 2016

    Nazi Germany had a nuclear programme, which could have given Hitler an atomic bomb

  • The Belfast Blitz

    Thu 5 May 2016

    In 1941, Belfast in Northern Ireland was devastated by German bombing

  • Ernest Hemingway in Cuba

    Wed 4 May 2016

    Alberto Ramos remembers his time working for the great American novelist in Cuba.

  • U2 Spy Plane

    Tue 3 May 2016

    In May 1960 Gary Powers was taken captive by the Soviets when his spy plane was shot down

  • The Salem Witches

    Mon 2 May 2016

    In 1692 nineteen men and women were convicted of witchcraft and executed in America.

  • The Creation of the Mini

    Fri 29 Apr 2016

    In 1959 the British Motoring Corporation unveiled a very small new family car - the Mini

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