Witness History Episodes Available now

Brain: The first personal computer virus
In 1986 a computer virus was developed accidentally by two brothers in Pakistan

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

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

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

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

The ‘Barricades’ of Latvia
More than 500,000 people barricaded the streets of Riga in January 1991

Tamoxifen: Breast cancer ‘wonder drug’
How the drug tamoxifen became a global success in breast cancer treatment

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

When disposable nappies were invented
The story of how disposable nappies were invented.

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