ON THIS DAY    17 May      Graphics version >>   BBC News >>
Search ON THIS DAY by date   
  Go back one day Go forward one day
Front Page |  Years |  Themes |  Witness
1943: RAF raid smashes German dams
An audacious raid into the industrial heartland of Germany uses revolutionary bombs to flood the Ruhr valley.

1974: Bombs devastate Dublin and Monaghan
Four car bombs explode in the Irish capital, leaving at least 23 dead and more than 100 injured.

1960: East-West summit in tatters after spy plane row
The much-heralded Big Four summit in Paris fails after U2 spy plane recriminations.

1978: Charlie Chaplin's stolen body found
The coffin containing the body of Charlie Chaplin - missing since his grave was pillaged nearly two months ago - is found.

2000: First Britons reach North Pole unaided
Two Royal Marine commandos are the first Britons to reach the geographical North Pole braving severe weather conditions.

1955: Eden takes to the airwaves
Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden presents the largest-scale election broadcast ever seen on television.

Around this Day

14 May
Top Story: 1955: Communist states sign Warsaw Pact

15 May
Top Story: 1957: Britain drops its first H-bomb

16 May
Top Story: 1943: Germans crush Jewish uprising

18 May
Top Story: 1944: Monte Cassino falls to the Allies

19 May
Top Story: 1980: Nine dead after Mount St Helens eruption

20 May
Top Story: 1983: Car bomb in South Africa kills 16

Search ON THIS DAY by date   
  Go back one day Go forward one day
Front Page |  Years |  Themes |  Witness
^^ Back to top | ©