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Witness History Episodes

  1.

    The Trojan Room Coffee Pot

    How a preoccupation with coffee became the inspiration for the first webcam in 1993

  2. Death in the Boxing Ring

    In November 1982, the boxer Deuk-Koo Kim died of brain damage after a world title fight.

  3. Making Doctor Who

    On 23 November 1963, the first episode of Doctor Who was shown.

  4. Birmingham Pub Bombings

    In 1974, bombs exploded at two busy pubs in Birmingham, killing 21 - the IRA were blamed

  5. The Execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa

    In 1995, writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight Ogoni rights activists were executed in Nigeria

  6. Lee Harvey Oswald in the USSR

    Before he shot President Kennedy, Oswald spent two and a half mysterious years in Minsk

  7. The Jonestown Massacre

    In November 1978 an American cult leader ordered more than 900 people to kill themselves.

  8. Yemen Civil War

    Red Cross doctors tried to help casualties from both sides in Yemen in the 1960s.

  9. Baby Fae and the Baboon Heart Transplant

    In 1984 doctors in California tried a revolutionary operation on a two-week-old baby.

  10. Death in the Boxing Ring

    In 1982, the boxer Deuk-Koo Kim died of brain damage after a world title fight

  11. Dustbowl Storms in the US

    In November 1933, one of the first big dust-storms hit central United States

  12. Armistice Day 1918

    On November 11th 1918 at 11am, the guns of World War One finally fell silent.

  13. Canada's Biggest Peacetime Evacuation

    In 1979 a train carrying tonnes of dangerous chemicals crashed in Canada

  14. The Death of Dylan Thomas

    In November 1953 Welsh poet Dylan Thomas died in New York aged just thirty-nine.

  15. The Green March in the Sahara

    In 1975 hundreds of thousands of Moroccans marched into disputed territory in the desert.

  16. Waterford Kamhlaba multi-racial school

    In 1963 southern Africa's first multi-racial school opened in Swaziland.

  17. Degenerate Art and the Nazis

    In 1937, the Nazis staged an exhibition to ridicule modern art - it was seen by millions

  18. The Samaritans Helpline

    In 1953 the first phone helpline for people considering suicide was set up in London

  19. The Assassination of Indira Gandhi

    On 31 October 1984, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was shot by her bodyguards

  20. Hurricane Mitch

    In 1998 Central America was hit by Hurricane Mitch - more than 18,000 people died

  21. Tokyo Rose - The Most Hated Woman in America

    In 1949 Iva Toguri was falsely accused of making Japanese propaganda during World War Two

  22. The Wall Street Crash of 1987

    On Black Monday, Wall Street prices fell by a record rate in October 1987

  23. The BBC's First Man in Moscow

    In 1963, Erik de Mauny became the first BBC correspondent based in the Soviet Union.

  24. A Heroine of Burundi's Civil War

    In 1993, Marguerite Barankitse came to symbolise hope for peace in Burundi's civil war

  25. Beirut Barracks Bombing

    In 1983, hundreds died in suicide attacks on American and French bases in Lebanon

  26. Spying for the Stasi

    The secret life of Sascha Anderson, an avant-garde poet who informed for the Stasi

  27. The Opening of Sydney Opera House

    In 1973 Sydney Opera House finally opened its doors to the public, 10 years late

  28. The Death of Grenada's Revolution

    In October 1983 Grenada's leftist prime minister was killed. Six days later the US invaded

  29. Death of Grenada's Revolution

    The day Maurice Bishop leader of Grenada was killed. Six days later the US invaded

  30. The Scottsboro Boys: A Miscarriage of Justice in the US

    In 1931, nine black teenagers were convicted of raping two white girls in Alabama.

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