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Witness History Episodes

  1.

    North and South Korean leaders meet for the first time in decades

    In June 2000, the first inter-Korean summit since the Korean War took place

  2. The Bristol bus boycott

    How a protest by black activists in 1963 led to the UK's first anti-racism laws

  3. Women invade Dublin's male-only swimming spot

    In 1974, women campaigned to swim at the Forty Foot in Dublin, Ireland

  4. Celtic Tiger: Ireland's 'ghost estates'

    How the collapse of Ireland's Celtic Tiger led to thousands of abandoned housing estates

  5. The first Rose of Tralee

    In 1959, the first Rose of Tralee festival was held in Ireland

  6. How electricity came to rural Ireland

    The Rural Electrification Scheme brought power to 300,000 homes in the Irish countryside

  7. Easter Rising in Ireland

    In 1916, a group of Irish rebels launched an armed revolt against British rule

  8. The Wizard of Oz: The stolen ruby slippers

    Ruby slippers used in the film 'The Wizard of Oz' were stolen in 2005.

  9. Judy Garland: The final shows

    The last performances of Judy Garland in January 1969

  10. Returning Benin Bronzes

    In 2004, a chance encounter in Nigeria led to the return of two looted art treasures

  11. Iran: How the prime minister was overthrown in 1953

    It's 70 years since the US-backed coup which brought the Shah of Iran to power in 1953

  12. The boy who discovered a new species of human ancestor

    Matt Berger tripped over a hominid fossil whilst exploring with his dad in South Africa

  13. Jean-Michel Basquiat bursts onto the New York art scene

    The success of graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat

  14. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing's diamonds scandal

    Journalist Claude Angeli broke the story that helped topple France's President in 1981

  15. Sarajevo’s haven of peace

    The Jewish charity that helped people in the Bosnian war during the siege of Sarajevo

  16. The Great Train Robbery

    In 1963, thieves held up a Royal Mail train on its journey from Glasgow to London

  17. Brownie Wise: The creator of Tupperware parties

    How Brownie Wise inspired an army of US housewives to sell Tupperware at parties

  18. Dinosaur in court

    In 2012 a dinosaur skeleton became the subject of a restraining order and a court case

  19. Treehouse on the Berlin Wall

    In 1982 a Turkish worker in Germany built a treehouse against the Berlin Wall

  20. Birth of a new language

    In the early 1980s deaf children in Nicaragua invented a new sign language

  21. First dinosaur eggs identified in India

    In 1982, Ashok Sahni discovered nests of dinosaur eggs for the first time in India

  22. José Mujica: Prison break to president

    Uruguay's former president recounts his revolutionary past as a member of the Tupamaros

  23. Mr Bigg's: The birth of Nigeria's iconic takeaway

    It’s been 50 years since Mr Bigg's was first launched in Nigeria

  24. The 1960 coup against Haile Selassie

    There was an attempt to overthrow the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie in December 1960

  25. The Pope’s controversial Nicaragua visit

    Pope John Paul II angered supporters of the Sandinista government during a 1983 trip

  26. Brain: A personal computer virus

    In 1986 a computer virus was developed accidentally by two brothers in Pakistan

  27. Escaping the Nazis in Greece

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

  28. 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

  29. The birth of Barbie

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

  30. Japan surrenders in China

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

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