Witness History Episodes Episode guide
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Facial reconstruction: From mummy to murder
In 1975, Richard Neave invented a method to rebuild the face of an Egyptian mummy
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Inuit children taken from families
In 1960s, the Canadian government took academically gifted Inuit children from the homes
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The first Indian woman to conquer Everest
In May 1984, Bachendri Pal became the first Indian woman to stand on top of the world
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Tragedy on Everest
Michael Groom is one of the survivors of a tragic climbing expedition to Mount Everest
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Tenzing Norgay conquers Everest
In 1953, Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Mount Everest
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Edmund Hillary conquers Everest
In 1953 Edmund Hillary became the first human to reach the top of Mount Everest
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The deadliest glacial avalanche in the world
On 31 May 1970, the Huascarán avalanche destroyed the town of Yungay, in Peru
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Trying to unite Africa
On 25 May 1963, leaders of 32 newly-independent African nations came together
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Chasing the world’s biggest tornado
In May 2013, the widest tornado ever recorded hit the US state of Oklahoma
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Fikret Alić
In 1992, a photograph of a starving man in a Bosnian concentration camp stunned the world
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The sergeants' coup in Suriname
Sixteen army sergeants seized power in the South American country in 1980
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Pippi Longstocking
In Stockholm in 1941, Astrid Lindgren made up a story for her daughter about a young girl
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Creating New Zealand's national walking trail
Geoff Chapple's vision was to create New Zealand's national walking trail
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The Dambusters
Eighty years ago a daring raid destroyed dams in Germany's Ruhr Valley
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German child evacuees of World War Two
Thousands of German children during World War Two were sent to camps in the countryside
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Singapore executes Filipina maid
The execution of Flor Contemplacion caused a crisis between the Philippines and Singapore
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World War II victory in North Africa
It is 80 years since the Allies in World War II declared victory in North Africa
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Warsaw Ghetto uprising
In May 1943, the uprising in the Jewish Ghetto in Warsaw in Poland came to an end
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The last commercial flight out of Kai Tak
In 1998, the last commercial flight left Hong Kong's Kai Tak airport
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The sinking of the SS Tilawa: the ‘Indian Titanic’
Hundreds died when an passenger ship was hit by Japanese torpedoes in 1942
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United States bomb the Chinese embassy in Belgrade
On 7 May 1999, US bombs damaged the embassy and relations between China and the West
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The removal of Scotland's Stone of Destiny
In 1950, four young Scottish students took the 'Stone of Destiny' from Westminster Abbey
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Last King of Bulgaria
In June 2001, Bulgaria’s former King Simeon II won the country’s parliamentary election
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The 'execution' of Oliver Cromwell
In 1661 in England, the body of Oliver Cromwell was dug up for ritual execution
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Jean-Bédel Bokassa's coronation
Jean-Bédel Bokassa crowned himself Emperor of the Central African Republic in 1977
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The king under the car park
In 2012, the lost grave of King Richard III was found under a car park in Leicester
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The fight to televise the Queen's Coronation
How BBC bosses battled with the government for the right to film inside Westminster Abbey
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The Met Gala goes global
In 1995, Anna Wintour became chair of the Met Gala and changed it forever
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Guatemala's outspoken bishop
Human rights campaigner Bishop Juan Gerardi was bludgeoned to death on 26 April 1998
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Discovering the secrets of DNA
James Watson and Francis Crick published their discoveries about DNA on 25 April 1953