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Witness History Episodes

  1.

    India’s first nuclear test

    How India secretly developed and tested its first atomic device in 1974

  2. Portugal’s worst train disaster

    In 1985, two trains collided on a single track line killing an estimated 150 people

  3. Elvis visits Scotland

    In 1960, the King of Rock ’n’ Roll made an unexpected stop at Prestwick Airport

  4. Sweden’s diplomatic freeze with the USA

    In 1972, a speech by the Swedish Prime Minister caused a break-down in relations

  5. Syria's secret library

    The building of a secret library in the town of Darayya during the Syrian civil war

  6. Charles Taylor and the blood diamond trial

    In 2008 the ex-Liberian President Charles Taylor faced a courtroom accused of war crimes

  7. The Japanese invasion of Malaya

    On 8 December 1941, thousands of Japanese troops landed on beaches near Kota Bharu

  8. The Aga Khan meets Florence Nightingale

    In 1898, Florence Nightingale invited the Aga Khan around to her London home for tea

  9. The storming of Spain's parliament

    Spanish MPs were taken hostage by armed Civil Guards in February 1981

  10. The playboy spy who inspired James Bond

    Dusko Popov was one of WWII's most successful double agents, inspiring the fictional 007.

  11. 'I taught the Dalai Lama'

    In the late 1940s, an Austrian mountaineer becomes the young Dalai Lama's tutor

  12. The photo which symbolised Argentina’s resistance

    Adriana Lestido captured a mother and her daughter raising their arms in protest in 1982

  13. Toxic shock syndrome and tampon safety

    In the 1980s, deaths were linked to super-absorbent tampons

  14. World War Two’s Shetland Bus

    The Norwegian sailors who aided their country's resistance against the Nazis

  15. The flooding of Florence

    In 1966, Florence was left underwater after heavy rainfall caused the River Arno to burst

  16. The Mont Blanc Tunnel

    In July 1965, a 12km tunnel dug deep beneath the Alps was opened to traffic

  17. Gina Lollobrigida interviews Fidel Castro

    In 1974, the Italian film icon secured an exclusive interview with the Cuban leader

  18. When Pink Floyd played in Venice

    In July 1989, Pink Floyd played a controversial concert to 200,000 people in Venice

  19. The discovery of nerve growth factor

    In 1952, Italian scientist Dr Rita Levi-Montalcini made a crucial discovery

  20. My dad created Mr Men and Little Miss

    In 1971, a question from his son led Roger Hargreaves to create Mr Men and Little Miss

  21. Austria's wine scandal

    In 1985, scientists discovered poisonous anti-freeze in bottles of fine Austrian wine

  22. Jimmy Carter visits Cuba

    In 2002, former US President Jimmy Carter paid a controversial visit to Cuba

  23. Cuba's Mariel boatlift

    In 1980, more than 100,000 Cubans left the country for the US

  24. The 'Jugroom Fort' rescue mission

    In 2007, British forces staged a daring rescue from a Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan

  25. Ötzi: The Iceman of Bolzano

    In September 1991, two German hikers found a 5,000-year-old mummy in a glacier

  26. The Kaohsiung Incident

    On 10 December 1979, pro-democracy activists clashed with police in Kaohsiung, Taiwan

  27. Chile's 'Penguin Revolution'

    In 2006, more than 600,000 school children in Chile began a nationwide protest

  28. The liberation of Auschwitz

    In 1945, General Vasily Petrenko freed prisoners at the Nazi death camp

  29. John Logie Baird invents television

    On 26 January 1926, John Logie Baird demonstrated the prototype for television

  30. Agatha Christie: best-selling novelist of all time

    In January 1976, author Agatha Christie died aged 85

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