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Witness History Episodes

  1.

    The first television opera

    In 1951, the first opera ever composed specifically for TV was broadcast

  2. When Laurel and Hardy spent Christmas at an English pub

    In 1953, the comedy duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy spent a few weeks at the Bull Inn

  3. When Norway introduced salmon sushi to Japan

    In the late 1980s, Norway was looking for a new market to sell its salmon

  4. India's disability law

    In 1995, the first disability rights legislation was passed by India's parliament

  5. How NFL tickets caught fugitives

    When Washington DC's most wanted were captured under the guise of winning NFL tickets

  6. The Paris climate agreement

    In 2015, nearly 200 countries adopted the Paris climate agreement

  7. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa

    When Apartheid was abolished, South Africans had to find a way to confront their past

  8. The discovery of the coelacanth

    In 1938, a fish was found that was believed to have been extinct for 65 million years

  9. Dismaland: Banksy's dystopian theme park

    In 2015, the street artist transformed a derelict pool into a dystopian ‘bemusement park’

  10. The Balcombe Street IRA siege

    In December 1975, four IRA gunmen took a couple hostage leading to a six-day siege

  11. How Lagos Fashion Week began

    In 2011, the event debuted, putting Nigerian style on the map

  12. Wole Soyinka: Imprisoned during Nigeria’s Biafra war

    In 1967, Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka was jailed following his efforts to avert civil war

  13. Escaping Nigeria's Biafra war

    In 1967, the south-east region of Nigeria declared itself the independent state of Biafra

  14. Building the New Afrika Shrine in Nigeria

    The opening of the 'spiritual home of Afrobeat' in 2000

  15. West Africa fights back against Boko Haram

    In 2015, a coalition of West African countries fought back against a caliphate in Nigeria

  16. Ravi and George

    In 1967, Ravi Shankar taught the ‘quiet Beatle’ George Harrison how to play the sitar

  17. India goes to the UN

    Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit led India’s first delegation to the United Nations

  18. The Howard Hughes literary hoax

    In 1971 a conman fooled publishers with a fake autobiography of billionaire Howard Hughes

  19. Colombia's Salt Cathedral

    In 1995, a cathedral was built 180m underground in the Zipaquirá Salt Mine

  20. Toy Story: the first digitally-animated feature film

    The box-office hit started a shift away from hand-drawn cartoons

  21. How the Bosnian war ended

    On 21 November 1995, the Dayton Peace accords were signed

  22. The death of Franco

    In 1975, General Francisco Franco died, ending 36 years of dictatorship over Spain

  23. Angela Merkel suspends EU asylum rules in 2015

    In August 2015, Germany suspended asylum rules amid a steep rise in migration to Europe

  24. Reagan and Gorbachev: The Geneva Summit

    In 1985, US President Ronald Reagan met Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Switzerland

  25. The Spanish king reclaims his throne

    In 1975 Juan Carlos reclaimed the Spanish throne after 36 years of Franco’s dictatorship

  26. When Maldives' ministers met underwater

    In 2009, ministers from the Maldives held the first underwater cabinet meeting

  27. Bataclan attack in Paris

    On 13 November 2015, 90 people were shot dead at the Bataclan theatre in France

  28. Prosecuting Nazis at the Nuremberg Trials

    Eighty years ago, in the aftermath of World War Two, a major war crimes trial took place

  29. Birth of the G7

    In November 1975, leaders of six nations met in France to solve an economic crisis

  30. Breaking the sound barrier

    In 1947, Chuck Yeager became the first pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound.

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