Namibian Independence

In March 1990, Namibia became independent from South African rule.

• 9 mins

Fidel Castro Takes Havana

In 1959, the rebel leader took control of Cuba's capital city.

• 11 mins

Viagra

In 1998 a new 'wonder' drug was approved for use in the United States

• 9 mins

The Fall of Emperor Tewodros II

In 1868 Tewodros II of Ethiopia prepared to make a last stand against the British army.

• 9 mins

The Death of Jan Palach

In 1969, a student set himself alight in protest at the crushing of the Prague Spring.

• 11 mins

Iraqi Shia Uprising - 1991

At the end of the First Gulf War thousands of Iraqis rose up against Saddam Hussein

• 9 mins

Battle of Tora Bora

After the Taliban fell in Afghanistan, the hunt for Osama bin Laden began in earnest.

• 11 mins

The Easter Rising

How Irish rebels tried to start a revolution against British rule at Easter 1916.

• 9 mins

Last of the Red Hot Mamas

It is 50 years since the great American recording star Sophie Tucker died in New York.

• 11 mins

Virginia Woolf

On March 28th 1941 the British novelist Virginia Woolf took her own life.

• 9 mins

Romania's Orphans

In 1990 the terrible conditions inside Romania's orphanages first came to light.

• 11 mins

The Harold Wilson Plot

In March 1976, the British prime minister Harold Wilson unexpectedly resigned. Why?

• 9 mins

The Back to Africa Movement

In the late 1800s, African Americans from Arkansas began moving to Liberia in West Africa.

• 11 mins

The Attempt on Ronald Reagan's Life

On March 30th 1981 a man tried to assassinate US President Ronald Reagan.

• 9 mins

Harrer in Tibet

In 1944, Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer fled into the forbidden land of Tibet.

• 11 mins

Siege of Sarajevo

The siege of Sarajevo lasted for almost four years. Witness Vedrana Seksan tells her story

• 11 mins

Pakistan Ban on Alcohol

In the spring of 1977 the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto introduced a ban on alcohol

• 9 mins

Nigeria's War on Indiscipline

In 1984, General Buhari's military regime launched an unusual campaign to clean up Nigeria

• 11 mins

The Yodogo Hijacking

In March 1970, Japanese left-wing extremists hijacked a plane with samurai swords.

• 9 mins

The Execution of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

On April 4th 1979 Pakistan's first democratically elected Prime Minister was hanged.

• 9 mins

Romania's Orphans

In 1989 news began to emerge of terrible conditions in Romania's orphanages.

• 9 mins

Mallory on Everest

In 1999 the body of legendary British mountaineer, George Mallory, was found on Everest.

• 9 mins

The Ogaden War

In 1977 Somalia invaded Ethiopia in an attempt to take control of disputed territory.

• 9 mins

A Japanese Royal Wedding

In a change to tradition Japan's Crown Prince Akihito married a non-royal, in April 1959.

• 9 mins

Angela Merkel

On April 10 2000, Angela Merkel became the first woman to lead a German political party.

• 9 mins

The First Starbucks

In 1971 the first Starbucks coffee shop opened in Seattle.

• 9 mins

The Amritsar Massacre of 1919

On 13 April 1919, the British Indian Army fired on an unarmed crowd, killing hundreds

• 9 mins

Executed for Being Too Capitalist

In 1961, in Soviet Central Asia, 21 managers were executed for using capitalist methods.

• 9 mins

The Spanish Republic

How writers and artists campaigned to bring culture to every corner of 1930s Spain

• 9 mins

Haile Selassie In Jamaica

On 21 April 1966 Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia arrived in Jamaica

• 9 mins