This Day In History
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1983 Car bomb in South Africa kills 16
At least 16 people have been killed and more than 130 people injured in a car bomb explosion in South Africa’s capital city, Pretoria. ... -
1980 Nine dead after Mount St Helens eruption
At least nine people have died after the massive eruption of Mount St Helens volcano in Washington State, USA. Many more are missing and ... -
1943 Germans crush Jewish uprising
All resistance in the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw has ended after 28 days of fighting. In his operational report, the local SS commander, Brigadier ... -
2001 UK supermarkets slash price of drugs
British consumers are already reaping the benefits of cheaper over-the-counter medicine after a court ruling today put an end to the drug industry’s price-fixing ... -
1955 Communist states sign Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union and its Eastern Bloc allies have signed a security pact in the Polish capital, Warsaw, after a three-day conference. Announcements in ... -
1967 Stansted to become London’s third airport
The British Government has given the green light to plans to convert Stansted into London’s third airport. President of the Board of Trade Douglas ... -
1979 El Salvador cathedral bloodbath
At least 18 demonstrators have been killed and many wounded after police opened fire on anti-government protesters outside the Metropolitan Cathedral in San Salvador, ... -
1978 ‘Son of Sam’ pleads guilty to murders
The man alleged to have murdered six people in a killing spree last year has pleaded guilty to all the charges against him. David ... -
2001 Thousands greet Pope in Syrian visit
Thousands of people have turned out to greet Pope John Paul II on his historic visit to Syria. The pontiff drove in his popemobile ... -
1945 Germany announces Hitler is dead
Adolf Hitler has been killed at the Reich Chancery in Berlin, according to Hamburg radio. At 2230 local time a newsreader announced that reports ... -
1973 Nixon takes rap for Watergate scandal
President Richard Nixon has taken full responsibility for the Watergate scandal but has denied any personal involvement. In a speech broadcast to the American ... -
1986 Soviets admit nuclear accident
The Soviet Union has acknowledged there has been an accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. The report, from the official news ... -
1974 Rebels seize control of Portugal
Army rebels are in control of Portugal tonight after an almost bloodless dawn coup ended nearly 50 years of dictatorship. Shortly after midnight, tanks ... -
1967 Russian cosmonaut dies in space crash
The Soviet Union has announced the catastrophic failure of its latest space mission, with the crash of Soyuz 1 and the death of the ... -
1955 Albert Einstein dies
Albert Einstein has died in hospital in Princeton, New Jersey, aged 76. The eminent scientist and originator of the theory of relativity was admitted ... -
1961 Exiles invade Cuba at Bay of Pigs
Reports from Cuba say the island has been invaded by counter-revolutionary forces trying to overthrow the country’s leader, Fidel Castro. The only news coming ... -
1987 MP on gay sex charges
Conservative MP Harvey Proctor has appeared in court charged with indecency. Mr Proctor, who represents Billericay in Essex, said nothing to waiting journalists at ... -
1998 Former Cambodian dictator dies
The former Cambodian dictator, Pol Pot, whose regime led to the deaths of millions of his people, has died. Journalists who were shown his ... -
1989 Ayatollah sentences author to death
Iranian Muslim leader Ayatollah Khomeini has issued a death threat against British author Salman Rushdie and his publishers over the book Satanic Verses. Scotland ... -
1957 Britain agrees to Singapore self-rule
The British government is to allow the island colony of Singapore to govern itself under a new constitution agreed in London. The Singapore Constitutional ... -
1998 Northern Ireland peace deal reached
The Northern Ireland peace talks have ended with an historic agreement. The accord – dubbed the Good Friday Agreement – was reached after nearly ... -
2003 Saddam statue topples with regime
There have been scenes of jubilation in Baghdad as US tanks rolled into the very heart of the Iraqi capital, confirming that the government ... -
1994 Rock musician Kurt Cobain ‘shoots himself’
The lead-singer of American grunge rock band Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, has been found dead in his Seattle home. The 27-year-old rock star had a ... -
1968 Martin Luther King shot dead
The American black civil rights leader, Dr Martin Luther King, has been assassinated. Dr King was shot dead in the southern US city of ... -
1996 ‘Unabomber’ suspect arrested
Police in the United States have arrested a man they believe to be the notorious “Unabomber” who has killed three people and maimed 23 ... -
1982 Argentina invades Falklands
Argentina has invaded the British territory of the Falkland Islands in the south Atlantic. The islands, off the coast of Argentina, have been a ... -
1957 BBC fools the nation
The BBC has received a mixed reaction to a spoof documentary broadcast this evening about spaghetti crops in Switzerland. The hoax Panorama programme, narrated ... -
1966 Harold Wilson wins sweeping victory
The Labour party is on course to win the general election with a majority of about 100 seats in the House of Commons. Prime ... -
1979 Nuclear leak causes alarm in America
Radioactive steam has leaked into the atmosphere in Pennsylvania, USA. The accident happened when a water pump broke down at the Three Mile Island ... -
1980 North Sea platform collapses
At least 120 oil rig workers are feared dead after a North Sea accommodation platform collapsed during gales. Reports say a massive wave hit ... -
2000 Pope prays for Holocaust forgiveness
Pope John Paul II has prayed for forgiveness of the sins of those involved in the Holocaust. However, he avoided any admission of Church ... -
1975 Saudi’s King Faisal assassinated
King Faisal of Saudi Arabia has died after a gun attack in Riyadh despite the efforts of doctors to save him. The king was ... -
1992 Punch ends 150 years of satire
Punch, Britain’s oldest satirical magazine, is to close after suffering crippling losses of £1.5m a year. The decision ends a publishing tradition dating back ... -
1984 EEC summit collapses over rebate row
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has come under attack for the breakdown of negotiations at the European Economic Community common market summit in Brussels. Mrs ...
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