This Day In History
-
2000 Sneak preview of new Tate Modern
The Tate Modern art gallery in London has opened its doors to the world’s media ahead of the official opening by the Queen on ... -
1984 Moscow pulls out of US Olympics
Twelve weeks before the opening ceremony of the Los Angeles Olympic Games, the USSR has announced it is boycotting them. It is expected most ... -
1966 Moors murderers jailed for life
Ian Brady and his lover Myra Hindley have been sentenced to life imprisonment for the so-called Moors murders at Chester Assizes. Judge Fenton Atkinson ... -
2000 Leading stock exchanges plan merger
The London Stock Exchange and Germany’s Deutsche Boerse have confirmed they are to merge, creating the world’s second largest stock market. The combined firms ... -
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 ... -
1975 Saigon surrenders
The war in Vietnam ended today as the government in Saigon announced its unconditional surrender to North Vietnamese forces. The President, Duong Van Minh, ... -
1978 Afghan coup rebels claim victory
The new rulers of Afghanistan have announced that almost the whole of the leadership of the ousted regime is dead. Two days ago, they ... -
1984 Reagan arrives in China
The US President, Ronald Reagan, has landed in China at the start of a six-day visit – the first by an American president since ... -
1982 First Briton dies in Falklands campaign
Britain has suffered its first casualty in the Falklands campaign before a single shot has been fired. Petty Officer Kevin Stuart Casey is missing ... -
1984 Scientist finds Aids virus
The discovery of a virus which may cause Aids, the fatal disease sweeping through America, has been hailed as a “monumental breakthrough” in medical ... -
1997 Troops storm embassy in Peru
Troops have stormed the Japanese embassy in Peru and freed all but one of 72 hostages held inside, ending a four-month siege of the ... -
1993 Waco cult siege ends with inferno
At least 70 people are feared to have died in a fire at the besieged headquarters of the Branch Davidian sect near Waco, Texas. ... -
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 ... -
1969 Devlin is youngest-ever woman MP
A 21-year-old woman, Bernadette Devlin, has become Britain’s youngest ever female MP and the third youngest MP ever. Standing as an independent Unity candidate, ... -
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 ... -
1986 US launches air strikes on Libya
At least 100 people have died after USA planes bombed targets in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and the Benghazi region. Around 66 American jets, ... -
1975 US pulls out of Cambodia
The US has admitted defeat in Cambodia and removed its remaining embassy personnel from the capital, Phnom Penh. Early this morning 276 people were ... -
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 ... -
1976 Young Liberal leader cleared of robbery
The president of the Young Liberals, Peter Hain, has been acquitted of stealing £490 from a branch of Barclays bank last October. Supporters in ... -
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 ... -
1971 Calley guilty of My Lai massacre
Lieutenant William Calley has been found guilty of murder at a court martial for his part in the My Lai massacre which claimed the ... -
1965 Thousands join Dr King in Alabama rally
Dr Martin Luther King has taken a crowd of nearly 25,000 people to the steps of the state capital of Montgomery, Alabama to highlight ... -
1989 Millions of Russians go to the polls
Millions of Russian voters have gone to the polls, with early results suggesting that a number of Communist candidates have been rejected by the ... -
1979 Israel and Egypt shake hands on peace deal
Israel and Egypt have ended 30 years of war with an historic peace treaty brokered by the United States. The ceremony on the White ... -
1980 Britain will go to Moscow Olympics
The British Olympic Association (BOA) has voted by a large majority to defy the government and send athletes to the Olympic Games in Moscow. ... -
1956 King convicted for bus boycott
Civil rights leader, the Reverend Martin Luther King, has been convicted of organising an illegal boycott by black passengers of buses in the US ... -
1963 Train drives itself
The first automatic train on the London underground could be hurtling into stations in three weeks, the government has revealed. The trains, which operate ... -
1966 Football’s World Cup stolen
The football World Cup has been stolen while on exhibition at Central Hall in Westminster, London. The £30,000 solid gold Jules Rimet trophy disappeared ... -
1964 ‘Ambitious’ plans for south east [of England]
Three new cities are proposed for south east England as part of the largest regional expansion plan in Britain. A study, published today, estimates ... -
1974 Violent border clashes at Golan Heights
Two Israeli soldiers have been killed and three others injured in the worst day of violence along the Golan Heights in three months. Initial ... -
1981 Pakistani jet hostages released
The passengers and crew of a Pakistan Airways plane held hostage for nearly two weeks have been released in Syria. They were freed after ... -
1960 Radio telescope makes space history
The British radio telescope at Jodrell Bank in Cheshire has set a new space record making contact with the American Pioneer V satellite at ... -
1970 Conservative victory in first teen election
The Conservatives are celebrating a record majority in the Bridgwater by-election. They won by 10,915 votes, the largest in the constituency for 50 years. ...
You must be logged in to post a comment.