This Day In History
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1950 Communist spy jailed for 14 years
A top nuclear scientist has been jailed for fourteen years at the Old Bailey for spying for the Soviet Union. Klaus Emil Julius Fuchs, ... -
1953 Spelling bill passes second reading
A proposal to simplify English spelling has cleared its second hurdle in parliament. After a second debate MPs in the House of Commons voted ... -
1993 World Trade Center bomb terrorises New York
A suspected car bomb has exploded underneath the World Trade Center in New York killing at least five people and injuring scores more. The ... -
1986 Corazon Aquino is Philippines president
The new Philippines president Corazon Aquino is sworn in today, bringing to an end years of dictatorship under Ferdinand Marcos. Former leader Mr Marcos, ... -
1959 Macmillan and Khrushchev talk peace
Britain and the USSR have expressed a willingness to expand Anglo-Soviet trade and cultural ties during the first official meeting between British prime minister ... -
1972 Hijackers surrender and free Lufthansa crew
A group of Palestinian hijackers who took over a Lufthansa jet in the skies over India two days ago has released the crew and ... -
1991 US bombers strike civilians in Baghdad
Hundreds of Iraqi civilians have been killed and wounded in Baghdad by American bombers. Iraqi foreign minister Tariq Aziz said: “This was a criminal, ... -
1999 Scientists highlight hazards of GM food
A group of international scientists has reinforced warnings genetically modified food may be damaging to health. The 20 independent scientists have signed a memorandum ... -
1990 Freedom for Nelson Mandela
Leading anti-apartheid campaigner Nelson Mandela has been freed from prison in South Africa after 27 years. His release follows the relaxation of apartheid laws ... -
1996 Docklands bomb ends IRA ceasefire
The IRA has admitted planting the bomb that exploded in the Docklands area of London last night. One man was found dead by police ... -
1995 Space pioneers take first small steps
Michael Foale has become the first British-born American to walk in space. Dr Foale – originally from Lincolnshire – and Dr Bernard Harris, the ... -
1983 ‘Butcher of Lyon’ returns to face trial
War criminal and former Gestapo commandant Klaus Barbie has arrived in France to stand trial for crimes committed 37 years ago. The 69-year-old, known ... -
1996 First GM food goes on sale in UK
The first genetically modified, or GM, food goes on sale today in British supermarkets. Genetically modified tomato puree, which will be available in Safeway ... -
1968 More Kenyan Asians flee to Britain
Another 96 Indians and Pakistanis from Kenya have arrived in Britain today, the latest in a growing exodus of Kenyan Asians fleeing from laws ... -
1959 Buddy Holly killed in air crash
Three young rock ‘n’ roll stars have been killed in a plane crash in the United States. Buddy Holly, 22, Jiles P Richardson – ... -
1943 Germans surrender at Stalingrad
The Soviet Government has announced the final defeat of the German 6th Army at the port of Stalingrad, in southern Russia. A statement late ... -
1965 Last farewell to Churchill
Thousands of people have paid their last respects to Britain’s greatest wartime leader Sir Winston Churchill who was buried today after a full state ... -
1987 Aquino suppresses rebel uprising
President of the Philippines Corazon Aquino has forced a group of heavily armed rebels occupying a television station to surrender. Her troops fired tear ... -
1990 Romanians call for government change
Tens of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators have taken to the streets of the Romanian capital, Bucharest to protest against the interim government of Ion ... -
1945 Auschwitz death camp liberated
The Red Army has liberated the Nazis’ biggest concentration camp at Auschwitz in south-western Poland. According to reports, hundreds of thousands of Polish people, ... -
1950 India becomes a republic
The independent republic of India is officially born today, after nearly 100 years of British rule. A public holiday has been declared throughout the ... -
1971 Britain allowed to sell arms to S Africa
The Commonwealth Conference in Singapore has ended with a compromise over the wording of the Declaration of Commonwealth principles. Talks centred around Britain’s proposal ... -
1980 Soviet dissident Sakharov banished
One of the Soviet Union’s most outspoken critics, nuclear physicist Dr Andrei Sakharov, has been ordered into internal exile. Officials in Moscow were angered ... -
1950 Acclaimed author George Orwell dies
The writer, George Orwell, has died after a three-year battle against tuberculosis. Until the last, news had been positive and it was hoped Mr ... -
1961 John F Kennedy sworn in as US president
The Democrat John F Kennedy has been sworn in as the youngest ever elected president of the United States. The 43-year-old Roman Catholic was ... -
1966 Indira Gandhi takes charge in India
Indira Gandhi, only daughter of India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, is to become the country’s next leader. She was chosen at the end ... -
1979 Shah of Iran flees into exile
The Shah of Iran has fled the country following months of increasingly violent protests against his regime. Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi and his wife, ... -
1973 Nixon orders ceasefire in Vietnam
President Nixon has ordered a halt to American bombing in North Vietnam following peace talks in Paris. The decision comes after Dr Henry Kissinger, ... -
1983 Man shot by police hunting David Martin
A man has been critically injured in a police ambush in a west London street in what may be a case of mistaken identity. ... -
2004 Serial killer Shipman found hanged
Harold Shipman, the former GP who is believed to have killed more than 200 people, has been found dead in his prison cell. He ... -
1991 US Congress votes for war in Iraq
The United States Congress has voted to authorise the use of military force against Iraq to end its occupation of neighbouring Kuwait. The vote ... -
2005 Abbas triumphs in Palestinian elections
Early indications in the Palestinian presidential elections show former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas is set to win by a comfortable margin. Polling closed at ... -
1976 Iceland and Britain clash at sea
A British naval frigate has been involved in another collision with an Icelandic gunboat in the Atlantic. HMS Andromeda was dented when the gunboat, ... -
1994 Mystery assailant attacks top US skater
An unknown man brandishing a metal crowbar has attacked American figure-skater Nancy Kerrigan. The 24-year-old skater was forced to withdraw from the US national ... -
1985 Israel ends major Ethiopian rescue mission
Israel has airlifted thousands of Jewish Ethiopian refugees out of Sudan, it has emerged. Operation Moses, which has been taking place in secret since ...
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