This Day In History
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1987 Zeebrugge heroes honoured
Belgians and Britons who displayed heroism during the rescue operation of the Zeebrugge ferry disaster have been recognised in the New Year’s Honours List. ... -
1958 Castro’s rebels edge closer to capital
A vicious house-to-house battle between rebel guerrillas, led by Fidel Castro, and the Cuban army is raging around the town of Santa Clara, the ... -
1975 New laws to end battle of the sexes
Radical new legislation introducing a woman’s right to equal pay and status in the workplace and in society have come into force in the ... -
1968 First astronauts orbit Moon
The Apollo 8 spacecraft has taken its crew of three astronauts safely into orbit around the Moon, the first manned space mission to achieve ... -
1984 Britain signs over Hong Kong to China
The British colony of Hong Kong is to be returned to China in 1997 after an historic agreement was signed in Peking today. Prime ... -
1997 Dawn of Scottish parliament
A bill giving Scotland its own parliament for the first time in three centuries has been unveiled in Glasgow today. Scottish Secretary Donald Dewar ... -
1996 Aid workers killed in Chechnya
Six Red Cross workers have been shot dead as they slept in a hospital in Chechnya. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) ... -
1984 Gorbachev visit to Britain a ‘success’
Mikhail Gorbachev, the man widely tipped as the next leader of the Soviet Union, has spent five hours in “very friendly” talks with the ... -
1994 Modahl banned for drug taking
The former 800m Commonwealth gold-medallist, Diane Modahl, has been found guilty of taking a performance enhancing drug and banned from competing for four years. ... -
1969 Deadly bomb blasts in Italy
At least 13 people have been killed and more than 100 injured after a bomb exploded at a bank in Milan, Italy. Up to ... -
1986 BBC Aids slogan angers church
Church leaders have condemned a radio campaign about Aids for “condoning promiscuity”. A Church of England Bishop has joined Roman Catholic authorities in criticising ... -
1981 Mystery disease kills homosexuals
A mysterious epidemic, which has been discovered in homosexual men, is causing increasing concern in the United States. The unknown condition, which consists of ... -
1977 Egypt severs ties with Arab hardliners
President Anwar al-Sadat of Egypt has broken all relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria and South Yemen. He has ordered their diplomats to leave Egypt ... -
1961 Birth control pill ‘available to all’
Women who wish to have oral contraception will now be able to get it on the National Health Service. The Health Minister, Enoch Powell, ... -
1989 Malta summit ends Cold War
The leaders of the two world superpowers, the USA and the USSR, have declared an end to the Cold War after two days of ... -
1954 US Senate condemns McCarthy
The United States Senate has censured Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy for conduct unbecoming to a senator. The vote was 67 to 22, with all ... -
1955 Black woman challenges race law
A black woman has been arrested by police in Montgomery, Alabama, after refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white ... -
1994 Norway votes ‘no’ to Europe
Norway has voted to reject membership of the European Union in a referendum, for the second time in its history. With 92% of the ... -
1975 TV presenter Ross McWhirter shot dead
Guinness Book of Records co-founder and editor Ross McWhirter has been shot dead outside his North London home. Mr McWhirter was hit at close ... -
1983: £25m gold heist at Heathrow
An armed gang has carried out Britain’s largest ever robbery at London’s Heathrow Airport. Over £25m worth of gold bullion bound for the Far ... -
1973 Army deposes ‘hated’ Greek president
The Greek Government has been toppled by the country’s armed forces after weeks of unrest. There appears to have been little or no resistance ... -
1963 Kennedy ‘assassin’ murdered
The man accused of assassinating the US President, John F Kennedy, has himself been shot dead in a Dallas police station. Lee Harvey Oswald, ... -
1979 Mob destroys US embassy in Pakistan
A mob in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, has burned the US Embassy to the ground, killing a US marine. The five-hour siege began as ... -
1951 British families leave Egypt’s Canal Zone
More than 1,000 families of British servicemen have begun moving out of the Suez Canal Zone town of Ismailia. The move was ordered yesterday ... -
1977 Egyptian leader’s Israel trip makes history
The president of Egypt, Anwar Sadat, has begun his trip to Israel – the first Arab leader ever to visit the Jewish state. President ... -
1978 Mass suicide leaves 900 dead
The bodies of 914 people, including 276 children, have been found in Guyana in South America. Most of the dead – members of the ... -
1976 Bank robbers jailed for 100 years
Seven men who took part in an £8m bank robbery have received jail terms totalling nearly 100 years. The raid at the Bank of ... -
2000 Fuel protesters rally for tax cut
Convoys of lorries and tractors have converged on the capitals of England and Scotland to mark the 60-day deadline for government action to cut ... -
1979 Times returns after year-long dispute
The Times newspaper has been published for the first time in nearly a year. The paper’s disappearance from news stands followed a dispute between ... -
1980 Saturn’s rings caught on film
The Voyager 1 space probe has reached the ringed planet, Saturn and sent back the first vivid photographs of the planet. Scientists have been ... -
1987 Van Gogh fetches record price
A painting by Vincent Van Gogh has been sold for $49m (£27m) – a world record for a work of art. The final price ... -
1995 Nigeria hangs human rights activists
The writer and human rights activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, has been executed in Nigeria despite worldwide pleas for clemency. The country’s military rulers ordered the ... -
1956 Eisenhower re-elected with record vote
General Dwight D Eisenhower has been returned to the White House with the biggest Republican win since Abraham Lincoln’s in 1860. President Eisenhower won ... -
1968 Nixon wins close contest for president
After a day when the United States appeared to be on the brink of a constitutional crisis, Richard Nixon has finally emerged as the ... -
1991 Publisher Robert Maxwell dies at sea
The body of the millionaire newspaper publisher, Robert Maxwell, has been found in the sea off the coast of Tenerife. Mr Maxwell’s body was ...
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