Tag: This Day in History
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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 capital of ... -
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 the feat. ... -
1973 Spanish prime minister assassinated
The Spanish Prime Minister, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, has been killed in a car bomb attack in Madrid. The 70-year-old, his bodyguard and a driver died ... -
1950: Radio Times hits Christmas deadline
The Christmas edition of the Radio Times will be out in time for families to plan their festive viewing and listening – despite recent publishing difficulties. ... -
1976 Opec members split over prices
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have rejected an increase in the price of oil of 15% suggested by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries ... -
1969: MPs vote to abolish hanging
MPs have voted by a big majority for the permanent abolition of the death penalty for murder. A great cheer went up in the Commons as ... -
1995 Riots break out in Brixton
Hundreds of black and white youths have taken to the streets of Brixton, in south London attacking police, ransacking shops and burning cars after the death ... -
1967 Stones guitarist escapes jail for drugs
Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones has had a nine month jail sentence overturned at the Court of Appeal in London. He has been ordered instead to ... -
1941 Germany and Italy declare war on US
Germany and Italy have announced they are at war with the United States. America immediately responded by declaring war on the two Axis powers. Three days ... -
1961 Apartheid attacked at Nobel ceremony
Albert Luthuli, leader of the banned African National Congress, has appealed for racial equality in South Africa after accepting the Nobel peace prize for 1960 in ... -
1978 Spain set to vote for democracy
Spaniards have been turning out in force today to cast a vote for democracy and end almost 40 years of dictatorial rule. The majority of the ... -
1991 Maxwell business empire faces bankruptcy
Administrators have been called in to try to salvage the Maxwell business empire, which is at least £1bn in debt. At 1100 GMT two sons of ... -
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, made an ... -
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 storm-lashed talks ... -
1954 US pledges to defend Nationalist China
US President Dwight D Eisenhower has announced the signing of a pact of mutual security with the Nationalist Chinese Government. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles ... -
1975 Graham Hill killed in air crash
One of Britain’s greatest motor racing drivers has been killed in a plane crash in south-east England. Graham Hill, 46, who retired from the sport in ... -
1990 Tearful farewell from Iron Lady
Britain has a new prime minister for the first time in more than 11 years. Margaret Thatcher formally tendered her resignation to the Queen early this ... -
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 range in ... -
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 East was ... -
1963 John F Kennedy is laid to rest
The funeral of the assassinated President, John F Kennedy, has taken place in Washington. An estimated 800,000 Americans lined the streets to watch the coffin’s procession ... -
1963 Kennedy shot dead in Dallas
The President of the United States has been assassinated by a gunman in Dallas, Texas. John F Kennedy was hit in the head and throat when ... -
1985 Superpowers aim for ‘safer world’
The Geneva summit has ended in optimism but with no agreement on the “Star Wars” space defence system. Both United States President Ronald Reagan and Soviet ... -
1995 Diana admits adultery in TV interview
Diana, Princess of Wales, has spoken openly for the first time about her separation from the Prince of Wales in a frank interview for the BBC’s ... -
1985 Superpower summit ‘off to good start’
The first meeting in six years between the world’s superpowers – the United States and the Soviet Union – has begun in Switzerland. Early reports indicate ... -
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 People’s Temple ... -
1951Murder on Malay rubber estate
Anti-government rebels have ambushed and killed 11 people in an attack on a rubber plantation in Malaya. The dead include a London director visiting the area, ... -
1981 Military crackdown on Polish people
Poland’s military rulers have declared a state of emergency after imposing martial law and placing leaders of the Solidarity trade union under arrest. The country is ... -
1971 American probe orbits Mars
The American space probe, Mariner 9, has become the first spacecraft to orbit another planet, swinging into its planned trajectory around Mars without a hitch. An ... -
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 delighted and ... -
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 was more ... -
1990 Ireland elects first woman president
Voters in the Republic of Ireland have chosen their first female president. Unofficial returns suggest that Mary Robinson, who is standing as an independent, took nearly ... -
1972 Nixon takes second term by landslide
President Richard Nixon has won an overwhelming victory in the US presidential elections for a second term in the White House. He took 61% of the ... -
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 country’s next ... -
1966 Viet Cong bombs Saigon
At least eight people have been killed and several wounded after Viet Cong artillery shelled the South Vietnamese capital, Saigon. Altogether about 30 shells were fired ... -
1984 Indian prime minister shot dead
Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India, has been killed by assassins in New Delhi. Mrs Gandhi was thought to have been walking through her gardens ...
