Tag: This Day in History
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1981 Israel bombs Baghdad nuclear reactor
The Israelis have bombed a French-built nuclear plant near Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, saying they believed it was designed to make nuclear weapons to destroy Israel. It ... -
1975 UK embraces Europe in referendum
British voters have backed the UK’s continued membership of the European Economic Community by a large majority in the country’s first nationwide referendum. Just over 67% ... -
1967 Israel launches attack on Egypt
Israeli forces have launched a pre-emptive attack on Egypt and destroyed nearly 400 Egypt-based military aircraft. Fighting broke out on the Israel-Egypt border but then quickly ... -
1991 UK army spending to be cut
Britain is to reduce the amount it spends on the army by more than a quarter over the next five years, Defence Secretary Tom King has ... -
1962: 130 die in Paris air crash
A chartered Air France Boeing 707 headed for Atlanta, Georgia, has crashed on take-off at Orly Airport in Paris, killing 130 people on board. It is ... -
1998 Ginger leaves the Spice Girls
Geri Halliwell, aka Ginger Spice, has left the chart-topping Spice Girls band. The announcement follows days of increasingly feverish speculation, after Geri – the driving force ... -
2001 French ex-minister jailed over sleaze
Former French Foreign Minister Roland Dumas has been jailed for six months in the country’s biggest sleaze scandal in recent history. The 78-year-old judge and close ... -
1968 Manchester Utd win European Cup
Manchester United have become the first English club to win the European Cup beating Portuguese side Benfica by four goals to one. Ten years after the ... -
1951 Glasgow powers up for the Festival
Her Royal Highness, Princess Elizabeth, has formally opened the Exhibition of Industrial Power in Glasgow, the latest show in the Festival of Britain. The exhibition tells ... -
1964 Light goes out in India as Nehru dies
Jawaharlal Nehru, founder of modern India and its current prime minister, has died suddenly at the age of 74. He was taken ill in the early ... -
1975 Journalists leave fallen Saigon
A group of 80 reporters and cameramen – including nine Britons – have been allowed to fly out of Saigon to Vientiane in Laos. They are ... -
1977 Dutch children held hostage
More than 100 children and six teachers have been taken hostage in a primary school in northern Holland. The Dutch Prime Minister, Joop den Uyl, said ... -
1972: President Nixon arrives in Moscow
America’s President Richard Nixon has arrived in Moscow for talks with Soviet leaders. He was given a modest welcome as he stepped off the plane at ... -
1991 Bomb kills India’s former leader Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi, the 46-year-old former Indian prime minister, has been assassinated. He was campaigning for the Congress Party on the second day of voting in the ... -
1965 British police to be issued with tear gas
Britain’s police are to be armed with tear gas guns and grenades to be used against armed criminals or dangerous individuals. The Home Secretary, Sir Frank ... -
1978 Charlie Chaplin’s stolen body found
The coffin containing the body of Charlie Chaplin – missing since his grave was robbed 11 weeks ago – has been found. It was dug up ... -
1986 Soviets launch space station Mir
The Soviets have opened a new phase in space exploration with the launch of the world’s biggest space station, Mir. The successful launch of Mir comes ... -
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 Warsaw and ... -
1981 Thousands see Pope shot in Rome
The Pope has been shot four times as he blessed the crowds in St Peter’s Square in Rome. Surgeons have performed a five-hour operation and say ... -
1994 Mandela becomes SA’s first black president
Nelson Mandela has become South Africa’s first black president after more than three centuries of white rule. Mr Mandela’s African National Congress (ANC) party won 252 ... -
1972 Israeli commandos storm hijacked jet
Twelve Israeli soldiers disguised as maintenance staff have stormed a hijacked Sabena Boeing at Lod airport in Tel Aviv and released the 100 people on board. ... -
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 May 11. ... -
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 of the ... -
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 imposed three ... -
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 will be ... -
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 from the ... -
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, who has ... -
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 declared President ... -
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 Nixon in ... -
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 rolled into ... -
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 presumed drowned ... -
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 research. The ... -
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 building by ... -
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 to hospital ... -
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, Miss Devlin ...
