Tag: This Day in History
-
1970 Critical explosion cripples Apollo 13
An explosion on board Apollo 13 has caused one of the most critical situations in American space history and put the lives of the three astronauts ... -
1997 Tiger Woods wins Masters at 21
The 21-year-old golfing sensation Eldrick “Tiger” Woods has become the youngest-ever player to win the US Masters Championships. He put in a virtuoso performance that left ... -
1995 MPs move to outlaw hunting
A bill which would ban hunting with hounds in England and Wales has become the first such proposal to get a second reading in parliament. The ... -
1981 President Reagan is shot
President Ronald Reagan has been shot and wounded after a lone gunman opened fire in Washington. He is currently undergoing emergency surgery at George Washington University ... -
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 lives of ... -
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 black grievances. ... -
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 electorate. The ... -
1992 Punch ends 150 years of satire
Punch, Britain’s oldest satirical magazine, is to close after suffering crippling losses of £1.5m a year. The decision ends a publishing tradition dating back almost 151 ... -
1983: Reagan launches Cold War into space
President Reagan has unveiled plans to combat nuclear war in space. The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) proposes a defensive shield, using laser or particle beam technology ... -
1979 British ambassador assassinated in Holland
British ambassador in Holland Sir Richard Sykes has been shot dead outside his Dutch home. Two gunmen opened fire on Sir Richard and his Dutch footman ... -
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 without a ... -
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 while a ... -
1968 Anti-Vietnam demo turns violent
More than 200 people have been arrested after thousands of demonstrators clashed in an anti-Vietnam war protest outside the United States embassy in London. The St ... -
1978 Aldo Moro snatched at gunpoint
Former Italian prime minister Aldo Moro has been kidnapped in Rome. Mr Moro’s escort of five police bodyguards were killed when he was snatched at gunpoint ... -
1962 Liberals seize Orpington
The Liberals have seized Orpington from the government in their first by-election victory for four years. Eric Lubbock won the seat with a majority of 7,855, ... -
1996 Massacre in Dunblane school gym
A lone gunman has gone on a shooting spree at a school in Dunblane, Scotland, killing 16 children and their teacher. The killer sprayed shots at ... -
1990 Observer ‘spy’ sentenced to die
A court in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, has imposed the death sentence on The Observer journalist Farzad Bazoft. He has been convicted of spying for Israel ... -
1967 Stalin’s daughter defects to the West
The daughter of the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin has requested political asylum at the United States Embassy in India. The American Mutual Radio network broke the ... -
1950 Gas turbine ca gets road test
Car manufacturers Rover have unveiled the first car powered with a gas turbine engine. JET1, a two-seater model powered by the same kind of engine used ... -
1969 Israel elects first female leader
Golda Meir, the “grand old woman of Israeli politics”, is to become the first female prime minister of Israel. The 70-year-old’s candidature was officially accepted by ... -
1987 Hundreds trapped as car ferry capsizes
Forty-nine people have been confirmed dead – and dozens are missing – after a car ferry capsized just outside the Belgian port of Zeebrugge. Rescuers say ... -
1966 BBC tunes in to colour
The BBC has announced plans to begin broadcasting television programmes in colour from next year. Britain will be the first country in Europe to offer regular ... -
1969 Concorde flies for the first time
The supersonic airliner, Concorde, has made a “faultless” maiden flight. The Anglo-French plane took off from Toulouse and was in the air for just 27 minutes ... -
1966 Britain to go decimal in 1971
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, James Callaghan, has confirmed the “historic and momentous” decision to change over to decimal coinage. It was just one of a ... -
1986 Swedish prime minister assassinated
The Swedish prime minister has died after being shot in a street ambush in central Stockholm. His wife was wounded. Olof and Lisbeth Palme were attacked ... -
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 by 65 ... -
1981 Prince Charles and Lady Di to marry
The Prince of Wales and the Lady Diana Spencer have ended months of speculation with the announcement they are to be married. At 1100GMT Buckingham Palace ... -
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 surrendered at ... -
1972 Nixon makes historic visit to China
The American President Richard Nixon has arrived in China at the start of a week-long summit aimed at ending 20 years of frosty relations between the ... -
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 ... -
2005 Kyoto Protocol comes into force
The Kyoto accord, which aims to curb the air pollution blamed for global warming, has come into force seven years after it was agreed. The accord ... -
1989 Soviet troops pull out of Afghanistan
Soviet troops are withdrawing from Afghanistan, nine years after they swept into the country. A convoy of Soviet armoured vehicles travelled the 260-mile (418km) journey to ... -
1989 Ayatollah sentences author to death
Iranian Muslim leader Ayatollah Khomeini has issued a death threat against British author Salman Rushdie and his publishers over the book Satanic Verses. Scotland Yard is ... -
1975 Miners set for 35 per cent pay rises
British mineworkers’ leaders have agreed to accept the coal board’s latest pay offer of up to 35%. A settlement was reached when the coal board added ... -
1962 Russia frees US spy plane pilot
American spy plane pilot Francis Gary Powers has been freed from prison in the Soviet Union in exchange for a Russian spy jailed in the US. ...
