Tag: This Day in History
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1950 McCarthy launches anti-red crusade
United States Senator Joe McCarthy has accused more than 200 staff in the State Department of being members of the Communist Party. He made the startling ... -
1952 New Queen proclaimed for UK
Princess Elizabeth has formally proclaimed herself Queen and Head of the Commonwealth and Defender of the Faith. Lords of the Council – numbering 150 – representatives ... -
1964 Beatlemania arrives in the US
The four members of the British hit band, the Beatles, have arrived in New York at the start of their first tour of the United States. ... -
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 – known as ... -
1990 De Klerk dismantles apartheid in South Africa
The President of South Africa has lifted the 30-year ban on leading anti-apartheid group the African National Congress. In a televised speech at the opening of ... -
1983 British drivers ordered to belt up
Drivers and front seat passengers must wear seatbelts under a new law which came into force at midnight. The Department of Transport says 30,000 people a ... -
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 funeral. Silent ... -
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, as well ... -
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 inaugurated as ... -
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 of a ... -
1996: UK: Green groups join bypass battle
Six major environmental organisations today added their support to the growing anti-bypass campaign in Newbury, Berkshire. Friends of the Earth, the Council for British Archaeology, Greenpeace ... -
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, Empress Farah, ... -
1976 Crime writer Agatha Christie dies
The most popular novelist in the world, Dame Agatha Christie, has died leaving rumours of a multi-million pound fortune and a final book waiting to be ... -
1973 First Open University degrees awarded
The first graduates from the Open University (OU) have been awarded their degrees after two years studying from home. Out of the 1,000 students who sat ... -
1996 King of Jordan in historic Tel Aviv visit
King Hussein of Jordan has made his first public visit to Israel’s largest city, Tel Aviv, in the latest indication of the new warmth between the ... -
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 championships in ... -
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 21 November ... -
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 UK. The ... -
1989 Brandenburg Gate re-opens
Berlin’s most famous landmark the Brandenburg Gate has been opened for the first time in almost three decades. Thousands of people spilled on to the city’s ... -
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 Minister Margaret ... -
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 British Prime ... -
1982 Spain opens border with the Rock
The gates isolating the people of Gibraltar from Spain have been opened to pedestrians after 13 years. Spain’s new socialist government opened the frontier for “humanitarian ... -
1995 Bosnia peace accord ends three-year war
Leaders of Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia have signed the Dayton Accord in Paris to end three-and-a-half years of war in the Balkans. Under the deal Bosnia ... -
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 ... -
1957 UK Post Office issues Christmas warning
The General Post Office has started its annual campaign urging members of the public to post their Christmas cards early to ensure they arrive on time. ... -
1983 Tomcat halts steeplejack
Chief chimney-toppler Fred Dibnah has been halted in his work after a ginger tomcat got to his latest assignment first. Troublesome feline George has climbed a ... -
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 ... -
1950 Pyongyang taken as UN retreats
Chinese troops have entered the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, as United Nations forces are pushed steadily back towards South Korea. The North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) ... -
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 the Democrats ... -
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 person. Mrs ... -
1982 Animal activists bomb Downing Street
A letter bomb has exploded inside the British Prime Minister’s London residence. Margaret Thatcher was in 10 Downing Street when the device exploded but was not ... -
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 ... -
1998 ‘Corrupt’ Turkish government falls
The government of Turkey has collapsed after losing a no-confidence motion over corruption allegations. The Turkish assembly voted by an absolute majority – 314 votes to ... -
1989 New era for Czechoslovakia
Three weeks of border clashes between Iran and Iraq appear to have finally erupted into all-out war. Iraq has bombed several Iranian air and military supply ...
