Tag: This Day in History
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This day in history | 1963 Soviets launch first woman into space
A former textile worker from the Soviet Union has become the first woman in space. Lieutenant Valentina Tereshkova, 26, was the fifth Russian cosmonaut to go ... -
This day in history | 1991 Iraqi Kurds fear US troop withdrawal
More than a thousand Kurds have besieged a US military base near the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk, pleading with American troops not to withdraw. Kurdish ... -
This day in history | 1959 Hovercraft marks new era in transport
A revolutionary new form of transport which can operate on sea and land has been officially launched in the Solent, off England’s south coast. The Hovercraft, ... -
This day in history | 1967 Israel ends six-day war
Fighting in the Middle East has ended after Israel finally observed the UN ceasefire and halted her advance into Syria. Within the last six days Israeli ... -
This day in history | 1958 Queen opens revamped Gatwick
The Queen has opened London’s new and extended airport at Gatwick on the Surrey-Sussex border 25 miles (40km) south of the capital. Her Majesty and the ... -
This day in history | 1982 Fifty die in Argentine air attack
Up to 50 British servicemen have died in an Argentine air attack on two supply ships in the Falklands. Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram were anchored ... -
This day in history | 1942 Japanese beaten in Battle of Midway
The United States has routed the Japanese Navy in a major three-day battle over a remote US naval and air base at Midway Island in the ... -
This day in history | 1989 Massacre in Tiananmen Square
Several hundred civilians have been shot dead by the Chinese army during a bloody military operation to crush a democratic protest in Peking’s (Beijing) Tiananmen Square. ... -
This day in history | 1972 Protestant march ends in battle
A Protestant march against the creation of “no-go” areas in Londonderry has ended in a bloody battle on the Craigavon Bridge. Soldiers used rubber bullets and ... -
This day in history | 1979 Millions cheer as the Pope comes home
The Pope has returned home to Poland as the first Roman Catholic pontiff to visit a Communist-ruled country. As John Paul II set foot on his ... -
This day in history | 2001 Nepal royal family massacred
The King and Queen of Nepal have been shot dead after the heir to the throne went on the rampage with a gun before turning it ... -
This day in history | 1973 US Senate stops Cambodia bombing
The US Senate has voted to cut off funds for the bombing of Cambodia. The move is a serious blow to President Richard Nixon’s South-East Asia ... -
This day in history | 1959 Monkeys survive space mission |
Two monkeys have become the first living creatures to survive a space flight. Able, a seven-pound female rhesus monkey, and Baker, a one-pound female squirrel monkey, ... -
This day in history | 1994 Dissident writer Solzhenitsyn returns
Alexander Solzhenitsyn has flown back to his native Russia after 20 years of exile in the United States. His plane touched down in the far eastern ... -
This day in history | 1998 Veterans reject Japanese ‘sorrow’
Emperor Akihito of Japan has spoken of his “deep sorrow and pain” over the suffering inflicted by his country during World War II, but did not ... -
This day in history | 1961 Kennedy pledges man on Moon
President John F Kennedy has called for millions of dollars to fund a space programme to get the first man on the Moon by 1970. In ... -
This day in history | 2001 Israel wedding party tragedy
At least 20 people have been killed and hundreds have been injured at a wedding party in Jerusalem after the dance floor collapsed. Guests were left ... -
This day in history | 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 ... -
This day in history | 2004 Angry dads hit Blair with purple flour
Protesters have hurled condoms full of purple flour at British Prime Minister Tony Blair as he addressed MPs in the House of Commons, prompting an urgent ... -
This day in history | 1950 US and Europe agree Nato aims
Almost exactly a year after signing the North Atlantic Treaty, 12 nations have agreed a permanent organisation for the defence of the United States and Europe. ... -
This day in history | 1974 Bombs devastate Dublin and Monaghan
Three car bombs have exploded in Dublin, killing 23 people and injuring more than 100 others during rush hour. Five more people died and another 20 ... -
This day in history | 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 ... -
This day in history | 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 ... -
This day in history | 2000 Ford quits Dagenham after 70 years
Ford has confirmed that car production at its Dagenham plant in Essex is to end after more than 70 years. In total, it will mean the ... -
This day in history | 1985 Fans killed in Bradford stadium fire
At least 52 people are known to have died and many are missing after fire engulfed the Bradford City football stadium. Hundreds of people are in ... -
This day in history | 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 ... -
This day in history | 2001 Thousands greet Pope in Syrian visit
Thousands of people have turned out to greet Pope John Paul II on his historic visit to Syria. The pontiff drove in his popemobile through the ... -
This day in history | 1994 President and Queen open Chunnel
The Queen and France’s President Francois Mitterrand have formally opened the Channel Tunnel during two elaborate ceremonies in France and Britain. After travelling through the tunnel, ... -
This day in history | 1981 Bobby Sands dies in prison
Hunger striker Bobby Sands has died in prison 66 days after first refusing to eat. The 27-year-old republican spent the last days of his life on ... -
This day in history | 1952 Anne Frank published in English
The moving diary of Anne Frank, a Jewish victim of the Holocaust, is now available in British book shops entitled The Diary of a Young Girl. ... -
This day in history | 1992 LA in flames after ‘not guilty’ verdict
Fierce rioting has broken out in Los Angeles following the decision by a jury to acquit four white police officers accused of beating black motorist Rodney ... -
This day in history | 1986 Soviets admit nuclear accident
The Soviet Union has acknowledged there has been an accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. The report, from the official news agency, Tass, ... -
This day in history | 1961 Sierra Leone wins independence
Sierra Leone has become the latest West African state to win independence, after more than 150 years of British colonial rule. The new nation was born ... -
This day in history | 1993 Recession over – it’s official
The government has reacted with relief to news that Britain’s economy grew by 0.2% in the first three months of this year, and declared the longest ... -
This day in history | 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 ...
