Tag: This Day in History
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This day in history | 1953 Marshal Tito makes historic visit to London
Marshal Josef Tito of Yugoslavia has arrived in Britain, the first Communist head of state to visit the country. The Duke of Edinburgh, Prime Minister Winston ... -
This day in history | 1990 Observer journalist executed in Iraq
Britain has strongly condemned the Iraqi authorities over the execution of The Observer journalist Farzad Bazoft in Baghdad. Mr Bazoft – who came to live in ... -
This day in history | 1964 Hoffa faces eight years behind bars
The president of the powerful American Teamsters union has been sentenced to eight years in jail on bribery charges. James Hoffa has also been fined $10,000 ... -
This day in history | 1985 Gorbachev becomes Soviet leader
There is a new man in charge at the Kremlin – Mikhail Gorbachev has taken over following the death of Konstantin Chernenko. Chernenko, 73, died yesterday ... -
This day in history | 1969 Martin Luther King’s killer gets life
James Earl Ray has been jailed for 99 years by a court in Memphis, Tennessee, after admitting he carried out the murder of the American civil ... -
This day in history | 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 ... -
This day in history | 1956 US court victory for black students
The United States Supreme Court has upheld a ban on racial segregation in state schools, colleges and universities. The University of North Carolina was appealing against ... -
This day in history | 1976 Guilty verdict for ‘Maguire Seven’
A 40-year-old Irish born mother has been jailed for 14 years for possessing explosives at her London home. Five other members of her family and a ... -
This day in history | 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 ... -
This day in history | 1970 Ian Smith declares Rhodesia a republic
The Prime Minister of Rhodesia, Ian Smith, has declared his country a republic, cutting its last link with the British Crown. The new Rhodesian Republic, came ... -
This day in history | 1954 US tests hydrogen bomb in Bikini
The US has produced the biggest ever man-made explosion so far in the Pacific archipelago of Bikini, part of the Marshall Islands. It is believed the ... -
This day in history | 1986 Corazon Aquino is Philippines president
The new Philippines president Corazon Aquino is sworn in today, bringing to an end years of dictatorship under Ferdinand Marcos. Former leader Mr Marcos, who changed ... -
This day in history | 1955 Britain’s big freeze
Deep snow and freezing temperatures continue across Britain leaving many parts of the country cut off from essential supplies. More than 70 roads in Britain are ... -
This day in history | 1959 Macmillan and Khrushchev talk peace
Britain and the USSR have expressed a willingness to expand Anglo-Soviet trade and cultural ties during the first official meeting between British prime minister Harold Macmillan ... -
This Day in History | 1997 Dolly the sheep is cloned
Scientists in Scotland have announced the birth of the world’s first successfully cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep. Dolly, who was created at the Roslin Institute in ... -
This day in history | 1997 China’s reformist Deng Xiaoping dies
China’s paramount leader Deng Xiaoping has died at the age of 92. He had been suffering from failing health for several years and was last seen ... -
This day in history | 1954 McCarthy hunts ‘army Communists’
The Secretary of the US army has ordered two generals, subpoenaed by anti-Communist senator Joseph McCarthy, to ignore the summons. The move by Robert T Stevens ... -
This day in history | 1987 Mrs Payne is no brothel Madam
Party planner Cynthia Payne has been acquitted of nine charges of controlling prostitutes at her home in south west London. The courtroom burst into applause after ... -
This day in history | 1995 Space pioneers take first small steps
Michael Foale has become the first British-born American to walk in space. Dr Foale – originally from Lincolnshire – and Dr Bernard Harris, the first black ... -
This day in history | 1962 Eight die in Paris riot
At least eight people have been killed during a demonstration in Paris against the recent wave of bomb attacks in the French capital. One of the ... -
This day in history | 1974 Newspaper heiress kidnapped
The daughter of the millionaire American publisher, Randolph Hearst, has been kidnapped. Patty Hearst, aged 19, was with her fiancé, Steven Weed, in her flat in ... -
This day in history | 1968 More Kenyan Asians flee to Britain
Another 96 Indians and Pakistanis from Kenya have arrived in Britain today, the latest in a growing exodus of Kenyan Asians fleeing from laws which prevent ... -
This day in history | 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 ... -
This day in history | 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 ... -
This Day in History | 1984 Halfpenny coin to meet its maker
Britain’s least-loved currency, the halfpenny coin, is leaving the nation’s purses after 13 years of almost universal unpopularity. The Chancellor, Nigel Lawson, made the announcement in ... -
This Day in History | 1985 Thatcher snubbed by Oxford dons
Oxford University has delivered a stunning snub to the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher by refusing her an honorary degree. Academics have led a campaign against honouring ... -
This day in history | 1990 Romanians call for government change
Tens of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators have taken to the streets of the Romanian capital, Bucharest to protest against the interim government of Ion Iliescu. It ... -
This Day in History | 1995 Cantona banned over attack on fan
Manchester United’s Eric Cantona has been fined £20,000 and banned from playing football over his kung fu-style attack on a fan. The club has relegated the ... -
This day in history | 1950 India becomes a republic
The independent republic of India is officially born today, after nearly 100 years of British rule. A public holiday has been declared throughout the country, and ... -
This day in history | 1999 Olympic officials face bribery charges
Six members of the International Olympic Committee face expulsion following an inquiry into a corruption scandal which has deeply shaken the Olympic movement. The six were ... -
This day in history | 1990 Gorbachev explains crackdown in Azerbaijan
President Mikhail Gorbachev has made a statement on Soviet television explaining the Soviet crackdown on civil unrest in the republic of Azerbaijan. Two days ago Soviet ... -
This day in history | 1950 Acclaimed author George Orwell dies
The writer, George Orwell, has died after a three-year battle against tuberculosis. Until the last, news had been positive and it was hoped Mr Orwell was ... -
This day in history | 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 ... -
This day in history | 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 ... -
This day in history | 1991 Iraqi Scud missiles hit Israel
Iraq has attacked two Israeli cities with Scud missiles, prompting fears that Israel may be drawn into the Gulf War. Israel’s largest city, Tel Aviv, and ...
