Tag: This Day in History
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This day in history | 1999 Putin takes over as Yeltsin resigns
Boris Yeltsin has resigned as Russian president, taking the country and the rest of the world completely by surprise. Mr Yeltsin made the shock announcement live ... -
This day in history | 1994 Duchess of Kent joins Catholic church
The Duchess of Kent has become the first member of the Royal Family to convert to Catholicism for more than 300 years. The duchess was received ... -
This Day in History | 1993 Allies bomb Iraq
American, British and French fighter jets have carried out a series of bombing raids over southern Iraq. The Iraqis have repeatedly breached the “no-fly zone” set ... -
This day in history | 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 ... -
This day in history | 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 ... -
This day in history | 1976 Iceland and Britain clash at sea
A British naval frigate has been involved in another collision with an Icelandic gunboat in the Atlantic. HMS Andromeda was dented when the gunboat, Thor, sailed ... -
This day in history | 2000 Flu outbreak stretches NHS resources
Hospitals around the UK are feeling the strain of the current flu outbreak even though it has not been classed as an epidemic. In Scotland latest ... -
This day in history | 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 ... -
This day in history | 1967 Campbell killed during record attempt
Donald Campbell has been killed a split second before breaking his own water speed record in his jet-powered boat, the Bluebird K7. He was travelling at ... -
This day in history | 1999 UK prepares to celebrate millennium
Britain is gearing up to join a global party in a spectacular array of revelries to welcome in the third millennium. The scale of the celebrations ... -
This day in history | 1958 Castro’s rebels edge closer to capital
A vicious house-to-house battle between rebel guerrillas, led by Fidel Castro, and the Cuban army is raging around the town of Santa Clara, the capital of ... -
This day in history | 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 ... -
This day in history | 1980 Green light for breakfast television
A shake-up of broadcasting franchises has paved the way for the launch of breakfast television. The Independent Broadcasting Authority announced the breakfast contract will go to ... -
This Day in History | 1944 Germany counter-attacks in Ardennes
The Germans have mounted a series of counter-attacks on the Western front allowing them to re-cross the borders of Luxembourg and Belgium. On the second day ... -
This day in history | 2001 Thousands rally for Scots countryside
Thousands of countryside campaigners have taken to the streets of Edinburgh in the largest demonstration of its kind ever witnessed in Scotland. They are protesting against ... -
This Day in History | 1993 Anglo-Irish pact paves way for peace
The British and Irish prime ministers have signed The Joint Declaration of Peace which they hope will end 25 years of bombing and murder in Northern ... -
This day in history | 1972 Last Moon mission returns
The last manned space mission to the Moon is on its way back to Earth, bringing to an end the US programme of lunar exploration. The ... -
This day in history | 2001 30,000 postal jobs ‘to be cut’
Up to 30,000 Post Office workers could lose their jobs over the next 18 months, Consignia, the company which runs the service, has announced. The company ... -
This day in history | 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 ... -
This day in history | 1955 Attlee steps down as Labour leader
Clement Attlee has resigned as leader of the opposition Labour Party, following months of speculation. Tonight the Prime Minister, Sir Anthony Eden, announced in Downing Street ... -
This day in history | 1961 Birth control pill ‘available to all’
Women who wish to have oral contraception will now be able to get it on the National Health Service. The Health Minister, Enoch Powell, made an ... -
This day in history | 1989 Malta summit ends Cold War
The leaders of the two world superpowers, the USA and the USSR, have declared an end to the Cold War after two days of storm-lashed talks ... -
This Day in History | 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 ... -
This day in history | 1990 Tunnel links UK and Europe
Construction workers have drilled through the final wall of rock to join the two halves of the Channel Tunnel and link Britain to France. The momentous ... -
This day in history | 1962 US spaceman orbits Earth
The first American to orbit the Earth has landed safely in the Atlantic Ocean. Marine Lieutenant John Glenn, 40, travelled about 81,000 miles (more than 130,000km) ... -
This day in history | 1967 De Gaulle says ‘non’ to Britain – again
The French President, Charles de Gaulle, has for a second time said he will veto Britain’s application to join the Common Market. He warned France’s five ... -
This day in history | 1992 Queen to be taxed from next year
A British monarch is to pay income tax for the first time since the 1930s. The Prime Minister, John Major, told the House of Commons the ... -
This day in history | 1963 John F Kennedy is laid to rest
The funeral of the assassinated President, John F Kennedy, has taken place in Washington. An estimated 800,000 Americans lined the streets to watch the coffin’s procession ... -
This day in history | 1998 Queen’s speech spells end for peers
The government has unveiled its plans to abolish the rights of 700 hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords. The proposal has ... -
This day in history | 1963 Johnson takes over as US president
Fifty-five year old Lyndon Baines Johnson begins his new job today as US president. He was sworn in yesterday just two hours after an assassin shot ... -
This day in history | 1995 Diana admits adultery in TV interview
Diana, Princess of Wales, has spoken openly for the first time about her separation from the Prince of Wales in a frank interview for the BBC’s ... -
This day in history | 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 ... -
This Day in History | 2003 High security as Bush visits UK
The United States President, George Bush, has arrived in Britain for the first full state visit by an American president amid some of the tightest security ... -
This day in History | 1983 England fans rampage in Luxembourg
More than 20 English football supporters have been arrested in Luxembourg after a night of violence. The fans are being held for drunkenness, fighting and stealing ... -
This day in history | 1992 Church of England votes for women priests
Women fighting for the right to be Anglican priests are celebrating a narrow victory. After a five-and-a-half hour debate the General Synod – the Church of ...
