Tag: This Day in History
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This Day in History | 2001 Sun shines on foot-and-mouth crisis
Many of Britain’s tourist attractions are hoping the start of the bank holiday weekend and predicted good weather will attract visitors to areas previously closed due ... -
This Day in History | 1966 Doctors and dentists get huge pay rise
The Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, has announced the government is to increase doctors’ and dentists’ salaries by up to 30%, following recommendations made by a pay ... -
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 | 1992 Betty Boothroyd is new Speaker
The House of Commons has elected a woman to the post of Speaker for the first time in its 700-year history. Betty Boothroyd, the 62-year-old Labour ... -
This Day in History | 1990 Hubble telescope takes off for space
The American space agency Nasa has successfully launched the space shuttle Discovery from Cape Canaveral in Florida on its historic mission to carry the Hubble space ... -
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 ... -
This Day in History | 2000 Swat team grabs tug-of-love Cuban boy
US federal agents have seized six-year-old Cuban shipwreck survivor Elian Gonzalez in an early morning raid on the home of his relatives in Miami. About 25 ... -
This Day in History | 1955 Fleet Street papers back after strike
National newspapers have been published for the first time in nearly a month following the end of the maintenance workers’ strike. The stoppage was called off ... -
This Day in History | 1972 Apollo 16 safely on Moon after engine crisis
The Apollo 16 mission has landed on the Moon after a seven-hour crisis that nearly aborted the mission altogether. Astronauts John Young and Charles Duke became ... -
This Day in history | 1961 Exiles invade Cuba at Bay of Pigs
Reports from Cuba say the island has been invaded by counter-revolutionary forces trying to overthrow the country’s leader, Fidel Castro. The only news coming out of ... -
This Day in History | 1964 ‘Great Train Robbers’ get 300 years
Some of the longest sentences in British criminal history have been imposed on men involved in the so- called “Great Train Robbery”. Sentences totalling 307 years ... -
This Day in History | 1986 US launches air strikes on Libya
At least 100 people have died after USA planes bombed targets in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and the Benghazi region. Around 66 American jets, some of ... -
This Day in History | 1979 New president for war-torn Uganda
A man driven into exile by former Uganda dictator Idi Amin has been sworn in as the country’s new president. Yusufu Lule was greeted by cheering ... -
This Day in History | 2003 Saddam statue topples with regime
There have been scenes of jubilation in Baghdad as US tanks rolled into the very heart of the Iraqi capital, confirming that the government of Saddam ... -
This Day in History | 1986 Eastwood voted mayor by landslide
Residents of the Californian town of Carmel have overwhelmingly voted for actor Clint Eastwood as their mayor. The turnout was double the norm in the picturesque ... -
This Day in history | 1999 US claims ‘banana war’ victory
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has ruled in favour of the United States in its long-running trade dispute with Europe over bananas. The WTO says the ... -
This Day in history | 1994 Rwanda presidents’ plane ‘shot down’
The presidents of the African states of Rwanda and Burundi have been killed in a plane crash near the Rwandan capital, Kigali. Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda ... -
This Day in History | 2000 Asylum voucher scheme enforced
Asylum seekers in the UK will now receive vouchers to buy food and clothes, under controversial plans which have come into effect despite months of criticism. ... -
This Day in History | 1986 Bomb tears hole in airliner over Greece
Four people, including an eight-month old baby, have been sucked out of a TWA passenger jet after an explosion ripped a hole in its side. The ... -
This Day in History | 2000 Wartime coding machine stolen
A coding machine used by the Germans to encode messages during World War II has been stolen from the Bletchley Park Museum in Buckinghamshire, south-east England. ... -
This Day in History | 1966 Harold Wilson wins sweeping victory
The Labour party is on course to win the general election with a majority of about 100 seats in the House of Commons. Prime Minister Harold ... -
This Day in History | 1951 Rosenbergs guilty of espionage
An American electrical engineer and his wife have been found guilty by New York’s Federal Court of passing atomic secrets to the Russians. Julius Rosenberg, 33, ... -
This Day in History | 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 ... -
This Day in History | 1981 – ‘Gang of four’ launches new party
The Social Democrats have launched their new political party pledging to “reconcile the nation” and “heal divisions between classes”. At a crowded press conference in London, ... -
This Day in History | 1980 – Britain will go to Moscow Olympics
The British Olympic Association (BOA) has voted by a large majority to defy the government and send athletes to the Olympic Games in Moscow. Fifteen sports ... -
This Day in History | 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 ... -
This Day in History | 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 ... -
This Day in History | 2003 – US launches missiles against Saddam
American missiles have hit the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, signalling the start of the US-led campaign to topple Saddam Hussein. President George Bush delivered a live television ... -
This Day in History | 1970 – Willi and Willy meet in East Germany
The leaders of East and West Germany have met for the first time since the country was divided in 1949. About 2,000 young East Germans greeted ... -
This Day in History | 1982 – Judge halts ‘obscenity’ trial
Charges of gross indecency brought by Mary Whitehouse against a National Theatre director ended today after intervention by the Attorney-General – with both sides claiming victory. ... -
This Day in History | 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 ... -
This Day in History | 1988 – Thousands die in Halabja gas attack
Thousands of people are reported to have been killed and many others injured in a poison gas attack on a Kurdish city in northern Iraq. Up ... -
This Day in History | 1979 – Grenada leader ousted by coup
A coup in the Caribbean island of Grenada has toppled the country’s controversial Prime Minister, Sir Eric Gairy. Sir Eric was at the United Nations in ...
