Tag: This Day in History
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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 ... -
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 | 1970 – Rabies ban on British pet imports
The British Government has announced an indefinite ban on the importation of domestic pets. It follows the death from rabies of a dog called Sessan in ... -
This Day in History | 1953 – Soviet leader ‘on brink of death’
Rumours are circulating in Moscow that Joseph Stalin, the long-time leader of the Soviet Union, is near death. The first official news of Mr Stalin’s illness ... -
This Day in History | 1975 – Comic genius Chaplin is knighted
Silent film legend Charlie Chaplin has become Sir Charles after a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. The star of such films as The Kid and The Great ... -
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 | 1956 – King of Jordan Sacks British general
King Hussein of Jordan has sacked the British commander of the Arab Legion in what is being seen as an effort to strengthen his own position ... -
This Day in History | 1986 – Swedish prime minister assassinated
The Swedish prime minister has died after being shot in a street ambush in central Stockholm. His wife was wounded. Olof and Lisbeth Palme were attacked ... -
This Day in History | 1953 – Spelling bill passes second reading
A proposal to simplify English spelling has cleared its second hurdle in parliament. After a second debate MPs in the House of Commons voted by 65 ... -
This day in history | 1991 – Iraqi troops flee Kuwait City
The Kuwaiti capital has been liberated by the Gulf War Allies after 208 days of Iraqi occupation. Thousands of Iraqi troops began leaving the city after ... -
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 | 1950 – Labour wins slim majority
The Labour Party has won the general election, with Clement Attlee returning as Prime Minister. But the result leaves the country in a state of uncertainty ... -
This Day in History | 1972 – Nixon makes historic visit to China
The American President Richard Nixon has arrived in China at the start of a week-long summit aimed at ending 20 years of frosty relations between the ... -
This Day in History | 1983 – Hundreds die in Assam poll violence
Hundreds of people have died in Assam as fierce fighting rages in the run-up to the election. Villages have been set on fire and bridges and ... -
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 | 2005 – Ban on hunting comes into force
Fox hunting with dogs is now illegal in England and Wales after a ban on the activity came into force overnight. The law faces a stiff ... -
This Day in History | 1979 – China invades Vietnam
China has sent hundreds of troops into Vietnam after weeks of tension and a military build-up along the border. Vietnamese Vice-Foreign Minister Nguyen Ko Tach has ... -
This Day in History | 1989 – Ayatollah sentences author to death
Iranian Muslim leader Ayatollah Khomeini has issued a death threat against British author Salman Rushdie and his publishers over the book Satanic Verses. Scotland Yard is ... -
This Day in History | 2001 – Landmark Aids case begins in Scotland
A man has gone on trial in Glasgow for knowingly infecting a woman with the HIV virus in a case believed to be the first of ... -
This Day in History | 1999 – Scientists highlight hazards of GM food
A group of international scientists has reinforced warnings genetically modified food may be damaging to health. The 20 independent scientists have signed a memorandum in support ... -
This Day in History | 1990 – Freedom for Nelson Mandela
Leading anti-apartheid campaigner Nelson Mandela has been freed from prison in South Africa after 27 years. His release follows the relaxation of apartheid laws – including ... -
This Day in History | 1952 – India passes first test of democracy
The Congress Party of India, led by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, has won an outright victory in the country’s first general election. The party has won 249 ... -
This Day in History | 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. ...
