Tag: This Day in History
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This Day in History | 1991 Bank collapse costs taxpayers millions
The closure of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International has lost about 20 local councils up to £30m in investments. BCCI was forced to shut ... -
This Day in History | 1985 Boris Becker wins Wimbledon at 17
A West German teenager has become the youngest ever player to win the Wimbledon tennis tournament. Boris Becker, a 17-year-old unseeded outsider before the tournament began, ... -
This Day in History | 2005 London beats Paris to 2012 Games
The 2012 Olympic Games will be held in London, the International Olympic Committee has announced. London won a two-way fight with Paris by 54 votes to ... -
This Day in History | 1997 Hong Kong handed over to Chinese control
Hong Kong has been handed back to the Chinese authorities – ending more than 150 years of British control. The British flag was lowered over Government ... -
This Day in History | 1985 Beirut ordeal ends for US hostages
All 39 Americans being held captive by the Shia Muslim Amal militia in Lebanon have been released, after almost three weeks in captivity. Their freedom was ... -
This Day in History | 1960 BBC unveils TV ‘factory’
The BBC’s new Television Centre will be the “Hollywood” of the small screen, the corporation’s director of TV has announced. Gerald Beadle said the £12m complex, ... -
This Day in History | 1959 Queen and Eisenhower open seaway
The Queen and US President Dwight D Eisenhower have inaugurated the 2,300-mile St Lawrence Seaway in Canada that links the Atlantic with the Great Lakes in ... -
This Day in History |1950 UN condemns North Korean invasion
North Korea has invaded South Korea at several points along the two countries’ joint border. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has denounced North Korea’s actions ... -
This Day in History | 1983 US astronaut Sally Ride returns
America’s first woman in space has returned safely to Earth in the Challenger space shuttle after a successful six-day flight. Sally Ride, aged 32, captured the ... -
This Day in History | 1983 Pope meets banned union leader Walesa
Pope John Paul II has held a private meeting with Lech Walesa, the founder and leader of Solidarity, Poland’s independent trade union movement. Solidarity has been ... -
This Day in History | 1974 IRA bombs parliament
A bomb has exploded at the Houses of Parliament, causing extensive damage and injuring 11 people. The IRA said it planted the 9.1 kg device which ... -
This Day in History | 1996 Huge explosion rocks central Manchester
A massive bomb has devastated a busy shopping area in central Manchester. Two hundred people were injured in the attack, mostly by flying glass, and seven ... -
This Day in History | 1975 Gandhi found guilty of corruption
Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi has been barred from holding office for six years after she was found guilty of electoral corruption. But Mrs Gandhi rejected ... -
This Day in History | 1999 Nato calls off air war on Kosovo
Nato has called off its 11-week air war against Kosovo following the beginning of the withdrawal of Serb troops. Secretary General Javier Solana announced a halt ... -
This Day in History | 1975 First live broadcast of Parliament
The first live transmission from the House of Commons has been broadcast by BBC Radio and commercial stations. Commentary was provided by BBC political editor David ... -
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 | 1957 Noel Coward comes home
Noel Coward has returned to Britain from the West Indies amid criticism that he is living abroad to avoid paying income tax. He arrived at Southampton ... -
This Day in History | 1953 Queen Elizabeth takes coronation oath
Queen Elizabeth II has been crowned at a coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey in London. In front of more than 8,000 guests, including prime ministers and ... -
This Day in History | 1968 Manchester Utd win European Cup
Manchester United have become the first English club to win the European Cup beating Portuguese side Benfica by four goals to one. Ten years after the ... -
This Day in History | 1967 Sir Francis Chichester sails home
Sir Francis Chichester has arrived in Plymouth tonight in his yacht, Gypsy Moth IV, after completing his epic single-handed voyage around the world. He crossed the ... -
This Day in History | 1964 Light goes out in India as Nehru dies
Jawaharlal Nehru, founder of modern India and its current prime minister, has died suddenly at the age of 74. He was taken ill in the early ... -
This Day in History | 1950 UK drivers cheer end of fuel rations
Long queues have appeared at garages this evening and motorists have torn their ration books into confetti after the government announced an end to petrol rationing. ... -
This Day in History | 1966 Cooper loses to world champ Clay
American Cassius Clay has beaten Britain’s Henry Cooper in the sixth round of a fight in London to retain the world heavyweight championship. Cooper’s hopes of ... -
This Day in History: 1997 Labour to stub out tobacco sponsorship
The sponsorship of sports events by tobacco firms is to be outlawed, according to Labour’s Health Secretary, Frank Dobson. The announcement, made in a speech to ... -
This Day in History: 1954 Queen returns after lengthy voyage
The Royal Family has returned safely from their six-month tour of the Commonwealth to a rapturous welcome in London. Thousands flocked to the banks of the ... -
This Day in History: 1957 Cheers as petrol rationing ended
Petrol rationing, which has been in force in Britain for five months following the Suez crisis, has finally been abolished. There were loud cheers in the ... -
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: 1967 Stansted to become London’s third airport
The British Government has given the green light to plans to convert Stansted into London’s third airport. President of the Board of Trade Douglas Jay told ... -
This Day in History: 1965 Huge Rhodesia election win for Smith
White voters in the African colony of Rhodesia have overwhelmingly backed Prime Minister Ian Smith’s Rhodesian Front which is demanding independence from the UK. Mr Smith’s ... -
This Day in History: 1994 President and Queen open Channel
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: 1975 Saigon surrenders
The war in Vietnam ended today as the government in Saigon announced its unconditional surrender to North Vietnamese forces. The President, Duong Van Minh, who has ... -
This Day in History: 1993 Queen to open Palace doors
The public will be allowed inside Buckingham Palace for the first time this summer for an adult entrance fee of £8. Much of the Palace, including ... -
This Day in History: 2001 Royal aide on trial for murder
A former personal assistant to the Duchess of York has gone on trial accused of murdering her boyfriend. Jane Andrews, 34, denies murdering businessman Thomas Cressman, ... -
This Day in History: 1971 Haitian dictator dies
Haiti’s ruler, Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier, has died after 14 years in power. President Duvalier, who declared himself “president for life” in 1964, died at the ...
