Tag: This Day in History
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1987 Thatcher wins record third term
Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has been celebrating her third general election win after beating Labour by 376 to 229 seats. The victory makes her the ... -
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 ... -
1970 King Hussein escapes gunman’s bullet
King Hussein of Jordan has survived an assassination attempt after gunmen opened fire on his motorcade as it was driving near his summer palace. The king ... -
1975 UK embraces Europe in referendum
British voters have backed the UK’s continued membership of the European Economic Community by a large majority in the country’s first nationwide referendum. Just over 67% ... -
1989 Election boost for Solidarity
Solidarity, Poland’s anti-communist party, looks set to claim a remarkable success in the country’s elections, with initial results suggesting it has done much better than predicted. ... -
1991 UK army spending to be cut
Britain is to reduce the amount it spends on the army by more than a quarter over the next five years, Defence Secretary Tom King has ... -
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 ... -
1981 Bangladeshi president assassinated
The president of Bangladesh, Zia Rahman, has been assassinated in the south-eastern city of Chittagong. President Zia is believed to have died at 0430 local time ... -
1972 Japanese kill 26 at Tel Aviv airport
Three Japanese gunmen have opened fire on crowds at Lod International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing 26 people and injuring dozens more. The three men ... -
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 ... -
1998 Veterans reject Japanese ‘sorrow’
Emperor Akihito of Japan has spoken of his “deep sorrow and pain” over the suffering inflicted by his country during World War II, but did not ... -
1977: Dutch children held hostage
More than 100 children and six teachers have been taken hostage in a primary school in northern Holland. The Dutch Prime Minister, Joop den Uyl, said ... -
1972 President Nixon arrives in Moscow
America’s President Richard Nixon has arrived in Moscow for talks with Soviet leaders. He was given a modest welcome as he stepped off the plane at ... -
1991 Bomb kills India’s former leader Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi, the 46-year-old former Indian prime minister, has been assassinated. He was campaigning for the Congress Party on the second day of voting in the ... -
1983 Car bomb in South Africa kills 16
At least 16 people have been killed and more than 130 people injured in a car bomb explosion in South Africa’s capital city, Pretoria. The explosion ... -
1980 Nine dead after Mount St Helens eruption
At least nine people have died after the massive eruption of Mount St Helens volcano in Washington State, USA. Many more are missing and the death ... -
1943 Germans crush Jewish uprising
All resistance in the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw has ended after 28 days of fighting. In his operational report, the local SS commander, Brigadier Juergen Stroop, ... -
2001 UK supermarkets slash price of drugs
British consumers are already reaping the benefits of cheaper over-the-counter medicine after a court ruling today put an end to the drug industry’s price-fixing policy. The ... -
1955 Communist states sign Warsaw Pact
The Soviet Union and its Eastern Bloc allies have signed a security pact in the Polish capital, Warsaw, after a three-day conference. Announcements in Warsaw and ... -
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 ... -
1979 El Salvador cathedral bloodbath
At least 18 demonstrators have been killed and many wounded after police opened fire on anti-government protesters outside the Metropolitan Cathedral in San Salvador, capital of ... -
1978 ‘Son of Sam’ pleads guilty to murders
The man alleged to have murdered six people in a killing spree last year has pleaded guilty to all the charges against him. David Berkowitz became ... -
2001 Thousands greet Pope in Syrian visit
Thousands of people have turned out to greet Pope John Paul II on his historic visit to Syria. The pontiff drove in his popemobile through the ... -
1945 Germany announces Hitler is dead
Adolf Hitler has been killed at the Reich Chancery in Berlin, according to Hamburg radio. At 2230 local time a newsreader announced that reports from the ... -
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 ... -
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, ... -
1974 Rebels seize control of Portugal
Army rebels are in control of Portugal tonight after an almost bloodless dawn coup ended nearly 50 years of dictatorship. Shortly after midnight, tanks rolled into ... -
1967 Russian cosmonaut dies in space crash
The Soviet Union has announced the catastrophic failure of its latest space mission, with the crash of Soyuz 1 and the death of the cosmonaut on ... -
1955 Albert Einstein dies
Albert Einstein has died in hospital in Princeton, New Jersey, aged 76. The eminent scientist and originator of the theory of relativity was admitted to hospital ... -
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 ... -
1987 MP on gay sex charges
Conservative MP Harvey Proctor has appeared in court charged with indecency. Mr Proctor, who represents Billericay in Essex, said nothing to waiting journalists at Bow Street ... -
1998 Former Cambodian dictator dies
The former Cambodian dictator, Pol Pot, whose regime led to the deaths of millions of his people, has died. Journalists who were shown his body in ... -
1957 Britain agrees to Singapore self-rule
The British government is to allow the island colony of Singapore to govern itself under a new constitution agreed in London. The Singapore Constitutional Conference ended ... -
1998 Northern Ireland peace deal reached
The Northern Ireland peace talks have ended with an historic agreement. The accord – dubbed the Good Friday Agreement – was reached after nearly two years ... -
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 ...
