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History told by the people who were there. For nine minutes every weekday, Witness History takes you back to moments which have shaped our world.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines鈥� life and Omar Sharif鈥檚 legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives鈥� ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.

Updated: daily
Episodes available: indefinitely

Episodes to download

  •

    Bristol Bus Boycott

    Tue 4 Jun 2013

    How a protest by black activists in 1963 led to the UK's first anti-racism laws

  • The Nepali Royal Massacre

    Mon 3 Jun 2013

    Twelve years ago, the Crown Prince of Nepal massacred his family at the royal palace

  • The Queen's Coronation

    Fri 31 May 2013

    Two Maids of Honour remember the crowning of Queen Elizabeth the Second in London in 1953.

  • The New Deal

    Thu 30 May 2013

    Eighty years ago, Franklin D Roosevelt promised to rescue the US from the Great Depression

  • The Ascent of Everest

    Wed 29 May 2013

    How Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tensing conquered the world's highest mountain in 1953.

  • The Rite of Spring

    Tue 28 May 2013

    100 years ago, the premiere of a Stravinsky ballet caused a riot in Paris.

  • Liberace

    Mon 27 May 2013

    A film-maker remembers the flamboyant pianist and entertainer immortalised in a new film.

  • Israel withdraws from Lebanon

    Fri 24 May 2013

    A senior UN official recalls Israel's hasty withdrawl from southern Lebanon in 2000.

  • Africa United

    Thu 23 May 2013

    The leaders of 32 newly-independent African countries met to discuss uniting the continent

  • The Watergate Hearings

    Wed 22 May 2013

    The scandal which lead to President Richard Nixon standing down 40 years ago

  • The Murder of Aldo Moro

    Tue 21 May 2013

    It is 35 years since the Italian Prime Minister, Aldo Moro was found dead in a car in Rome

  • Protect and Survive

    Mon 20 May 2013

    In May 1980 the British government published a booklet on how to survive nuclear war

  • Dambusters

    Fri 17 May 2013

    A crewman's account of the famous British raid on Hitler's dams in 1943.

  • The Death of Marlene Dietrich

    Thu 16 May 2013

    It is 21 years since screen star Marlene Dietrich died in Paris at the age of 90

  • Announcing an Ethiopian Coup

    Wed 15 May 2013

    The journalist who became an unwitting voice against Ethiopian ruler Col. Mengistu

  • Polish Protests in 1968

    Tue 14 May 2013

    As rebellion swept across Europe, Polish students called for democratic change in Poland

  • The Great Gatsby

    Mon 13 May 2013

    Author F. Scott Fitzgerald as remembered by two close personal links

  • The Arctic Convoys

    Fri 10 May 2013

    Allied ships battled arctic storms, bombers and U-boats to ferry supplies to Russia in WW2

  • FA Cup - The Matthews Final

    Thu 9 May 2013

    It is 60 years since England's football legend Stanley Matthews led his team to victory

  • The Secret US Bombing of Cambodia

    Wed 8 May 2013

    In May 1969 the New York Times revealed that US war planes were secretly bombing Cambodia

  • Pavarotti's UK Debut

    Tue 7 May 2013

    On May 7th 1963 Luciano Pavarotti first perfomed on a British stage, in Northern Ireland

  • IRA Hunger Strike

    Mon 6 May 2013

    In 1981 the British government was faced with prisoners on hunger strike

  • The White Collar Art Collectors

    Fri 3 May 2013

    In 1992 an ex-postal worker and his wife donated a priceless art collection to a gallery

  • The Children's Crusade

    Thu 2 May 2013

    Thousands of black American children protest against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama

  • Australia's Aboriginal Referendum

    Wed 1 May 2013

    In May 1967 campaigning began across Australia to consolidate Aboriginal rights

  • The death of Hitler

    Tue 30 Apr 2013

    On April 30th 1945 Adolf Hitler killed himself in a bunker beneath Berlin.

  • The Shooting of Rudi Dutschke

    Mon 29 Apr 2013

    In 1968 German students called for a revolution when their leader Rudi Dutschke was shot

  • The Ballerina and the Coup

    Fri 26 Apr 2013

    In April 1959 Dame Margot Fonteyn was part of a bizarre plot against Panama's government.

  • Muhammad Ali and the Draft

    Thu 25 Apr 2013

    How the boxing champion's refusal to go to Vietnam made him a hero to 1960s radicals

  • The Hitler Diaries Hoax

    Wed 24 Apr 2013

    Thirty years ago newspapers spent millions on what they thought were Hitler's diaries

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