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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

  •

    The Tibetan uprising

    Mon 11 Mar 2013

    In 1959 the people of Tibet turned against Chinese occupying forces.

  • Gay in the US military

    Fri 8 Mar 2013

    In 1975 a US airman announced he was gay, to test the military's attitude to homosexuals.

  • Viagra

    Thu 7 Mar 2013

    Fifteen years ago a new "wonder" drug was approved for use in the United States.

  • Skiing in the Swat Valley

    Wed 6 Mar 2013

    One man's mission to bring fun back to the battle-scarred Swat Valley in Pakistan.

  • Armenia and Azerbaijan

    Mon 4 Mar 2013

    It is 25 years since violence broke out in the city of Sumgait in Azerbaijan.

  • The Bethnal Green tube disaster

    Fri 1 Mar 2013

    It is 70 years since 173 people were crushed to death at an air-raid shelter in London

  • Choosing a Pope

    Thu 28 Feb 2013

    Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor tells the story of electing Pope Benedict in April 2005

  • The standoff at Wounded Knee

    Wed 27 Feb 2013

    Forty years ago, American Indian activists staged a protest against the US authorities.

  • The first World Trade Center attack

    Tue 26 Feb 2013

    How Islamic extremists tried to blow up the Twin Towers eight years before 9/11.

  • The Theft of the Scream

    Mon 25 Feb 2013

    In 1994 Edvard Munch's famous painting The Scream was stolen from a Norwegian art museum.

  • The White Rose

    Fri 22 Feb 2013

    Seventy years ago, three German students were executed for protesting against Hitler.

  • Welsh Dam Attack

    Thu 21 Feb 2013

    In 1963 Welsh nationalists took up arms against the construction of a controversial dam

  • People Power in the Philippines

    Wed 20 Feb 2013

    How four days of huge protests brought down Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.

  • The Feminine Mystique

    Tue 19 Feb 2013

    Betty Friedan's book kickstarted the modern women's movement.

  • The Lost Egyptian Tomb

    Mon 18 Feb 2013

    In 1995, archaeologists in Egypt's Valley of the Kings made a remarkable discovery

  • Human Shields in Iraq

    Fri 15 Feb 2013

    The British bus driver who took peace campaigners to Iraq ahead of the 2003 invasion

  • The fall of Singapore

    Thu 14 Feb 2013

    In February 1942 Britain's stronghold in South East Asia fell to the Japanese.

  • The Algerian Massacres

    Wed 13 Feb 2013

    In the 1990s, the Algerian military was locked in a brutal struggle with radical Islamists

  • The Murder of James Bulger

    Tue 12 Feb 2013

    The killing of a toddler in Liverpool 20 years ago that shocked Britain

  • The Last Days of Sylvia Plath

    Mon 11 Feb 2013

    It is fifty years since the suicide of American poet Sylvia Plath

  • Shergar - the kidnapping

    Fri 8 Feb 2013

    It is 30 years since the Derby winner was abducted from a stud farm in Ireland.

  • Marcel Proust

    Thu 7 Feb 2013

    The great French writer remembered by one of his friends and by his faithful maid.

  • "Ghana Must Go"

    Tue 5 Feb 2013

    Thirty years ago, Nigeria expelled up to 2 million African migrants. Most were Ghanaian

  • Hugo Chavez and the failed coup

    Mon 4 Feb 2013

    In February 1992 a group of Venezuelan army officers staged a coup, among them Hugo Chavez

  • The battle of Stalingrad

    Fri 1 Feb 2013

    It is 70 years since German troops lost their battle to take the Soviet industrial city.

  • The funeral of Gandhi

    Thu 31 Jan 2013

    How millions of Indians mourned the death of Mahatma Gandhi

  • Peter the Great in London

    Wed 30 Jan 2013

    How the young Tsar's visit to 17th Century England inspired him to modernise Russia

  • The building of the Eiffel tower

    Tue 29 Jan 2013

    Work on the Eiffel Tower started in 1887 but many Parisians were opposed it

  • Lagos Armoury Explosion

    Mon 28 Jan 2013

    Survivors relive the tragedy of the arms dump explosion in Lagos, Nigeria, 2002

  • Jimi Hendrix

    Fri 25 Jan 2013

    The legendary guitarist's English girlfriend remembers his early days in 60s London.

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