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How London Was Built: Utilities and Shopping

Sat July 4th at 11:00pm

The British Empire In Colour: A Tryst With Destiny

Mon July 6th at 2:00am

pen

Hand‐held implement for writing. Pens have existed since ancient Egyptian times. Quill pens were developed by the Romans, and the technology remained unchanged until the 18th‐century development of the steel nib. The fountain pen, which ensured a steady supply of ink, was invented in the 1880s. Today the dominant types of pen are the ballpoint, which became widespread in the 1940s and 1950s, and the felt‐tip pen, dating from the 1960s.

History
The earliest form of pen, the brush pen, was made simply be chewing the end of a reed (Jucus maritimus). The Egyptians used it to write on papyrus from about 3000 BC. It was replaced some 2000 years later by the Greeks with the reed pen, made by cutting the end of the reed at an angle and making a slit opposite the cut. This proved to be nib‐like and more suitable for writing the newly developed Greek alphabet.

The reed pen survived until papyrus was replaced by animal skins, vellum and parchment, as a writing surface. The smoother surface of skin allowed finer, smaller writing and the quill pen, derived from the flight feather

fug ee in Argentina, Laszlo Biró, produced a similar design. The ball‐point pen operates by capillary action, using a ball around 1 mm/0.04 in diameter,and very thick ink. In one form or another their invention dominated the world market until the arrival of the felt‐tip pen in the 1960s from Japan.

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Newsletter

Breitling Jet Team - Terms and Conditions

The Planet of The Apes

Victoria's Wars

European History for Dummies

The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant

Zimbabwe's Political History

Global Warming

The Arab-Israeli Conflict

The Trial of Jesus

VANISHINGS: Amelia Earhart

Alexander the Great

Ramses, Warrior Pharaoh

Yorkshire Ripper (Peter Sutcliffe)

VANISHINGS: Lost In The Andes

RUSSIA: LAND OF THE TSARS Episode 4

The Krays

Tin Town

World War 1 Tech

The Boys of H Company

THE FIRST 48: At Close Range/Murder in Motor City

The True Story Of Seabiscuit

Yasser Arafat

Jack the Ripper

The Hunt For Jack The Ripper

Soviet UFO Secrets Revealed

OJ And Company: 10 Years Later

The Trial Of Louise Woodward

Isaac's Storm

LOST SHIPS: The Ghost Of The Trafalgar

The Boston Strangler

The Hillside Stranglers

The Crusades

SECRETS OF ARCHAEOLOGY: Pompeii: A City Rediscovered

Richard Ramirez: The Night Stalker

The Baby Blitz

The Industrial Revolution

The Olympics

D-Day

Trafalgar 200

The Great War: Germany’s failed gambit

The Gunpowder Plot

The Killing Fields: The Khmer Rouge and Cambodia

Titanic Heritage Trust

The Baader Meinhof Complex

Voices of the Armistice

'Che' Film Review

Hillsborough

Pompeii: The Last Day

Anthony Beevor, D-Day

The American Civil War: The Road to War

The New Big Picture Show: War at Home

Last Voices of World War I

Zimbabwe's Political History

Global Warming

The Arab-Israeli Conflict

11 July 1894

Opening of the Manchester Ship Canal linking Manchester to the River Mersey. Queen Victoria later formally opened the canal on 21 May 1894.

2 January 1842
The first wire suspension bridge opens to traffic in Fairmount Pennsylvania.

3 January 1976
In Britain, the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) near Birmingham in the West Midlands opens.

4 January 1885
The first successful appendix operation is performed by Dr William West Grant in Iowa in the United States of America.

8 January 1961

A national referendum in France votes in favour of granting independence to Algeria.

9 January 1997
Round-The-World yachtsman Tony Bullimore is rescued after spending 4 days in the Pacific Ocean after his boat capsized.

10 January 1863

The first section of London's Underground Railway, the 'Metropolitan' Line was opened, running from Paddington to Farringdon Street.

11 January 1973

In Britain, the first students of the Open University receive their graduation certificates.

12 January 1966

Three British MPs are attacked whilst addressing a meeting in Salisbury, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). The country had declared itself independent from Britain the previous year.

13 January 1991

As protesters continue to fight for Lithuanian independence, 13 people are killed and more than 140 injured by the Soviet military.

14 January 1784

The Continental Congress ratifies the Second Treaty of Paris, ending the War for Independence between the US and Britain.

15 January 1759
Opening of the British Museum at Montague House, Bloomsbury in London.

18 January 1919

World War I: The Paris Peace Conference opens in Versailles, France.

22 January 1987

R. Budd Dwyer, an American politician in Pennsylvania, shoots and kills himself at a press conference live on television. Dwyer, who had been convicted of accepting bribes, strongly professed his innocence before putting a gun in his mouth and pulling the trigger.

24 January 1438

The Council of Basel suspends Pope Eugene IV.

26 January 1970

The Vietnam War: US Navy Lt. Everett Alvarez Jr. spends his 2,000th day in North Vietnam.

28 January 1945

World War II: Part of the 717-mile 'Burma Road' from Lashio, Burma, to Kunming in southwest China, is reopened by the Allies, allowing supplies to flow back into China.

29 January 1964

Stanley Kubrick's film 'Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb' opens in America.

30 January 1972

'Bloody Sunday': British troops shoot dead 13 people during a demonstration in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The troops argued that they opened fire in response to shots from gunmen in a nearby block of flats.

31 January 1990

The first McDonalds’s restaurant opens in Moscow, Russia.

1 February 1984
The British government announces that the half penny coin will be withdrawn from circulation and cease to be legal tender.

2 February 1920
The Tartu Peace Treaty is signed between Estonia and Russia, ending the Estonian War of Independence.

3 February 1970
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee opens hearings on the conduct of the war by the Nixon administration.

6 February 1778
The American War for Independence: The United States and France sign the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance in Paris.

7 February 1974
Grenada gains independence from Britain.

8 February 1974
After spending 85 days in space three American astronauts return safely to earth.

9 February 1991
Lithuania votes for independence from the Soviet Union.

11 February 1778
After spending 28 years in exile French author and philosopher Voltaire returns to Paris.

12 February 1818

Chile is proclaimed an Independent Republic

13 February 1978

In Britain, Anna Ford has become the first female newsreader on Independent Television News.

14 February 1852

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children opens in London.

16 February 1945

The Second World War: The U.S. captures the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines.

17 February 1854

Britain recognises the independence of the Orange Free State, in southern Africa.

18 February 1965

Gambia gains independence from Britain.

19 February 1968

In Britain, a high court settlement provides for significant compensation from the drug company The Distillers Company Ltd to mothers who took the drug thalidomide during pregnancy, and whose children were subsequently born with deformities.

20 February 1872

The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York City.

22 February 2004

Ralph Nader announces he will run as an independent candidate in the American presidential election.

24 February 1981

In Britain, Prince Charles announces his engagement to Lady Diana Spencer.

27 February 1900

The Labour Representation Committee is formed in Britain by the Independent Labour Party, the Fabian Society, the Social Democratic Federation and trade unions at a conference in London.

28 February 1933

German President Paul von Hindenburg issues the Reichstag Fire Decree, which effectively suspends the human rights that the Weimer Constitution had guaranteed.

29 February 1960
American entrepreneur Hugh Heffner opens his first 'Playboy Club' in Chicago.

2 March 1970
Rhodesia declares the Universal Declaration of Independence – breaking from Britain to become an independent republic, under the leadership of Ian Smith.

3 March 1982
In England, the Queen opens the new £153 million Barbican centre in London.

6 March 1957
Ghana gains independence from Britain.

7 March 1959
Kanyama Chiume, one of the leaders of the Nyasaland African Congress (NAC), an independence movement in the British territory of Nyasaland in central Africa, flees to London to escape arrest.

8 March 1974
In France, Charles de Gaulle Airport opens in Paris.

11 March 1955
Sir Alexander Fleming, the man who first discovered penicillin, dies of a heart attack age 73.

12 March 1968
Mauritius achieves independence from Britain.

15 March 2006
Queen Elizabeth II opens the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia.

17 March 624

Muhammad defeats his Meccan opponents at the Battle of Badr, in the Arabian Peninsula.

18 March 1834
In England, six agricultural labourers from Tolpuddle, Dorchester are sentenced to seven years of banishment to Australia's New South Wales penal colony for their trade union activities.

19 March 1932
In Australia, the Sydney Harbour Bridge is formally opened.

20 March 1956
Tunisia gains independence from France.

21 March 1990
Namibia gains independence from South Africa.

22 March 1942
The British politician, Sir Stanford Cripps arrives in India for talks with Mohandas Gandhi about Indian independence.

24 March 1978
Strong waves split open the super tanker, the Amoco Cadiz, off the coast of France causing the biggest oil slick of its time.

25 March 1969
John Lennon and Yoko Ono celebrate their honeymoon by beginning their bed-in for peace, inviting the worlds press to spend a week observing them talk and sing about peace.

26 March 1971
Bangladesh declares independence form Pakistan.

28 March 1979
A major radiation leak alert occurs at Three Mile Island nuclear station near Harrisburg in Pennsylvania, USA when the atomic core begins to melt down.

29 March 1871
Queen Victoria opens the Royal Albert Hall in London, England.

30 March 1858
The pencil with an attached rubber is patented by Hymen Lipman.

31 March 1854
America and Japan sign The Treaty of Kanagawa opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade and creating the establishment of a U.S. consulate in Japan.

2 April 1801
Napoleonic Wars: Britain defeats a joint Danish-Norwegian force at the Battle of Copenhagen.

3 April 1942
The Second World War: Japanese forces launch a major offensive against Battan, the peninsula guarding Manila Bay of the Philippine Islands.

6 April 1320
The Declaration of Arbroath is signed, an affirmation of Scottish independence.

15 April 1955
The first McDonald's restaurant opens in Illinois, America.

17 April 1975
The Khmer Rouge takes control of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, as the countries civil war ends and Pol Pot’s rule of Cambodia begins.

19 April 1839
Belgium’s independence is recognised by the Treaty of London.

20 April 1945
The Second World War: Allied bombers in Italy begin a three-day attack on the bridges over the rivers Adige and Brenta to cut off German lines of retreat on the peninsula.

22 April 2000
In Britain, the Big Number Change happens – the updating in the dialling codes.

23 April 1961
During the Algerian War of Independence, three French Generals stage the Algiers putsch, a failed coup attempt to take control of Algeria.

25 April 1982
Israel completely withdraws from the Sinai Peninsula.

27 April 1961
Sierra Leone gains independence.

28 April 1789
Three weeks into a journey from Tahiti to the West Indies, the HMS Bounty is seized in a mutiny led by Fletcher Christian, the master's mate. Captain William Bligh and 18 of his loyal supporters were set adrift in a small, open boat, and the Bounty set course for Tubuai south of Tahiti.

29 April 1993
In England, it is announced that Buckingham Palace will open its doors to the general public for the first time.

30 April 711
Led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad, Moorish troops land at Gibraltar beginning their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula.

1 May 1931
In New York City, America the Empire State building is officially opened.

2 May 1808
During the Peninsular War, a popular uprising against the French occupation of Spain begins in Madrid.

3 May 1960
The Anne Frank House opens as a museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

4 May 1990
Latvia proclaims independence from the Soviet Union.

5 May 1981
In Northern Ireland, IRA prisoner Bobby Sands dies in the Maze prison, Belfast after spending 66 days on hunger strike to try and obtain political prisoner status.

6 May 1997
The New Labour government in Britain grants independence to the Bank of England.

7 May 1920
The Soviet Union and Georgia sign the Treaty of Moscow granting nominally independence to Georgia.

9 May 1979
In El Salvador, police open fire on left-wing demonstrators outside a cathedral in San Salvador, killing 18 people.

10 May 1824
National Gallery opens to the public in London, England.

11 May 1956
Britain grants independence to The Gold Coast, which is renamed Ghana.

12 May 2000
The Tate Modern opens in London.

13 May 1787
The first fleet of ships carrying convicts to a new penal colony in Australia leaves England. They arrive in January 1788.

14 May 1991
In South Africa, Winnie Mandela, the wife of Nelson Mandela, is sentenced to 6 years in prison for her involvement in the kidnapping of four youths. She is, however, subsequently released on bail, and her sentence is later reduced to a suspended prison sentence.

15 May 1955
The U.S.A., the USSR; Britain and France sign the Treaty of Vienna to restore Austrian independence.

17 May 1814
Norway adopts a new constitution and declares its independence from its Scandinavian neighbours, Sweden.

20 May 2002
East Timor gains independence from Indonesia.

21 May 1894
In the England, the Manchester Ship Canal linking the River Mersey with the city of Manchester is official opened by Queen Victoria.

24 May 1993
Eritrea declares its independence from Ethiopia.

25 May 1977
The film Star Wars opens in America.

26 May 1906
The Prince of Wales opens Vauxhall Bridge over the River Thames in London.

27 May 1937
In America, the 4,200ft Golden Gate Bridge spanning San Francisco harbour opens.

28 May 1934
In England, the first Glyndebourne Festival of Opera opens with Mozart's Figaro.

29 May 1886
Putney Bridge opens in west London.

30 May 1967
The breakaway state of Biafra proclaims its independence from Nigeria.

31 May 1961
South Africa becomes an independent republic.

1 June 2001
Crown Prince Dipendra, heir to the throne of Nepal, goes on a killing rampage, taking the lives of his parents the King and Queen of Nepal, amongst others, before taking his own life.

2 June 1912
Carl Laemmle merges his movie studio, the Independent Motion Picture Company, with several others, creating Hollywood's first major studio, Universal.

3 June 2006
Montenegro declares its independence from Serbia.

4 June 1991
The British Government announces that it will reduce spending on the armed services.

5 June 2006
Serbia declares its independence.

6 June 1683
World's first public museum, the Ashmolean, is opened by Elias Ashmole in Oxford, England.

9 June 1958
In England, Queen Elizabeth II opens the new £7million facilities at Gatwick Airport.

10 June 2000
In England, the new Millennium Bridge spanning the river Thames in London is closed on its opening day, because of too many people trying to access it, causing it to wobble.

12 June 1978
American mass murderer David Berkowitz is sentenced to 25 years in prison, the maximum penalty allowed, with a recommendation that he is never released.

13 June 1986
In South Africa Bishop Desmond Tutu meets with President P. W. Botha to discuss the deepening crisis in the country.

16 June 1998
Judges in America uphold the decision to convict British au pair Louise Woodward of manslaughter and the passing of a reduced sentence - the number of days already spent in custody awaiting trial for the killing of Matthew Eappen - the young boy left in her care in Massachussets.

17 June 1994
Start of football's World Cup Finals in the United States of America with an opening ceremony which included President Bill Clinton, television celebrity Oprah Winfrey and singer Diana Ross.

18 June 1778
American War of Independence: Colonial forces enter Philadelphia following the British evacuation of more than 12,000 troops.

20 June 1977
Opening of the 8,000 mile oil pipeline across Alaska, America.

22 June 1611
After spending a winter trapped by ice in present-day Hudson Bay, the starving crew of the Discovery mutinies against its captain, English navigator Henry Hudson, and sets him, his teenage son, and seven supporters adrift in a small, open boat. Hudson and the eight others are never seen again.

23 June 1983
In Poland, Pope John Paul II meets Lech Walesa, the leader of Solidarity, Poland’s independent trade union movement banned by the communist authorities.

24 June 1821
Venezuela gains independence from Spain as Simon Bolivar defeats Spanish royalist forces at the Battle of Carabobo in Venezuela.

25 June 1991
Croatia and Slovenia declare independence from Yugoslavia.

26 June 1284
According to legend, the Pied Piper re-appears in the German town of Hamelin. After ridding the town of rats the townspeople refused to pay him. So he began playing his pipe and 130 children from the town followed him into a cave in Koppenburg Mountain which he then sealed.

27 June 1991
Two days after Slovenia declares its independence, Yugoslavian troops move into the country in an attempt to stop the break up of Yugoslavia.

29 June 1976
The Seychelles gains independence from Britain.

30 June 1859
Tightrope walker Emile Blondin crosses Niagara Falls from the United States into Canada in eight minutes - walking across a 1,100 foot rope suspended 160 feet above the water.

2 July 1776
In America, the Second Continental Congress votes for independence from Britain.

4 July 1946
The Philippines gains independence from America.

5 July 2000
A mass airlift of Jackass penguins from Dassen Island, 50 miles north of Cape Town, South Africa is carried out following an oil slick from a Panamanian tanker.

6 July 1978
In England, eleven people are killed as fire breaks out on the Penzance-to-Paddington sleeper train.

7 July 1978
The Solomon Islands gains independence from Britain.

9 July 2006
In his last game of professional football Zinedine Zidane is sent off for headbutting Italian defender Marco Materazzi as France go on to lose to Italy 5-3 on penalties in the World Cup final.

11 July 1921
Mongolia gains independence from China.

12 July 1932
In England, King George V opens Lambeth Bridge in London.

13 July 1995
The Chrysler Corporation opens a car dealership in downtown Hanoi, Vietnam.

14 July 2001
Northern Irish politicians fail to resolve the deadlock in the peace process after six days of crisis talks in Staffordshire, England. The Northern Ireland Assembly is eventually suspended in August.

16 July 1965
French President Charles De Gaulle and President Saragat of Italy open the 7 mile long Mont Blanc road tunnel linking France with Italy.

17 July 1976
Queen Elizabeth II opens the Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada.

18 July 1947
In Britain, Parliament passes the Indian Independence Bill.

19 July 1996
Former heavyweight champion of the world and Olympic gold medalist Mohammad Ali lights the flame to open the 1996 Centenary Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

21 July 1974
More than 10,000 Greek-Cypriots and British left-wing activists protest through the centre of London in support of an independent Cyprus.

25 July 1992
The Olympics Games opens in Barcelona, Spain with all countries present for the first time in modern history.

28 July 1821
Jose de San Martin declares Peru’s independence from Spain.

29 July 1981
In Britain, Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales marries Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

30 July 1980
Vanuatu gains independence from Britain and France.

1 August 1960
The African state of Dahomey, later renamed Benin, declares independence from France.

2 August 1967
In England, the second Blackwall Tunnel (the eastern tunnel) opens in Greenwich, London.

3 August 2003
The Anglican Church in America votes to approve the appointment of the openly gay bishop, the Reverend Canon Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

5 August 1960
Burkina Faso, then known as Upper Volta, gains independence from France.

6 August 1962
Jamaica gains impendence from Britain.

7 August 1960

Côte d'Ivoire (The Ivory Coast) gains independence from France.

9 August 1965
Singapore gains its independence, becoming an independent republic within the British Commonwealth after seceding from Malaysia.

10 August 1776
News reaches London that the Americans have drafted the Declaration of Independence.

11 August 1960
Chad gains independence from France.

12 August 1898
Spanish-American War comes to an end when Spain formally agrees to a peace protocol on U.S. terms: the cession of Cuba, Puerto Rico and Manila in the Philippines to the United States pending a final peace treaty.

13 August 2004
The Summer Olympics opens in Athens, Greece.

14 August 1971
The Kingdom of Bahrain gains independence from Britain.

15 August 1960
The Republic of the Congo gains independence from France.

16 August 1960
Cyprus becomes an independent republic, with Archbishop Makarios its first president.

17 August 1960
Gabon gains independence from France.

19 August 1919
Afghanistan gains independence from Britain.

20 August 1991
Estonia regains independence from the Soviet Union.

21 August 1983
Philippines opposition leader, Benigno Aquino, is assassinated within minutes of returning to the country after spending three years in exile.

23 August 1990
Armenia declares independence from the Soviet Union.

24 August 1991
The Parliament of Ukraine declares independence from the Soviet Union.

25 August 1991
Belarus declares independence from the Soviet Union.

27 August 1991
Moldova declares independence from the Soviet Union.

28 August 1994
In Britain, thousands of shops open for the first time on Sunday as the Sunday trading laws are relaxed.

30 August 1999
In a national referendum the people of East Timor vote for independence from Indonesia, but only gain it in 2002.

31 August 1991
Kyrgyzstan declares independence from the Soviet Union.

1 September 1960
In Britain, the Conservative government announces that it will allow betting shops to open in the country as of May 1961.

3 September 1783
Britain recognises the United States of America by signing the Treaty of Paris which officially ends the American War of Independence.

4 September 1964
Queen Elizabeth II opens the Forth Road Bridge across the Firth of Forth in Scotland.

5 September 1980
In Switzerland, the official opening of the longest road tunnel in the world, the 10 mile long St Gotthard Tunnel - linking Goschenen to Airolo.

6 September 1991
The Soviet Union recognises the independent Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

7 September 1822
Brazil declares independence from Brazil.

8 September 1991
The Republic of Macedonia gains independence from Yugoslavia.

9 September 1991
The Republic of Tajikistan declares independence from the Soviet Union.

11 September
American troops led by George Washington, are defeated by the British at the Battle of Brandywine Creek during the American War of Independence.

13 September 1914
In America, the former British diplomat Sir Roger Casement secretly meets with Franz von Papen, the German military attaché, to seek Germany’s support in the effort to win independence from British rule for Ireland.

14 September 1960
The military stages a coup in the Congo, 10 weeks after the country gained independence.

15 September 2000
The opening ceremony is held for the Sydney Olympics.

16 September 1992
In what becomes known as “Black Wednesday” the British government suspends its membership of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.

18 September 1809
In England, a rebuilt Royal Opera House opens in Covent Garden, London.

19 September 2002
Israeli tanks open fire on Yasser Arafat’s compound in Ramallah in retaliation for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, the second of suicide attack in two days.

21 September 1991
Armenia’s independence is recognised by the Soviet Union.

22 September 1960
Mali gains independence from France.

23 September 1969
In America, the trial of eight anti Vietnam War activists charged with organising the violent demonstrations at the August 1968 Democratic National Convention opens in Chicago. Although most of the defendants were originally convicted of various offences, these were all over turned by the Court of Appeal in 1972.

24 September 1973
Guinea-Bissau declares its independence from Portugal.

27 September 1968
In England, the controversial rock musical Hair, which included a scene cast in the nude, opens in London.

1 October 1971
Walt Disney World Resort opens in Florida, U.S.A.

2 October 2006
In Pennsylvania, America Charles Carl Roberts shots dead 5 children in an Amish school before killing himself.

3 October 1993
The start of the first Battle of Mogadishu; the U.S. army, backed by the UN, launches Operation Gothic Serpent an attempt to seize key leaders of the Somali militia loyal to warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid.

4 October 1993
Operation Gothic Serpent fails in Mogadishu, Somalia. 18 American soldiers and 1 UN soldier are killed in a failed attempt to seize key leaders of the Somali militia loyal to warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid.

6 October 1683
The first Mennonites, German Protestants, arrive in America aboard the ship the Concord to settle in Pennsylvania.

9 October 1962
Uganda gains independence from Britain.

10 October 1970
Fiji gains independence from Britain.

11 October 1987
After spending a week looking for the Loch Ness monster in Scotland a sonar exploration team fails to find the monster.

12 October 1968
Equatorial Guinea gains independence from Spain.

14 October 1973
77 people, mainly students, are killed in Bangkok, Thailand as government troops open fire on anti-government protesters.

16 October 1916

In New York, U.S.A. Margaret Sanger opens her first birth control clinic.

17 October 1961
Paris police massacre more than 200 Algerians marching in the city in support of peace talks to end their country’s war of independence against France.

19 October 1781
The American War of Independence comes to an end when British commander Lord Cornwallis surrenders his 8,000 troops to George Washington at Yorktown in Virginia after a three week siege

20 October 2000
British human rights activist, James Mawdsley, is released from a Burmese prison having spent 415 days in solitary confinement for protesting against the military junta’s control of Burma.

21 October 1967
The Vietnam War: More than 100,000 people protest against the war at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., U.S.A., before marching to the Pentagon.

22 October 1910
In England, American-born doctor Hawley Crippen is convicted at the Old Bailey Court in London of poisoning his wife Cora. Crippen is the first person ever to be captured with the aid of wireless communication.

25 October 1976
The new National Theatre on the South Bank in London, England is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II.

26 October 1955
The film Rebel Without a Cause, starring James Dean, opens in America.

27 October 1904
In America, New York officially opens the first section of its subway.

28 October 1918

Czechoslovakia gains independence from Austria-Hungary.

29 October 1994
In America, Francisco Martin Duran opens fire on the White House, shooting 29 rounds at the building. Duran is later convicted of trying to assassinate President Bill Clinton.

31 October 2003
Having spent 22 years in power, Mahathir Mohamad, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, steps down, pacing power to Abdullah Badawi.

1 November 1981
The Caribbean Island of Antigua and Barbuda gains independence from Britain.

2 November 1960
In Britain, Penguin Books is found not guilty of obscenity for publishing the D. H. Lawrence novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

3 November 1978
The Caribbean island of Dominica gains its independence from Britain.

4 November 1956
Soviet troops enter Budapest as Soviet planes bomb part of the city putting an end to Hungary’s move towards independence from the Soviet Union.

9 November 1953
Cambodia gains independence from France.

10 November 1991
British au pair Louise Woodward walks free from a court in America as her murder conviction is reduced to manslaughter. The judge, taking into account the length of time she had already spent in jail for killing youngster Matthew Eappen, releases Woodward.

11 November 1975
Angola gains independence from Portugal.

12 November 1982
After spending 11 months imprisoned without trial, the leader of the Polish Trade Union movement Solidarity, Lech Walesa, is released by the Communist authorities.

13 November 1940
The classic Disney film Fantasia opens in cinemas around America.

15 November 1983
An independent Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is unilaterally proclaimed, recognised only by Turkey.

16 November 1959
The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The Sound of Music, opens on Broadway in America.

17 November 1869
In Egypt, the formal opening of the 100 mile long Suez Canal - 10 years after construction work began.

20 November 1966
In America, The classic Broadway musical Cabaret opens in New York.

21 November 1934
Cole Porter’s musical, Anything Goes, opens in New York, U.S.A.

22 November 1943
Lebanon gains independence from France.

24 November 2005
New licensing laws come into force in England, allowing pubs to open for 24 hours.

25 November 1975
Suriname gains independence from the Netherlands.

26 November 1862
Oxford mathematician Charles Dodgson, better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, sends a handwritten manuscript called Alice’s Adventures Under Ground to 10-year-old Alice Liddell.

27 November 2004
In China, Liu Jingsheng is released from prison having spent more than twenty years in jail for counter-revolutionary activity – promoting democracy.

28 November 1975
East Timor declares its independence from Portugal.

29 November 1947
The United Nations votes for the partition of Palestine and the creation of an independent Jewish state.

30 November 1981
Representatives from the United States and the Soviet Union open talks to reduce their intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) in Europe. However, they fail to reach an agreement.

1 December 1991
A national referendum in the Ukraine overwhelmingly supports the countries declaration of independence issued in August.

6 December 1917
Finland declares independence from Russia.

7 December 1979
Lord Soames is named the transitional governor of Rhodesia to oversee the countries progression to independence from Britain.

8 December 1991
The beginning of the end of the Soviet Union; three of the major republics - Russia, Ukraine and Belarus unite to form the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

9 December 1962
The East African country Tanganyika gains independence from Britain.

11 December 1994
Russia sends troops into the region of Chechnya to quell the independence movement.

12 December 1963
Kenya gains independence from Britain

14 December 1972
U.S. spacecraft Apollo 17 blasts off from the Moon heading back to Earth after American astronauts spent three days exploring the lunar surface.

15 December 2001
Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after a team of experts spent 11 years and $27 million to fortify the tower without eliminating its famous lean.

16 December 1971
Two weeks after the Indian invasion of East Pakistan in support of the independence movement there, 90,000 Pakistani troops surrender to the Indian forces.

17 December 1777
France formally recognises the United States of American as an independent nation.

18 December 1974
The British government announces that it will pay £42,000 in compensation to the families of those killed during the Bloody Sunday massacre in Northern Ireland.

19 December 1981
The 8-man crew of the Penlee Lifeboat all lose their lives attempting to rescue the crew of the coaster Union Star which is wrecked in violent seas off the coast of Cornwall, England.

21 December 1991
11 of the 12 Soviet republics declare that they are forming the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

22 December 1989
The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin is opened for the first in nearly three decades in the soon to be re-unified Germany.

23 December 1916
The First World War: Allied troops defeat the Turkish at the Battle of Magdhaba in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt.

24 December 1951
Libya gains independence.

27 December 1949
The Netherlands recognises Indonesia’s independence.

28 December 1980
In Britain, The Independent Broadcasting Authority gibes the go-ahead for TV-am, breakfast television, to begin broadcasting in 1983.

29 December 1987
Cosmonaut Yuri Romanenko returns to Earth having spent 326 days in space.

30 December 1879
The Gilbert and Sullivan opera, ‘The Pirates of Penzance’, premiers at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York, U.S.A.

31 December 1909
The Manhattan Bridge opens in New York City, U.S.A.

3 December 1917
In Canada, the official opening of the Quebec Bridge over the St Lawrence River - it is the world’s longest cantilever bridge.

2 December 1961
Cuban leader Fidel Castro openly declares that he is a Marxist-Leninist.

1776: United States declares independence
After a decade of economic conflict with Great Britain, the 13 colonies answer King George III's... More >

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Ancient Chinese Sports

Catapulting viewers into a sporting world that few knew existed, a world that thrived centuries... More >

Sat 4 Jul 9.00pm

The Plague (Part 2 of 2)

In 1437, the worst biological disaster in history swept... More >