Witness History
Detalls del Canal
Witness History
Episodis Recents
72 episodis
The playboy spy who inspired James Bond
During the 1940s, a playboy spy became one of wartime’s most successful double agents, as well as the reported inspiration behind James Bond.
A...
'I taught the Dalai Lama'
In 1944, two Austrian mountaineers fled into the forbidden land of Tibet to escape from a prisoner-of-war camp in India.
Heinrich Harrer and his...
The photo which symbolised Argentina’s resistance
Adriana Lestido, an Argentinian newspaper photographer, captured a mother and her young daughter raising their arms in protest in 1982.
With cl...
Toxic shock syndrome and tampon safety
In 1980, toxic shock syndrome (TSS) emerged as a public health crisis among women who used tampons.
There were hundreds of cases, and The Cente...
World War Two’s Shetland Bus
During World War Two, whilst Norway was occupied by Nazi Germany, a group of Norwegian sailors set up a base on the Shetland Islands and began aiding...
The Mont Blanc Tunnel
In July 1965, a 12km tunnel dug deep beneath the Alps was opened to traffic, making it the longest vehicular tunnel in the world. Linking France and I...
Gina Lollobrigida interviews Fidel Castro
Gina Lollobrigida was one of the biggest stars of European cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. Often described as "the most beautiful woman in the world",...
When Pink Floyd played in Venice
In July 1989, Pink Floyd played a free concert to 200,000 people in Venice, Italy. The British rock band took to a stage made of floating barges as cr...
The discovery of nerve growth factor
During World War Two, Italian scientist Dr Rita Levi-Montalcini was forced to do experiments in her bedroom after being banned from universities becau...
Austria's wine scandal
In 1985, government scientists discovered anti-freeze in bottles of fine Austrian wine.
No one died or fell ill from drinking the poisoned wine...
The 'Jugroom Fort' rescue mission
In 2007, four British servicemen perched on the wings of an Apache helicopter in Afghanistan, in an audacious mission to rescue a fallen comrade.
Ötzi: The Iceman of Bolzano
In September 1991, two German hikers found a dead body while walking through Europe’s Ötzal Alps. It turned out to be a perfectly preserved 5,000-year...
Chile's 'Penguin Revolution'
In 2006, hundreds of thousands of school children in Chile took over their schools and marched in the streets, in a protest about inequality in educat...
John Logie Baird invents television
On 26 January 1926, John Logie Baird first demonstrated his 'televisor' in public. It was the prototype for television.
Many people couldn't be...
Agatha Christie: best-selling novelist of all time
On 12 January 1976, author Agatha Christie died peacefully, aged 85.
She created the detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple.
By the tim...
Exiled Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran
In February 1979, after the Shah left Iran, religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini flew back to Tehran from Paris.
He had been in exile and was gre...
Afghan Star
In 2005, a new show was launched on television in Afghanistan to find new musical talent – it was called Afghan Star and was inspired by formats like...
Creating Cluedo
Air raids and blackouts during World War Two helped Anthony Pratt invent one of the most popular family board games: Cluedo.
But the musician's...
The creation of the modern kitchen
In 1926, Austrian architect Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky created the modern kitchen. It was called the Frankfurt Kitchen and was something she didn’t li...
The first PC virus
In 1986, 'Welcome to the dungeon' was the message that flashed up on computer screens.
Brain is thought to be the first virus for personal comp...
Tracey Emin’s unmade bed
In 1999, Dame Tracey Emin’s unmade bed was nominated for Britain’s prestigious Turner art prize opening up conversations about how we define art.
Isabel Allende: The House of the Spirits
In 1982, Isabel Allende published her debut novel, The House of the Spirits. The characters are based on her family, and the story reflects Chile’s 20...
The Hillsborough Disaster
On 15 April 1989, there was a crowd crush at a football match in Sheffield, England, which led to the death of 97 fans.
It was the semi-final o...
South Africa's luxury train
In 1986, South African businessman Rohan Vos was sitting in the bath when he decided to pursue his passion and launch a vintage railway business. Howe...
The American Freedom Train
In April 1975, the American Freedom Train set out on a tour across the United States to celebrate 200 years of American independence.
On-board w...
The longest musical composition
On 31 December 1999, a piece of music started playing in a lighthouse on the River Thames in east London.
It’s called Longplayer, and it’s set...
Radio Free Europe
Seventy-five years ago, Radio Free Europe started broadcasting news to audiences behind the Iron Curtain.
It initially broadcast to Bulgaria, Cz...
SMS: The invention of text messaging
In October 1984, as the market for mobile phones was just opening up, one man decided it would be useful if the new technology could be used to send a...
Tamagotchi is born
The Tamagotchi was first released in Japan in 1996 after it was developed by Akihiro Yokoi and his colleagues at his toy development company.
Me...
The invention of Jenga
It's just over 30 years since the brick game was introduced to the world at a department store in London.
Made of 54 wooden blocks stacked into...
When Laurel and Hardy spent Christmas at an English pub
In December 1953, Hollywood film stars Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy spent a few weeks at the Bull Inn, Bottesford, Leicestershire, while they performe...
When Norway introduced salmon sushi to Japan
In the late 1980s, Norway needed a new market for its growing farmed salmon production.
Fish-loving Japan and its lucrative sushi market seeme...
How NFL tickets caught fugitives
Operation Flagship was a U.S Marshals sting operation, where some of Washington DC’s most wanted fugitives, were lured to a convention centre under th...
Introducing The Bomb: Kennedy and Khrushchev
The world is on the brink of nuclear war. How can the Soviet Union and the USA prevent it? Hosts Nina Khrushcheva and Max Kennedy, relatives of the su...
The Paris climate agreement
On 12 December 2015, nearly 200 countries adopted the Paris climate agreement. It legally committed countries to climate action plans, designed to sto...
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa
Following the abolishment of Apartheid in the 1990s, South Africa had to find a way to confront its brutal past without endangering the chance for pea...
The discovery of the coelacanth
In 1938, South African museum curator Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer discovered a coelacanth, a fish that was believed to have been extinct for 65 million...
Dismaland: Banksy's dystopian theme park
In 2015, Banksy turned a derelict swimming pool in Weston-super-Mare, England, into a dystopian theme park which drew huge crowds and Hollywood stars....
The Balcombe Street IRA siege
In December 1975, four members of one of the IRA’s deadliest units were chased by police through the streets of London before hiding out in a small fl...
How Lagos Fashion Week began
In 2011, Lagos Fashion Week debuted, putting Nigerian style on the map.
Omoyemi Akerele founded the event which helped to launch the careers of...