Witness History

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 American Idol and the X-Factor. The programme came after the music industry in Afghanistan had been decimated under the Taliban between 1996 and 2001. Music has been culturally important in Afghan history, however, playing music and musical instrumen...

In December 1999, torrential rain in Venezuela led to floods and mudslides. Government estimates put the number killed at 3,000 but other reports suggest between 10,000 and 30,000 were killed. Many bodies were buried under mud, rocks or trees. Tens of thousands more people were made homeless. The state of Vargas, known as La Guaira, was one of the worst areas affected. Leydys Crespo speaks to Jen...

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 real inspiration came from his job in the 1930s, playing piano at murder mystery parties in English country houses and hotels. Once war broke out, Anthony killed time at home in Birmingham by developing rules for his new 'whodunnit' game. While he created...

In 1926, Austrian architect Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky created the modern kitchen. It was called the Frankfurt Kitchen and was something she didn’t like to talk about as she had done so much more - she was her country's first female architect, she championed women's rights and played a role in the Austrian Communist resistance against the Nazi regime. She once said, “If I had known that everyone w...

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 computers. It spread around the world and became infamous when it was featured in newspapers and magazines. Amjad Farooq Alvi told Gill Kearsley in 2023 how he and his brother, Basit, came to develop this virus from their shop in Lahore, Pakistan. Eye-witness a...

It's 110 years since the end of the Battle of Gallipoli. It was one of the deadliest in World War One. Among the 40,000 dead was a large contingent of Australian and New Zealand troops who became known as the Anzacs. Soldier Rupert Westmacott was injured and shared his memories with the BBC. Professor of Australian history, Carl Bridge, spoke to Simon Watts in 2012. Eye-witness accounts brought to...

In 1969, a cartoon about a traditional Japanese family premiered on Fuji TV. More than 55 years later, Sazae-san still airs in its original time slot. It is set in a more patriarchal time when women stay at home and do the housework, and men go to work and like getting drunk. Shun’ichi Yukimuro was one of the first writers. He tells Vicky Farncombe how young viewers watch it as a period drama and...

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. The installation titled, My Bed, was Dame Tracey’s bed surrounded by empty bottles and detritus. Dame Tracey said: “It’s like a time capsule of a woman from the '90s.” After eventually losing out on the Turner prize, she sold her piece for $200,000. She...

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 20th Century history, including the 1973 military coup in which her relative, President Salvador Allende, was overthrown. The book began as a letter to her dying grandfather, but it grew into an epic multi-generational story. The House of the Spirits w...

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 of the FA Cup between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest and the worst sporting disaster in UK history. Rachel Naylor speaks to Jenni Hicks, whose daughters died in the disaster. This programme contains distressing details. Eye-witness accounts brought to life...

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. However, the venture nearly bankrupted him, and he was forced to sell his family home. But, improved economic conditions in the 1990s and a chance encounter with a travel agent in London saved the business. Rovos Rail is now regarded as one of the most l...

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 were more than 500 priceless artefacts, documenting important moments in America's history - including an original copy of the Constitution, Thomas Edison's first working light bulb and a NASA lunar rover. Over the next 21 months, seven million people visit...

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 to keep going, without repeating, until the year 2999. It was created by Jem Finer from The Pogues, using 234 Tibetan singing bowls. Megan Jones meets Jem to find out why he wanted to create a one thousand year long musical composition. Eye-witness accounts...

Seventy-five years ago, Radio Free Europe started broadcasting news to audiences behind the Iron Curtain. It initially broadcast to Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Romania and programmes were produced in Munich, Germany. It now reaches nearly 50 million people a week, in 27 languages in 23 countries. Rachel Naylor speaks to former deputy director, Arch Puddington. Eye-witness account...

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 and receive short, electronic messages. But colleagues of Friedhelm 'Fred' Hillebrand - an engineer for Germany's Deutsche Telekom - told him the system's 160-character limit for text messages rendered it "useless". After spending an evening typing-up...

In 1995, Klaus Teuber’s board game Catan launched in Germany. The board is made up of hexagonal tiles, and it's a game about strategy and collecting resources. It's since sold over 40 million copies and been translated into more than 40 different languages. Klaus Teuber died in 2023. Megan Jones speaks to his son Benjamin, who now runs the company, with brother Guido. Eye-witness accounts brought...

The Tamagotchi was first released in Japan in 1996 after it was developed by Akihiro Yokoi and his colleagues at his toy development company. Measuring just a few centimetres long, the egg-shaped digital gadget was home to a series of pixelated alien pets. Owners had to feed, clean and play with their pets by pressing three tiny buttons. Looking after your Tamagotchi and seeing them evolve was thr...

It was Back to the Future II that made a generation of children dream of travelling by hoverboard. In the 1989 film, the hero Marty McFly escapes from his arch nemesis Biff by jumping on a flying skateboard. But it wasn’t until 2011 that inventor Shane Chen came up with the next best thing – a motorised skateboard that moves intuitively and gives the rider a feeling of floating. The creation becam...

In 1956, one of the world’s most beloved children’s toys went on sale for the first time, but its origins were surprising. The modelling clay had started out as a household cleaning product. In the days when homes were heated by coal fires, it was used to clean soot and dirt from wallpaper. But its manufacturer ran into trouble as oil and gas heating became increasingly popular. Then Kay Zufall, w...

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 a tower in rows of three by three, each player takes a turn to remove a block from the tower and place it at the top. When the tower falls, the game is over. Surya Elango speaks to its British designer Leslie Scott about how a family game that started in h...

On 24 December 1951, in the United States, television history was made with the live broadcast of Amahl and the Night Visitors, the first opera ever composed specifically for TV. Written by acclaimed Italian composer Gian Carlo Menotti, the opera almost didn’t happen. Struggling with writer’s block and a looming deadline, Menotti feared he wouldn’t finish, until a visit to an art gallery sparked a...

In December 1953, Hollywood film stars Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy spent a few weeks at the Bull Inn, Bottesford, Leicestershire, while they performed a show at the nearby Nottingham Empire. Stan’s sister, Olga Healey, was the landlady. Customers and staff said the duo spent time serving behind the bar, signing autographs and chatting with regulars. This was produced and presented by Rachel Naylo...

In the late 1980s, Norway needed a new market for its growing farmed salmon production. Fish-loving Japan and its lucrative sushi market seemed to fit the bill. But salmon was one fish the Japanese did not eat raw. Lars Bevanger speaks to Bjørn-Eirik Olsen, the man who came up with the idea of putting salmon on sushi rice, and who spent years convincing the Japanese to eat it. Eye-witness accounts...

In December 1995, India's parliament passed the country's first disability rights legislation. The landmark law aimed to give full participation and equality rights to an estimated 60 million people - around five percent of India's population who are affected by physical or mental disabilities. In 2015, Farhana Haider spoke to disability rights activist Javed Abidi who led the campaign to change t...

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 the pretence of having won coveted NFL tickets in December 1985. Upon their arrival, they were greeted by cheerleaders and mascots – all law enforcement officers in disguise. It led to one of America’s most successful mass arrests with more than 100 pe...