Witness History

In May 2002, former US President Jimmy Carter paid a controversial visit to Cuba, which had been subject to a US trade embargo for more than 40 years. The trip culminated in a speech, broadcast live on Cuban radio and television, in which Carter called for the US to lift economic sanctions, while he encouraged President Fidel Castro to embrace democracy and uphold Cubans' civil liberties. Jennifer...

In April 1980, thousands of Cubans tried to escape the country by claiming asylum at the Peruvian embassy in Havana. In response, Cuban President Fidel Castro opened the port of Mariel to anyone who wanted to leave, including criminals. From April until October more than 100,000 Cubans left for the US. Mirta Ojito was one of them. She spoke to Simon Watts in 2011. Eye-witness accounts brought to l...

In 2007, four British servicemen perched on the wings of an Apache helicopter in Afghanistan, in an audacious mission to rescue a fallen comrade. Lance Corporal Mathew Ford was part of a unit which had attacked Jugroom Fort - a major Taliban command and control centre in Helmand Province, but he was left behind after a frantic withdrawal. Volunteers put themselves forward for a risky rescue attemp...

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-old mummy. The archaeologist Konrad Spindler inspected the body along with the assemblage of items recovered from the gravesite. A person of this age had never been found before in such exceptional condition. They’d lived during the transition betwe...

On 10 December 1979, pro-democracy activists clashed with police in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The incident, which happened during Taiwan's martial law period, paved the way for the transition to democracy. Rachel Naylor speaks to Yao Chia-wen, who was jailed for 12 years for his involvement. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you...

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 education. It was known as the "Penguin Revolution" because of their black and white school uniforms. The students were demanding good quality education for all children, regardless of whether they were rich or poor. Grace Livingstone speaks to Karina Delf...

On 27 January 1945, prisoners at the Nazis’ largest death camp were freed by the Soviet Union’s Red Army. General Vasily Petrenko commanded one of the four units that liberated Auschwitz. The Nazis murdered 1.1 million people at Auschwitz-Birkenau between 1941 and 1945. Almost a million were Jews, 70,000 were Polish prisoners, 21,000 Roma, 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war and an unknown number of ga...

On 26 January 1926, John Logie Baird first demonstrated his 'televisor' in public. It was the prototype for television. Many people couldn't believe what they were seeing whilst others thought it was a pointless invention. In 2010, Iain Logie Baird, the inventor's grandson, spoke to Claire Bowes. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past....

On 12 January 1976, author Agatha Christie died peacefully, aged 85. She created the detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. By the time of her death, Christie had written more than 80 books. Most of her works were detective novels but she also wrote romances, short stories, poetry and plays. In 2015, Louise Hidalgo spoke to her grandson, Mathew Prichard. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by...

On 28 January 1986, a space shuttle launch went wrong. Six astronauts and a teacher, Christa McAuliffe, were killed. In 1984, US President Ronald Reagan had announced that Nasa would search for a member of the public to accompany experienced astronauts on the space shuttle Challenger. Barbara Morgan was chosen as the teacher backup and had trained alongside the Challenger team. She watched as the...

In the early hours of 30 April, 1943, the most audacious hoax of World War Two has just got underway. Its code-name - Operation Mincemeat. The body of a British Royal Marines officer, Major William Martin, has been washed up on a Spanish beach. The dead man is carrying top-secret papers revealing details of a planned Allied invasion, and it’s not long before they fall into enemy hands. But the pla...

In May 1986, a new airport opened in Knock in the west of Ireland. It was the dream of an Irish priest, Monsignor James Horan, who raised millions to have it built. The location for the airport seemed impossible – set in the boggy, foggy hills of rural County Mayo. However, Knock attracts more than a million pilgrims every year, who come to visit the supposed site of an apparition by the Virgin Ma...

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 greeted by millions of people lining the streets. In 2011, Mohsen Sazegara who worked for the Ayatollah, spoke to Louise Hidalgo. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events t...

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...