Ranked #1
Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies
It is 60 years since William Golding's acclaimed novel was first published. The story, of schoolboys marooned on an isla... Read more
16 Sep 2014
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8mins
Ranked #2
The Tiananmen Square Massacre
The Tiananmen Square Massacre
In June 1989 the communist authorities in China crushed a huge pro-democracy protest in Beijing. Demonstrators, most of ... Read more
4 Jun 2014
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9mins
Ranked #3
Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
In early 1967, the American guitarist, Jimi Hendrix, took London by storm. His flamboyant style and new ways of playing... Read more
14 Jan 2014
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9mins
Ranked #4
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
It has been 50 years since the Civil Rights Act passed through the United States Congress, guaranteeing new rights for A... Read more
19 Jun 2014
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9mins
Ranked #5
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Bay of Pigs Invasion
Cuban exiles, backed by the US government, tried to overthrow Fidel Castro in April 1961. But their mission ended in dis... Read more
18 Apr 2014
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8mins
Ranked #6
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda
In July 1904, the great Latin American poet Pablo Neruda was born in a remote town in the south of Chile. Witness presen... Read more
11 Jul 2014
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9mins
Ranked #7
The Death of Alan Turing
The Death of Alan Turing
It is 60 years since the great British mathematician died. He is believed to have killed himself after he was put on tr... Read more
5 Jun 2014
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8mins
Ranked #8
The Fall of Idi Amin 1979
The Fall of Idi Amin 1979
In April 1979 the brutal Ugandan ruler, Idi Amin, was ousted by invading Tanzanian troops and members of the Ugandan opp... Read more
10 Apr 2014
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8mins
Ranked #9
The Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials
In November 1945 the first major war crimes trials in history opened in the German city of Nuremberg. Witness talks to t... Read more
20 Nov 2014
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9mins
Ranked #10
Saving Russia's Soldiers in Chechnya
Saving Russia's Soldiers in Chechnya
In May 1995 a brutal war raged in the Russian republic of Chechnya. As Russian forces fought to retain control of the ca... Read more
22 May 2014
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8mins
Ranked #11
Stalin's 1944 Deportations
Stalin's 1944 Deportations
In February 1944, nearly half a million Chechen and Ingush people were deported from the North Caucasus on the orders of... Read more
24 Feb 2014
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9mins
Ranked #12
Fleeing Hitler on the St Louis
Fleeing Hitler on the St Louis
In May 1939 more than 900 Jews, many of them young children, fled Nazi Germany aboard a luxury cruise liner. They were t... Read more
13 May 2014
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9mins
Ranked #13
The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, was killed in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. He - and his ... Read more
27 Jun 2014
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8mins
Ranked #14
Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi
Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi
In 1991 the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. The grandson of the founder of modern India, Jawaharla... Read more
21 May 2014
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9mins
Ranked #15
Willy Brandt's Spy Scandal
Willy Brandt's Spy Scandal
In May 1974, the West German chancellor Willy Brandt was forced to resign after it was revealed that one of his aides wa... Read more
12 May 2014
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8mins
Ranked #16
The Chappaquiddick Incident
The Chappaquiddick Incident
In July 1969, United States Senator Edward Kennedy was involved in a car accident on Chappaquiddick Island in which a yo... Read more
15 Jul 2014
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9mins
Ranked #17
The Fall of Senator McCarthy
The Fall of Senator McCarthy
Senator Joseph McCarthy made it his mission to purge communists from American public life - but in April 1954 he was the... Read more
22 Apr 2014
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8mins
Ranked #18
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
In November 1974, West German band Kraftwerk released their seminal album Autobahn. They would go on to become one of th... Read more
26 Nov 2014
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8mins
Ranked #19
The Death of Mussolini
The Death of Mussolini
In April 1945, thousands of Italians crowded into a Milan square to see the body of the wartime fascist dictator, Benito... Read more
29 Apr 2014
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8mins
Ranked #20
Building of Brasilia
Building of Brasilia
In 1960, Brazil opened a new capital city in its remote central plains. Designed by the modernist architect Oscar Niemey... Read more
10 Jun 2014
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9mins