The US’s first gay election candidate
In 1961 the first openly gay person ran for public office in the United States. He was called Jose Sarria and he was a drag queen. He was determined that gay people would no longer be second-class cit...
8 Jul 202210min
How the smear test was invented
In 1928 Dr George Papanicoloau, a Greek immigrant living in New York, discovered he could detect pre-cancerous cell changes in the cervix. This led to the development of the smear test which has meant...
7 Jul 202210min
Escaping Nigeria’s Civil War
The south-east region of Nigeria declared itself to be the independent state of Biafra. In response, Nigerian forces invaded the state on 6 July 1967, beginning the Nigerian civil war. More than a mil...
6 Jul 20228min
Japanese university student riots
In 1968 and early 1969 university students across Japan fought pitched battles with riot police after they barricaded themselves into their lecture halls and went on strike. They were protesting about...
5 Jul 20228min
The Higgs Boson: A scientific discovery that explains how the universe works
It is 10 years since scientists in Geneva said they believed they had found the Higgs boson - known by some as the God particle. In July 2012 after more than 40 years of searching, two teams on differ...
4 Jul 202210min
Hong Kong: Abandoned children
In the 1950s and '60s hundreds of thousands of Chinese people fled to the British colony of Hong Kong to escape famine. Conditions for the arrivals were so desperate that some families chose to abando...
30 Jun 20228min
Hong Kong - Kowloon Walled City
A unique way of life came to an end in Hong Kong in 1993 when Kowloon Walled City was demolished. When the rest of Hong Kong was a British colony, the seven acres of the Walled City were still nominal...
30 Jun 20229min
Hong Kong: The 5-19 football riot in China
In May 1985 Hong Kong inflicted an unexpected footballing defeat on their neighbours and rivals China in a World Cup qualifying game in Beijing. The disappointed Chinese fans rioted and the Hong Kong ...
29 Jun 20228min
