The 1960 coup against Haile Selassie
In December 1960, there was an attempt to dethrone the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie and replace him with his son. While the emperor was out of the country, the crown prince was taken to the headqu...
27 Juli 20239min
The Pope’s controversial Nicaragua visit
In 1983 Pope John Paul II visited Nicaragua as part of an eight-day tour of Central America. His trip came at a time of heightened tensions between the ruling Sandinista revolutionaries and the countr...
26 Juli 20238min
Brain: A personal computer virus
'Welcome to the dungeon' was the message that flashed up on computer screens in 1986.This was widely reported as the first virus for PCs and became known as 'Brain'.'Brain' spread around the world and...
25 Juli 202310min
Escaping the Nazis in Greece
The Greek city of Thessaloniki, or Salonica, was once known as the Jerusalem of the Balkans.It was previously home to a large and thriving Sephardi Jewish population whose ancestors had been expelled ...
24 Juli 20238min
The US singer who became the Soviet Union’s Red Elvis
In 1966, at the height of the Cold War, American singer Dean Reed became the first western rock and roll star to tour the Soviet Union. His visit was such a success that over the next two decades Dean...
21 Juli 202310min
The birth of Barbie
The first Barbie doll was sold in 1959. It took Ruth Handler, who created it, years to convince her male colleagues that it would sell.The plastic creation sold 350,000 in the first year and went on t...
20 Juli 202310min
Japan surrenders in China
In the autumn of 1945, World War II surrender ceremonies took place across the Japanese Empire. The one in China was held at the Forbidden City in Beijing bringing an end to eight years of occupation....
19 Juli 202310min
The ‘Barricades’ of Latvia
In January 1991, more than half a million people protested in Riga, the capital city of Latvia. They wanted to stop Soviet troops taking over important landmarks, so they built barricades and camped o...
18 Juli 202310min
