25th February 1956: Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev delivers his ‘secret speech’ announcing the start of de-Stalinization
Officially called ‘On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences’, Khrushchev’s speech was a vehement denunciation of Stalin’s abuses of power and his creation of a personality ...
25 Feb 0s
24th February 1848: King Louis Philippe of France abdicates the throne amidst revolutions that were beginning to sweep across the continent
Louis Philippe’s reign began positively, but over time he faced mounting opposition. After abdicating he fled across the Channel to Britain where he died two years ...
24 Feb 0s
23rd February 1905: The world’s first Rotary Club founded in Chicago, Illinois, by Paul P. Harris
The early meetings focused on mutual support and professional friendship and the concept proved attractive, leading to additional clubs forming in other American cities within a few years before sprea...
23 Feb 0s
22nd February 1943: First three members of the White Rose resistance group put on trial and executed by guillotine in Nazi Germany
Centred around Hans Scholl and his sister Sophie, the small group of university friends who formed the White Rose printed and distributed anti-Nazi leaflets but were spotted by university janitor and ...
22 Feb 0s
21st February 1848: The Communist Manifesto anonymously published in London by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels
Officially called The Manifesto of the Communist Party, the original pamphlet was just 23 pages long but went on to become a highly influential political document alongside Marx’s more substantial Das...
21 Feb 0s
20th February 1962: Astronaut John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the Earth aboard the spacecraft Friendship 7
During the nearly five-hour mission, Glenn conducted observations of Earth and performed manual control tests of Friendship ...
20 Feb 0s
19th February 1985: EastEnders, the BBC’s flagship soap opera, broadcast for the first time
EastEnders was first broadcast on 19 February 1985 as part of new BBC One controller Michael Grade’s ‘relaunch’ of the channel. The first episode secured an audience of 17 ...
19 Feb 0s
18th February 1930: Nellie Jay, better known as Elm Farm Ollie, becomes the first cow to fly and be milked in an aeroplane
Elm Farm Ollie gave a total of 24 quarts (23 litres) of milk which was then packed into paper cartons and dropped by parachute to the crowds at the St Louis International Air ...
18 Feb 0s
