Today In History with The Retrospectors
Curious, funny, surprising daily history - with Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina and Arion McNicoll.
From the invention of the Game Boy to the Mancunian beer-poisoning of 1900, from Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain to America's Nazi summer schools... each day we uncover an unexpected story for the ages. In just ten minutes!
Best Daily Podcast (British Podcast Awards 2023 nominee).
Get early access and ad-free listening at Patreon.com/Retrospectors or subscribe on Apple Podcasts.
- Update frequency
- every day
- Average duration
- 12 minutes
- Episodes
- 1104
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
Who Killed William II?
Rerun: William II, son of William The Conqueror, took a hunting trip to the New Forest on 2nd August, 1100 - and was shot dead by an arrow, which punctured his lung.
But, whodunnit? Chroniclers laid…
00:11:53 |
Fri 02 Aug 2024
Let's Do The Twist
Rerun: Chubby Checker's "The Twist", the most popular single in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, was released on 1st August, 1960.
It was just a cover version of a B-side which had already been …
00:11:57 |
Wed 31 Jul 2024
Little Hugh and the Blood Libel
Nine year-old ‘Little Hugh’ went missing in Lincoln on 31st July, 1255. A popular narrative emerged that local Jews (in fact gathering for a wedding) had kidnapped, tortured, and crucified him, perha…
00:12:31 |
Wed 31 Jul 2024
Goodbye Top of the Pops
The final episode of ‘Top Of The Pops’ aired on 30th July, 2006.
Co-hosted by necrophiliac paedophile Jimmy Savile, the BBC institution ended after 42 years with little fanfare and no live performan…
00:12:46 |
Tue 30 Jul 2024
Bienvenue à l'Arc de triomphe
King Louis Philippe unveiled an iconic Parisian monument, the Arc De Triomphe, on 29th July, 1836. But, due to fears of an attack, only 11 people attended the event - six of whom were soldiers.
Orig…
00:11:07 |
Mon 29 Jul 2024
Let's Build A Language
Rerun: Linguist L. L. Zamenhof published ‘Dr. Esperanto's International Language’ on 26th July, 1887 - and in so doing launched Esperanto, the most popular ‘constructed language’ on Earth. Thanks to …
00:10:59 |
Fri 26 Jul 2024
When Mao Went Swimming
Rerun: Chairman Mao Zedong swam in the Yangtze River on 25th July, 1966. Despite being in his Seventies, the leader was said by party propagandists (and hence every newspaper in China) to have set a …
00:11:39 |
Thu 25 Jul 2024
Finding Machu Picchu
American professor Hiram Bingham "discovered" Machu Picchu on 24th July, 1911 - though he initially misidentified it as Vilcabamba, the last stronghold of the Inca civilization during the Spanish con…
00:12:25 |
Tue 23 Jul 2024
Who Invented The Ice Cream Cone?
The world’s first ice cream cone - credited by thousands of thrilled visitors was said to have occurred at the St Louis World’s Fair, on July 23rd, 1904.
What’s less clear is which of the fair’s ven…
00:13:50 |
Tue 23 Jul 2024
The Roanoke Mystery
What happened to the ‘Lost Colony’ at Roanoke? It’s a mystery that’s intrigued American historians for centuries - and one that began on 22nd July, 1587, when the settlers, led by John White, first l…
00:11:07 |
Mon 22 Jul 2024
Marathon Begat Snickers
Rerun: The world’s biggest-selling chocolate bar underwent a name-change in Britain on 19th July, 1990. Until then - concerned that Brits might refer to their candy as ‘knickers’ - Snickers had been …
00:11:08 |
Fri 19 Jul 2024
Making Voting Secret
Rerun: Before the Ballot Act of 18th July, 1872, the British electorate were expected to declare their preferred candidate publicly at hustings, often under pressure from their employers and landlord…
00:11:40 |
Thu 18 Jul 2024
Publishing Punch
Punch Magazine published its first edition on 17th July, 1841. Subtitled ‘the London Charivari’, the weekly periodical aimed to carve a niche in the market with less crude and bawdy satire compared t…
00:12:29 |
Wed 17 Jul 2024
The Birth Of The Parking Meter
The world’s first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City on July 16th, 1935.
Park-O-Meter No. 1 was the brainchild Carl C. Magee, who’d moved to Oklahoma after being acquitted of manslaughter …
00:12:53 |
Tue 16 Jul 2024
When London Stank
The ‘Great Stink’ - when the stench of untreated human and industrial waste was amplified by a particularly hot Summer - reached a peak on 15th July, 1858, when members of Parliament lead by Benjamin…
00:11:48 |
Mon 15 Jul 2024
The Anti-Disco Army
Rerun: ‘Disco Demolition Night’, the brainchild of 24 year-old shock jock Steve Dahl, caused mass hysteria at Comiskey Park, Chicago on 12th July, 1979 - causing a pitch invasion that lead to 39 arre…
00:11:13 |
Fri 12 Jul 2024
Zheng He's Treasure Odyssey
Rerun: China’s greatest naval explorer, Zheng He, set sail on the first of seven epic voyages on 11th July, 1405. He led a fleet of 255 ships, with an estimated 28,000 people on board.
A eunuch, and …
00:12:01 |
Thu 11 Jul 2024
Evolution on Trial
The Scopes Monkey Trial - one of the most famous show trials in U.S. history - began in Dayton, Tennessee on 10th July, 1925.
Though it centred on John T. Scopes - a high school teacher put on trial…
00:12:26 |
Wed 10 Jul 2024
Mozart's Grand Tour
Mozart’s grand tour of Western Europe, began on 9th July 1763, when the boy wonder was just 7 years old.
Taking in Germany, France, and England, Wolfgang and his sister Maria Anna played for Royal fa…
00:12:31 |
Tue 09 Jul 2024
Kim Il-Sung: Good Mourning
When North Korean dictator Kim Il-sung died unexpectedly of a heart attack on 8th July, 1994, his nation went into ten days of mourning, reflecting the deep-seated personality cult he’d cultivated ov…
00:11:05 |
Mon 08 Jul 2024
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