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
- 1105
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
Give Peace A Brand
Gerald Holtom’s CND symbol, known internationally as the ‘peace’ symbol, made its debut at a protest march by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament on 4th April, 1958.
The march went from London to A…
00:12:06 |
Tue 04 Apr 2023
Here Comes The Pony Express
Before the transcontinental telegraph, sending a message coast-to-coast in the United States could take up to a month via stagecoach. Until, that is, the opening of the Pony Express, on April 3, 1860…
00:11:39 |
Mon 03 Apr 2023
Riot in the Concert Hall
It became known as the ‘Skandalkonzert’: an evening of expressionist, experimental pieces at Vienna’s Great Hall of the Musikverein on March 31, 1913, which so disturbed the audience that rioting and…
00:11:25 |
Fri 31 Mar 2023
Dr Long's Ethereal Adventures
Pain-free surgery eluded physicians for centuries, but 26-year-old Crawford Williamson Long successfully removed a tumour from the neck of patient James Venable on 30th March, 1842 - whilst Venable w…
00:11:22 |
Thu 30 Mar 2023
Unearthing the Terracotta Army
A group of farmers digging a well in Xi’an, China, stumbled upon a life-sized human head made of clay on 29th March, 1974. It was the first indication that beneath the ground - close to the tomb of Q…
00:12:01 |
Wed 29 Mar 2023
Ed Sullivan Bows Out
After a 23 year run that included introducing American audiences to The Beatles, Elvis Presley and The Rolling Stones, the last original episode of ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’ aired on CBS on March 28, 19…
00:11:59 |
Tue 28 Mar 2023
Sacheen Littlefeather's Oscars Controversy
When Marlon Brando won Best Actor at the Academy Awards for his role in The Godfather on March 27, 1973, he sent Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather in his place. Dressed in traditional Ap…
00:11:58 |
Mon 27 Mar 2023
The Suffragettes of Sport
The first international women’s sports event, The Women’s Olympiad, kicked off in Monte Carlo on 24th March, 1921. A hundred athletes from five nations competed in track and field events, defying the…
00:11:25 |
Fri 24 Mar 2023
Handel's Biggest Hit
Hallelujah! Handel’s ‘Messiah’ is one of the cornerstones of Western classical music. But when it had its London premiere at Covent Garden on 23rd March 1743, it was billed as “a new sacred oratorio”…
00:11:25 |
Thu 23 Mar 2023
The Elephant That Inspired 'Dumbo'
Jumbo, one of the largest elephants ever seen, departed London Zoo for Barnum & Bailey’s Circus in New York on March 9th, 1882. Nationally beloved as the ‘pet’ to Queen Victoria’s children, for 16 ye…
00:12:06 |
Wed 22 Mar 2023
The Most Expensive Divorce Ever
Medieval power couple King Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine, seemingly unable to produce a male heir, had a messy breakup. Their annulment on 21st March 1152 was granted by the Pope on th…
00:11:45 |
Tue 21 Mar 2023
Stealing the World Cup
The Jules Rimet, trophy of the FIFA World Cup, was stolen from a stamp exhibition in Westminster Central Hall on March 20th, 1966 - the year England was hosting (and went on to win) the tournament. T…
00:12:05 |
Mon 20 Mar 2023
Parading for St Paddy
The first ever St. Patrick’s Day parade took place not in Ireland, as many people might expect, but in Spanish Florida, on March 17, 1601. It wasn’t until about 100 years later that the world famous …
00:11:37 |
Fri 17 Mar 2023
Murder at the Masked Ball
Gustav III was shot, in the back and at close range, at Stockholm’s Royal Opera House on 16th March, 1792. But he didn’t die for another two weeks. Which made things rather difficult for the conspira…
00:11:54 |
Thu 16 Mar 2023
Give Me Your Blood
The world's first blood bank opened on March 15, 1937 at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, revolutionising the way blood transfusions were performed.
Dr. Bernard Fantus, the man behind the blood bank…
00:11:39 |
Wed 15 Mar 2023
Making The Mikado
The Mikado opened on March 14, 1885 to immediate acclaim, and went on to become W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s most famous and best-loved operetta, despite its tortured genesis.
Due to growing …
00:11:31 |
Tue 14 Mar 2023
Mata Hari: Showgirl, Seductress, Spy
Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod, better known to the world as Mata Hari, set the Paris stage ablaze on March 13, 1905, with a scandalous dance routine that turned her into an overnight success.
Sporti…
00:11:56 |
Mon 13 Mar 2023
The Foreigners Fighting For France
The infamous French Foreign Legion was formed by King Louis Philippe on March 10, 1831, to help the French control Algeria using mercenaries who were more expendable than native young Frenchmen.
To t…
00:11:42 |
Fri 10 Mar 2023
Write E For Eunuch
India’s Hijra community – who for centuries held a significant cultural, political and spiritual role in Indian society – were officially recognised on 9th March, 2005, when a new option appeared on …
00:11:57 |
Thu 09 Mar 2023
Return of the Zodiac Killer
Copycat murderer Heriberto Seda began his spree of violence in New York City on March 8, 1990, when he attempted to kill a middle-aged man with a homemade gun. He claimed he was the famous ‘Zodiac’ k…
00:11:54 |
Wed 08 Mar 2023
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