Witness History
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.
For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest, the disastrous D-Day rehearsal, and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.
- Update frequency
- every day
- Average duration
- 9 minutes
- Episodes
- 2060
- Years Active
- 2017 - 2025
Moscow Theatre Siege
In October 2002 Chechen rebels seized a packed theatre in central Moscow and took hundreds of people hostage. They demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya. Olga Smirnova has been hear…
The Death of JG Farrell
The two-time Booker prize-winning author drowned off the south-west coast of Ireland in 1979. Vincent Dowd has been speaking to people who knew him, and to Pauline Foley who was the last person to se…
Cuban Missile Crisis: the Governments
On October 16th 1962 the American president, John F Kennedy, received news that the Soviets were secretly deploying nuclear missiles on the island of Cuba. In the two weeks that followed, the Cuban M…
Testifying Against OJ Simpson
Ron Shipp was a close friend of OJ Simpson's but was also a police officer and decided to testify against him in a criminal trial for double homicide. In 1995 OJ Simpson was acquitted of killing his…
Saving Italy's Art During WW2
Italy's great works of art were threatened by bombing and looting during World War Two. But a plan known as 'Operation Rescue' was devised to keep the paintings and sculptures safe. Some were hidden…
Lluis Companys - Martyr of Catalan Nationalism
In October 1940, the elected Catalan leader, Lluis Companys, was executed by a Spanish fascist firing squad in Barcelona. His death made Companys a hero to generations of Catalan nationalists, althou…
The Death of Che Guevara
In October 1967 the Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara was captured and killed in Bolivia. He had gone there to try to organise a Cuban-style revolution. Mike Lanchin has spoken to Felix Rodriguez, th…
Matthew Shepard: A killing that changed American law
The murder of gay student Matthew Shepard in October 1998 shocked America. After a decade of campaigning, his mother, Judy Shepard, convinced lawmakers to change hate crime legislation, outlawing att…
The first black American at Ole Miss
There were riots when the first black student was enrolled at the University of Mississippi in the American south in October 1962. Mississippi's white segregationist governor only allowed James Mered…
Israel Withdraws From Gaza
For five years Maisoon Bashir and her family lived on the front-line of the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip. Their house was directly opposite one of the Jewish settlements built by Israel afte…
The Raising of the Mary Rose
King Henry VIII's favourite warship sank during a naval battle over 400 years ago. But the wreck and its contents were preserved in silt for centuries and finally raised to the surface in October 198…
The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art
A very modern museum opened in the Iranian capital in October 1977. It contains one of the finest collections of Western art outside Europe and North America. Iran's Islamic revolution just over a y…
The Sudden Death of Pope John Paul I
Just 33 days into his reign, Pope John Paul I unexpectedly died in September 1978. He was discovered in the early morning lying on his bed, a collection of sermons in his hand. He was considered an…
A Bitter Divorce: When Guinea said "No" to France
Guinea became the first French West African colony to declare independence in October 1958. In a referendum held throughout French colonies, Guinea had been the only nation to vote for independence. …
Walking the Great Wall of China
It took 508 days for three friends to complete the first trek along the entire length of the ancient structure, well over 8000 kms. They finally reached the Jiayu Pass on September 24th 1985, having …
Britain's Land Girls
Around 80 thousand women and girls volunteered to join the Women's Land Army during the Second World War. They helped provide vital food supplies to a country under siege. Kirsty Reid has spoken to …
Steve Biko: Black Consciousness Leader
The anti-apartheid activist was buried on September 25th 1977. He had died in police custody just two weeks earlier. Thousands of people attended the funeral. Alex Last spoke to one of the early m…
The Cross Border Horse Race
A showdown on the American/Mexican border on September 14th 1958 - in which two horses raced along either side of the border fence. Lucy Burns speaks to Ralph Romero, whose father was the owner of Re…
Roselle - The 9/11 Guide Dog
After the 9/11 attacks, a New York guide dog called Roselle was hailed as a hero for helping her owner safely down 78 flights of stairs and away from the Twin Towers before they collapsed. Simon Watt…
Australia's Rabbit Plague
For decades, Australia's countryside was ravaged by billions of rabbits. So in the 1950s, the government released the disease myxomatosis to kill off the rabbit plague. We hear from farmer, Bill McDo…