Today In History with The Retrospectors
A daily history podcast that explores curious, funny, and surprising events from the past. Hosted by Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina, and Arion McNicoll, each ten-minute episode covers topics ranging from the invention of the Game Boy to Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain. The show was nominated for Best Daily Podcast at the British Podcast Awards 2023.
Episodes
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 conquest.
Unlike Vilcabamba, Machu Picchu was built at the peak of the Inca Empire's glory. Believed to have been a winter retreat for the Inca elite, its exact purpose remains a mystery due to that civi
Radio 1 Hits The Road
Concerned that it was too London-centric, the BBC commissioned a series of pop-up outside broadcasts for its youth music station Radio 1, kicking off modestly in Newquay on 23rd July, 1973. The events exploded in popularity, and spawned an annual tour of bucket-and-spade Britain, becoming the iconic ‘Radio 1 Roadshow’.
Despite the concerts pulling in massive crowds - and radio audiences of around
Where's Pablo Escobar?
Pablo Escobar dramatically escaped from La Catedral (aka ‘Hotel Escobar’, his luxurious prison compound) on 22nd July, 1992.
The drugs lord had surrendered the previous year under an extraordinary deal that allowed him to avoid extradition to the United States by serving his sentence in a bling hilltop retreat, complete with recreational facilities, fine food and contact with the outside wo
Herostratus: Burning Ambition
The fire that destroyed the second Temple of Artemis - one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world - was supposedly set on the day Alexander the Great was born: 21st July, 356 BC. The story goes that the arsonist, Herosratus, was simply seeking notoriety.
Herostratus was captured and tortured on the rack, where he confessed to having committed the arson in an attempt to immortalize his name. To
Let's Assassinate Hitler
Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg tried to kill Hitler with a suitcase bomb on 20th July, 1944. He failed. The plan — bold, desperate, and nearly successful — was part of Operation Valkyrie, a broader scheme to take control of Germany after Hitler's death and steer the country away from what many military officers feared was total destruction.
The near-success hinged on a moment of unfortunate timin
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 to its contemporaries.
Its early days were challenging, with poor circulation and financial troubles. But, as it gained in popularity and influence, it contributed the modern use of the word "cartoon"
The Death of Kissing
Kissing was a big deal in the Middle Ages: for signing contracts, for greeting colleagues, and for showing deference to the King - a tradition that ended on 16th July, 1439, when Henry VI issued a decree imploring his citizens to stop kissing his ring.
Some 400 years before the modern concepts of hygiene and germs had been scientifically established, the 18 year-old monarch clearly had an instinc
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!
The inventor of margarine, French chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès, patented his butter substitute on 15th July, 1869. Inspired by a competition launched by Emperor Napoleon III to find a cheaper, longer-lasting alternative to butter for the French Navy, Mège-Mouriès called his creation ‘oléomargarine’.
It combined purified beef fat with milk and water to create a spread that was more stable than b
Mr. Dynamite
Dynamite was invented by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, who demonstrated it in Britain for the first time on 14th July, 1867. He had discovered that when nitroglycerin, an explosive liquid, was absorbed by kieselguhr, a porous siliceous earth, it produced a solid that was resistant to shock but readily detonable by heat or percussion, making it safer to handle.
Nobel named his invention “dynamite”
Hollywood's Iconic Landmark
Designed as a temporary billboard for a luxury housing development, the iconic ‘Hollywood’ sign (originally spelling out ‘Hollywoodland’) was dedicated on July 13th, 1923. It was intended to last 18 months. Over a century later, it remains.
Erected at cost of $21,000—about $360,000 today—and lit by 4,000 bulbs that flashed dramatically in segments (“Holly,” then “Wood,” then “Land,”), the sign f
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 for teaching evolution - he was actually a substitute teacher who may never have really taught the textbook concerned, and had put himself in the frame to test the Butler Act, a Tennessee law prohibi
The Sun Sets on 'Eldorado'
One of the BBC’s biggest-ever flops, soap opera ‘Eldorado’, broadcast its final episode on 9th July, 1993 - just one year after it had begun, at a reported cost of £10 million.
Focussing on the glamorous lives of British expats - fusing the elements of ‘EastEnders’ and ‘Neighbours’ - it had seemed destined to be a sure-fire hit. So, a large permanent set for the fictional town of Los Barcos was b
Let's Build A Rollercoaster
Promenades Aériennes, the world’s first modern rollercoaster, opened in Paris on 8th July, 1817. Thrillseekers climbed a towering wooden structure before being sent gliding back down on wheeled carriages attached securely to rails; modest by modern standards, yes, but introducing many of the key features that still define coasters today.
Visitors faced a lengthy climb to the summit before enjoyin
Meet Pinocchio
Pinocchio, ‘The Story of a Puppet’, debuted in Giornale per i bambini, an Italian weekly magazine for children, on 7th July, 1881. Its author, Carlo Lorenzini - going by the pseudonym C. Collodi - intended the tale to end with the hanging of Pinocchio, but popular demand led to the character having further, more optimistic adventures.
As a young man, Collodi joined the seminary but left to suppor
When Lennon Met McCartney
The Quarrymen took to the stage at a parish fête near Liverpool on 6th July, 1957: the event that first brought together the brains behind the Beatles, teenagers John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
John oozed cool with his swagger, sideburns, and low slung guitar. Paul, watching in awe, was struck by Lennon’s confidence and his seeming ability to improvise lyrics to niche doo-wop tunes. The two boys
Sailing Alone Around The World
Captain Joshua Slocum set sail from Nova Scotia in The Spray, his revamped oyster sloop, on 3rd July, 1895: the first solo circumnavigation of the world.
Sailing alone for no reason other than pleasure was considered a fool’s errand at the time, but, motivated by the death of his beloved first wife, Virginia, Slocum sought solace in the sea. His memoir, dedicated to ‘the one who believed the Spr
Zeppelin Takes Flight
Airships had flown since the 1850s, but the first rigid airship to comfortably carry passengers - the Zeppelin - had its maiden voyage at Lake Constance on 2nd July, 1900.
The passion project of German aristocrat Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, the ‘golden age’ craft were freezing cold on-board, and precarious: the majority of them eventually crashed. Nonetheless, his pluckiness captured the German
The First Tour De France 🚲
Around sixty cyclists set off from a café in Montgeron, just outside Paris, on 1st July, 1903: the start of the first ever Tour de France.
The event began as a circulation-boosting scheme by newspaper L'Auto; struggling to compete with its rival Le Vélo, they launched the race as a publicity exercise. But the challenge facing riders was extraordinary: the original route covered roughly 2,400 kil
Debating Darwin's Theory
Thomas Huxley and Samuel Wilberforce, Bishop of Oxford, were among the prominent figures discussing Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution at the Oxford University Museum on 30th June 1860; an encounter sometimes referred to as ‘The Great Debate’.
The confrontation is best remembered for a heated exchange in which Wilberforce supposedly asked Huxley whether it was through his grandfather or his gr
When Kubrick Met Spielberg
After nearly three decades of development, A.I. Artificial Intelligence finally had a theatrical release on 29th June, 2001. Written and directed by Steven Spielberg - following the death of his friend Stanley Kubrick - it promised to be a cinematic masterpiece. But many critics saw it as akin to a custody battle between two very different parents—Kubrick’s icy intellect clashing with Spielberg’s
The Real Pied Piper
What happened to the 130 children that went missing from the town of Hamlein, Lower Saxony on 26th June, 1284? According to legend, a vindictive ‘Pied Piper’ took revenge after the town had failed to stump up for his magical pest control services. But numerous sources corroborate that, fairy tales aside, the town’s children really did disappear.
An inscription on the facade of a timbered house i
Introducing... The Fork
The fork had only recently received Royal approval in Britain when it was gifted to the Governor of Massachusetts, John Winthrop, on 25th June, 1633.
It took centuries for Americans to feel comfortable with this new way of eating, but in Italy it was already gaining ground, as Englishman Thomas Coryat observed in 1611, noting: "the Italian cannot by any means endure to have his dish touched with
Henry VIII's 'Ugly Wife'
Anne of Cleves was dumped by her profligate husband Henry VIII on 24th June, 1540, when she was summoned to Richmond Palace and asked to accept an annulment from her tyrannical spouse. In return for her compliance, she received substantial estates, including Richmond Palace itself, and Hever Castle, along with a generous income that made her one of the wealthiest women in England.
Henry granted
Bobbitt
Lorena Bobbitt cut off her husband John Wayne Bobbitt’s penis with a kitchen knife while he was asleep in their apartment in Manassas, Virginia on 23rd June, 1993. After a nine-hour surgery, Bobbitt’s penis was successfully reattached – and the case became an international news sensation.
The 24 year-old manicurist was charged with malicious wounding and faced up to 20 years in prison if convicte
I Invented The Donut 🍩
Sea Captain Hanson Gregory claimed to have first cut a hole in a donut on 22nd June, 1847, sparking an American tradition: the nation now consumes ten billion donuts per year.
But Americans munched on Dutch “oily cakes” for decades prior to that, and the corporate intervention of Dunkin’ Donuts - founded in Gregory’s hometown - might help explain why Gregory’s origin story has stuck…
Regardless
Making The Metropolitan Police
Sir Robert Peel received royal assent for the Metropolis Police Improvement Bill on 19th June, 1829 - leading to the creation of London's first professional police force, who were soon nicknamed ‘Bobbies’ in tribute.
The Met’s first constables hit the streets that Autumn, dressed in tailcoats (to signify their role as servants of the people), and top hats (strengthened with an iron ring for prote
The Town Disney Built
Designed by Imagineers, and located on the outskirts of Walt Disney World, the town of Celebration, Florida welcomed its first residents on 18th June, 1996.
Over 5,000 families had applied to be amongst the first ever homeowners to reside, full-time, in the grounds of a theme park. Conceptually, the town was a mash-up of the wistful nostalgia that inspired the designs of Disneyland’s original Mai
O.J. Simpson's Car Chase
O.J. Simpson, wanted for questioning over the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, was followed by both the LAPD and the world’s news cameras on 17th June, 1994, as he sat creeping along the motorway, holding a gun to his head, in a white Ford Bronco driven by his former teammate Al Cowlings.
As the SUV rolled steadily towards Los Angeles, fans gathered on bridg
Humanity Dick and the RSPCA
The world’s first animal charity, the RSPCA, was set up on June 16th, 1824, by a small group of men who met in Old Slaughter’s Coffee House in St. Martin’s Lane, London.
They had been brought together by Arthur Broome, a vicar and animal-welfare campaigner, but the main member of the group was Irish MP Richard Martin, widely known as “Humanity Dick” who had recently passed the first legislation o
Dante Gets Political
Future poetic powerhouse Dante Alighieri was enshrined as one of Florence’s six priors on 15th June, 1300: a top political gig in the city’s complex guild-based government.
But his beloved hometown was a powder keg, split between rival factions: the Guelphs and the Ghibellines; and the Guelphs themselves were split into “white” and “black” camps. Dante, a White Guelph, soon found himself deep in
Meet Me At The Automat
Before McDonalds, there was the Horn & Hardart Automat - a chain restaurant featuring coin-operated glass windows, which opened its first branch in Philadelphia on 12th June, 1902. The business would grow to serve 800,000 people per day.
Customers exchanged nickels for dishes including meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and cherry pie. Beautifully designed with marble counters, stained glass, and chrome
Chuck Berry v the IRS
It was the THIRD time behind bars for legendary rock n’ roller Chuck Berry when he was found to have dodged $110,000 in income tax on 11th June, 1979.
He insisted on being paid cash-in-hand for his sometimes shambolic personal appearances, and his propensity for stashing it was so well-known that in Australia the authorities introduced limits on the amount of cash that could be transited across t
Benjamin Franklin's Kite 🪁⚡
Benjamin Franklin’s legendary ‘kite experiment’ supposedly took place on 10th June, 1752, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the traditional account, the future Founding Father flew a kite fitted with a metal key into a storm cloud to prove that it contained electricity, leading to the creation of the lightning rod ⚡
Historians, however, point out there is no detailed contemporary record
The Day Nero Died
Nero, the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, killed himself on 9th June AD 68. Having fled Rome to a suburban villa after being declared a ‘public enemy’ by the Senate, he stabbed himself through the throat. Probably.
Within months of his death, rumours began that Nero still lived and would return in glory to reclaim his empire. Instead, the historians of the era - albeit never averse t
Who You Gonna Call?
‘Ghostbusters’ opened in US cinemas on 8th June, 1984, quickly becoming the highest-grossing comedy of all time.
The brainchild of SNL’s Dan Aykroyd - whose great-grandfather was a 19th-century psychic investigator - the film was pitched and delivered within 13 months. Drawing inspiration from 1930s ghost comedies, the wisecracking ensemble comedy smashed the Hollywood wisdom that big-budget com
When Lovelace Met Babbage
When Lord Byron’s 17 year-old daughter, Ada Lovelace, attended a soirée at the home of academic Charles Babbage on 5th June, 1833, the pair hit it off immediately. He invited her to see his ‘Difference Engine’ - an early mechanical calculator - kicking off a correspondence that lasted throughout her life.
Their lively, intellectual correspondence, and Ada's deep understanding of mathematics and s
Crazy Frog v Coldplay
‘The Annoying Thing’ is how the begenitaled amphibian animated by Erik Wernquist was first described; but by the time he released his first single ‘Axel F’ he was universally known as The Crazy Frog, and beat Coldplay’s ‘Speed of Sound’ to UK #1 on 4th June, 2005.
The tale of how this possibly could have happened is unique to the early days of the internet - a teenager messing about imitating mot
The Zoot Suit Riots
Los Angeles erupted in racist violence on 3rd June, 1943 in a week of riots that exposed deep tensions in wartime America.
California’s Mexican-American “Pachuco” youth had adopted the zoot suit style from African-American jazz culture. But to many white Americans the fashion appeared rebellious, unpatriotic and even threatening at a time when wartime rationing had placed strict controls on fabri
Who Invented The Telephone?
Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Watson made an important discovery, by accident, on June 2, 1875. While working on their ‘harmonic telegraph’. Watson inadvertently plucked a reed that had been tightly wound around the pole of its electromagnet, producing a twang that Bell heard on a second device next door.
Meanwhile, Elisha Gray, co-founder of Western Electric Company, was working on, as his pa
Nepal's Royal Bloodbath
Crown Prince Dipendra opened fire on his whole family at a family dinner at Kathmandu’s Narayanhiti Palace on 1st June, 2001. He killed nine royals, including his father, King Birendra, his mother, Queen Aishwarya, and his siblings; then reportedly turned the gun on himself.
In a bizarre twist of constitutional formality, Dipendra — though in a coma — was then declared King of Nepal for three da
Recording 'White Christmas'
Bing Crosby recorded the biggest-selling single of all time, ‘White Christmas’, on 29th May, 1942. The session took just 18 minutes, and the song was not considered the standout from the album: everyone thought the Valentine’s-themed ballad ‘Be Careful, It's My Heart’ had a better chance of chart success.
The songwriter, Irving Berlin, was perhaps not an obvious person to pen the quintessential A
Super Mario Bros - The First Videogame Movie
Before ‘Tomb Raider’, before ‘Mortal Kombat’, before ‘Street Fighter’, there was something even WORSE. ‘Super Mario Bros’ - which opened in the United States on 28th May, 1993 - was such a critical and commercial failure that for years afterwards Nintendo kept their franchises out of Hollywood hands.
Relocating the action to ‘Dinohattan’, the film inexplicably disregarded most of what had made th
The Prime Minister's Duel
William Pitt the Younger was Prime Minister when he and opposition MP George Tierney fought a duel on Sunday, 27th May 1798 on London’s Putney Heath.
Standing twelve paces apart, the two politicians prepared to exchange gunfire. Both men missed with their first shots. On the second round, Pitt deliberately fired away from his opponent, signalling that he considered honour satisfied without blood
When Australia Said Sorry
A coalition of Australian community groups came together on May 26th, 1998 for the country’s first “National Sorry Day”, an annual day of atonement for the social-engineering policy that ripped an estimated 50,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families between 1910 and the 1970s.
The first Sorry Day was marked with 300 events around the nation, and more than 1,000 pe
America's Longest Line
Hands Across America, a human chain from New York to California was formed on 25th May, 1986, in an attempt to raise awareness and funds for domestic poverty.
The brainchild of advertising executive Jeffrey Nightingale and We Are the World producer Ken Kragen, the kooky concept gained traction once corporate sponsors Coca-Cola and Citibank jumped on board, McDonald’s turned placemats into promoti
Jerry Lee Lewis's Child Bride
When Jerry Lee Lewis landed at Heathrow Airport for his first UK tour on 22nd May, 1958, he was met with a flurry of journalists eager for a scoop. Yet just one question brought everything to a halt: "Who are you?".
A wide-eyed girl in Lewis's entourage answered: Myra Gale Brown, his wife. But she was only 13 years old. As if this wasn’t scandal enough… she was also his cousin, and their marriag
Greyhound Hits The Road
When Carl Wickman started America’s first bus company on 21st May, 1914, they weren’t a bus company, and they weren’t called Greyhound - they were a commuter service for miners in Hibbing, Minnesota.
But, despite their ‘dirty dog’ reputation (and the fact they’re now owned by a British conglomerate), the company is still seen as a cornerstone of American culture, and undoubtedly the most famous b
Make Me Some Levi's
Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis received a US patent for reinforcing work trousers with copper rivets on 20th May 1873; an innovation that would eventually create the global market for blue jeans.
Davis, a Jewish tailor in Nevada, had already been using metal fasteners to strengthen horse blankets and other hard-wearing goods. When a labourer’s wife asked him to make trousers sturdy enough to surviv
Fox's 'Glee' Gambit
Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s musical comedy-drama ‘Glee’ was first screened on Fox on May 19th, 2009. In a strategy to whip up excitement before the season premiere in the Autumn, the network showed the pilot in a plum post-‘American Idol’ slot, and then besieged websites and social networks with advertisements over the Summer.
The strategy worked - justifying ‘Glee’s enormous budget, relativel
How Shrek Changed Hollywood
Dreamworks’ irreverent animated comedy Shrek opened in 3,500 U.S. theaters on 18th May, 2001 - dethroning The Mummy Returns with a $42 million opening weekend, and eventually raking in nearly $500 million worldwide.
But the journey to swampy superstardom was anything but smooth. The project bounced around for a decade, surviving the death of Chris Farley, the original voice of Shrek, and burning
The Unkillable King George
George III narrowly dodged a bullet for the SECOND time in one day on 15th May, 1800, as he attended a performance at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
The assassination attempt came from James Hadfield, a clinically insane former soldier, who rose from the pit and fired a pistol at the King, causing uproar in the audience. Despite the danger, George remained composed, even using his opera glasses
America's Last Witchtrial
Can ‘mesmeric’ mental powers harm you from afar? Well, no. But that didn’t stop Lucretia L. S. Brown accusing fellow Christian Scientist Daniel H. Spofford of ‘malicious animal magnetism’ in court; a case that concluded on 14th May, 1878.
No doubt bolstered by the fact it took place in Salem, Massachusetts - home of the historic American witchcraft trials, in the 1690s - the case aroused public i
The Man Who Shot The Pope
Pope John Paul II was shot in St. Peter’s Square on 13th May 1981, in front of thousands of pilgrims attending his weekly general audience. Struck multiple times at close range, he collapsed in his Fiat Popemobile, as panic swept through the square.
The gunman was Mehmet Ali Ağca, a 23-year-old Turkish national with a history of political violence (an accomplice was reportedly meant to have trigg
Richard I's Awkward Wedding Night
Richard the Lionheart was a bachelor into his thirties, but finally got hitched on May 12th, 1191, at the Chapel of St. George at Limassol, Cyprus. His Bride? Berengaria of Navarre, daughter of King Sancho VI - a key ally in extending his Kingdom across Europe.
Sure, he may have already slept with her brother, but hey, that’s less awkward than marrying his original betrothed princess, his father
Dynasty's Flamboyant Finale
With big hair, big drama, and even bigger shoulder pads, Aaron Spelling’s primetime soap-opera ‘Dynasty’ defined the 1980s. But, by May 11th, 1989, the show’s popularity was waning - and, even though the showrunners didn’t know it, ABC broadcast what was to be its final episode.
The nine-season saga chronicled the jaw-dropping lives of the fabulously wealthy Carringtons. Known for its ludicrously
Cocaine + Caffeine = Coca-Cola
John Pemberton launched Coca-Cola from a pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia, on 8th May, 1886. Legend has it that a serendipitous mishap had led to the addition of carbonated water, transforming the medicinal tonic into a fizzy beverage that would capture the public's imagination.
But in fact, Pemberton's original formula - Pemberton's French Wine Coca - had already been attracting a following; but it
The Return Of 'The Scream'
The theft of Edvard Munch’s iconic painting ‘The Scream’ sullied the opening day of the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer - but, on 7th May, 1994, the iconic work was recovered.
The painting, which has been stolen multiple times, was returned on this occasion thanks to the involvement of Britain’s Metropolitan Police - and the comic ineptitude of the thieves.
In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Ario
Duran Duran's James Bond Banger
A View To A Kill by Duran Duran was released on 6th May, 1985. It remains the only James Bond theme to reach Number One on the Billboard Hot 100.
To get the gig, bassist John Taylor reportedly approached Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli at a party and bluntly asked him why the series had not enlisted a “decent band” for a theme. At the time, Duran Duran were at the height of their fame, and Simo
Renouncing King John
The Magna Carta would not have become law unless a group of Barons had first renounced their allegiance to King John on 5th May, 1215. Primarily protecting their own interests, they were keen to prevent John burdening them with ever-higher taxes to fund his seemingly endless Wars.
Even once agreed, the now-revered document contained some surprising clauses: for example a law preventing members o
Australia's Anthem Saga
‘Waltzing Matilda’ moved a step closer to becoming Australia’s National Anthem on May 4th, 1976 - when Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser suggested in Parliament that he’d like to hear the song if Australia won gold at the Montreal Olympics.
Throughout the seventies, there had been a big push to ditch God Save the Queen for something more Australian, but Gough Whitlam’s Labour government’s hunt for a
America's Celebrity Child Soldier
Eleven year-old Johnny Clem formally became part of the Union Army on 1st May, 1863 - though he had already been participating as a Drummer Boy for the 22nd Michigan Infantry in the American Civil War for two years.
Clem's youthful determination and bravery propelled him into the spotlight of national fame - but he was far from the only child soldier in this tumultuous American era.
In this epis
Jerry Lewis vs The Holocaust
The Day the Clown Cried, Jerry Lewis’s notorious, unreleased Holocaust movie, faced a crisis on 30th April, 1972, when the American actor-director found himself in an extraordinary predicament: the financing for his deeply personal film project had collapsed mid-shoot.
Faced with abandoning the production or funding it himself, Lewis chose to press on, investing his own money despite mounting pra
Roget's Lexical Legacy
Peter Mark Roget waited until retirement to compile his personal collection of synonyms into a book for publication: the first edition of Roget’s Thesaurus, released on 29th April, 1852.
Despite initial scepticism from critics, who couldn't grasp its practical brilliance, the public embraced the new format - despite its unconventional organisation, in which synonyms were categorised by concept
Don't Call Me Bigot
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown dealt his party’s reelection campaign a massive blow on 28th April 2010, when during a meet-and-greet in the marginal constituency of Rochdale, he was caught on microphone calling one of his own supporters, Gillian Duffy, a bigot.
Duffy had engaged the PM in a long conversation about many things, including local concerns about the influx of migrants to the area
Mussolini's Last Day on Earth
Benito Mussolini was captured by partisans on 27th April, 1945, whilst attempting a hopeless escape to Switzerland, ‘disguised’ in a Luftwaffe coat and helmet alongside his much-younger mistress, Clara Petacci.
Hiding in plain sight was never going to work for a man who had spent years building a cult of personality. He put up little resistance to his capture.
That night, the couple spent their
Jane Fonda's Workout
Two-time Oscar winner Jane Fonda expanded her repertoire beyond acting and activism into exercise videos on 24th April, 1982, with the release of her bestselling aerobics VHS, "Workout."
What seemed like a small venture at the time swiftly captivated the nation, revolutionising fitness trends and catapulting household VCR ownership. Extraordinarily, all profits from the enterprise went to her an
How To Brew Beer in Bavaria 🍻
Duke Wilhelm IV issued what later became known as the Reinheitsgebot - the decree setting out that Bavarian beer should be made using only water, barley and hops - on 23rd April, 1516.
Although the famous “purity” clause occupies only a small part of the original document, the law helped improve drink quality, and remains in place today as a powerful marketing tool, shaping global perceptions of
The 'Hitler Diaries' Hoax
Extracts from Adolf Hitler's long-lost diaries were brought to the world’s attention on 22nd April, 1983, provoking an international sensation - until they were quickly exposed for being a hoax.
Respected World War Two historian Hugh Trevor Roper had authenticated the diaries, leading Rupert Murdoch to personally negotiate a $1.2 million serialisation in The Sunday Times, which went to press as
The Red Baron's Flying Circus
Germany’s most famous fighter pilot, Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (aka ‘The Red Baron’) was shot down near the Somme River on the Western Front, on 21st April 1918. He had been credited with an incredible 80 air combat victories during World War I.
Originally a cavalryman, Richthofen transferred to the Imperial Air Service and downed 15 enemy planes by the end of 1916. He then headed
The Origins of AstroTurf
The Houston Astrodome was a marvel of modern engineering: the world’s first fully covered sports stadium; a futuristic symbol of Houston’s rise as the home of NASA’s Mission Control.
But, after its glorious see-through roof created a blinding glare that made it nearly impossible for baseball players to see the ball… on 20th April, 1965, the panels had to be painted over.
And the grass on the p
The World's Weirdest War
A 335-year-long ‘war’ (in which not a single shot was fired) officially ended on 17th April, 1986, when the UK’s Dutch ambassador landed on the Isles of Scilly and declared an end to hostilities between the Netherlands and this tiny archipelago off the coast of Cornwall.
The origins of this eccentric conflict date back to 1651, during the English Civil War, where the Dutch found themselves ind
I Name This Ship Brittania
Queen Elizabeth II stood before 30,000 spectators at Clydebank to launch HMY Britannia on 16th April, 1953. The yacht’s name had been kept secret, and when the Queen finally declared it “Britannia”, the crowd responded with a surge of cheering applause.
Commissioned shortly before the death of her father, King George VI, the ship was intended to help the Royal family maintain personal ties acros
Tommy Cooper Dies On Stage
Tommy Cooper's unexpected death on stage at Her Majesty's Theatre on 15th April, 1984 remains one of the saddest and most surreal moments in UK comedy history.
Known for his slapstick humour and botched magic tricks, family favourite Cooper collapsed mid-act due to a massive heart attack.
The audience, initially assuming it was part of his act, roared with laughter as he lay on the stage emitt
Meet The Naked Chef
Jamie Oliver blasted on to British screens when his first TV series, ‘The Naked Chef’ premiered on BBC Two on 14th April, 1999.
Created by Pat Llewellyn for Optomen, the show was revolutionary for its use of jumpy, close-up camera work, and the presenter’s relaxed style and laddishness. The series and subsequent cookbook was credited with inspiring men to take to the kitchen, due to Oliver’s “bl
The CIA's 'Brain Warfare'
Project MKUltra, a CIA program aimed at mastering mind control, secretly started on 13th April, 1953, supposedly to combat Soviet brainwashing. It soon evolved into a bizarre mix of government-sponsored LSD experiments and psychological torture.
Led by Sidney Gottlieb, a chemist with a penchant for poisons, the program dosed often unwitting subjects—including CIA agents, prisoners and sex workers
Yes, We Have Bananas
Bananas, the world’s favourite fruit, were first displayed in London on 10th April, 1633, in the shop window of botanist Thomas Johnson, editor for Gerard’s Herball.
Despite societal taboos surrounding the banana's suggestive shape, its journey from obscurity to ubiquity was later propelled by Minor Cooper Keith, whose entrepreneurial endeavours in Costa Rica transformed the fruit into a global c
Less of the Moors
Spain began to expel Moriscos - the descendants of Muslims who had converted, often under pressure, to Christianity - on 9th April, 1609.
Although many had lived alongside Christian neighbours for generations, political suspicion lingered, and King Phillip III increasingly viewed them as a problem to be solved rather than a community to be integrated: expelling the Moriscos offered a way to asse
The Nudge Revolution
Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler’s bestseller ‘Nudge’ was released on 8th April, 2008, catapulting a new method of behavioural economics into the public psyche - and the hands of policymakers, including David Cameron and Barack Obama.
The book challenged the notion of humans as rational decision-makers, and explained how companies, governments and individuals can ‘nudge’ people towards healthier
I'm Betty Ford, And I'm An Alcoholic
Former First Lady Betty Ford quietly marked what she would later call her “sobriety birthday” on 7 April 1978: a deeply personal victory following years of dependence on prescription medication and alcohol.
Though the milestone itself was private, it came just days after a profoundly difficult family intervention at her home in Rancho Mirage, where her husband, former President Gerald Ford, and
The Surprising History of Post-Its
3M scientist Spencer Silver created the adhesive that makes Post-It Notes sticky back in 1968 - but it wasn’t until 6th April, 1980 that the stationery product we all know and love was first released to consumers, in a promotional effort the company termed ‘The Boiasie Blitz’.
The problem? His "invention" wasn’t what his company wanted. Rather than strong, industrial-grade glue, Silver had accid
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