This Week in History

Fascinating, surprising and eye-opening stories from the past, brought to life.
10th April 1815 - Mount Tambora erupts, the largest in recorded history. For two years particles stay in the air across the globe, inspiring various artworks.
6th April 1994 - A plane carrying President Habyarimana of Rwanda and the Burundian President Ntaryamira is shot down, sparking the start of the Rwandan Genocide.
7th April 1853 - Queen Victoria uses chloroform to relieve the pain of childbirth, a pioneering moment for obstetric medicine.

Fascinating, surprising and eye-opening stories from the past, brought to life.
1st April 2001 - Slobodan Milošević, the former president of The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, surrenders to police special forces.
4th April 1968 - The civil rights activist Martin Luther King is assassinated.
1st April 1748 - The ruins of the Roman city of Pompeii are discovered.

Fascinating, surprising and eye-opening stories from the past, brought to life.
23 March 1900 - Excavations begin at Knossos, Crete, revealing the Bronze Age Minoan civilisation
27 March 1963 - The Beeching report is published, leading to mass railway closures in the UK
26 March 1778 - Beethoven gives his first concert at the age of 7, he dies on the same day in 1827

Fascinating, surprising and eye-opening stories from the past, brought to life.
March 21st In 1556 - the first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, was burnt at the stake in Oxford during the reign of Queen Mary.
March 17th 1921 - the first family planning clinic opened in Holloway, North London, by Marie Stopes.
March 20th 1966 - the World Cup trophy was stolen from its display in Central Hall, Westminster - only to be discovered by a dog, Pickles, a week after.

Fascinating, surprising and eye-opening stories from the past, brought to life.
March 11th - In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev was named the Soviet Union's new leader.
March 11th - In 1702, Britain's first daily newspaper - The Daily Courant - began publication.
March 15th - In 44BC - the Ides of March - the Roman emperor, Julius Caesar, was assassinated by a group of senators.