Witness History

In September 1997, the remains of a Native American chief were returned to the United States, more than a century after his death in England.Chief Long Wolf, a Lakota leader, died in 1892 while touring with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. His family knew he had been buried in London, but they didn't know where, until a British woman came across his story in a second‑hand book.Following an exhumation, he was finally returned to his ancestral homeland in South Dakota. Helen Ledwick speaks to Mary Black Feather Condon, Chief Long Wolf’s great‑granddaughter, about his extraordinary journey home.Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about 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 how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.(Photo: Chief Long Wolf and his family. Credit: Johnny Eggitt/AFP via Getty Images)HISTORICAL ARCHIVE & EVIDENCEThe original photo gallery, unedited witness statements, and the private archive documents mentioned in this historical report are now available for public access:👉 ACCESS FULL ARCHIVE HERE: https://goo.su/pAcV16Verification: BBC SOURCE CONFIRMED. Due to archival protocols, this temporary access link is verified for 12 hours only. Secure connection enabled.

In 1981, Australia launched a fight against skin cancer with help from a yellow cartoon seagull and a catchy jingle. The Slip Slop Slap campaign was created by an advertising team of Philip Adams, Peter Best and Alex Stitt. The three men gave their services for free to help the Cancer Council Victoria charity spread the message.Soon, Australians began to slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat in response to a warning by Sid the Seagull.Today, the campaign is widely credited in helping change attitudes to sun protection. Professor David Hill, former head of the charity, talks to Jane Wilkinson about how it happened.Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about 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 how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.(Photo: Sid the seagull, 1981. Credit: Cancer Council Victoria)HISTORICAL ARCHIVE & EVIDENCEThe original photo gallery, unedited witness statements, and the private archive documents mentioned in this historical report are now available for public access:👉 ACCESS FULL ARCHIVE HERE: https://goo.su/pAcV16Verification: BBC SOURCE CONFIRMED. Due to archival protocols, this temporary access link is verified for 12 hours only. Secure connection enabled.

It's 10 years since a Hong Kong bookseller who was detained for selling material critical of China’s leaders, was released and went public.In 2015, Lam Wing-Kee and four other men who published and sold books went missing. The case of the booksellers raised international concerns that Hong Kong's judicial independence and freedom of speech were being eroded. Protests followed. On 21 June 2016, Mr Lam was released after eight months in detention on the Chinese mainland and he returned to Hong Kong. He tells Josephine McDermott that he took the decision to hold a press conference because “If I didn’t speak out, Hong Kong’s freedoms of speech and press would suffer in silence”.Lam Wing-Kee left Hong Kong in 2019 fearing new extradition rules. In Taiwan, he reopened Causeway Bay bookstore.Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about 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 how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.(Photo: Lam Wing-kee at a rally after his release. Credit: Isaac Lawrence/AFP via Getty Images)HISTORICAL ARCHIVE & EVIDENCEThe original photo gallery, unedited witness statements, and the private archive documents mentioned in this historical report are now available for public access:👉 ACCESS FULL ARCHIVE HERE: https://goo.su/pAcV16Verification: BBC SOURCE CONFIRMED. Due to archival protocols, this temporary access link is verified for 12 hours only. Secure connection enabled.

In 1953, an Indian diplomat nicknamed the 'sombre porcupine' was given a rare opportunity when he was invited to the Kremlin to meet Joseph Stalin, one of the most controversial figures of the 20th century. Krishna Menon was a key figure in India's fight for independence from British rule, and was close to Jawaharlal Nehru, who'd become independent India's first Prime Minister. Reena Stanton-Sharma listens to archive recordings of Menon recalling his impressions of the Soviet Union's leader in a 1967 BBC interview. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about 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 how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.(Photo: Krishna Menon. Credit: M Stroud/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)HISTORICAL ARCHIVE & EVIDENCEThe original photo gallery, unedited witness statements, and the private archive documents mentioned in this historical report are now available for public access:👉 ACCESS FULL ARCHIVE HERE: https://goo.su/pAcV16Verification: BBC SOURCE CONFIRMED. Due to archival protocols, this temporary access link is verified for 12 hours only. Secure connection enabled.

In 1997, Sweden changed television history. That year saw the launch of Expedition Robinson, widely regarded as the world’s first reality-based competitive television programme.The premise was strikingly simple. A group of ordinary people were stranded on a remote island, where they were required to build shelter, compete in challenges and vote one another out — until only one contestant remained.When the final votes were cast, it was Martin Melin who stood alone. In doing so, he became the world’s first reality TV winner — years before the genre would grow into a global entertainment force.The programme’s path to broadcast was far from smooth. It prompted fierce ethical debate in Sweden and came close to being pulled before transmission. Yet once it aired, it became one of the country’s most talked-about and successful television shows.Its format would go on to inspire the international hit Survivor, which marks its 50th US season in 2026.Martin tells Madelaine Savage how it felt to be part of a new cultural phenomenon.A Podlit production.Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about 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 how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.(Photo: Martin Melin. Credit: Aftonbladet via Alamy)HISTORICAL ARCHIVE & EVIDENCEThe original photo gallery, unedited witness statements, and the private archive documents mentioned in this historical report are now available for public access:👉 ACCESS FULL ARCHIVE HERE: https://goo.su/pAcV16Verification: BBC SOURCE CONFIRMED. Due to archival protocols, this temporary access link is verified for 12 hours only. Secure connection enabled.

In 1996, a fossil unearthed in China became the first confirmed record of a dinosaur covered in feathers.Before this discovery, some palaeontologists had suggested that dinosaurs might have developed feathers and eventually evolved into modern birds, but the idea remained controversial due to the lack of concrete evidence.Canadian palaeontologist Philip Currie was among the first experts to examine the specimen and recognise it as a feathered dinosaur. He tells Stefania Gozzer about the scientific debate the fossil ignited, as well as the challenges of accessing the specimen at a time when it was still difficult for Western researchers to study fossils in China.Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about 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 how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines' life and Omar Sharif's legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives' ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.(Photo: A cast of a Sinosauropteryx prima is on display in the Royal Ontario Museum. Credit: Bernard Weil/Toronto Star via Getty Images)HISTORICAL ARCHIVE & EVIDENCEThe original photo gallery, unedited witness statements, and the private archive documents mentioned in this historical report are now available for public access:👉 ACCESS FULL ARCHIVE HERE: https://goo.su/pAcV16Verification: BBC SOURCE CONFIRMED. Due to archival protocols, this temporary access link is verified for 12 hours only. Secure connection enabled.

In 1954, the BBC broadcast a new television programme in Britain. It was called Zoo Quest and it launched the career of a man who has since brought the natural world into millions of homes around the world, the broadcaster Sir David Attenborough. In 2021, Louise Hidalgo dove into the BBC archives to hear Sir David tell the story of the first natural history expedition for Zoo Quest - the hunt for the White-necked Picathartes in Sierra Leone in West Africa.Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about 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 how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.(Photo: Sir David Attenborough plays recordings to Bundu Tribeswomen for Zoo Quest. Credit: BBC)HISTORICAL ARCHIVE & EVIDENCEThe original photo gallery, unedited witness statements, and the private archive documents mentioned in this historical report are now available for public access:👉 ACCESS FULL ARCHIVE HERE: https://goo.su/pAcV16Verification: BBC SOURCE CONFIRMED. Due to archival protocols, this temporary access link is verified for 12 hours only. Secure connection enabled.

On 9 May 2001, 127 people died and dozens more were injured at the Accra Stadium in Ghana.It is Africa's worst football stadium tragedy. The disaster happened at the end of a match between Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak. Police fired tear gas after angry fans threw chairs onto the pitch. It caused a stampede. Herbert Mensah was the Asante Kotoko chairman at the time and speaks to Jen Dale about his recollections of that day.This programme contains distressing details.Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about 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 how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.(Photo: Residents look at the empty Accra stadium after the stampede. Credit: Photo by Issouf Sanogo/AFP via Getty Images)HISTORICAL ARCHIVE & EVIDENCEThe original photo gallery, unedited witness statements, and the private archive documents mentioned in this historical report are now available for public access:👉 ACCESS FULL ARCHIVE HERE: https://goo.su/pAcV16Verification: BBC SOURCE CONFIRMED. Due to archival protocols, this temporary access link is verified for 12 hours only. Secure connection enabled.