It is 40 years since Hafez al Assad seized power in Syria. Read more
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Assad and Syria
It is 40 years since Hafez al Assad seized power in Syria.
Hamlet
Hamlet - by William Shakespeare - is still popular four centuries after it was written.
Chiapas Uprising
On January 1 1994 indigenous people in southern Mexico began their rebellion.
Alaska statehood
On January 3 1959 Alaska finally became a fully fledged member state of the USA.
LBJ State of the Union Address
US President Lyndon B Johnson's 1965 speech proposed healthcare for the poor and elderly
Afghanistan's Secret Schools for Girls
How Afghan women resisted the Taliban's efforts to prohibit education for girls
Sudan's civil war
In 1983 a civil war broke out in Sudan which would last for more than 20 years.
Clinton impeachment
On January 7 1999 the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton began in the US Senate
Bojinka Airline Plot
The Manila-based plot to blow up a dozen airliners over the Pacific Ocean
Crossing the Rubicon
When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon river 2,000 years ago he changed history
Cryonic freezing
In 1967 a group of enthusiasts first tried to cryonically freeze a human being.
Wikipedia - 10 years on
It is 10 years since the Wikipedia online encyclopedia was launched
Football wages
We take you back to 1961 when the cap on football wages was abolished in England
Kindertransport - Oliver's story
The story of a boy who escaped Nazi Germany on a kindertransport train heading for Britain
Crossing Antarctica
In January 1997 Borge Ousland became the first person to cross the Antarctic alone
Palomares nuclear accident
How a B-52 bomber crashed on the Spanish coast while carrying four nuclear weapons.
Ben Ali Comes to Power in Tunisia
The story of how Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali came to power in Tunisia
Execution of Louis XVI
On 21 January 1793 the French king, Louis XVI was executed in Paris
Funeral of Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Churchill, the British wartime leader, died on 24 January, 1965
Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff
One of the worst maritime disasters in history - the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff
Conflict in Somalia
In January 1991 the government of Siad Barre in Somalia, collapsed
Siege of Sidney Street
The bloody battle between British police and a group of revolutionaries in London in 1911
The siege of Leningrad
Hundreds of thousands of civilians died of starvation during the siege of Leningrad.
The North Sea Flood
On the last day of January 1953 high tides and storms brought a huge flood to Holland.
Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit-ins
A simple non-violent action to protest against racial segregation in restaurants and shops
Death of Sid Vicious
The last days of punk icon, Sid Vicious, in New York in 1979
Revolution in Iran
The first week of February 1979 saw a revolution unfolding in Iran
Sarajevo marketplace massacre
On February 5 1994 there was an attack on a marketplace in the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo
Duvalier flees Haiti
Twenty-five years ago today, the President of Haiti Jean-Claude Duvalier fled the country
Shot down in Iraq
It is 20 years since international forces united to drive Iraq out of Kuwait
The Docklands bomb
On 9 February 1996, a bomb exploded in London bringing an IRA ceasefire to an end