1978: Georgi Markov assassinated by poison-tipped umbrella
Bulgarian writer, journalist and defector, Georgi Markov, is poisoned in an assassination attempt, 7 September 1978.
He was stabbed in the back of the leg by the tip of an umbrella while waiting for a bus on Waterloo Bridge.
Markov had been a successful novelist and playwright in Bulgaria before his defection. He was an outspoken opponent of the then-Communist government of Bulgaria.
Four days after the stabbing, Markov died in hospital. A post-mortem showed the poison used was the highly toxic ricin.
Originally broadcast on 13 September 1978.