A Day That Shook the World

A Day That Shook the World recalls the days of the 20th century that proved to be era-defining and pivotal in the course of modern history. These are the days on which political revolutions, technological breakthroughs, and sporting triumphs took place, and whose effects were felt the world-over. Beginning with the funeral of Queen Victoria and recounting such iconic events as the Hindenburg airship disaster and the Cuban Missile Crisis, the series also contains concise overviews of more recent events such as the Asian Tsunami and the 2012 Olympic bid. Narrated by John Humphrys.

Episode Title Month Date
1 Queen Victoria's Funeral Queen Victoria's funeral February 1901
2 The Wright Brothers' First Flight The Wright Brothers' first flight December 1903
3 Emily Davison Throws Herself Under The Kings Derby Horse Emily Davison throws herself under the Kings Derby Horse June 1913
4 Battle Of The Somme Battle of the Somme July 1916
5 Abdication Of The Tsar Nikolas Abdication of the Tsar Nikolas March 1917
6 Irish Free State Treaty Signed Irish Free State treaty signed December 1921
7 Suzanne Lenglen Breaks Wimbledon Record Suzanne Lenglen breaks Wimbledon record July 1925
8 Start Of UK General Strike Start of UK general strike May 1926
9 Charles Lindbergh Flies The Atlantic Solo Charles Lindbergh flies the Atlantic solo May 1927
10 American Golfer Bobby Jones Wins Grand Slam American Golfer Bobby Jones wins grand slam September 1930
11 Hitler Becomes German Chancellor Hitler becomes German Chancellor January 1933
12 Edward VIII Abdicates Edward VIII Abdicates December 1936
13 Hindenburg Airship Crash Hindenburg airship crash May 1937
14 Hitler Annexes Austria Hitler Annexes Austria March 1938
15 Germany Invades Poland Germany invades Poland September 1939
16 Evacuation Of Dunkirk Evacuation of Dunkirk May 1940
17 London Blitz Begins On Civilian Targets London blitz begins on civilian targets September 1940
18 Pearl Harbour Attacked Pearl Harbour attacked December 1941
19 Battle Of El Alamein Begins Battle of El Alamein begins October 1942
20 Fall Of Stalingrad - German Army Surrenders Fall of Stalingrad - German Army Surrenders January 1943
21 D-Day Landings D-Day Landings June 1944
22 Liberation Of Paris Liberation of Paris August 1944
23 Big Three Meet At Yalta To Carve Up Post-War World Big three meet at Yalta to carve up post-war world February 1945
24 Germans Surrender To Montgomery Germans surrender to Montgomery May 1945
25 VE Day Celebrations VE Day celebrations May 1945
26 First Atomic Bomb Test In New Mexico First Atomic Bomb Test in New Mexico July 1945
27 Labours Landslide Election Win Labours Landslide Election Win July 1945
28 Atomic Bomb Dropped On Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima August 1945
29 India And Pakistan Gain Independence India and Pakistan gain independence August 1947
30 Berlin Airlift Begins Berlin Airlift begins June 1948
31 Maos Communists Take Over In China Maos communists take over in China October 1949
32 Korean War Starts Korean War Starts June 1950
33 Britain Explodes First Atomic Bomb Britain explodes first Atomic Bomb October 1952
34 Launch Of First Nuclear Submarine Launch of first nuclear submarine January 1954
35 Roger Bannister Breaks Four Minute Mile Roger Bannister breaks four minute mile May 1954
36 French Surrender At Dien Bien Phu French Surrender at Dien Bien Phu May 1954
37 Le Mans 24 Race Disaster Le Mans 24 race disaster June 1955
38 Khrushchev Denounces Stalin Khrushchev denounces Stalin February 1956
39 First Nuclear Power Station First Nuclear Power Station October 1956
40 Soviets Crush Hungarian Revolt Soviets Crush Hungarian Revolt November 1956
41 Suez Invasion Suez Invasion November 1956
42 Manchester United Players Die In Munich Air Crash Manchester United Players Die in Munich Air Crash February 1958
43 Peles World Cup Final Performance Thrills Crowds Peles World Cup final performance thrills crowds June 1958
44 First Hovercraft Run First Hovercraft Run July 1959
45 Kennedy Inauguration Kennedy Inauguration January 1961
46 Yuri Gagarin Becomes The First Man In Space Yuri Gagarin becomes the first man in space April 1961
47 Erection Of The Berlin Wall Erection of the Berlin Wall January 1961
48 Cuban Missile Crisis Cuban Missile Crisis October 1962
49 Martin Luther King Delivers His "I Have A Dream" Speech Martin Luther King delivers his "I have a dream" speech August 1962
50 Kennedy Assassinated Kennedy assassinated November 1963
51 Beatles Return From States In Triumph Beatles return from States in triumph February 1964
52 Aberfan Slag Heap Buries School Aberfan slag heap buries school October 1966
53 Donald Campbell Dies In Bluebird Crash Donald Campbell dies in Bluebird crash January 1967
54 Six-Day War Begins Six-Day War begins June 1967
55 Grosvenor Square Anti-Vietnam Riots Grosvenor Square anti-Vietnam riots March 1968
56 Paris Riots - France Comes Close To Revolution Paris Riots - France comes close to revolution May 1968
57 Soviets Put Down Prague Spring Soviets Put Down Prague Spring August 1968
58 Concorde Flies For First Time Concorde flies for first time March 1969
59 Armstrong Sets Foot On The Moon Armstrong sets Foot on the Moon July 1969