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
60 Bloody Sunday In Northern Ireland Bloody Sunday in Northern Ireland January 1972
61 Nixon First Us President To Resign Nixon first US President to resign August 1974
62 Ayatollah Khomeini Returns From Exile Ayatollah Khomeini returns from exile February 1979
63 Lord Mountbatten Assassinated By IRA Lord Mountbatten Assassinated by IRA August 1979
64 British Sas Storm Iranian Embassy In London British SAS Storm Iranian Embassy in London May 1980
65 British Task Force To Sail For Falklands British Task Force to sail for Falklands April 1982
66 HMS Sheffield Sunk In Falklands War HMS Sheffield sunk in Falklands War May 1982
67 IRA Bombs British Cabinet At Brighton IRA Bombs British Cabinet At Brighton October 1984
68 Ethiopian Famine - BBC Reports Spark Huge Response Ethiopian Famine - BBC reports spark huge response October 1984
69 Heysel Stadium Riots Heysel Stadium riots May 1985
70 Challenger Spacecraft Explodes Challenger Spacecraft explodes January 1986
71 America Attacks Libya America attacks Libya April 1986
72 Chernobyl Disaster Chernobyl Disaster April 1986
73 Zeebrugge Ferry Disaster Zeebrugge Ferry Disaster March 1987
74 Lockerbie Pan-Am Jet Explosion Lockerbie Pan-Am jet explosion December 1988
75 Exxon Valdez- Worlds Worst Oil Spill Exxon Valdez- worlds worst oil spill March 1989
76 Tiananmen Square Massacre Tiananmen Square Massacre June 1989
77 Berlin Wall Comes Down Berlin Wall Comes Down November 1989
78 Official End Of The Cold War - Bush/gorbachev Agree To Deal Official End of The Cold War - Bush/Gorbachev agree to deal December 1989
79 Ceausescu Overthrown Ceausescu Overthrown December 1989
80 Nelson Mandela Released Nelson Mandela Released February 1990
81 Iraq Invade Kuwait Iraq invade Kuwait August 1990
82 Thatcher Falls From Power Thatcher falls from power November 1990
83 Desert Storm - Gulf War Desert Storm - Gulf War January 1990
84 Soviet Coup Failed Soviet Coup Failed August 1991
85 Maastricht Treaty Maastricht Treaty December 1991
86 Los Angeles Race Riots Los Angeles race riots May 1992
87 British Royal Family In Crisis British Royal family in crisis June 1992
88 Windsor Castle Damaged By Fire Windsor Castle damaged by fire November 1992
89 The Prince And Princess Separate The Prince and Princess Separate December 1992
90 Arab Israeli Peace Agreement Arab Israeli peace agreement September 1993
91 Yeltsin Crushes Political Rebels Yeltsin Crushes Political Rebels October 1993
92 Bosnian Crisis Bosnian Crisis February 1994
93 Barings Bank Collapses Barings Bank Collapses February 1995
94 150 Die In Oklahoma Terrorist Attack 150 die in Oklahoma terrorist attack April 1995
95 Dolly The Sheep Clone Unveiled Dolly the Sheep clone unveiled February 1997
96 Princess Of Wales Dies In Paris Car Crash Princess of Wales dies in Paris car crash August 1997
97 Death Of Mother Teresa Death of Mother Teresa September 1997
98 Funeral Of Diana, Princess Of Wales Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales September 1997
99 Hurricane Mitch Hurricane Mitch October 1998
100 President Clintons Impeachment President Clintons impeachment December 1998
101 NATO Bombing Of Chinese Embassy, Belgrade Nato Bombing of Chinese Embassy, Belgrade May 1999
102 The Millennium The Millennium January 2000
103 Deciphering Of The Human Genome Deciphering of the Human Genome June 2000
104 Concorde Crash Concorde crash July 2000
105 September 11th September 11th September 2001
106 Ipod IPod October 2001
107 Battle Of Tora Bora Battle of Tora Bora December 2001
108 Fall Of Iraq Fall of Iraq April 2003
109 Saddam Capture Saddam Capture December 2003
110 Beslan School Siege Beslan School Siege September 2004
111 Orange Revolution Ukraine Orange Revolution (Ukraine) November 2004
112 Asian Tsunami Asian Tsunami December 2004
113 Kyoto Agreement Kyoto Agreement February 2005
114 Pope John Paul II Dies Pope John Paul II Dies April 2005
115 Charles And Camilla Charles and Camilla April 2005
116 Super Jumbo Airbus Super Jumbo Airbus April 2005
117 London Awarded 2012 Olympics London Awarded 2012 Olympics July 2005
118 London Bombings London Bombings July 2005
119 Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina August 2005
120 Israeli Invasion Of Lebanon Israeli Invasion of Lebanon July 2006
121 Collapse Of Enron Collapse of Enron October 2006