Episodes

King Alexander of Yugoslavia embarked on a state visit to France on 9th October, 1934 – and was shockingly shot dead by an assassin in the crowd, the aftermath of which was captured by newsreels. Yugoslavia was a fractured country; an uneasy alliance between multiple peoples governed from Belgrade, and despised by extremist groups who […]

The world’s oldest oldest continuously surviving constitution, was adopted in the tiny country of San Marino on 8th October, 1600. This was a good 187 years before the United States adopted its own constitution and, during his presidency, Abraham Lincoln frequently held San Marino up as the model of a government founded on republican principles.

A boatload of Swedish identical twins, aged 11 to 80, descended into Felixstowe on 7th October, 1977 – wearing matching outfits – for a shopping trip.  The eye-catching stunt was part of a scientific project led by ship captain Sune Dahlström, a twin himself, in collaboration with the Swedish Twin Register at the Karolinska Institute

Rerun: Hooters, the beach bar chain famous for its flirtatious waitresses, first flung open its doors in Clearwater, Florida on 4th October, 1983. Its publicity-friendly ‘Hooters Girls’ – and a chance visit by John Riggins, star fullback for the Washington Redskins – ensured the concept took off, spawning 425 outlets in 30 countries. However, more

Rerun: The Roy half of Siegfried and Roy was mauled on October 3rd, 2003, by a 380-pound white tiger live on stage in Las Vegas. Roy lived, but was partially paralysed, which spelled the end for the wildly successful double act, which had performed more than 30,000 shows for 50 million people and generated well

Secretive Catholic sect Opus Dei was founded on 2nd October, 1928 by the young, energetic priest Jose Maria Escriva, who believed his divine mission was to inject religious fervour into everyday life, with holiness achieved not via clergy, but from the daily work of laypeople.  The faith grew rapidly in Spain, especially during the Franco

Tobe Hooper’s legendary low-budget horror film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, first screened in Austin on 1st October, 1974. The movie was an international sensation – making £21.9 million from its £100,000 budget in its first year – although not in the UK, where it was not screened nationally for 25 years, due to the BBFC’s

How did tea become Britain’s national drink? Its story begins in China, where it was first popularised during the Han and Tang dynasties – but it first made its mark in London’s coffee houses on 30th September, 1658, when it was advertised to the public in a ‘newsbook’, marketing the exotic beverage as “an excellent

Journalists, exhibitors and producers packed the Ambassador Hotel Theater, Los Angeles on 27th September, 1922 – to see the first ever paid-for screening of a 3-D film, ‘The Power Of Love’. Using an anaglyph system (meaning the 3-D glasses had two tinted lenses; one red, one green), viewers were told they could select a happy

Billy Graham’s Los Angeles Crusade started modestly on 25th September, 1949. But after newspaper giant William Randolph Hearst told his editors to “puff Graham”, the nightly revival meetings exploded in popularity, becoming a ‘sin-smashing sensation’, and Graham soon became America’s favourite preacher. His style was perfect for the Hollywood backdrop. At just 30 years old,