Episodes

The Italian poet Petrarch hiked up Mont Ventoux in Provence on 26th April, 1332 – an event claimed for centuries to be the first time mountaineering for pleasure had been attempted.  His celebrated letter to Dionigi di Borgo San Sepolcro was the source, revealing Petrarch’s contemplations on spirituality and the human condition amidst the breathtaking […]

Two-time Oscar winner Jane Fonda expanded her repertoire beyond acting and activism into exercise videos on 24th April, 1982, with the release of her bestselling aerobics VHS, “Workout.”  What seemed like a small venture at the time swiftly captivated the nation, revolutionising fitness trends and catapulting household VCR ownership. Extraordinarily, all profits from the enterprise

On 23 April 2005, software engineer Jawed Karim posted an 18-second clip of himself standing in front of some elephants at the San Diego Zoo – a video which is largely unremarkable, except for the fact it was the first ever clip uploaded to the site Karim cofounded: YouTube. The video has since received 260

Extracts from Adolf Hitler’s long-lost diaries were brought to the world’s attention on 22nd April, 1983, provoking an international sensation – until they were quickly exposed for being a hoax.  Respected World War Two historian Hugh Trevor Roper had authenticated the diaries, leading Rupert Murdoch to personally negotiate a $1.2 million serialisation in The Sunday

Katherine Switzer became the first woman to officially participate in the Boston Marathon on 19th April, 1967, when, disguised in a hooded sweatshirt and joggers, she ran under a race number she’d registered for without disclosing her first name.  Her gender was revealed mid-race, prompting a bizarre fracas as co-director Jock Semple, known for his

Milanese Princess Bona Sforza married the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Sigismund the Old, in Krakow Cathedral on 18th April, 1518 – making her the first Italian Queen of Poland, and one of the world’s most powerful women. There followed a 29-course wedding feast, a bawdy consummation ritual …and decades of resentment, as the Polish aristocracy

A 335-year-long ‘war’ (in which not a single shot was fired) officially ended on 17th April, 1986, when the UK’s Dutch ambassador landed on the Isles of Scilly and declared an end to hostilities between the Netherlands and this tiny archipelago off the coast of Cornwall.  The origins of this eccentric conflict date back to

When ‘Roots: The Saga of an American Family’ made novelist Alex Haley an international sensation, he revisited Juffure, Gambia – the village where he claimed his 18th-century ancestor Kunta Kinte had been captured into slavery. On 16th April, 1977, he was welcomed ‘home’ as a hero by the villagers. But his hit novel had begun

Tommy Cooper’s unexpected death on stage at Her Majesty’s Theatre on 15th April, 1984 remains one of the saddest and most surreal moments in UK comedy history.  Known for his slapstick humour and botched magic tricks, family favourite Cooper collapsed mid-act due to a massive heart attack.  The audience, initially assuming it was part of

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin left Kazakhstan for space on 12th April, 1961 – the first human to venture beyond the confines of Earth’s atmosphere. As the rocket roared into the sky, Gagarin’s now-famous exclamation of “Poyekhali!” (“Let’s go!”) echoed through the cockpit. Despite the anticipation surrounding Gagarin’s historic flight, the actual experience was relatively brief,