Today In History... with The Retrospectors
By The Retrospectors
Ten minute daily episodes bringing you curious moments from this day in history, with Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina and Arion McNicoll: The Retrospectors. It's history, but not as you know it.
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Latest episode
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The First Mountaineer
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… -
The Band of Gold Mystery
Rerun: Freda Payne’s banger ‘Band Of Gold’ sounds like a Motown record, but actually isn’t. Although written by Berry Gordy’s hit-making trio Holland-Dozier-Holland, it was released on their breakaway label, Invictus, on 25th April, 1970.<… -
Jane Fonda's Workout
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 v… -
Me At The Zoo
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 'Hitler Diaries' Hoax
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 Wa… -
Marathon Woman
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 … -
Poland's Italian Queen
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… -
The World's Weirdest War
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 archipel… -
Alex Haley's Faction Phenomenon
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… -
Tommy Cooper Dies On Stage
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 tric…