Gay in the US military

In 1975 a US airman announced he was gay, to test the military's attitude to homosexuals.

• 9 mins

Cesar Chavez - Yes We Can!

How a Mexican-American civil rights leader coined the phrase that would inspire Obama.

• 15 mins

The Tibetan uprising

In 1959 the people of Tibet turned against Chinese occupying forces.

• 9 mins

The Theft of Charlie Chaplin's Body

In March 1978 thieves stole the body of Charlie Chaplin from a cemetery in Switzerland.

• 9 mins

Marie Stopes, Birth Control Pioneer

In March 1921 Marie Stopes opened Britain's first birth control clinic in London.

• 9 mins

Giandomenico Picco - Hostage negotiator

The UN envoy who tried to secure the release of Western hostages in Lebanon.

• 9 mins

Syrian uprising

Two years ago Syria's conflict began with demonstrations in the southern city of Daraa.

• 9 mins

Lebanon hostage crisis

In 1991 Giandomenico Picco went to Beirut to try to free Western hostages.

• 14 mins

Iraq: Ten years on - The bombardment of Baghdad

It is a decade since the US and its allies began their invasion of Iraq.

• 9 mins

Iraq: Ten years on - The invasion of Iraq

John Crawford was part of the US forces that rolled into Iraq in March 2003.

• 9 mins

Iraq: Ten years on - Looting in Baghdad

In April 2003, Baghdad descended into chaos as American troops took control of the city.

• 9 mins

Iraq: Ten years on - Working for the Americans

How one Iraqi who took a job with the US military, was threatened with death as a traitor.

• 9 mins

Iraq: Ten years on - The capture of Saddam Hussein

In December 2003 the former Iraqi leader was finally caught by American forces.

• 9 mins

Life in Ceausescu's Romania

Nicolae Ceausescu controlled Romania through his feared secret police - the Securitate.

• 14 mins

The Profumo Affair

Fifty years ago, a sex scandal threatened to engulf the British government.

• 9 mins

Living in Ceausescu's Romania

The communist dictator ran one of the most feared secret police forces in Eastern Europe.

• 9 mins

Unearthing the Terracotta Army

Discovered by chance by farmers digging a well, the secrets of the Qin Dynasty in China.

• 9 mins

American prisoners in Vietnam

After their release in 1973, former US prisoners of war began to talk about torture.

• 9 mins

The killing of Archbishop Romero

On 24 March 1980, Archbishop Oscar Romero was shot dead while saying mass in San Salvador.

• 9 mins

Women and the law in Britain

Over 175 years ago, Caroline Norton began to fight for the rights of married women.

• 9 mins

The real Peter Pan

A family of real boys inspired JM Barrie to write the story of Peter Pan.

• 9 mins

Operation Babylift

As the Vietnam war ended the US tried to fly thousands of orphans out of the country.

• 9 mins

Howard Hughes

The reclusive American billionaire remembered by one of the few journalists to meet him.

• 9 mins

James Brown Concert at the Boston Garden

Held 24 hours after the death of Martin Luther King, the gig went ahead peacefully

• 9 mins

Matabeleland Massacres

In the early 1980s, thousands of civilians were killed in Zimbabwe by the security forces.

• 9 mins

The Great Famine in China

When Mao Zedong tried to force an industrial revolution in China millions starved to death

• 9 mins

The Guinea Pig Club

How severely burnt Second World War airmen learnt to overcome their terrible injuries.

• 9 mins

Black Golfer at the US Masters

How Lee Elder broke one of the last colour barriers in US sport in 1975

• 9 mins

Mickey Mouse goes to Europe

When Disney opened a theme park in Europe, just outside Paris it was beset with problems.

• 9 mins

The First War in the Air

The story of a young British pilot who survived the world's first war in the air

• 9 mins