• Glossary
• About this site
• Print this page

1946-2000

1900-1938 | World War II | 1946-2000

The Nuremberg Trials
Examines the origins of the Nuremberg trials and their counterparts in Tokyo, how they were carried out, the sentences they passed and their legacy.

Fidel Castro
Since he led the revolution in 1959, this Cuban president has been the world’s longest-serving radical leader and an icon of armed revolt.

• A Guide to the 20th Century
  Snapshots of the century – how people around the world fought, played, thought, worked, experimented and freed themselves – including an hour's worth of video clips.
• The Nuremberg Trials
  Examines the origins of the Nuremberg trials and their counterparts in Tokyo, how they were carried out, the sentences they passed and their legacy.
• Immigration
  Accessible history of immigration into Britain from the time of the Romans to the present.
• The War of the World
  According to historian Niall Ferguson, the 20th century was by far the bloodiest in history. In this website, he explains why this came about, and there is an extensive chronology of the events that made this the ‘age of hatred’.
• Mahatma Gandhi
  Indian national and spiritual leader who preached non-violence but was killed by an assassin.
• Muhammad Ali Jinnah
  Muslim leader who pressed for partition but died just after Pakistani independence.
• Evita Perón
  Ex-actress wife of the Argentinian dictator, who built up a popular following and died young.
• Stalin: A beginner's guide
  A selection of the best internet sites and books about probably the worst tyrant of the 20th century.
• Britain’s Trains and Railways: A beginner’s guide
  Everything you wanted to know about steam engines, railway companies and electric locomotives.
• John Betjeman
  The high Tory lyricist deeply insecure about his social background and his gift for poetry who was hailed by The Times as 'Teddy Bear to the Nation'.
• What the Papers Said
  Newspapers give a contemporary slant to historical events: Chartists, Great Exhibition, Suffragette movement, World War I, Russian Revolution, Treaty of Versailles, General Strike, Cold War, Vietnam War (Channel 4 Learning).
• The Real James Bond
  The story of Ian Fleming, the creator of the spy James Bond, who was the fulfilment of Fleming's own fantasies.
• Pandit Nehru
  Independent India’s first prime minister who established a political dynasty.
• Josef Stalin
  Georgian-born dictator of the Soviet Union, probably the most brutal dictator of modern times.
• Gamal Abdel Nasser
  Egyptian nationalist leader whose nationalising of the Suez Canal led to an abortive invasion by Western powers.
• Kwame Nkrumah
  The first black African to lead his country – Ghana – to independence.
• 70 Years of Black TV Drama in Britain
  Article that traces the participation (or lack of it) of black people in British TV drama from the 1950s to the present.
• That'll Teach 'Em
  Shows how education today is very different from education in the 1950s, and asks why people have always criticised education and what is worthy of praise in it today.
• That'll Teach 'Em 2
  The differences between the education system in 1964 and in 2004, from lessons to teaching methods.
  
• That’ll Teach ‘Em 3: Boys v girls
  Who rules, girls or boys? Does splitting them up improve results? Can the government’s radical changes to the curriculum reverse the decline in school’s science?
• Race in the 20th Century
  This C4 Learning website explores the representations of empire and immigration in Britain and civil rights in the United States.
• The Real Paul Raymond
  An examination of the tangled career and troubled personal life of Britain's foremost porn baron, beginning in the 1940s.
• Women in the 20th Century
  This C4 Learning website examines the roles of women during the last century in terms of war, work and the family.
• Winston Churchill: A beginner's guide
  A selection of the best sites about the 'Greatest Briton'.
• Battle Stations II
  The machines and structures that helped the world's superpowers achieve mastery of the battlefield – from World War II, the Korean, Cold and Vietnam wars and some from more recent conflicts.
• Charles de Gaulle
  A concise biography of the French wartime leader and president of France, whose contradictory nature – and championing of France against all comers – made him more enemies than friends.
• Fidel Castro
  Since he led the revolution in 1959, this Cuban president has been the world’s longest-serving radical leader and an icon of armed revolt.
• Fidel Castro
  Communist Cuban premier who remains a thorn in the side of the US.
• John Fitzgerald Kennedy
  US president whose assassination led to claims of high-level conspiracy.
• Space disasters and near misses
  A chronology of the disasters (and some near misses) of the space programmes of the US and Soviet Union, plus those of such relative newcomers as the European Space Agency, China and Brazil.
• Edward Teller: Father of the hydrogen bomb
  A major architect of the US nuclear arsenal and an unrelenting champion of American military dominance.
• Bodies of Evidence
  Investigation of forensic archaeology and the scientific methods of unravelling the mysteries of the past. Plus more than two dozen case studies, including mummies, left-handedness and Lenin's body.
• Dwight D Eisenhower
  The World War II general who, as president, oversaw the post-war development of the US.
• The Real Prince Philip
  The man who always has to walk two steps behind the queen.
• Happy Birthday, Thalidomide
  A concise account of the drug that was given to pregnant women to combat morning sickness and became notorious for the damage it caused to babies.
• The Vinland Map: Real or hoax?
  Some claim that the map – said to show North America – was made in about 1440, before Columbus's explorations. Others say it's a forgery. Read our guide to the controversy and make up your own mind.
• Howard Goodall’s 20th Century Greats
  Why Cole Porter, Bernard Herrmann, Leonard Bernstein and Lennon & McCartney are among the greatest and most influential composers of the last 100 years.
• The Real Cliff Richard
  A celibate Christian knighted for his charitable work who was once hailed the 'British Elvis'.
• Hello Culture
  What is culture and how does the past impact the present? Here is a ‘grid’ of 160 entries that allows users to experience the heyday and remnants of Romanticism.
• Cities and disaster
  An examination of the calamities that befell seven cities: London (1666), Lisbon (1755), Chicago (1871), San Francisco (1906), Tokyo/Yokohama (1923), Florence (1966), New Orleans (2005).
• Isaac Asimov: Writing machine
  A prolific writer and widely considered a genius, Asimov went on to write over 500 books, but is best known for his science fiction.
• Mao Zedong
  Communist dictator whose rule – and whims – led to disaster for the Chinese.
• Robert Menzies
  Australia’s longest-serving prime minister.
• Achmad Sukarno
  Indonesian president whose authoritarian manner finally led to his downfall in 1967.
• Escape to the Legion
  This site about an experiment that challenged young men to endure a month of French Foreign Legion training contains a section on the history of this unique institution.
• Yasser Arafat
  This C4 Learning website examines the role played by Arafat in causing conflict and bringing peace to the Middle East.
• Children and war
  The history of child warriors extends from the youths of ancient Sparta and the youngsters below decks in Nelson’s navy to the young people engaged in military activity in the 21st century.
• Not Just Fade Away: Jean-Bédel Bokassa
  The fate of bloodthirsty ‘emperor’ of the Central African Republic.
• Feminists and Flour Bombs
  Feminism then and now in this examination of the lives of five women who protested at the 1970 Miss World competition.
• Arthur C Clarke: Literary space man
  Author of more than 80 books, Clarke accurately predicted the future so regularly that he won the respect of the scientific community.
• Not Just Fade Away: Idi Amin
  The ruthless Ugandan dictator who ruled throughout the 1970s.
• Philip Larkin: Love and death in Hull
  Places Larkin in the wider poetic context and delves into his bleak mindset, framed by his parents' drab and miserable life, and his oppressive ever-present awareness of death.
• Scandal
  Aleks Sierz finds this version of the Profumo affair just a bit too rose-tinted.
• Ho Chi Minh
  This C4 Learning website explains the role of Ho Chi Minh in achieving independence for Vietnam and eventually uniting the country.
• Malcolm X
  African-American leader who turned from separatism to the brotherhood of Islam.
• Martin Luther King
  This C4 Learning website analyses the role and importance of King in the civil rights movement in 1960s’ America.
• The Real Shirley Bassey
  The big-voiced singer from Cardiff's Tiger Bay.
• The Real Erich von Däniken
  The former Swiss hotelier who believed that the pyramids were built by humans after extraterrestrials mated with them and gave them an evolutionary kick-start.
• Blitz: Bombing and total war
  An examination of the huge influence that aerial bombing campaigns have had on the conduct and aims of modern warfare – from World War II to 'shock and awe' in Iraq.
• Not Just Fade Away: Jean-Claude 'Baby Doc' Duvalier
  The Haitian dictator who inherited power at the death of his father 'Papa Doc' in 1971.
• Bloody Sunday
  Two contrasting historians look at Jimmy McGovern's powerful docu-drama about the shootings in Derry in 1972.
• Richard Nixon
  Conservative US president who presided over the end of the Vietnam War and resigned in disgrace.
• The Hunt for Lord Lucan
  The disappearance of Lord Lucan in 1974 ignited one of the most compelling mysteries in modern criminal history – a peculiarly British affair, involving the dying traditions of aristocracy and honour.
• The Year London Blew Up
  In 1974/5, London endured a 14-month bombing campaign by the Provisional IRA. This timeline brings the fear and confusion of that time chillingly to life.
• Julius Nyerere
  Tanzania’s first president who favoured of government that reflected African society.
• Weapons of War
  This C4 Learning website charts the development of weapons technology from World War I to the present.
• Battle Stations III
  Four more magnificent examples of machines that won the day on the battlefield, all US aircraft.
• Not Just Fade Away: Augusto Pinochet
  The Chilean dictator who overthrew Salvador Allende in 1974 and was later befriended by Margaret Thatcher.
• Secret History: Orphans of the airlift
  Brief examination of the airlift of 99 orphans just before the fall of Vietnam in 1975, plus the ethics (or lack of them) behind making headlines.
• Pol Pot
  Cambodian dictator responsible for the deaths of at least one million people.
• Tit for tat
  Acts of vengeance and their consequences – including such ‘triggers’ as the murder of Genghis Khan’s envoys in 1218, the murder of the Israeli athletes in Munich in 1972 and the storming of the Golden Temple of Amritsar in 1984, as well as other examples of retribution from Japan, Czechoslovakia and Korea.
• The Real John Curry
  The figure skater whose brilliant career was dogged by professional failure and personal tragedy.
• The Real Keith Moon
  The world's most outrageous rock drummer.
• Margaret Thatcher
  Britain’s first woman prime minister who introduced swingeing conservative economic policies and waged war against Argentina over the Falkland Islands.
• The Real Alan Clark
  The historian and MP whose aristocratic charm and self-assurance allowed him to say – or do – what he liked.
• François Mitterand
  The socialist French president from 1981 to 1995.
• Ayatollah Khomeini
  Muslim religious leader who established a fundamentalist Islamic government in Iran.
• Lech Walesa
  Trade union leader who led the revolt against Communism in Poland and later became president.
• When Britain Went to War
  Facts and figures of the war in the Falklands, plus a discussion of the role of the media during various conflicts.
• The Belgrano controversy
  The sinking of the Belgrano by HMS Conqueror during the Falklands War sparked off a needless political controversy whose major casualty was, according to Dr Eric Grove, a senior British civil servant.
• Going Critical: HMS Coventry
  The sinking of HMS Coventry during the Falklands War, which killed 17 men, and the science behind what went wrong.
• Ferdinand Marcos
  Filipino president whose corruption finally led to his downfall.
• The Brighton Bomb – no impact?
  Professor Richard English asks what if the IRA's bomb had killed Margaret Thatcher, and what if there had been no bomb at all.
• Going Critical: Bhopal
  The Bhopal gas disaster of 1984, when a toxic cloud from an American chemical plant killed and injured thousands of Indians, and the science behind what went wrong.
• UFOs: The secret evidence
  The last 60 years of UFOs, close encounters and alien abductions
• Mikhail Gorbachev
  This Channel 4 Learning website explains how Gorbachev came to lead the USSR and why he introduced such rapid and wide-ranging changes.
• The Real Stephen Hawking
  The scientific genius who has fought profound disability.
• The Empire Pays Back
  Should the companies and other institutions that profited from the slave trade apologise and pay reparations?
• Battle for the Holocaust
  Jewish historians look at how understanding the Holocaust has changed since the end of World War II, and ask whose agenda is being served by the proliferation of museums, memorials and commemoration events.
• Nelson Mandela
  The black activist who, after 26 years’ imprisonment, became president of South Africa.
• In Clio's Bedroom
  Dr James Davidson on how present-day historians handle the sexual mores of the past.
• The Real Prince Charles
  The heavily marketed royal figurehead, sidelined by a new generation of celebrity royals.
• The Spencers
  A two-part biography of Diana Spencer and her brother Charles, Earl Spencer.
• Howard Goodall’s Big Bangs
  Goodall examines five momentous turning points in musical history and asks what they mean for us today (Channel 4 Learning).
• England's Thousand Best Churches
  An extract from Simon Jenkins's book, in which he ponders the problem of preserving these wonderful structures and their precious contents.
• The Tank Man
  The story of the lone protester in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989 and his legacy.
• Not Just Fade Away: Slobodan Milosevic
  The former Yugoslavian leader, now on trial at the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague.
• Saddam Hussein
  Iraqi dictator who, defeated by the US and UK, faced charges of crimes against humanity.
• Not Just Fade Away: Saddam Hussein
  The fate of the Iraqi despot.
• Dolly: The heaven-sent sheep
  The story of the sheep that was the first-ever clone of an adult mammal.
• The Holocaust on Trial
  A summary of the David Irving 'Holocaust denial' court case and the issues it raised, a discussion of what 'Holocaust denial' is, a timeline and resources.
• The Road to 9/11
  A chronology that investigates the ‘humiliation and disgrace’ that, according to Osama bin Laden, the Middle East suffered for ‘more than 80 years’ before the bombing of the World Trade Center.
• American Colossus
  Professor Niall Ferguson demonstrates that, in terms of economics and military capability, the US sometimes exceeds the British empire at its height.

1900-1938 | World War II | 1946-2000

Top