Witness History

In August 2003 Europe was hit by the hottest heatwave for hundreds of years. Tens of thousands of people died. Not built to withstand two weeks of extreme heat, Paris turned into a death trap for its most vulnerable citizens. The temperature reached 40C. Many elderly people died in their apartments alone. The government was criticised for its handling of the crisis. The head of the national health authority resigned shortly after the end of the heatwave. Emergency doctor, Patrick Pelloux, who was working at St Antoine Hospital in Paris, tells George Crafer what he encountered.(Photo: Paris looking hot. Credit: Getty Images)

On 22 November 1963, United States President John F Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.Lucy Williamson looks back to 8 November 1960, when Richard Nixon and JFK went toe to toe at the polls in a battle to become the next president. The narrow success made Kennedy the youngest man ever elected to the role.Close aide and speechwriter Ted Sorensen was with the politician on the night of the election. This programme was first broadcast in 2010.(Photo: US President-elect John F Kennedy shortly after his election in 1960. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

In 1987, a tea shop in Taiwan named Chun Shui Tang began selling pearl milk tea, or bubble tea, as it’s often called. It would revolutionise the tea-drinking world. Ben Henderson speaks to Liu Han-Chieh, the shop owner, and Lin Xiuhu, who first added the drink’s signature tapioca balls.(Photo: Bubble tea. Credit: Chun Shui Tang)

In 1964, Zambia became a republic. It was the ninth African state to leave British colonial rule.Simon Kapwepwe was one of the leaders in the fight for independence, along with his childhood friend Kenneth Kaunda, who became President in 1964.Simon’s daughter, Mulenga Kapwepwe, speaks to Laura Jones about her father’s role in naming the country and her memories of that time.(Photo: Sign welcoming people to Zambia in 1965. Credit: Lambert/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

In 2000, the pioneering underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio made one of the greatest ever submerged discoveries.He found evidence that the remains he had found off the coast of Egypt were from Thonis-Heracleion, an ancient Egyptian port lost without trace.Before the foundation of Alexandria, it had flourished at the mouth of the Nile between the 6th to 2nd centuries BC, a city twice the size of Pompeii.He tells Josephine McDermott about the incredible artefacts he has found including the moment he realised he was at the foot of a five-metre tall statue of a pharaoh.(Photo: The pharaoh statue discovered off the coast of Egypt. Credit: Christoph Gerigk, Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation)

The Bolivian Water War was a series of protests that took place in the city of Cochabamba in 2000 against the privatisation of water. People objected to the increase in water rates and idea that the government was “leasing the rain”.In April 2000, President Hugo Banzer declared a "state of siege" meaning curfews were imposed and protest leaders could be arrested without warrant.During a violent clash between demonstrators and the military, teenager Victor Hugo was shot dead by an army captain.Union official Oscar Olivera tells Vicky Farncombe how Hugo’s death motivated the protesters and brought about an end to the privatisation.(Photo: Demonstrators wave the Bolivian flag as they participate in a strike against water utility rate increases. Credit: Reuters)

Rosalind Franklin, a DNA pioneer, produced an X-ray photograph that revealed the structure of DNA. Her work at King's College London and her difficult relationships with her colleagues are explored. Franklin's unexpected influence and legacy have inspired women to pursue careers in science.

In 2010, a previously little-known Icelandic volcano erupted twice, sending a huge plume of volcanic ash all over Europe. The ash cloud grounded flights for days, causing disruption for millions of passengers. Reena Stanton-Sharma talks to Icelandic geophysicist and Eyjafjallajökull-watcher, Sigrun Hreinsdottir. This programme was first broadcast in 2022. (Photo: The awesome power of Eyjafjallajökull. Credit: Getty Images)

In the 1970s, engineer Sheldon Kaplan and his colleagues were tasked with creating an auto-injector pen to be used by US soldiers needing a nerve agent antidote.The Pentagon called it the ComboPen but, in 1987, it was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the EpiPen, for patients with allergies.The device is carried by millions of people all over the world as it can quickly and easily deliver a shot of adrenaline to anyone at risk of death from anaphylactic shock.Sheldon Kaplan died in 2009 and was inducted into the US National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2016.Sheldon’s son Michael Kaplan and colleague Michael Mesa tell Vicky Farncombe the story behind the pen.

Following the devastating tsunami of 2004, a baby hippo named Owen was rescued from the sea off the coast of Kenya.He was taken to Haller Park in Mombasa, home of a 130-year-old giant tortoise called Mzee.Owen and Mzee formed an unusual friendship and their story gained worldwide fame.Dr Paula Kahumbu tells their story to Gill Kearsley. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.(Photo: Owen and Mzee. Credit: Peter Greste/AFP/Getty Images)