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How the smear test was invented
The discovery by Dr George Papanicolaou in 1928 which led to the smear test
The US’s first gay election candidate
In 1961 the first openly gay person ran for public office in the United States.
How abortion was legalised in Great Britain
The campaign to allow abortion in Great Britain which resulted in a new law in 1967.
Poland's strict abortion law
In 1993 abortion laws were tightened up in Poland after the fall of Communism
When Tunisia led on women's rights
Tunisia became the first country in the Muslim world to legalise divorce and abortion.
The man who invented the Pill
In 1951, Dr Carl Djerassi created the Pill's active ingredient from Mexican wild yams.
Fighting for the pill in Japan
The contraceptive pill was approved for use in the US in 1960, but in Japan it was 1999.
The school for telenovela stars
In 1987, in Mexico City, a TV station opened a school to train telenovela actors.
Madhur Jaffrey’s ‘Indian Cookery’
A ground breaking Indian cookery programme broadcast on the BBC launched 40 years ago.
Who shot JR?
The world's reaction to leading man JR, being shot in the American TV series, Dallas.
The Soviet James Bond
The most successful TV spy series in the USSR went on air in 1973.
Nigerian sitcom Papa Ajasco
In 1996, Wale Adenuga’s sitcom Papa Ajasco first hit Nigerian TV screens.
Ukraine's Revolution on Granite
In 1990, a hunger strike led by Ukrainian students brought down the Soviet regime in Kyiv
The Surkov leaks
In 2016, Ukrainian hackers leaked the emails of Vladimir Putin's aide, Vladislav Surkov.
Inventing nicotine patches
Nicotine patches became available in the 1990s but their origins go back to the 1980s.
The Tangshan Earthquake
A deadly earthquake hit the city of Tangshan killing hundreds of thousands of people.
The Leaflet Bomber
In 1971 communist Bob Newland goes on a secret mission to South Africa to fight Apartheid
Why Asians came to Uganda
In the early 20th century many South Asians migrated to Uganda in search of a better life
When Asians were forced to leave Kenya
Many Asians migrated to Kenya in the early 20th century but were later forced to leave
The exodus of Asians from Uganda
In 1972, dictator Idi Amin announced that all Asians had just 90 days to leave Uganda.
The city shaped by Ugandan Asians
Some 10,000 Asians made Leicester their home after being expelled from Uganda in 1972.
The return of Asians to Uganda
When Yoweri Museveni came to power in 1986, he asked exiled Asians to return to Uganda.
The resignation of President Nixon
On 8 August 1974, Richard Nixon became the first US president in history to resign
Sweden’s pronoun battle
How campaigners fought to get ‘hen’ included in Swedish dictionaries.
Indonesia's forest fires
Forest fires in Indonesia caused huge damage and a dense smog across South East Asia
Discovering Hale Bopp
The Hale Bopp Comet was discovered in 1995 which resulted in advances in science
The nightclub that changed Ibiza
In June 1973, the nightclub Pacha opened in Ibiza and it changed the island forever
India's Partition - Part One
Saleem was five when his family escaped to the new Muslim country of Pakistan in 1947
India's Partition - Part Two
Chandra Joashi was caught on the wrong side of the border during India's partition
The last Viceroy of India
The daughter of the last British viceroy in India re the transfer of power in 1947
The death of Jawaharlal Nehru
The death of India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru
