Through dramatic reconstructions, eye-witness accounts and archive footage, each episode in the “Days That Shook the World” TV series pieces together the thrilling stories of the landmarks of our time; the moments in history - human tragedies, scientific breakthroughs and calamitous events that have profoundly affected the way the world thinks and acts. Days that Shook the World examines some of the most important days in history, creating a detailed and forensic analysis of 24 hours that changed the world. It covers some of the biggest themes in World history - from the history of flight, to the rise and fall of Communism. This fresh and unusual BBC production explores mankind's defining moments. A gripping anatomy of some of the most important days in history, hour by hour as they unfolded. Incisive, fascinating & dramatic, the complete series builds a compelling picture of the seismic moments in world history. From ancient Egypt to the Berlin Wall, these episodes look at events that had a lasting impact on human history, from technological breakthroughs to political tragedies. Finding new angles and putting events into historical context, the series spans centuries and continents with one common thread On each of these days, the lives of millions were changed forever. Incredible breakthroughs, acts of shocking brutality, and stories of hope form the themes of these compelling programs. As the clock ticks, the events of the day climax, and we learn just what happened and how the day affected the course of history. The series focuses on events that defined the 20th century, from the discovery of the first dinosaur remains to the Hindenburg disaster. The programmes also investigate Yuri Gagarin's space flight; the Great Train Robbery; the abdication of Edward VIII; the events leading to the fictional Day Of The Jackal; the theft of the Crown Jewels; the hoax that was Piltdown Man; and disasters such as the Oklahoma bombing and the Challenger explosion.
A Lion Television Production for BBC in Association with The History Channel
Part 8 Terror - Made in America Assassination of Abraham Lincoln/Oklahoma City bombing
Two events that shook America the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865 and the Oklahoma bombing in 1995. 130 years separate the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the slaughter of 168 innocents in the Oklahoma City bombing actions of political extremists that will forever make a mark on America.THE ASSASSINATION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. As the Civil War drew to a close, John Wilkes Booth hoped to rescue the South and become a hero. Days That Shook the World re-creates the dramatic episode that will forever leave its mark on history. Washington, DC, USA. It is April 14, 1865. At Ford's Theatre, the evening performance of Our American Cousin is about to begin. In the audience is the American President, Abraham Lincoln. In Terror - Made in America we see that at around 9.30 pm, a young actor named John Wilkes Booth arrives in the rear alley and asks Joseph Burroughs, a boy who works at the theatre, to hold his horse. After a drink in the saloon next door, Booth enters the front of Ford's Theatre and slowly makes his way towards the Presidential Box. THE OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING. Oklahoma City, USA. It is April 19, 1995. Timothy McVeigh, a 33-year-old veteran of the first Gulf War, drives a van packed with home-made explosives and parks it outside the Alfred P Murrah federal office building in downtown Oklahoma City. At 09.02 am, the van explodes. Half of the nine-storey building collapses, killing 168 people, including 19 children at a day-care centre, and injuring more than 500.The cost of the damage is later estimated at ?80 million. McVeigh believed he was striking a blow against a government at war with its own people. Witnesses help reconstruct the day of one of the bloodiest terrorist attacks on US soil.
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