Timeline - World History Documentaries

From Galileo’s clash with the Inquisition to Immanuel Kant’s revolution of reason, this comprehensive documentary explores the greatest minds of the Enlightenment. Discover how radical thinkers like Hobbes, Descartes, Locke, Spinoza, and Hume defied religious doctrine, questioned the nature of reality, and risked execution to shape modern science, politics, and human rights. Witness the intellectual war that shattered medieval dogma and forged the modern Western world.

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"Science doesn't proceed or get better with established ideas. You have to challenge"

Recently a team of fossil hunters working in Kenya came upon a set of fossilised teeth and a series of bones. Their find set in motion a chain of events that ignited excitement across the scientific world, for if they were correct in their findings, not only would they have found the oldest human ancestor, but much of the received wisdom humankind's evolution would have to be rewritten. This programme is the story of their discovery and the implications it has for understanding of...

This extraordinarily moving documentary tells the story of Holocaust survivor, Henia Bryer, in her own words. Born into a middle-class Jewish family, Henia lost her father, brother and sister during the German occupation. She survived four concentration camps (including Auschwitz) and the horror of the Death March. Henia went on to bear witness to the creation of Israel in 1948 before making a new life for herself in South Africa. Created with the intimacy of a home movie by Henia's niece Lisa Bryer, producer of many films including The Last King of Scotland, it was made so her grandchildren could...

From secret military programs to history’s most infamous mysteries, dive deep into the events that shaped our world. Explore the tragic secrets of the Sedlec Ossuary, the high-stakes tension of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the dark history behind the Whitechapel murders, and the devastating engineering failures that changed modern safety forever. Featuring expert analysis and rare historical records, this documentary unpacks the real stories behind the headlines. Discover the truth behind history's most fascinating turning points, notorious trials, and forgotten catastrophes.

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Inside Operation Moshtarak, the massive 2010 Allied offensive to reclaim the Taliban stronghold of Marjah in Helmand Province. Experience the raw combat reality faced by US Marines as they navigate deadly IED networks, elite sniper fire, and brutal room-to-room combat while attempting to execute President Obama’s counterinsurgency strategy.

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Forensic geologist Scott Wolter travels to the Hawaiian Islands to investigate the legend of the Menehune - a race of dwarf-like people in Hawaiian tradition. Often dismissed as mythical, new evidence suggests these ancient builders may have been a real group of people. By examining the sophisticated dry-stack masonry of the Menehune, Wolter seeks to separate fact from folklore.

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An intimate profile of Richard Nixon

Nixon In The Den develops a fresh account of Nixon and his ruthless ambition to escape a loveless, impoverished background. Historian David Reynolds argues that Nixon was genuinely successful as an international statesman, with historic visits to Communist China and the Soviet Union in 1972 helping thaw the Cold War. Yet, behind the scenes, Nixon's diplomacy was a story of intrigue and rivalry. The very methods that won Nixon acclaim on the international stage also doomed his presidency in the infamous Watergate scandal. With the help of Nixon's scribbled memos, audio recordings...

Discover the extraordinary history of the airfields that defined the 20th Century. From the birthplace of British aviation at Farnborough to the "strongest link" in the Battle of Britain at Biggin Hill, we explore the legends and the legacy of flight. Witness the development of the Spitfire, the secret science of radar that stopped Hitler’s invasion, and the pioneering spirit that led to the supersonic Concorde. Featuring exclusive access to restoration workshops and interviews with veterans, this is the definitive story of the machines and the people who conquered the skies.

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On May 12, 1989, Southern Pacific freight train 7551 rocketed down California’s Cajon Pass at over 100 mph before derailing into a San Bernardino neighborhood. Caused by fatal weight miscalculations and failing brakes, the crash killed four people and destroyed seven homes. But thirteen days later, a second catastrophe struck the exact same street when a damaged underground pipeline ruptured, igniting a massive inferno. This documentary investigates the series of tragic human errors, mechanical failures, and oversight lapses that led to one of the most disastrous chain reactions in American transportation history.

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Did the age of chivalry ever really exist? The discovery of 38 mutilated skeletons from the War of the Roses in the late 15th century casts doubt on this age.

The bodies had multiple stab wounds and their noses and ears had been cut off which, suggests archaeologist Chris Knusel, was to prevent their souls going to heaven.

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A moving and intimate portrayal of Nelson Mandela filmed on the campaign trail in the days leading up to South Africa's first democratic election.

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Explore the dark turning points of modern history, from catastrophic industrial accidents like the 1984 Bhopal disaster to high-stakes Cold War blunders like the Bay of Pigs. Discover the true stories behind political scandals, aviation tragedies, secret military operations, and unsolved mysteries that altered the global landscape forever. Featuring detailed accounts of the Battle of Stalingrad, the Watergate cover-up, and the 1983 Beirut Barracks bombing, this comprehensive documentary breaks down the tragic events, costly errors, and historical cover-ups that shook the world during the 20th century.

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This landmark documentary was produced 5 years after the end of The Falklands War and features interviews and insights from both the Argentinian and British sides.

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Britain would have lost her empire and the war in 1942 had Axis forces beaten the British army in the Middle East. Tim Collins re-investigates Britain's critical desert campaign, and the controversial battle tactics needed to take on the unbeaten Panzer army in total war, preventing Hitler from gaining Egypt, Iraq and the oilfields. Foreshadowing current world events, this oil-rich region was crucial to the war effort. These are the World War II battles that shaped the Middle East, and created the world in which we live today.

This is the story of a final showdown between two...

Forensic investigator Scott Walter tracks the trail of Captain Kidd’s lost fortune. From the 17th-century jail cells of Boston to the crumbling mansions of the Astor family, we investigate if America’s first millionaire discovered a pirate's hoard. Featuring exclusive access to Kidd’s personal treasure chest and the original trial documents, we reveal the truth behind the man who was hanged three times and the cursed legacy he left behind. Is the treasure still hidden in Maine, or was it the secret fuel for an American empire?

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Forensic geologist Scott Wolter uncovers a mysterious link between the ancient serpent mounds of Scotland and North America. Was there a secret global priesthood sharing knowledge thousands of years before Columbus?

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Did ancient Polynesians reach California centuries before Columbus? Is there a lost Egyptian city hidden within the prohibited zones of the Grand Canyon? Forensic geologist Scott Wolter travels from Hawaii to the American Southwest to investigate "out-of-place" artifacts that defy conventional history.

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Before it became the setting for the hit series 'Downton Abbey', Lord and Lady Carnarvon opened the doors of Highclere Castle, their stunning lakeside country house, for a documentary all about the running of their rambling estate in Hampshire. Documentary first broadcast in 1996.

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In 1942, determined to prove that France was leading the fight against Nazism, General de Gaulle offered Stalin a squadron of French pilots to fight on the Soviet front. That regiment, known as Normandy-Niémen, were legendary, winning 273 aerial victories. But the men paid a heavy price. 43 pilots were killed during combat.

Using archives, reconstructions and 3D animations, we tell the heroic story of the French pilots who fought with the red star painted on their planes.

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In this investigative documentary, we go beyond the history books to uncover the Knights of the Golden Circle, a shadowy Confederate secret society. Using forensic geology and ground-penetrating radar, we explore hidden tunnels and decoded ciphers to reveal a plot aimed at more than just murder—the creation of a global Confederate empire fueled by millions in buried gold. This is the untold story of the American Civil War's greatest mystery.

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Prince Charles Edward was Queen Victoria's favourite grandson. In 1900, the sixteen-year-old Prince was the only viable British contender for the hugely wealthy Dukedom of Saxe Coburg and Gotha in Germany. Ordered to go by Queen Victoria, he took the title and was transformed from a British Prince into a German Duke - Herzog Carl Eduard. The course of his life was altered in ways neither he nor Queen Victoria could have ever imagined.

At the outbreak of the First World War, Prince Charles Edward had no option but to fight for Germany against the country of his...

This is an extraordinary story of the most disturbing witch trial in British history and the key role played in it by one nine-year-old girl. Jennet Device, a beggar-girl from Pendle in Lancashire, was the star witness in 1612 in the trial of her own mother, her brother, her sister and many of her neighbours; thanks to her chilling testimony, they were all hanged.

Although the events in this film may date back four hundred years, its issues resonate today as much as ever - when to believe our children, and how, in times of crisis, fear of...

On a crisp day in Dallas, 1963, the world changed forever. This documentary explores the life and death of President John F. Kennedy, from his World War 2 service to the tense days of the Cuban Missile Crisis. We investigate the man behind the trigger, Lee Harvey Oswald, tracing his journey from the US Marines to the Soviet Union and back to the Texas School Book Depository. Witness the minute-by-minute timeline of the assassination, the hunt for the killer, and the shocking moment Jack Ruby silenced the truth on live television.

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The man behind the blueprint for the holocaust - Reinhard Heydrich - was nicknamed ‘The Hangman’. He ruled occupied Czechoslovakia with a rod of iron and thought himself untouchable. But in London, a top-secret hit squad had different ideas and marked him for execution. After five months planning, in December 1941, secret assassins staged a daring roadside ambush, in the heart of Prague in broad daylight. Heydrich died of his wounds eight days later. The mass-murderer was gone, but the revenge was swift as hundreds died at the hands of German soldiers. Was this Nazi hunt worth it?

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Take an epic, chronological journey through a century of military aviation and the historic British airfields that shaped the world. From the rudimentary grass strips of WW1—where pioneers fought terrifying German Zeppelins—to the industrial might of WW2 featuring the legendary Lancaster bomber and Barnes Wallace's audacious engineering.

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Sexpionage tells the stories of two women who were seduced by secret agents working for the East German intelligence service, the Stasi. At the height of the Cold War the Stasi would regularly despatch their agents to the West German capital, Bonn, armed with the task of forming long term relationships with single women working at embassies or government ministries. These women were unwittingly tapped for top secret information which was then passed on to the East. Both Gabriele Kliem and Margaret Hike had no idea that their lovers were spies until both women were arrested for treason. This...

Deep in the forests of modern-day Poland lie the shattered remains of the Wolf’s Lair, the most important Nazi command center of WW2. In this documentary, we explore the 800 days Adolf Hitler spent within these concrete walls, making the catastrophic decisions that led to the fall of the Soviet Union and eventually his own Reich. From secret drug injections to the daring assassination attempt by Klouse von Stalenberg, we uncover the true story of Hitler’s isolation, his growing paranoia, and the hubris that built the largest bunker complex in history.

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A devastating volcanic eruption in A.D. 535 leads to the emergence of new nations and religions.

Written records from China, Italy, Palestine and many other countries suggest a huge catastrophe blighted the world in 536AD. But the cause of it has been uncertain.

Was it a comet? An asteroid? A volcano? Archaeologist David Keys reveals the latter is to blame for the Dark Ages of famine and plague that shaped the world order of today.

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The Roman empire was a time of power and brutality, fuelled by violent games and bloodbaths. However, it was also abundant in refinement and extreme sensuality. Food and cooking was an key indicator of success, with quality and abundance of dishes the primary measure. As the first and largest european civilisation, Rome was at the epicentre of culinary innovation, with an acute emphasis on vegetables, meat and spices.

From eating lying down, to watering down fine wines, Rome had unique practices when it came to dining. Techniques are examined, and strange staples, such as a fish intestine...

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In 1939, the world collapsed into a darkness that would last six years and one day. This documentary explores the brutal beginning of WW2, from the invasion of China and the atrocities in Nanjing to the lightning-fast fall of Poland, Belgium, and France. We examine the strategic failures of the Maginot Line, the desperate miracle of the Dunkirk evacuation, and Winston Churchill’s rise to power as Britain stood as the final holdout against Nazi tyranny. This is the definitive story of how the world went to war.

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A documentary on the six-decades long career of a muckraking journalist, who was involved with the radical 196os magazine Ramparts, with the Los Angeles Times newspaper, and later with the Internet website Truthdig.

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Researching a climatic catastrophe that rocked the Earth in A.D. 535, causing two years of darkness, famine, drought and disease.

Written records from China, Italy, Palestine and many other countries suggest a huge catastrophe blighted the world in 535AD. But the cause of it has been uncertain.

Was it a comet? An asteroid? A volcano? Archaeologist David Keys reveals the latter is to blame for the Dark Ages of famine and plague that shaped the world order of today.

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Join elite Egyptologists and forensic scientists as they use advanced CT scans, chemical analysis, and experimental archeology to unlock three chilling historical mysteries. Discover how a misplaced mummy reveals a blood relative of Ramesses II, uncover the gruesome political assassination of an Egyptian chantress murdered in both life and the afterlife, and journey to ancient Peru to investigate the bizarre cranial modification and successful brain surgery of a 1,000-year-old "Tobacco Shaman." History’s darkest secrets are finally exposed using modern forensics.

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Historian, Joann Fletcher explores the hitherto downplayed role that women took in the running of state and, indeed, in shaping every aspect of life in Ancient Egypt. Perhaps unassumed by most, the ancient Egyptians were unique in their attitude to sexual equality with women holding the title of 'Pharaoh' no fewer than 18 times, while there were also female doctors, tutors, prime ministers and priestesses. Focusing on women of royalty such as Pharaoh Hatshepsut and Queen Nefertari, as well as women of high profession such as Lady Peseshet, the earliest female doctor known to the world, Fletcher reveals an ancient...