April 21 - April 27

Fascinating, surprising and eye-opening stories from the past, brought to life

BBC Radio 4 explores the history books and archives to see what else has happened on this same week throughout history. With short looks at the events that have shaped the world and made us who we are today.

This week. April 21st – April 27th - 26th of April 1986. The Chernobyl power plant saw the worst nuclear accident in history, but are we still dealing with the fall out?. - 23rd of April 1564. It's celebrated as the birthday of one of England's greatest ever writers, but was William Shakespeare actually born on this day? - 27th of April 1994. After decades of white minority rule under apartheid, it was the first free elections in South Africa, a day that has became known as Freedom Day.

Presented by Ron Brown and Caroline Nicholls Produced by Luke Doran