April 7 - April 13

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 7th – April 13th - 11th of April 1961. The Trail of the senior Nazi official Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem, bringing world wide attention to the atrocities of the Holocaust. - 12th of April 1961 - Yuri Gagarin becomes the first person in space when he orbits the earth in the Vostok-1. Exactly twenty years later space exploration takes another giant leap when the first NASA space shuttle is launched. - 10th of April 1849. Walter Hunt patents his latest creation, the modern Safety Pin. He then sells the patent to payoff a small debt. He doesn't make another dollar from his invention.

Presented by Viji Alles and Caroline Nicholls Produced by Luke Doran