In History

The CIA officer, who has died, aged 84, sold secrets to the Soviet Union, leading to the deaths of at least 10 Western agents. In 1994, the BBC spoke to one of the spies he betrayed.

When an oil embargo rocked the US, the president's radical solution was to make citizens start their working days an hour earlier – even in the darkness of midwinter

With his mocking English accent, the mysterious radio host broadcast to the UK from a German station, spreading rumours and exaggeration in the early days of World War Two.

In a daring raid 75 years ago, four university students stole back an early symbol of the Scottish kings. It had been taken by an English monarch more than six centuries before.

The pioneering primatologist destroyed the myth of gorillas as savage brutes before being killed by human hands, 40 years ago this month.

The band performed their first concert on 4 December 1965. In 1981, their leader Jerry Garcia talked to the BBC about how they became superstars but "never sold out".

Xavier Roberts' cuddly-toy business grew into a billion-dollar empire in the space of a few years. Why did these dolls have Christmas shoppers scrambling to buy them in 1983?

In November 1990, the UK's prime minister made her tearful departure from 10 Downing Street. She was ousted by her own party, having been weakened by an unlikely enemy.