The History Channel UK

The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917 (March in the Gregorian calendar; the older Julian calendar was in use in Russia at the time). In the second revolution, during October, the Provisional Government was removed and replaced with a Bolshevik (Communist) government.

Starting in the 1890s, millions of Europeans and Americans encountered “native” Africans in person for the first time in so-called “human zoos.” This strange but once popular form of “entertainment” was long forgotten. Somali-British author Nadifa Mohamed now recounts what it was like to live in a human zoo. She tracks down the descendants of those involved, shows how people were used for racial experiments, and reveals that the remains of these “exhibited” indigenous people can still be found in museums today.

Texas sniper Charles Whitman's story stands out for many reasons, not least of which being that it features a co-star - the University of Texas Tower from which he fired almost unimpeded for 96 minutes. On the surface, Charles Whitman would have seemed as steady and upstanding as the tower itself - he came from a wealthy, prominent family in Lake Worth, Florida, was a gifted student, an accomplished pianist and an Eagle Scout. But this veneer could not be further from the truth as this look inside his warped mind reveals. On August 1st 1966, Charles Whitman climbed the University of Texas Clock Tower with his high-powered rifles and killed 14 people and wounded 31 others. Interviews with those who knew him well and excerpts from Whitman's own writings reveal how his murderous personality was formed and why his violent nature remained hidden for so long.