This Week in History - August 25th - August 31st

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

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

This week: August 25th - August 31st
- 27th August 1896. The British Empire defeat the sultanate of Zanzibar in the shortest recorded war in History.
- 26th August 1994. Arthur Cornhill receives the world's first 'Bionic Heart'.
- 29th August 1930. The evacuation of the archipelago of St Kilda.

Presented by Jane Steel and Ron Brown.
Produced by Chris Pearson and Luke Doran.

Published on Monday, 25th August 2025.

Available Podcasts from This Week in History

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We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the This Week in History webpage.