In April 1882, the great English naturalist Charles Darwin, whose theory of evolution changed forever the way we look at the world and our place in it, was buried at Westminster Abbey. The funeral was the greatest honour that Britain could give. But, as Witness reports, the national commemoration almost didn't take place.

(Photo: English naturalist, Charles Darwin, 1809-1882. Credit: Spencer Arnold/Getty Images)

In April1986 a reactor exploded at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, in the USSR. Sergii Mirnyi was in charge of a monitoring unit which measured radiation levels in the 30 km exclusion zone around the plant.

(Photo: Chernobyl nuclear power station after the accident. Credit: Associated Press)

In 1966 the great French fashion designer went to Morocco for the first time. The trip would influence his designs - and as a result - the clothes of fashionable western women.

(Photo: Yves Saint Laurent in 1957. Copyright: AP)

In 1769, the great English actor, David Garrick, organised the first national celebration of Shakespeare at Stratford-On-Avon. The three days of festivities were attended by the cream of society, but were nearly ruined by one of the biggest floods in the town's history. Simon Watts introduces accounts from the time.

(Photo: Shakespeare. Credit: Getty Images)

In 1911 a factory fire shocked New Yorkers and was said to have inspired the series of huge economic and social reforms which came decades later, known as the New Deal.

Photo: Fire hoses spray water on the upper floors of the Asch Building (housing the Triangle Shirtwaist Company) on Washington and Greene Streets, during the fire in New York City, March 25, 1911. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

In April 1961 a group of Cuban exiles launched an invasion of communist-ruled Cuba in a failed attempt to topple Fidel Castro. After 72 hours of fighting many of the invaders were captured or killed. Gregorio Moreria was a member of the local communist militia who fought against the US-backed invaders. He was injured and briefly captured during the fighting. He spoke to Witness about his ordeal.

(Photo: Members of Castro's militia during the US-backed Bay of Pigs invasion. Credit: Three Lions/Getty Images)

In 1982, a British naval task force sailed to the south Atlantic to retake the Falkland Islands. To provide crucial air cover, the British fleet relied on an unusual and underrated aircraft, the Harrier, We hear from piilot and author, David Morgan DSC, who flew the Harrier during the conflict.

Photo: A Sea Harrier on the flight deck of HMS Hermes heading to the Falklands , April 1982. .(Getty Images)

In April 1966, Ethiopia's emperor Haile Selassie made a spectacular arrival in Jamaica. It was his first and only visit to the birthplace of the Rastafarian movement which revered him. A quarter of a million people greeted him at the airport.

(Photo: Emperor Haile Selassie speaking to the BBC in 1954)

In April 1931, the King of Spain was overthrown and a Republic was declared amid huge public excitement. The new government made it a priority to introduce modern education and culture to everyone in the country, including the rural poor. Some of Spain's leading writers and artists volunteered to go on 'Missions' to villages where the inhabitants were illiterate and life had not changed since the Middle Ages. Simon Watts introduces first-person accounts from the time.

Audio of the Choir of the Missions courtesy of the Residencia de Estudiantes, Madrid.

Photo: The Republican flag is raised in Madrid in April 1931 (Getty Images)

In 1971 the first Starbucks coffee shop opened in Seattle. Witness hears from two of the founders of the company that changed the way millions of people start their day.

Photo of the first Starbucks coffee store in Pikes Place Market in Seattle (courtesy of Zev Siegl).