In May 1975 one of Latin America's leading young poets was shot dead in El Salvador by members of his own rebel group. Roque Dalton was a prolific writer, who spent years in exile before returning to his native El Salvador to join the guerrillas fighting to overthrow the military regime. Dalton was killed along with another rebel, accused of spying for the Americans. Mike Lanchin has been speaking to one of the poet's sons, Juan Jose, about his father's short life and untimely death.

Photo: Roque Dalton receiving the Casa de las Américas prize for poetry in 1969.

In May 1970 Ireland's banks were forced to close for 6 months when workers went on strike. But in an age before ATMs and debit cards the Irish found a way of getting hold of their money - at the pub.

Photo:Three glasses of Guinness on a bar in Downings, Co. Donegal, Ireland (BBC)

In 1942, the fascist government of Romania deported 25,000 of its Roma citizens to the former Soviet territory of Transdniestria. Half of them died of hunger and disease. Dina Newman spoke to one Roma Gypsy man who was five years old when he was sent to Transdniestria with his family.

Photo: Nomadic Roma in Bucharest, Romania, outside their tent. Circa 1930. (General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

Teresa Teng was a Taiwanese singer who gained popularity with her soft-focus image and romantic songs. But when her music reached mainland communist China, she became a superstar - and part of a propaganda battle between Taiwan and the mainland. Lucy Burns has been speaking to Teresa's brother Frank Teng about her life and early death.

In June 2009 after the presidential elections in Iran, millions took to the streets to dispute Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's victory. A young woman, Neda Agha Soltan, became a symbol of the protest movement after she was shot dead at a demonstration in Tehran. Her death was captured on a mobile phone and uploaded on to the internet. That footage was seen around the world within hours. Farhana Haider has been speaking to Arash Hejazi who tried to save Neda's life as she bled on the streets.

(Photo: Supporters of then-defeated Iranian presidential candidate, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, attend a rally in Tehran on June 18th 2009. Credit: Reuters)

A Broadway musical has led to renewed interest in the story behind the 18th century American politician. He fought alongside George Washington for independence from British rule, and was key to the formation of the American financial system.

Photo: Alexander Hamilton on the US ten Dollar bill. Credit: KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images.

In 1954 the US Supreme Court ruled that the segregation of public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional. The case was a turning point in the long battle for civil rights in America. Farhana Haider has been speaking to Cheryl Brown Henderson, the youngest daughter of Oliver Brown, who was the named plaintiff in the class action against the local board of education.

(Photo African American student Linda Brown, Cheryl Brown Henderson's eldest sister (front, C) sitting in her segregated classroom.Credit: GettyArchive)

New York housewife, Jean Nidetch, started by simply talking to her friends about how to lose weight. They weighed each other and swapped dietary advice, but soon Weight Watchers had turned into a franchise. Ashley Byrne has been speaking to Lauren Cohen who joined in the 1960s and eventually became a 'trainer' leading her own Weight Watchers group.

Photo: Jean Nidetch in 1969. Credit Alamy.

In May 1972, the controversial American populist politician, George Wallace, was shot while running for President of the United States. The governor of Alabama had made his name as a supporter of segregation during the civil rights era. Simon Watts talks to his son, George Wallace Junior, author of "Governor George Wallace - The Man You Never Knew"

PHOTO: Governor George Wallace, in 1963, rejecting a federal government order to allow black students into the University of Alabama (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

In May 1981, documents surfaced that eventually led to the trial of the most senior French official to be convicted of war crimes during the German occupation of France in the Second World War. Former government minister, Maurice Papon, who was considered the most distinguished civil servant of his generation, went on trial twenty years ago for helping the Nazis to deport French Jews. He was sentenced to ten years in jail. Louise Hidalgo has been talking to American academic Stephanie Hare who did a series of interviews with Maurice Papon after his release.

Picture: Maurice Papon in October 1997, shortly after his trial for war crimes opened. (Credit: Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images)