Millions pour into London for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, while the Empire’s elite mingle with the cream of Victorian society at Buckingham Palace.
2 mins
1899October11th1899
The First Modern War
In the first war to be filmed, the British Empire suffers terrible losses against the Boers, before calling for a merciless new weapon that will change the battlefield.
2½ mins
1901February2nd1901
Queen Victoria’s Final Journey
You can hear a pin drop as Edward VII and Kaiser Wilhelm II lead the procession for Queen Victoria, who is laid to rest after 63 remarkable years on the throne.
2 mins
1902September1st1902
The World’s First Sci-Fi FIlm
Before Captain Kirk and Luke Skywalker it was the pioneering genius of French cinema, Georges Méliès, who first took mankind to a new frontier.
2 mins
1906June27th1906
The First Grand Prix
On the public roads around the French town of Le Mans, 32 motor cars from 12 different manufacturers compete for glory in the first ever Grand Prix.
2 mins
1907September26th1907
Count Zeppelin’s Great Airship
National pride, and the prospect of long-distance air travel, sends the German public wild with excitement. But the military have other plans for the Zeppelin.
2 mins
1908July24th1908
Pietri’s Heroic Marathon
An Italian sweet-maker wins the hearts of a nation – and even the Queen – on one of the most thrilling but controversial days in Olympic history.
2 mins
1909July25th1909
Blériot’s Historic Flight
French aviator Louis Blériot risks everything, including the wrath of his wife, in the race to be the first person to fly across the English Channel.
2 mins
1909November19th1909
The King’s Birthday Shoot
At his country estate, where time really does stand still, Edward VII calls the shots and celebrates his birthday with friends, family and lots of birds.
2 mins
1910May20th1910
Caesar Mourns His Master
The Kaiser fails to see the funny side as his uncle, Edward VII, leaves instructions for his beloved fox-terrier to take the lead at his own funeral.
2 mins
1910October11th1910
First President To Fly
At a Wright Brothers’ air show in the U.S., gutsy ex-President Teddy Roosevelt – the first President to own a car – risks a ride in one of their flying machines.
2 mins
1910November18th1910
‘Black Friday’ For The Suffragettes
Just when it seems that Parliament will finally grant British women the vote, a last-minute betrayal sparks outrage… and a brutal police crackdown.
