On 20 July 1969, Apollo 11 landed the first humans on the Moon – bringing to an end more than 20 years of competition between two Cold War giants: the US and the Soviet Union. More than 650 million people watched with bated breath as Commander Neil Armstrong took “one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind”. This month, half a century on, we examine the groundbreaking space mission and 49 other world-changing events and great leaps forward in history – from Gutenberg’s printing press and the sealing ofMagna Carta, to civil rights and the discovery of penicillin. The feature begins on page 27: tell us about the person or event you think should have been included via the contact details on this page.
“Without having seen the Sistine Chapel, one can form no appreciable idea of what one man is capable of achieving”
One woman from history who certainly deserves to be remembered is secret agent Noor Inayat Khan, the first female radio operator sent by Britain into Nazi-occupied France during World War II. Y ou can read her remarkable story from page 53. We’ll also be exploring the Red Summer of 1919, which saw dozens of race riots erupt across the US (p64), and Ramesses II, father to at least 100 children and reputedly Ancient Egypt’s greatest pharaoh (p58). Oh, and we’ll also be investigating the drug trade in ancient cultures (p71).