Every one checked to the minute

Minutes with history.

Some minutes already have a story. These are the ones we could pin down to the exact minute, from Moon landings to the first ever TV advert. Times are where it happened; “around” means the sources differ by a minute or so. Most are still up for grabs.

January

  1. 00:00Big Ben bongs in the new millennium1 January 2000, 00:00 local time · Westminster, London · Celebration · source
  2. 18:35The very first Top of the Pops hits BBC TV1 January 1964, 18:35 local time · Manchester · Celebration · source
  3. 12:05Barack Obama is sworn in as president20 January 2009, 12:05 local time · US Capitol, Washington DC · History · source
  4. 12:51John F. Kennedy takes the oath of office20 January 1961, 12:51 local time · US Capitol, Washington DC · History · source
  5. 11:40Concorde takes off on the first supersonic passenger flights21 January 1976, 11:40 local time · London Heathrow · Celebration · source
  6. ~09:30Streets empty across India as Ramayan premieres on Doordarshan25 January 1987, around 09:30 local time · India · History · source
  7. 23:00The UK formally leaves the European Union31 January 2020, 23:00 local time · London · History · source

February

  1. 21:30Beep beep beep beep beep BEEEP: the BBC pips are heard for the first time5 February 1924, 21:30 local time · Royal Observatory, Greenwich · Oddly wonderful · source
  2. ~16:14Nelson Mandela walks free after 27 years11 February 1990, around 16:14 local time · Victor Verster Prison, Paarl · Celebration · source
  3. 12:55Perseverance rover touches down on Mars18 February 2021, 12:55 local time · NASA JPL, Pasadena · Celebration · source
  4. 09:47John Glenn lifts off to become the first American to orbit Earth20 February 1962, 09:47 local time · Cape Canaveral, Florida · Celebration · source

March

  1. 00:00Ghana becomes independent: “Ghana is free forever”6 March 1957, 00:00 local time · Accra, Ghana · Celebration · source
  2. 18:00Channel 5 launches, fronted by the Spice Girls30 March 1997, 18:00 local time · London · Celebration · source

April

  1. ~18:30Pikachu’s TV debut: the Pokémon anime premieres1 April 1997, around 18:30 local time · TV Tokyo · Celebration · source
  2. ~21:30Eurovision 1974 begins in Brighton, the night ABBA meet their Waterloo6 April 1974, around 21:30 local time · Brighton Dome · Celebration · source
  3. 21:07Hank Aaron hits home run 715, breaking Babe Ruth’s record8 April 1974, 21:07 local time · Atlanta, Georgia · History · source
  4. ~17:25Rachael Blackmore becomes the first woman to win the Grand National10 April 2021, around 17:25 local time · Aintree, Liverpool · History · source
  5. 11:07Yuri Gagarin launches as the first human in space12 April 1961, 11:07 local time · Baikonur Cosmodrome · Celebration · source
  6. 07:00Columbia launches on the first Space Shuttle mission12 April 1981, 07:00 local time · Kennedy Space Center, Florida · Celebration · source
  7. 21:08“Houston, we’ve had a problem”: Apollo 13 radios home13 April 1970, 21:08 local time · Mission Control, Houston · History · source
  8. 20:31“Elephants have really, really long trunks”: the first YouTube video23 April 2005, 20:31 local time · California · Oddly wonderful · source

May

  1. 12:02Charles III is crowned at Westminster Abbey6 May 2023, 12:02 local time · Westminster Abbey, London · Celebration · source
  2. 15:00Churchill announces victory in Europe on VE Day8 May 1945, 15:00 local time · 10 Downing Street, London · Celebration · source

June

  1. 12:34Elizabeth II is crowned at Westminster Abbey2 June 1953, 12:34 local time · Westminster Abbey, London · Celebration · source
  2. 06:30D-Day: H-Hour for the first seaborne landings in Normandy6 June 1944, 06:30 local time · Utah and Omaha beaches, Normandy · History · source
  3. 14:29Valentina Tereshkova launches as the first woman in space16 June 1963, 14:29 local time · Baikonur Cosmodrome · Celebration · source
  4. 00:00Hong Kong passes from British to Chinese rule1 July 1997, 00:00 local time · Hong Kong · History · source

July

  1. 17:24Andy Murray wins Wimbledon, Britain’s first men’s champion since 19367 July 2013, 17:24 local time · Centre Court, Wimbledon · Celebration · source
  2. 12:00“It’s twelve o’clock in London”: Live Aid begins13 July 1985, 12:00 local time · Wembley Stadium, London · Celebration · source
  3. 18:41Queen take the Live Aid stage and steal the whole day13 July 1985, 18:41 local time · Wembley Stadium, London · Celebration · source
  4. 05:29Trinity, the first nuclear test, is detonated16 July 1945, 05:29 local time · Trinity Site, New Mexico · History · source
  5. 09:32Apollo 11 lifts off for the Moon16 July 1969, 09:32 local time · Kennedy Space Center, Florida · Celebration · source
  6. 15:17The Eagle has landed: Apollo 11 touches down on the Moon20 July 1969, 15:17 local time · Mission Control, Houston · Celebration · source
  7. 21:56Neil Armstrong steps onto the Moon20 July 1969, 21:56 local time · Mission Control, Houston · Celebration · source
  8. 19:32Full time at Wembley: the Lionesses are European champions31 July 2022, 19:32 local time · Wembley Stadium, London · Celebration · source

August

  1. 00:01“Video Killed the Radio Star” and MTV is born1 August 1981, 00:01 local time · New York · Celebration · source
  2. ~21:42Mo Farah wins 10,000m gold on Super Saturday4 August 2012, around 21:42 local time · Olympic Stadium, London · Celebration · source
  3. 21:50Usain Bolt wins London 2012 Olympic 100m gold5 August 2012, 21:50 local time · Olympic Stadium, London · Celebration · source
  4. 12:3412:34:56 on 7/8/90: the most satisfying moment on a British calendar7 August 1990, 12:34 local time · Anywhere in the UK · Oddly wonderful · source
  5. 00:00India becomes independent at the stroke of midnight15 August 1947, 00:00 local time · New Delhi, India · Celebration · source
  6. 21:35Usain Bolt runs 9.58 seconds, the 100m world record16 August 2009, 21:35 local time · Olympiastadion, Berlin · Celebration · source
  7. 10:29Voyager 2 launches on its grand tour of the outer planets20 August 1977, 10:29 local time · Cape Canaveral, Florida · History · source
  8. 13:00BTS release “Dynamite” and break YouTube21 August 2020, 13:00 local time · Seoul · Celebration · source

September

  1. 09:04Japan signs the surrender aboard USS Missouri2 September 1945, 09:04 local time · Tokyo Bay, Japan · History · source
  2. 08:56Voyager 1 launches, bound for interstellar space5 September 1977, 08:56 local time · Cape Canaveral, Florida · History · source
  3. 04:50Gravitational waves are detected for the first time14 September 2015, 04:50 local time · LIGO Livingston, Louisiana · History · source
  4. 20:12Britain’s first TV advert: Gibbs SR toothpaste, “tingling fresh”22 September 1955, 20:12 local time · London (ITV launch night) · Oddly wonderful · source
  5. 20:10Cathy Freeman wins Olympic 400m gold in Sydney25 September 2000, 20:10 local time · Stadium Australia, Sydney · Celebration · source

October

  1. 02:00Britain puts the clocks back for the first time: 3am becomes 2am, and an hour happens twice1 October 1916, 02:00 local time · Great Britain · Oddly wonderful · source
  2. 00:00Germany is reunified at midnight3 October 1990, 00:00 local time · Reichstag, Berlin · Celebration · source
  3. 15:58Bobby Thomson’s “Shot Heard Round the World”3 October 1951, 15:58 local time · Polo Grounds, New York · History · source
  4. 00:28Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, is launched5 October 1957, 00:28 local time · Baikonur Cosmodrome · History · source
  5. 10:14Eliud Kipchoge runs the first sub-two-hour marathon12 October 2019, 10:14 local time · Prater, Vienna · History · source

November

  1. 15:00The BBC switches on the world’s first regular TV service2 November 1936, 15:00 local time · Alexandra Palace, London · History · source
  2. 16:45Countdown’s clock starts ticking as Channel 4 goes on air2 November 1982, 16:45 local time · London · Celebration · source
  3. ~18:57Schabowski announces East Germans can cross “immediately”9 November 1989, around 18:57 local time · East Berlin · History · source
  4. 11:00The Armistice takes effect and the guns fall silent11 November 1918, 11:00 local time · Western Front, France · History · source
  5. 17:16A police box materialises: the first Doctor Who airs23 November 1963, 17:16 local time · BBC Television, London · History · source

December

  1. ~00:00Kenya becomes independent as its flag is raised at midnight12 December 1963, around 00:00 local time · Uhuru Gardens, Nairobi · Celebration · source
  2. 10:35The Wright brothers make the first powered aeroplane flight17 December 1903, 10:35 local time · Kitty Hawk, North Carolina · Celebration · source
  3. 20:38A Falcon 9 booster lands itself for the first time21 December 2015, 20:38 local time · Cape Canaveral, Florida · Celebration · source
  4. 09:20The James Webb Space Telescope launches25 December 2021, 09:20 local time · Kourou, French Guiana · Celebration · source
  5. 12:00Panama takes full control of the Panama Canal31 December 1999, 12:00 local time · Panama Canal · Celebration · source
  6. 23:59The last leap second: a minute that lasted 61 seconds31 December 2016, 23:59 local time · Everywhere (UTC) · Oddly wonderful · source

Remembered

These minutes mark tragedies. We list them so they're remembered. Anyone can still hold one, often to remember someone, and everything on those minutes is checked by a person with extra care.

  1. 16:53The Haiti earthquake12 January 2010, 16:53 local time · Port-au-Prince, Haiti
  2. 05:46The Great Hanshin (Kobe) earthquake17 January 1995, 05:46 local time · Kobe, Japan
  3. 11:39Space Shuttle Challenger is lost28 January 1986, 11:39 local time · Off Cape Canaveral, Florida
  4. 07:59Space Shuttle Columbia is lost on re-entry1 February 2003, 07:59 local time · Over Texas
  5. 16:04The Munich air disaster6 February 1958, around 16:04 local time · Munich-Riem Airport
  6. 12:51The Christchurch earthquake22 February 2011, 12:51 local time · Christchurch, New Zealand
  7. 14:46The Great East Japan Earthquake11 March 2011, 14:46 local time · Tōhoku, Japan
  8. 09:35The Dunblane Primary School shooting13 March 1996, around 09:35 local time · Dunblane, Scotland
  9. 02:20RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic15 April 1912, 02:20 local time · North Atlantic (ship’s time)
  10. 15:06The Hillsborough disaster: the match is stopped15 April 1989, 15:06 local time · Hillsborough, Sheffield
  11. 01:23The Chernobyl nuclear disaster26 April 1986, 01:23 local time · Pripyat, Ukraine
  12. 22:31The Manchester Arena attack22 May 2017, 22:31 local time · Manchester
  13. 00:54The Grenfell Tower fire14 June 2017, around 00:54 local time · North Kensington, London
  14. 08:49The 7 July London bombings7 July 2005, 08:49 local time · London
  15. 08:15The atomic bombing of Hiroshima6 August 1945, 08:15 local time · Hiroshima, Japan
  16. 11:02The atomic bombing of Nagasaki9 August 1945, 11:02 local time · Nagasaki, Japan
  17. 00:23The car crash that killed Diana, Princess of Wales31 August 1997, 00:23 local time · Pont de l’Alma, Paris
  18. 08:46September 11: Flight 11 strikes the North Tower11 September 2001, 08:46 local time · World Trade Center, New York
  19. 09:03September 11: Flight 175 strikes the South Tower11 September 2001, 09:03 local time · World Trade Center, New York
  20. 09:10Salvador Allende’s final radio address during the Chilean coup11 September 1973, 09:10 local time · Santiago, Chile
  21. 09:37September 11: Flight 77 strikes the Pentagon11 September 2001, 09:37 local time · The Pentagon, Virginia
  22. 09:59September 11: the South Tower collapses11 September 2001, 09:59 local time · World Trade Center, New York
  23. 10:03September 11: Flight 93 crashes near Shanksville11 September 2001, 10:03 local time · Shanksville, Pennsylvania
  24. 10:28September 11: the North Tower collapses11 September 2001, 10:28 local time · World Trade Center, New York
  25. 09:15The Aberfan disaster21 October 1966, 09:15 local time · Aberfan, Wales
  26. 12:30President Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas22 November 1963, 12:30 local time · Dealey Plaza, Dallas
  27. 19:02The Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am Flight 10321 December 1988, 19:02 local time · Lockerbie, Scotland
  28. 07:58The Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami26 December 2004, 07:58 local time · Off Sumatra, Indonesia

Know a minute we've missed? Tell us, with a source. Or claim your own.