A Day That Shook The World: First nuclear power station

Monday 07 March 2011 17:12 GMT

(Hulton Archive/Getty)

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On 17 October 1956, Calder Hall, the world's first nuclear power station, began generating electricity.

Switched on by Queen Elizabeth II, the facility at Seascale in Cumbria generated enough electricity to power only a small city, but more stations were built on the successful Calder Hall template, and many are in operation to this day.

Watch original footage from the plant's construction and operation in this British Pathé video, above.

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A Day That Shook The World: First nuclear power station

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