North America

Senator Edward Kennedy leaves the Dukes County Courthouse in Edgartown, Mass

What was the Chappaquiddick incident?

Workers working on ruins after the US civil war, circa

Q&AWhat was a scalawag?

Two men duelling. The man in foreground holds a smoking gun. The man in the background is falling, one hand to his face, his pistol limp in his hand

Pardon me, are you Aaron Burr, sir? The real story of the maligned Founding Father and 'villain' of Hamilton

Video podcastInside a Jim Crow asylum.

A depiction of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence. John Adams, Roger Sherman Robert R Livingston, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.

Why does the United States of America celebrate Independence Day on 4 July?

A depiction of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence. John Adams, Roger Sherman Robert R Livingston, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.

Your guide to the 1776 American Declaration of Independence

History's greatest cities: Québec City.

A Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP) approaches Omaha Beach, Normandy on D-Day (Photo by Galerie Bilderwelt/Getty Images)

"Hitler slept through D-Day", plus four other facts about the Normandy Landings you might not know....

A photograph of Huey P Newton sat at an event.

Is The Big Cigar true? The real story of how a fake Hollywood film helped Black Panther Huey P Newton escape the FBI

Benjamin Franklin: life of the week.

OJ Simpson: the trial that gripped the world.

Benjamin Franklin sits at a desk, reading some papers with one hand under his chin

Benjamin Franklin: the Founding Father who saved America

A black and white photo of Thomas Boston Corbett in front of a blurred drawing of the killing of John Wilkes Booth

Thomas ‘Boston’ Corbett: the man who killed Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth

The neutral USA entered World War II only when a Japanese fleet launched a big surprise air raid against its Pacific naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on 7 December 1941. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Second World War

When and why did the US get involved in WW2?

Michael Douglas as American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin in Apple TV+ period drama 'Franklin'

Is Franklin a true story? The real story of Benjamin Franklin and the Franco-American Alliance

Portrait of Mary Surratt

The real history of Mary Surratt's controversial role in the Lincoln conspiracy

Portrait of Edwin Stanton (left) next to a still of Tobias Menzies playing Edwin Stanton in Manhunt (right)

The real Edwin Stanton in Manhunt: the true story of Lincoln’s loyal secretary of war

Portrait of John Wilkes Booth

Why did John Wilkes Booth kill Abraham Lincoln? And how was he caught?

An illustration depicting the assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Q&ACould modern medicine have saved Abraham Lincoln?

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States of America.

Abraham Lincoln: the greatest US president?

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the moon's surface

The history of the first moon landing: the road to Apollo 11

Katherine Graham, owner of the Washington Post, and Truman Capote

The real story of Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball

Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi is held aloft by his team after clinching a division title in 1960.

A brief history of American football and the Super Bowl

ConspiracyWho killed JFK?

Henry Kissinger

“Whatever you want to say about Kissinger, he had consequence”: the life and legacy of the American diplomat.

Masters of the Air. (Photo by Apple TV+)

OpinionWW2 drama Masters of the Air perpetuates America’s myth of the Good War.

General Andrew Jackson (on horseback) led US forces to victory over the British at the battle of New Orleans on 8 January 1815 (Photo by Pierce Archive LLC/Buyenlarge via Getty Images)

Regency Britain: An age of war and revolution.

Our illustration shows a woman struggling through wind and snow in 1816 (Illustration by Zara Picken)

1816: the year without summer.

Protestors against the Sedition Act outside the White House

What was the 1918 Sedition Act?

An illustration showing protesters dressed as Native Americans emptying the contents of crates of tea from an East India Company ship into Boston harbour

The brutality behind the Boston Tea Party.