American history

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American civil rights leader Martin Luther King in Washington DC, where he delivered his famous 'I Have A Dream' speech to a quarter of a million civil rights supporters in Washington DC in August 1963. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

Mourning Martin Luther King Jr The life and legacy of the civil rights leader . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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David Hepworth tells the story of the British rock bands. (Image by Getty Images)

When British pop invaded America . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Richard Nixon resigns

Which US presidents have been impeached? A brief history of presidential impeachment

A portrait of Helen Keller (1880-1968) holding a Braille volume, c1956. Keller, who was both blind and deaf, was an American writer, educator and advocate for the disabled. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

9 things you (probably) didn’t know about Helen Keller

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Biographer Ron Chernow discusses the extraordinary life of the American Founding Father who inspired a hit musical. (Image by Getty Images)

Editor’s pick: Ron Chernow on Alexander Hamilton . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Portrait of founding father Alexander Hamilton by John Trumbull

Your guide to Alexander Hamilton, plus 6 fascinating facts about the founding father

'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' (2020): Viola Davis as Ma Rainey. (Photo by David Lee/Netflix)

Who was Ma Rainey, “mother of the blues”?

Mixed signals: A shortwave radio listening post in California, set up to report and translate broadcasts from Asia. (Photo by AP/Shutterstock)

Second World War

Caught off guard: why didn’t America see Pearl Harbor coming?

Land girls on an Essex turkey farm round up the turkeys for the last time. (Photo by Reg Speller/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

A brief history of turkeys, plus why we eat a turkey dinner at Christmas

The First Thanksgiving in 1621, after a painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme; screen print, 1932. (Photo by GraphicaArtis/Getty Images)

7 facts you might not know about the history of Thanksgiving

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Karen Jones on the Wild West

The Wild West: everything you wanted to know . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

President Nixon making final TV address

The 5 most notorious presidents in US history

George Washington

American presidents: 9 things you (probably) didn’t know

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Passengers on the Transatlantic liner Victoria, 1930s. (Photo by Getty Images)

Adventure and opportunity: female transatlantic travellers . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Hughes Glomar Explorer was a salvage vessel disguised as a mining ship, designed to secretly recover Soviet sub K-129

Project Azorian: the Cold War CIA mission to snatch Soviet nuclear sub K-129 from the sea floor