20th Century - Getty Images

20th Century

Katya Adler and Rita Levi-Montalcini

My history heroKatya Adler chooses Rita Levi-Montalcini.

Soviet dissidents who challenged the Kremlin

English author Agatha Christie, pictured at a dinner in 1957. By this time, she was one of the world’s best-selling writers, renowned for her detective fiction featuring characters such as Hercule Poirot.

A real Thursday Murder Club? How a team of crime fiction writers tried to save the genre (and solve crimes)

A black and white photograph shows a group of Japanese military men on a train, while some young women prepare to get on the carriage. A young woman looks back over her shoulder

Kavita Puri on VJ Day: "We don't talk about the war in Asia – which was a messy, complicated conflict".

Why the Maginot Line couldn't save France in WW2.

The spy next door: Moscow's century-long plot to infiltrate the west.

Dame Stephanie Shirley and Tommy Flowers

My history heroDame Stephanie Shirley chooses Tommy Flowers

On 10 March 1945, Tokyo residents who lost their homes in the devastating US air raid gather amid the ruins. Known as Operation Meetinghouse, the raid was the most destructive bombing in history, part of a wider firebombing campaign during the Pacific War. (Photo by Getty Images)

Second World War

Before the atomic bombs, the USA hit Japan with one of the most overlooked (but deadly) campaigns in WW2

Many brightly coloured teacups with triangular handles sit on top of a white table. To the left, one of them is being picked up. The person is wearing a green bracelet on the arm they are using to hold the cup

Designs for life: the lasting impact of Art Deco.

Zoot suits, mashers & New Romantics: the evolution of the dandy.

Was the atomic bomb necessary to end war with Japan?.

A picture of Freddie Mercury. He is wearing a white vest top with white jeans and he is holding a guitar behind his head. At the top of the guitar, a bright white light shines

The Age of Spectacle: Live Aid at 40.

Hiroshima: in the shadow of the bomb.

WW2 evacuees: everything you wanted to know.

A woman dressed in a grey top and a green and orange bandana holds a black and white photograph of a young man against her chin. She stands in front of a plain, yellow wall

The Srebrenica massacre: the worst atrocity committed on European soil since the Second World War.

Power & terror: a history of the nuclear age.

Michelle Akers-Stahl, who scored twice in the final, celebrates with teammates Julie Foudy and Carin Jennings after the United States won the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup on 30 November 1991, defeating Norway 2–1. The tournament marked a turning point in the global recognition of the women’s game.

How a forgotten law helped women’s football conquer the world – but only by accident

In a televised address on 15 August 1973, President Richard Nixon proclaimed his innocence in the Watergate affair and urged Americans to reject efforts to exploit the scandal. This photograph was taken after the broadcast, as cameras were barred during the speech.

Watergate is the ultimate American conspiracy – but what if we’ve been misunderstanding it all along?

Iron Mountain: the conspiracy that duped America.

Captain Robert S. Johnson, a former cabinet-maker from Oklahoma, stands beside his aircraft during the Second World War. With 25 confirmed kills, he was the US Air Force’s leading fighter ace in the European theatre and the recipient of numerous decorations.

Second World War

On one of WW2’s deadliest air routes, pilots’ biggest fear was surviving a crash – here’s why

Mein Kampf: Hitler's dark vision for the future.

The Mitford Sisters | Part Two: life of the week.

J Robert Oppenheimer (left), and Cillian Murphy

Is Oppenheimer a true story? Meet the real Robert Oppenheimer, ‘father of the atomic bomb’

The history of women's football: everything you wanted to know.

Live Aid: pop's Big Bang moment.

Diana Spencer, wearing a red top

What created the Diana phenomenon? The origin story of the ‘people’s princess.

A female agent serving in Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the Second World War.

Second World War

Step inside the covert WW2 spy network that trained women to kill with their bare hands

The Mitford Sisters | Part One: life of the week.

A collage of pictures shows a black woman wearing a spotty dress in the foreground to the right. To the left, an image of Rosa Parks being fingerprinted by a police officer, with a bus and several slogans in the background

Suing for equality: how Sarah Mae Flemming began the legal fight against segregation.

Beyond the trenches: a new take on WW1.