20th Century - Getty Images

20th Century

In pictures: Soviet cosmonauts and the birth of the space age

Billy Fullerton, gang chief of the Glasgow gang the Billy Boys

Who were the real Billy Boys, the Glasgow gang in Peaky Blinders?

A cartoon from 1862 shows a pair 'garroters' attacking a victim. (Photo by The Cartoon Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Gangs and knife-crime fears: how has Britain responded through history?

British journalist Tom Wintringham (1898–1949), the candidate for the Christian Socialist Commonwealth Party. (Photo by Haywood Magee/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

History heroPeter Tatchell chooses Tom Wintringham (1898–1949). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Queen Elizabeth II

The differences between UK and US governments: a brief guide

On 20 July 1969, Lunar Module 'Eagle' touched down gently on the Sea of Tranquility on the moon. (Photo by NASA/Newsmakers via Getty Images)

From ‘moon-germs’ to motion sickness: health and safety on NASA’s 1969 lunar landing mission

A portrait of George V's wife, Queen Mary, who was born Princess Mary of Teck.

Was Queen Mary, wife of George V, a kleptomaniac?

A portrait of prime minister Lord Frederick North. His government was the first to be brought down by a vote of no confidence, in 1782. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Vote of no confidence: a brief history

(Photo by Getty Images)

The package holiday revolution

Q&AHow did Area 51 become associated with aliens?

Soldiers at the battle of Arnhem

Second World War

9 things you (probably) didn’t know about the battle of Arnhem

The wrecked remains of an Allied glider that participated in Market Garden

Second World War

Why Operation Market Garden, the Allies' battle for Arnhem, was a disaster in the planning

A dinner scene from Downton Abbey, with large candlesticks on the table

Could you survive an Edwardian dinner party?

King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and their daughters, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret of United Kingdom. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

The Windsors at war: what did the royal family do during WW2?

Chancellor Adolf Hitler with President Paul von Hindenburg, Berlin, 1 May 1933

Second World War

Hitler's millionaire backers: how Germany's elite facilitated the rise of the Nazis

History heroJulia Bradbury chooses Amelia Earhart (1897–1937). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Neil MacGregor photographed in London. “It seemed a good juncture, as Britain sets to leave the EU and operate alone on the world stage, to get a sense of how other countries view us,” he says. (Image by Chris McAndrew)

Neil MacGregor: “A consistent element of Britain’s image has been the lonely fighter standing against foreign tyranny”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Courtiers dancing La Volta in a scene from 1953 film The Sword And The Rose

Strictly shocking: the dances that shook the world

A photo which was believed to be of the Loch Ness Monster

The quest for the Loch Ness Monster

American business magnate JD Rockefeller sits at a desk

Q&AWho was the first billionaire?

Protester Blocking Tanks Approaching Tiananmen Square

Why China has forgotten ‘Tank Man’? Remembering the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations

South Vietnam 1967: Battle weary U.S. soldiers pause for a moment's rest after some of the bloodiest fighting of the Vietnam War (Photo by Bettmann/Getty Images)

War trauma. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration showing interior of the House of Commons

9 things you didn’t know about the history of parliament

The Pearl Harbour attack

Second World War

The 11 most significant battles of WW2

Decontamination of the Chernobyl NPP territory. (Photo by Alamy)

Chernobyl: the story of a tragedy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Prince Charles, Lady Diana Spencer and Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace

The fall and rise of the Windsors

The real Peaky Blinders. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Photo by Klaus Vedfelt via Getty Images

Top tips for studying history at university

US President John F Kennedy gives his first State of the Union address to Congress at the House of Representatives, Washington DC, 30 January 1961. Kennedy is one of eight presidents to have died during their term in office. (Photo by NASA/SSPL/Getty Images)

Q&AHow many US presidents died in office?

History heroMargaret Hodge chooses Katharine Graham (1917–2001). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.