20th Century

An 18th Century cartoon satirises reactions to Louis XVI's attempt tp flee France. The french Revolution shows what can happen when the state fails on a catastrophic scale

Are revolutions doomed to failure?

The execution of Louis XVI in the Place de la Revolution

What is a revolution?

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Watergate in 100 days: how President Nixon fell

Watergate in 100 days: how President Nixon fell . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Jonathan Westaway explores why there was a boom in the popularity of endurance running following the First World War. (Image by Getty Images)

Running to escape the horrors of war . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Raphael Cormack discusses the golden age of Cairo’s nightlife scene in the 1920s, and some of the enterprising women who dominated it. (Image by Getty Images)

The glamour & danger of Cairo’s 1920s nightlife scene . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

England's World Cup-winning captain, Bobby Moore (1941–93) kisses the Jules Rimet World Cup trophy after England's 4-2 win over West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final at Wembley Stadium, London. Also pictured are Moore's team-mates George Cohen, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

In pictures: when England won the football World Cup

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Professor Barry Doyle explains what kind of treatment you could expect If you were ill before the National Health Service was founded in 1948. (Image by Getty Images)

Healthcare before the NHS . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

circa 1942: Men of the 7th British Armoured Division, known as the Desert Rats, sitting on a field gun before the fall of Tobruk in the North African Campaign. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Second World War

Tobruk: 8 facts about the WW2 confrontation in North Africa

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Giles Milton reveals how the German capital became the frontline in a bitter diplomatic conflict between the western Allies and the Soviet Union in the wake of the Second World War. (Image by Getty Images)

The Cold War battle for Berlin . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Dr David Clarke explains how the idea of extra-terrestrials in mysterious flying saucers developed from its origins in the Cold War to become an enduring modern myth. (Image by Getty Images)

The history and mystery of UFOs . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Anne Sebba explores the life of Ethel Rosenberg, who was executed for espionage in one of the most sensational and controversial episodes of the Cold War. (Image by Getty Images)

The trials of Ethel Rosenberg . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Kurdish fighters in north-west Iran, 1918

The history of the Kurds in Iraq: “the largest people never to have achieved statehood”

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Larry Loftis details the life and work of Aline Griffith, a model-turned-spy who rose to the upper echelons of society in WW2 Spain. (Image by Getty Images)

Socialite, countess, WW2 spy: Aline Griffith . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Fred Perry in action in the Wimbledon final in 1936. (Photo by Getty Images)

Fred Perry: the icon and the outcast

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Kate Morgan chronicles the legal history of murder, discussing the cases that shaped UK murder laws. (Image by Getty Images)

Murder: a legal history . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.