20th Century - Getty Images

20th Century

Seve Ballesteros. (Photo by Brian Morgan/Getty Images)

My history hero: Seve Ballesteros (1957–2011)

Men line the rails around Radio City, on an abandoned naval fort in the Thames Estuary. In June 1966, Radio City was at the centre of a murder enquiry that would lead to the closure of Britain’s pirate radio stations. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

1966: when the swing turned sour

Tony Blair asks permission of Queen Elizabeth II to form a government

Elizabeth II and her prime ministers

Lyndon B Johnson, the 36th president of the United States. (Photo by Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images)

My history hero: Lyndon Johnson (1908–73). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Miners on strike after the decision from the High Court of Justice to seize all assets of the labor unions, 1984. (Photo by Alain Nogues/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)

There was more to the 80s than Maggie

Behind the scenes of Suzannah Lipscomb’s 'Hidden Killers of the Post-War Home'

A 1954 advertisement for Cooper's Y-Front. (Photo by Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A revealing history of underwear

(BBC/Caryn Mandabach Productions Ltd/Tiger Aspect/Robert Viglasky)

Peaky Blinders: behind the scenes with creator Steven Knight. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Valletta skyline – in the centre is St Paul's Anglican Cathedral and Carmelite Church. (Photo by Getty Images)

My favourite place: Malta

Guillaume Apollinaire and his wife, Jacqueline Kolb, on the terrace of the boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris, France, in 1918. (Photo by adoc-photos/Corbis via Getty Images)

My history hero: Guillaume Apollinaire (1880–1918). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Chinese lanterns at Kek Lok Si temple, George Town, Penang, Malaysia. (Photo by Inti St Clair/Getty Images)

My favourite place: Penang, Malaysia

Bhimrao Ambedkar, May 1946. (Photo by Margaret Bourke-White/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

My history hero: Bhimrao Ambedkar (1891–1956). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Babur, founder of the Mughal dynasty which ruled over much of India from 1526 to 1858. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

How people make the past. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh wave from the famous balcony at Buckingham Palace after the Queen's coronation on 2 June 1953. (Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

7 memorable moments in the history of Buckingham Palace

A brave new world: the 1980s home computer boom

President Ronald Reagan at Durenberger Republican convention rally, 1982. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

My history hero: Ronald Reagan (1911–2004). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

16th century engraving depicting a man with leprosy

Q&AHow did doctors treat leprosy?

Aquatic Centre Ferry Dock, Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Getty Images)

My favourite place: Vancouver, Canada

The Beatles perform onstage at the Cavern Club, Liverpool in February 1961. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

History explorer: the swinging sixties. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A coffin containing the skeleton of King Richard III sitting in repose inside Leicester Cathedral. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

Are we blinded by our love of history?

Mario Lanza c1950. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

My history hero: Mario Lanza (1921-59). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Black American civil rights leader Martin Luther King (1929 - 1968) addresses crowds during the March On Washington at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC, where he gave his 'I Have A Dream' speech. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

Is Martin Luther King's ‘I have a dream’ the greatest speech in history?

Photo of a Canadian postage stamp

Q&AWhen was the first Christmas stamp issued?

John F Kennedy pictured in 1957

My history hero: John F Kennedy (1917–63). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The famous Big Pit Mining Museum in South Wales

History explorer: Britain’s coal industry. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A canal in Venice, Italy

My favourite place: Venice, Italy

A view over Munich, Germany

My Favourite Place: Munich, Germany

Bali, Indonesia

My favourite place: Bali, Indonesia

Patricia Simmons recording the speaking clock.

Q&AWho voiced the original speaking clock?

The 16th-century tower of Belém

My favourite place: Lisbon, Portugal