20th Century

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Astronauts being lifted from the Apollo 13 spacecraft after splashdown in the South Pacific,1970. (Photo by Alamy)

Apollo 13 . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene: why do people want to believe she was a sinner and prostitute?

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. (Photo by Getty Images)

Yuri Gagarin: 8 things you (probably) didn’t know about the first man in space

Children in Auschwitz

Second World War

The Windermere Children: the remarkable stories of 300 child survivors of the Holocaust

Ramsay MacDonald, the first British Labour prime minister, pictured after the general election of 1931

A brief history of the Labour Party

Britons watch Queen Elizabeth II’s Christmas message in 1958. (© Topfoto)

A brief history of the Christmas Speech

Steve McQueen stars in the 1963 film that turned the 'Great Escape' into a symbol of Allied pluck and ingenuity. (Image by Alamy)

The not-so Great Escape

Frances Griffiths poses with the fairies

Fairies, rabbit births and an ‘ancient’ tiara: what are the greatest historical hoaxes?

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US Army 7th Division's tanks equipped with flame throwers climbing a ridge on Okinawa. (Photo by W. Eugene Smith/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)

Okinawa: the battle and the bomb . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

American soldiers in Vietnam

The war that America could never win? Opposition, dissent and the Vietnam War

The US assault on Okinawa

The WW2 battle of Okinawa: the bloodiest assault of the Pacific War

Two American soldiers wait for the second wave of combat helicopters of the 1st Air Cavalry Division during Operation Pershing during the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War defined America in the second half of the 20th century. (Photo by Patrick Christain/Getty Images)

Your guide to the Vietnam War – plus 7 surprising facts you might not know

Walt Disney uses a baton to point to sketches of Disneyland

The history of Disneyland: How Walt Disney created the ‘Happiest Place on Earth’

Simon Wiesenthal, who became famous after World War II for his work as a 'Nazi hunter'. (Photo by: SeM/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The real Nazi hunters: how the infamous escaped – and those who brought them to justice

Children play as air raid wardens during the Blitz in London

Q&A How did WW2 affect schools in London?