20th Century

American socialite Wallis Simpson

The vilification of Wallis Simpson: how Edward VIII’s mistress was savaged by society

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Hungarian Jews arrive at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1944

The liberation of Auschwitz, 75 years on: what happened and how do we remember the Holocaust? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ayatollah Khomeini

General ancient history

A brief history of Iran

David Bowie and Twiggy

David Bowie’s life in pictures

Edvard Munch's painting 'Love and Pain'

The Vampyre stirs: 200 years of vampire entertainment

French prime minister Georges Clemenceau (left), US president Woodrow Wilson (centre) and British PM David Lloyd George at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919. The treaty's provisions have been blamed for causing the Second World War. (Image by Topfoto)

First World War

Did the Versailles peace treaty trigger another world war?

Crowds protest in Tehran

Opinion: is Iran a nation at war with itself?

Prohibition protesters parade in a car emblazoned with signs and flags calling for the repeal of the 18th Amendment, which outlawed the production and consumption of alcohol in the United States. (Archive Photos/Getty Images)

“A great social experiment”: a brief guide to prohibition

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Historian and broadcaster David Reynolds. (Photo by Ian Farrell)

The long history of Brexit . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe inspects troops at the opening of parliament in 2000. By then, opposition was being violently suppressed (AFP Contributor/Getty Images)

The two faces of Robert Mugabe

Setting a trap: East German soldiers construct the Berlin Wall, 13 August 1961. The barrier was an attempt to stop the flood of Germans fleeing from east to west – yet, as scores of audacious escape bids attest, it didn't entirely succeed. (Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

Escape from East Berlin: an audacious bid to tunnel under the Berlin Wall

Programme Name: The Trial of Christine Keeler - TX: n/a - Episode: Ep 2 (No. 2) - Picture Shows: Stephen Ward (JAMES NORTON) - (C) Ecosse Films - Photographer: Joss Barratt

“Somewhere in between exploitation and empowerment”: James Norton on society osteopath Stephen Ward

The Trial of Christine Keeler. (Photo by BBC)

Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies: the women at the heart of the Profumo Affair

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Mandy Rice-Davies (left) and Christine Keeler

Notes on a scandal: revisiting the Profumo Affair . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Charles Emmerson (Photo by James Hill NYT Moscow)

The birth of the modern world . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.