General History

How convict labour forged empires. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

General History

Quiz of the weekWhich carol was written by priest Josef Mohr and composed by organist Franz Xaver Gruber?

An illustration of the Icelandic Yule Cat

General History

The child-eating Christmas Yule Cat: what are the origins of this Icelandic folklore?

General History

Underwear history: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Annie Gray (Photo by Melissa Rodrigues)

“Leisure was built into the whole shopping experience” | Annie Gray on the history of the high street. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Tempting treats & festive feats: christmas shopping down the ages. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Vintage illustration from the poem 'The Night Before Christmas, or a Visit from St Nicholas' of Santa tacking stockings of gifts on the mantle on Christmas Eve; color lithograph by William Roger Snow.

The ultimate Christmas quiz. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Robot history: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A procession of cardinals file into the Vatican

General History

Conclaves explained: what happens when a pope dies?

Historical anniversariesDecember

Smiling teenage man holds a toothbrush with toothpaste up to his mouth, with a towel draped round his shoulders

General History

Oxhooves, mouse brains and urine: the disgusting things we used to use as toothpaste

History behind the headlines: Trump's win – parallels with the past. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Medieval couple

General History

QuizHow much do you know about the history of sex?

Sport's strangest tales. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The invisible tracks that have shaped the world. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

How we found our bearings: the origins of the four compass points. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Why we should remember peasants. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Richard Nixon gives the thumbs-up after his resignation

General History

6 shocking presidential scandals that rocked the White House: from the Petticoat Affair to Clinton-Lewinsky

President Joe Biden delivers a speech

General History

Life after the White House: what the US presidents did next

Abraham Lincoln, John F Kennedy, Al Gore and George W Bush

General History

Lincoln, Adams and George W Bush: 6 disputed presidential elections in American history

What is the greatest historical movie of all time

General History

What is the best historical movie of all time? Vote now!

General History

QuizMatch these famous moustaches with the historical figures

Telling the story of modern Jerusalem. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Historical anniversariesNovember

Tales from history's toilets. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A man holds his head in his hands as he is visited by the ghostly apparition of a woman. A photographer's assistant is visible at centre, right.

General History

Halloween stories10 terrifying tales from medieval to modern history

Halloween card depicts a pair of girls as they look out of a window as a witch (with a black cat) rides a broom across a full moon, early 20th century.

General History

What is the history of Halloween?

A vessel at sea comes across the mythical ghost ship The Flying Dutchman

General History

Seven of history's most disturbing ghost ship stories that will haunt your dreams

Michael Wood on Gaza's astonishing cultural heritage. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Napoleon Bonaparte retreats from Moscow, as depicted in a painting from 1851. The French leader is the classic example of a man driven to wage war by a lust for power, says Richard Overy. (Photo by Getty Images)

What drives our addiction to war?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.