Georgian - Getty Images

Georgian

John Linnell's 1816 portrait of Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick. His high-pressure steam engine "was the invention that unleashed power on this planet," says Michael Mosley. (Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

My history hero: Richard Trevithick (1771-1833). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

George Frederick Handel married opera's passion with the respectability of biblical texts, says Tim Blanning. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

10 milestones in the history of western music. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Jane Austen. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Where history happened: Jane Austen. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Rydal Mount, Cumbria

The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries by Jacques-Louis David

Napoleon's great cultural charade. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ye olde travel guide: Philadelphia 1774. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Nelson mortally wounded at Trafalgar in 1805

Nelson: the unhappy admiral. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Traquair House, Peeblesshire

Andrew Jackson Cottage and US Ranger Centre, County Antrim

Cowdray, West Sussex

Visit historic Carlisle

An illustration titled ‘The petition for abolishing the slave trade’, from Amelia Opie’s ’The Black Man's Lament; or How to Make Sugar’, London, 1826. “Come, listen to my plaintive ditty,/Ye tender hearts, and children dear!/And, should it move your souls to pity,/Oh! try to end the griefs you hear.” (Photo by Photo 12/UIG via Getty Images)

9 key places connected to the abolition of the British slave trade. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Russian queen Catherine the Great

In pictures: Catherine the Great

The battle of the Nile, fought at night in the Abu Qir Bay near Alexandria. (Art Media/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Second World War

Britain’s 10 most significant naval battles

Fort George

William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne and British prime minister from 1782–83, was instrumental in the Genevan exiles’ move to southern Ireland. (Getty Images)

The watchmakers of Waterford. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Arundel Castle, West Sussex

The Flight of Bonaparte from the Battle of Krasnoi, 1815. Artist: Sutherland, Thomas (1785-1838)

How Napoleon was humbled. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A cartoon depiction of mythical Luddite leader Ned Ludd. (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Where history happened: Luddites. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A contemporary view of the river Seine and Notre-Dame de Paris. (Getty Images)

Ye Olde Travel Guide: Paris 1802. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Landscape gardener, architect and writer John Loudon. "I just wish I had a fraction of his vision," says Mark Easton of one of the first people to champion green space in Britain's cities. (Public Domain)

My history hero: John Loudon (1783–1843). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Stamford, Lincolnshire

Vintage map of the Bahamas. (Library of Congress)

Ye Olde Travel Guide: Bahamas 1718. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting depicting the Duke of Wellington at the battle of Waterloo. "Wellington’s victories at Roliça and Vimeiro in 1808 were the first significant defeats inflicted upon the French emperor’s armies in Europe," says Saul David. (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

The triumph of the redcoats. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Book review - Napoleon

Ironbridge

A postboy drives a mail coach in a contemporary illustration. Soon after their introduction in 1784, coaches were traversing the country at speeds of up to 10mph. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Red Letter Days: 10 milestones in the history of the Post Office. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The East India Company and Nelson. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Hylands House, Essex

Britain’s waterways have enjoyed a renaissance since the Second World War. (Photo by George W Johnson/Getty Images)

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