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General Modern

The congregation in Westminster Cathedral, London, during National Prayer Day, 7 September 1941. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Praying for Britain: the history of national days of prayer

Illustration of Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19). (Photo by Alamy)

Coronavirus: what might we learn from pandemics in the past?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Illustration of Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19). (Photo by Alamy)

Coronavirus: a historical perspective. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

17th September 1936: The British minister of health, Sir Kingsley Wood, watches nurses weighing newborn twins during a visit to Southmead Hospital in Bristol to see the work local authorities were doing for the maintenance and improvement of health and housing conditions. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Mum hacks: 5 tips for new mothers from history

A short history of quarantine

Stonemason Andrew Ziminski. (Photo by David Hampton)

Written in stone. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

c1960s photo showing a man places an engagement ring on a woman's finger.

A brief history of proposing marriage

Keith Granville, managing director of BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation), holding a model of the Boeing 747 jet, with the new aircraft hangars under construction in the background, at Heathrow Airport, 17 March 1969. (Photo by Jim Gray/Keystone/Getty Images)

In pictures: the history of London’s Heathrow Airport

Nancy Astor on the campaign trail in 1919

Nancy Astor facts: who was the first female MP in British history to take her seat in parliament?

Hidden Figures: the incredible real history behind the film

Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Donald Trump

From Lincoln to Trump: a brief history of the US Republican Party

A Burglar Looks In, Picture Post 1950. (Photo by Bert Hardy/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Burglary: a modern history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

US academic Deborah Lipstadt exults the High Court in London after winning a libel case brought against her by British historian David Irving, 11 April 2000. (Photo by Martyn Hayhow/AFP/Getty Images)

Second World War

Holocaust denial on trial: the story of Irving v Lipstadt

Andrew Roberts (Photo by Helen Atkinson)

Secrets of war leadership. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An Art Deco mechanical valentine (moving the cape causes the arms to move up and down) from the 1930s. (Photo by Alan Mays)

'Vinegar Valentines': 9 surprisingly dark Valentine's Day cards from the past

Confronting evils.

Confronting evils. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Battle of Lepanto between Holy League soldiers and Ottoman troops

The battle of Lepanto: when Ottoman forces clashed with Christians

A replica of the Koh-i-Noor in Bangalore in 2002

Desired, stolen, cursed: the history of the Koh-i-Noor diamond

A history of nakedness in art: Mary Beard on her new BBC series Shock of the Nude

John F Kennedy and Richard Nixon

Does history show that age affects US presidents’ performance? Plus, how old is too old?

Historian Mary Beard at the Oxford Literary Festival 2019. (Photo by David Levenson/Getty Images)

Mary Beard on the nude in western art. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Democratic presidential candidates Birch Bayh, Jimmy Carter, Fred R Harris, Milton Shapp take on the press during the Iowa Democratic Caucus on 11 January 1976. (Photo by NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

A brief history of the US Democratic Party

Members of the royal family at an event marking the centenary of the Royal Air Force. (Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Opposing the royals: a brief history of republicanism in Britain

Portrait of John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan (Lord Lucan), who disappeared in 1974 following a bloody homicide

The curious case of Lord Lucan + 10 other mysterious disappearances from history

Princess Margaret wearing a fur coat

The Queen's "rebel sister": 13 facts about Princess Margaret

Illustation of a pope

Holy smoke, antipopes and power struggles: a guide to popes and the papacy

Queen Victoria with Prince Albert and their children in 1846. After a painting by F Winterhalter. Victoria’s husband, Albert, “carved out for the crown a moral kind of authority as the nation’s first and model family,” says Sarah Gristwood. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Retaining the royals: why has the British monarchy survived – and thrived?

Retiring royals: 9 rulers and royals who stepped down through history

Ayatollah Khomeini

General ancient history

A brief history of Iran

David Bowie and Twiggy

David Bowie's life in pictures