Death

A portrait of Thomas Cromwell.

The downfall of Thomas Cromwell

Illustration from Dante's ‘Inferno', depicting thieves tormented in hell by serpents.

General ancient history

A brief history of the afterlife

People flee to boats on the River Thames to escape the Great Fire of London, September 1666.

Coffee, plague and the Great Fire: the pleasures and perils of living in Restoration London

Medieval punishments, Toulouse, 14th century. (Photo by Photo12/UIG via Getty Images)

How bloody was medieval life?

Clothes infected by the Black Death are burned in medieval Europe, c1340. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Black Death facts: your guide to “the worst catastrophe in recorded history”

Engraving of the death of Cleopatra

When and how did Queen Cleopatra die and who killed her?

Engraving of emperor Commodus's death

Cheese, angry gods and shoddy surgeons: the unlikely deaths of Roman emperors

The effects of the disease known as the Black Death

Black Death quarantine: how did we try to contain the most deadly disease in history?

A copper engraving of Margaret Pole's execution

General History

Are these the worst botched executions in history?

Charles Manson stares out from fabric on sale in San Francisco

The afterlife of Charles Manson

The state funeral of Sir Winston Churchill

The death of Sir Winston Churchill and the top-secret plans for his funeral

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The perimeter fence of the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz. (Photo by Getty Images)

The Auschwitz volunteer . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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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.

Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini give a fascist salute

A dictator’s death: how Stalin, Hitler, Mao and other self-styled strongmen met their ends

The murder of Thomas Becket

Q&A: What happened to the assassins who killed Thomas Becket?