Historical people

A black and white illustration shows a building on fire, with a woman throwing a young child out of the top window

Humble Victorian heroes: the ordinary Britons who sacrificed their lives for others.

Did Hitler have sexual relations with Eva Braun? What my research reveals about the Führer's love life.

The SAS played a vital role in defeating Hitler – so why did Britain disband them?.

A collage of images showing a woman in a red and brown dress, with her arms around a small child to her left. Behind them is a large building, some ships and a crowd of people

Meet the incredible woman who saved Portugal's Jews.

An illustration showing a Viking wearing a silver helmet that comes down over his eyes, holding a circular shield and an axe. Behind him is a large yellow building with arches, tall purple trees and a few other Vikings running along a path

It was an "extravaganza of brutality": how the Vikings menaced the Mediterranean.

A photograph showing two Asian women, one dressed in white robes sitting in a chair, leaning over with her arm around the other, crouched on the floor wearing blue jeans and a purple top

The Bengal Famine was one of the 20th century's greatest tragedies – so why is there no memorial to it?.

An illustration showing two bearded men in a wooden boat with oars, on a blue river, surrounded by jungle, with animals poking out the trees. The man at the back of the boat is holding an umbrella in one hand and a wooden crucifix in the other

Uncontacted peoples: why do nearly 200 groups choose to live outside 'civilisation'?.

A purple and blue illustration shows a young woman in a long dress with frilly sleeves, holding a red book. Around her, there is a pirate ship and a man dressed in white robes, sitting crossed-legged on a rug

In 1756, a young Englishwoman was taken hostage by Barbary pirates. This is her story.

A large drawing showing multiple different sea creatures in a light blue ocean

From krakens to serpents: 5 fearsome sea monsters from history.

Nero's doomed love affair: did a failed romance trigger his descent into madness?.

A sketch showing a woman surrounded by men. One man is putting a hood over her head and another is reading from a book next to her

These are four of the most brutal Victorian murders. Were women really the perpetrators?.

An illustration shows two old bearded men, one in red shorts and a red Santa hat and the other in green shorts and a wreath headband in a boxing ring

Father Christmas v Santa Claus: the centuries-long battle for Britain's chimneys.

An engraving showing a young woman in a pale blue dress, wearing a frilly bonnet on her head

Sex, slavery and royal scandal: how Jane Austen's novels exposed a darker side of Georgian Britain.

A man in a suit and ruffed collar in front of a blue background

George Washington is an American hero – so why was he the pride of Victorian England?.

We often refer to countries as 'female' – so why has history excluded women from nation-building?.

A large illustration of Henry VIII with several images imprinted on him

Porpoise for breakfast and late night sex visits: Henry VIII's life in a day.

A marble bust of a man

Julius Caesar's hellraising youth: did he really defy tyrants and crucify pirates?.

A woman wearing a black dress and white hood, praying in front of a Bible

Married three times by the age of 15: Margaret Beaufort, the woman who birthed the Tudor Dynasty.

A pink flower with various contraptions in the background

From goat eyelids to bread: history's 12 strangest sex toys.

A collage of a man in Nazi uniform in front of a large building

I've just been inside a Nazi monster's mansion – and what I found there was deeply haunting.

A painting of two men, dressed in colourful robes, hug each other. One man is standing on top of a lamb, the other on a lion

Michael Wood on the rise and fall of Asian empires.

This late 15th-century illustration shows crusader forces besieging Damascus during the ill-fated Second Crusade in 1148. The armies of King Baldwin III of Jerusalem, Emperor Conrad III of Germany, and King Louis VII of France converge on the city, only for the campaign to collapse in defeat. Likely produced in Bruges for a chronicle of the Crusades, the image reflects how later medieval artists interpreted one of the crusading movement’s most damaging failures.

Who won the crusades? The causes, death toll, and number of medieval holy wars explained

Fake news and the Dreyfus affair: the media-fuelled scandal that divided France.

After Franco: Spain's miraculous transition to democracy.

An illustration showing a samurai soldier dressed in a black and blue robe. Behind him is a person holding up a bar with two buckets of poo hanging from it.

Let’s think before we flush, with Dr Christopher Harding.

A red and black illustration showing a large wolf jumping up, above a man laying on the floor. Around the central wolf, there are several others

Spectral beasts and hounds of hell: a spooky history of Britain's ghost dogs.

A black and white photograph showing a young boy playing with two girls in the sand

"Imagine starting a life with so little": the stories of South Asians in Britain.

Hermann Göring in his office at the Reichstag, where he served as a leading figure of the Nazi regime. As Hitler’s deputy and head of the Luftwaffe, Göring wielded immense power during the Third Reich, later facing prosecution for war crimes at Nuremberg.

Second World War

Who was Hermann Göring? The truth about Hitler’s drug-fuelled enforcer who met his downfall at Nuremberg

A selection of illustrations of medical procedures, including childbirth and someone vomiting, around a circular chart that depicts flasks of different coloured urine

Marvellous medieval medicine: why their curious cures were better than you think.

A pair of swords in a cross shape, on top of an orange background that features warriors fighting on horses

The assassins' reign of terror: how these 12th-century killers spread fear in the Middle East.