Historical people

Illustration of Johnny Hopper by Stavros Damos for BBC History Magazine

Johnny Hopper: a nerveless Nazi-killer

Haile Selassie, emperor of Ethiopia

Haile Selassie, last emperor of Ethiopia and architect of modern Africa

An illustration from The Travels of Marco Polo, showing a teenage Marco on the deck of a ship sailing away from Venice

Why are Marco Polo’s travels so famous?

A montage of Romans (Photos courtesy of Getty and Alamy)

How ethnically diverse was Roman Britain?

Ada Lovelace

Ada Lovelace: a visionary of computing

A reconstruction of a Viking church

Vikings in America: the Europeans who arrived 500 years before Columbus

Illustration of a man without a head, but with his face on his chest. This is one of many creatures Sir John Mandeville claimed to have met on his travels

A knight’s (tall) tale: why medieval traveller Sir John Mandeville was more popular than Marco Polo

Tony Robinson as Private Baldrick and Rowan Atkinson as Captain Blackadder

Q&A Was there a real Blackadder?

Illustration of the man in the iron mask standing by the window of his cell and guarded by two musketeers

Unmasking the ‘man in the iron mask’: do we know the identity of the famous prisoner?

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John of Gaunt: prince without a throne . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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John of Gaunt shown in a c16th-century portrait

John of Gaunt: The man who would be king . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An image of Hippocrates from the 14th century, sitting and holding a book open in front of him

Hippocrates and humours: medicine in ancient Greece

The Spartan king Leonidas at the battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. The conflict has become the archetype for the courageous last stand, pitting around 200,000 Persians against 7,000 Spartans.

Your guide to the battle of Thermopylae

Tourists at the Sphinx and Great Pyramid of Giza in 1923

Who was ancient Egypt’s most successful pharaoh?

Ancient Greek statesman Solon sits on a throne, with a subject petitioning him

Who’s who in ancient Greece? Meet 14 influential ancient Greeks