Historical people

Harriet Tubman (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad: how one woman saved hundreds from hell

Statue of Leif Erikson (Leifur Erikssonn) in front of Eric the Red's home. (Photo by Draper White, Getty Images)

Leif Erikson’s voyage to Vinland

A portrait of Helen Keller (1880-1968) holding a Braille volume, c1956. Keller, who was both blind and deaf, was an American writer, educator and advocate for the disabled. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

9 things you (probably) didn’t know about Helen Keller

(L to R) Isaac Newton, Henry VIII and Bal Gangadhar Tilak

How did people cope with ‘lockdowns’ of the past? And were they really all so productive?

19th century advert for snuff

Q&A What was snuff?

Alexander Ludwig as Bjorn Ironside, son Ragnar Lothbrok and king of Kattegat

Vikings Season 6: plot recap, plus 8 historical questions answered

'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' (2020): Viola Davis as Ma Rainey. (Photo by David Lee/Netflix)

Who was Ma Rainey, “mother of the blues”?

Alex Hogh Andersen as Ivar the Boneless

The real Vikings: the early medieval world behind the hit drama

Marble bust of Nero

Rethinking Nero: was the Roman emperor really so bad?

France. Massacre of Vassy. Murder of Huguenot worshipers and citizens in an armed action by troops of Francis, Duke of Guise, in Wassy, France on 1 March 1562. Starting of French Wars of Religion. Engraving. (Photo by: PHAS/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The Huguenots vs France: who were the Huguenots and what did they believe?

The Trojan Horse – seen in the 2004 film Troy

How much of the legend of Troy is real?

Ian Fleming, British author and creator of the James Bond character

James Bond in real life: where did Ian Fleming’s inspirations come from?

Marble bust of Caligula

Caligula: murderous and depraved, or a victim of history?

Claudia Jones at the Brixton offices of 'The West Indian Gazette'

Black British history Britain's black trailblazers

A portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft

Mary Wollstonecraft: reclaiming the reputation of a feminist icon