Historical people

A group of fighter pilots of No. 32 Squadron relax beside their Hawker Hurricane Mk I fighters at RAF Hawkinge in July 1940

The Few: who exactly were the heroes of the Battle of Britain?

A view of Mount Everest

Mystery on Everest: did Mallory and Irvine reach the summit in 1924?

Thomas Becket murder

7 controversial saints in history

Portrait of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (1532–88) an English nobleman. Dated 16th century. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Robert Dudley: Queen Elizabeth I’s great love

Simo Häyhä, said to be the deadliest sniper in history

Second World War

The world’s deadliest sniper: Simo Häyhä

Portrait of Sir Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton: life, discoveries, rivalries and the truth about the apple

Francis Drake portrait

Francis Drake’s forgotten role in the English slave trade

Statue of Admiral Horatio Nelson in Trafalgar Square London

Should we judge historical figures by the morals of today?

Marble bust of Nero

Emperor Nero: the tyrant of Rome

Olaudah Equiano (Photo by Getty)

General Early Modern

Who was Olaudah Equiano – and why was his story of slavery so important?

John Profumo in October 1962

Sex, lies and spies: the real history of the Profumo Affair

A researcher examines the medieval Voynich Manuscript with a magnifying glass

The Voynich Manuscript: who wrote the mystery medieval codex and what is it trying to tell us?

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English author, poet and philosopher Geoffrey Chaucer, c 1343, Bodleian Library (Photo by Getty Images)

The cosmopolitan Chaucer . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

c1190 A scene from the Third Crusade depicting the surrender of Acre to the armies of King Richard I of England and Philippe Auguste of France. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

What were the crusades? Your top questions answered

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Equestrian portrait of Geoffrey Chaucer from the Ellesmere manuscript of his Canterbury Tales (14th century).

Cosmopolitan Chaucer: the 14th-century poet’s inventive, international life . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.