Historical people

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Catherine Hanley tells the story of Empress Matilda, whose battle for the English throne became known as ‘the anarchy’. (Photo by Jeni Nott for BBC History Magazine)

Empress Matilda: Medieval warrior queen . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Fidel Castro addresses delegates of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York, September 1960. (Photo by Tommy Weber/AFP/Getty Images)

How should history remember Fidel Castro?

Cesare Lombroso, described as the 'father of criminology'. (Photo by Bettmann/Getty Images)

The ‘born criminal’? Lombroso and the origins of modern criminology

The former Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, for whom Edward gave up the throne in 1936, sparking a crisis that rocked the British monarchy. The couple are pictured here in 1939. (Photo by Keystone-France\Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

The 7 most romantic moments in history

Sir Robert Peel (1788–1850) was a British statesman who twice served as Conservative prime minister, between 1834–35 and 1841–46. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

5 facts about Sir Robert Peel

Illustration of Isabella of France. From the book ‘Our Queen Mothers’ by Elizabeth Villiers. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Isabella of France: the rebel queen

Queen Victoria, c1860s. Victoria attended her son's wedding in March 1863 wearing full mourning dress – her husband, Prince Albert, had died some 15 months earlier. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Troublesome royal in-laws through history

Henry III (1207-72), king from 1216 until his death. Image c1250. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

10 things you (probably) didn’t know about Henry III

A fourth to fifth-century AD Roman mosaic shows a woman spinning. The household was considered a woman's natural environment; the political arena certainly was not. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

6 women who changed the course of Roman history

c1400, English troops use siege towers to capture a French town during the Hundred Years' War between England and France. Original Artwork: An illumination from Froissart's Chronicles. (Photo by Rischgitz/Getty Images)

7 facts about the Hundred Years’ War

Detail from the Bayeux tapestry, which depicts the Norman conquest of England in 1066. (DeAgostini/Getty Images)

10 medieval dates you need to know

King William II is often overshadowed by his Norman father, William the Conqueror. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

7 forgotten monarchs

English actor Trevor Howard as Captain William Bligh on the set of 'Mutiny On The Bounty', directed by Lewis Milestone, 1962. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

Q&A Was Captain Bligh hated by the crew of the Bounty?

Mahatma Gandhi in Britain

Gandhi in Britain

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History hero Jeremy Corbyn chooses Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–97) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.