10 Downing Street, the residence of the prime minister of the United Kingdom. (Photo by Getty Images)

Politics

Diana Lynn, Bonzo the chimpanzee, and Ronald Reagan in a publicity photo for the 1951 film 'Bedtime for Bonzo'. (Photo by Bettmann/Getty Images)

Ronald Reagan: 10 facts about the 40th president of the USA. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Palace of Westminster

Q&AWhy do we call the British government ‘Whitehall’?

Journalist Ruth First, pictured right, at Anti-Apartheid Movement's freedom day rally in Trafalgar Square, London in 1965. Also pictured are actor Patrick Wymark (left) and Bishop Reeves (middle). (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

My history hero: Ruth First (1925-82). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Daniele Manin proclaiming the Republic of Venice, 22 March 1848. (Photo by De Agostini Picture Library/A. Dagli Orti/Bridgeman Images)

1848: the year of revolutions. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Can Britain make nuclear power work this time around?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

John and Jackie Kennedy shaking hands with a crowd. Jackie continued to fight her husband's corner after his death, says Mark White. (Photo by Art Rickerby/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Was JFK a good president?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

My History Hero: Franklin D Roosevelt (1882- 1945). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Books interview: the life and career of Benjamin Disraeli. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

George G Meade, best known for defeating Confederate General Robert E Lee at the battle of Gettysburg in 1863. (Photo by Matthew Brady/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)

Gettysburg: Lincoln’s greatest victory. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The 1832 Reform Act made wide-ranging changes to the British electoral system, creating 67 new constituencies, disenfranchising 56 boroughs and reducing another 31 to a single MP. (The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

When the people spoke: the Great Reform Act. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Abraham Lincoln in 1863. The 16th president of the United States "understood the value of hard work, had deep beliefs and pursued them," says Alastair Campbell. (Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

My history hero: Abraham Lincoln (1809–65). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Winston Churchill, former prime minister of the United Kingdom, gives his 'victory' sign while making a polling day tour of his constituency during an election. (Getty Images)

Are these the most overrated people in history?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A vintage map of Europe. One of the hardest things for small nations to accept is that they're not in control over their own destinies, says Mark Mazower. (Getty Images)

The LibraryA little history of the world: the importance of small states in global politics. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Abraham Lincoln: 5 facts

Ernest Bevin

My history hero: Ernest Bevin (1881-1951). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Clarence Harry Willcock MP, who refused to show his identity card to a policeman, 13 June 1951. (Photo by Walter Bellamy/Express/Getty Images)

My history hero: Clarence Willcock. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A second petition of 800,000 signatures, protesting against the abolition of the basic petrol ration, being presented to the House of Commons, 10 December 1947. (Photo by Harry Todd/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

E-petitions: in the name of the people?

Douglas Haig (right) watches the stamping of poppies by ex-servicemen, during a visit to the British Legion poppy factory in Richmond, 22 October 1926. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

The LibraryDouglas Haig: a postwar revolutionary?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Vasily Grossman with the Red Army in Schwerin, Germany, 1945. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

A war of words. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Hans Litten (centre) in court while representing communists, 25 August 1932. Litten’s decision to subpoena Hitler a year earlier was to cost him his life. (Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

Hitler in the dock. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Schoolchildren helping workmen construct a new estate of pre-fabricated houses in Watford, Hertfordshire in 1946 following the devastation of the Second World War. (Photo by Keystone Features/Getty Images)

Postwar squatters: a very British uprising. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Sir Alec Clegg was the founder of Bretton Hall College (pictured), a West Yorkshire college specialising in arts and performance. (Photo by Memitina/Getty Images)

My history hero: Sir Alec Clegg (1909-86). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The surprisingly long history of humanity's political development

Does Russia need an iron fist?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

My history hero: Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A big day in history: the debate on whether Britain should join the European Community. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Lincoln’s British enemies. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Two women from South America. Six centuries ago South American civilisations matched the west in some respects. (Getty Images)

The wonder of the west

Communist sport: Cold War copycats. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Burma: Why its military dictatorship still survives