Politics

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Benjamin Disraeli, former prime minister of Great Britain.

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

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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.

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Abraham Lincoln in 1863. The 16th president of the United States

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?

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

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Abraham Lincoln: 5 facts

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Ernest Bevin

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

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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 Library Douglas Haig: a postwar revolutionary?

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

A war of words

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

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

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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.