Dockers unloading wine barrels

Social history

The dark side of ancient Egypt

Perhaps the most charming idea about the origins of the festive tradition of kissing under the mistletoe derives from a Viking myth of Frigg, goddess of love and marriage, and her ill-fated son Balder. (Photo by Jurg Waldmeier/StockFood Creative/Getty Images Plus)

Q&AWhy do we kiss under the mistletoe?

The Irish across the globe. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Great Smog of London: what caused the 1952 crisis?

Sæberht of Essex, who oversaw the building of London’s original church of St Paul’s (Photo by The Picture Art Collection / Alamy Stock Photo)

How to survive the Dark Ages in Britain: 6 crucial tips. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A medieval illustration showing a doctor bleeding a patient

General History

A history of medicine14 surprising facts

Hidden livesVictorian fasting girls

Baptism of Christ c1567, by Juan Fernandez de Navarrete

The “silent study of art”: the deaf artists of the Renaissance. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

David Dimbleby commands the studio during the May 1997 general election

BBC at 100Into the digital age. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Grave of a fallen soldier in World War I

“Their name liveth for evermore”: the difficult task of locating, identifying and honouring the dead of WW1. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Queen Elizabeth II sends her first Tweet during a visit to the 'Information Age' Exhibition at the Science Museum on October 24, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

How did the world change during Queen Elizabeth II's reign?

Britain’s harsh winter of 1880–81 depicted as the start of a new ice age, by contemporary cartoonist George du Maurier (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Out of the cold: the slow beginnings of climate change science. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Theban mural showing people plucking geese. (Photo by DEA / G Dagli Orti/De Agostini/Getty Images)

Life in Ancient Egypt: what was it like?

The queen – dressed in dark clothing – stands up from a table to deliver a speech

Annus HorribilisWhat happened in the Queen’s horrible year?

The letter that betrayed the gunpowder plotters. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A propaganda photograph showing a typical German family eating the Eintopf, a cost-saving stew promoted by the Third Reich

Second World War

The stomach for the fight: the food policies used by the Nazis to maintain control in the Third Reich

An engraving of a prison hulk at Deptford, from a c1826 painting. (Photo by: Photo 12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Floating hell: the brutal history of prison hulks

A family history of the world. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A scene from the Luttrell Psalter, c1330, gives an idealised insight into everyday life in 14th-century rural England

Life as a medieval peasantHow accurate are depictions on screen?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Anthony Eden addresses BBC cameras in 1956

BBC at 1001950s friction between government and the BBC. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A child cooks on an open fire in a medieval home (Photo by: Prisma/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Medieval childhood: a historical A-Z. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Industrial revolution

Q&AWhy do we say ‘get the sack’?

Why Bond and the Beatles ruled the sixties. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Thousands gathered in Portugal in October 1917 to witness the Miracle of the Sun.

Miracle of the SunWhy thousands gathered in 1917 to witness a solar vision

The Unesco world heritage site of Hadrian's Wall. (Photo by Getty Images)

Black British historyBlack Britannia. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 5The mysterious men on-board. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 4Inside the Tudor treasure trove. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Anti-Chinese prejudice: from gold rushes to exclusion laws. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Photo of the Jarrow March

The Jarrow marchThe lasting legacy of the 1936 protest

Scene of the 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears' at the Disney World in Orlando, Florida, 1971

Why we should remember...The day Walt Disney World Resort in Florida welcomed its first guests