Photo of Mabel Capper and Patricia Woodlock advertising a meeting, Manchester, Lancashire, July 1908

Women's history

Crowds of women from ancient Greece gather round a man holding a vase

Q&AWhat was life like for Spartan women?

A portrait of Elizabeth I, who, says Susan Doran, “confounded her Catholic enemies, imposed her will on the political scene, turned England into a strong Protestant state and presided over a glittering court culture”. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Elizabeth I: the great unifier

A statue of Æthelflæd which stands in the grounds of Tamworth Castle in Staffordshire. (Photo by Chris Gibson/Alamy Stock Photo)

Æthelflæd: iron lady of Mercia

Medieval mystics. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The history of today. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Catherine of Siena, who in the 1360s experienced a vision from God during which – according to her biographer, Raymond of Capua – she drank the water from the wound in Christ’s side. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

The medieval mystics with a hotline to God

Austrian physicist Lise Meitner

6 women in science history you (probably) didn’t know about

Science and suffrage. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Actresses in historical drama Jamestown

Transported to 17th-century Virginia: an interview with the women of 'Jamestown'

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

Suffragette Annie Kenney is arrested during a demonstration. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

5 women’s rights activists you might not know about

A woman votes for the first time in 1918 Britain

What was the 1918 Representation of the People Act?

Millicent Fawcett addressing crowds in Hyde Park

The 1913 march for women’s suffrage. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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

In pictures: Diversity in nursing

Police hold back Mrs Lillian Bilocca on the quayside at Hull

The 1968 Triple Trawler Disaster and the women who fought for change

The LibraryFemale suffrage: Victory at last!

Chatsworth House

History explorer: Politics and power in Georgian Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Fiona Sampson"Mary never shook off the consequences of eloping with Shelley". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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

No Man’s Land: Women photographers in the First World War

England's Norman queens and the power they wielded: an interview with Alison Weir

Queen Victoria behind closed doors. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

'Poldark' character Aunt Agatha (left) draws our attention to the often-ignored figure of the 18th-century spinster, says Hannah Greig. (Image credit: BBC/Mammoth Screen/Robert Viglasky)

The real history behind 'Poldark' series three: episode six

Test pilot Melitta Schiller (right), Berlin, June 1943. (Photo by DRK/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

The women who flew for Hitler: an interview with Clare Mulley. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The LibraryFemale flyers in Nazi Germany. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Seven princesses with the name ‘Cleopatra’ are credited as sitting on the throne of Egypt. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Q&AHow many Cleopatras ruled Ancient Egypt?

Illustration by Sarah Young

Ælfthryth: England’s first queen

Queen Victoria’s dinners and Henry VIII’s niece. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A series of images depicting Victorian women wearing crinolines, c1860. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Stitching the fashions of the 19th century: who dressed the 19th-century elite?