History Today

On the Spot: Margo Neale

‘Curating is a powerful form of history-telling.’

Role Remodel

Reinterpreting George III’s reputation.

Silver Bowl of Grace, or ‘drinking to health cup’, Kremlin Workshops, 16th century.

In Good Spirits

Alcohol was an integral part of diplomacy in early modern Russia.

The Trial of Bill Burns, by P. Mathews, 19th century.

A Donkey’s Day in Court

In 1822 a badly abused donkey became the first animal to receive justice in a British court.

Falling in Love with the NHS

In the 1950s Mills & Boon’s medical romances helped make the NHS more appealing to an ambivalent British public.

Commandos training with a two-man canoe during landing exercises by Scottish Command, 9 October 1941

Strength and Guile

A history of the Special Boat Service, founded in the dark days of July 1940.

Christ and the Doctors

The 12-year-old Jesus reveals his divinity for the first time at the Temple of Jerusalem.

Beginning at the End

A childhood world of fallen heroes and shattered certainties experienced during the fall of communism in Albania.

Guy Fawkes, Print made by Rowney & Forster after John Augustus Atkinson, created after 1821. Yale Center for British Art.

Why Has the Gunpowder Plot Been Remembered for Centuries?

Remember, remember, the fifth of November... four historians consider the extraordinary longevity of the Bonfire Night celebration and the memory of Guy Fawkes.

Women of the ahosi guard King Gezo, late 19th century © Archives Charmet/Bridgeman Images.

Last Stand of Dahomey’s Female Army

The women’s army, regarded as superior to its male counterpart, last saw action at Cana on 4 November 1892.