History Today

The dark side of Harry Houdini.

When widespread vaccination was introduced there were objections – some justified, some not. 

If we are to better understand the actions of men such as Hernán Cortés, we must place them in the context of a medieval world view that predated the nation state.

In the 70 years since History Today was launched, the way we engage with the past has changed, often for the better. But challenges remain. 

The belief that you are what you eat emerged in 19th-century France, where the pleasures of the table were sautéed with philosophy and medicine. 

Muslims from Asia who wished to travel to Mecca on the Hajj were exploited by a trade in human cargo that grew with the opening of the Suez Canal.

Breaking into the masculine public sphere of the interwar years.

‘Crazy Jane’ was ubiquitous in the late 18th century, the archetypal figure of those driven mad by heartbreak. Was the plight of the love sick a performance or a pandemic?

What’s the meaning of the galloping herds painted on the walls of Lascaux’s cave system?