History Today

Æthelred the Unready

Simon Keynes argues that the reign of the famously incompetent king, who died in London a thousand years ago, is in need of reappraisal.

The Eunuch and the Emperor

Was the eunuch Earinus the lover of Domitian, one of Rome’s ‘Bad Emperors’? Llewelyn Morgan pieces together the extraordinary relationship between them.

Going for Gold

Senator Barry Goldwater brought a new brand of Republicanism to American politics, writes Roger Hudson. 

The First Cyborg

A creature, part human, part machine, was born of a desire to end the tragedy and waste of the Great War. 

The Bradford Sweets Poisoning

As politicians consider the introduction of a sugar tax to improve the nation’s health, Harry Cunningham recalls a tragic incident from 1858, which forced the British government to rethink its regulation of pharmacists.

A Touch of Charles II

The belief that a king’s laying on of hands could cure the disfiguring disease of scrofula gained new heights of popularity during the Restoration, as Stephen Brogan explains.

The Daily Mail and Women

The British newspaper revolutionised the market by appealing to female readers, even though its attitude towards sexual politics has often been ambivalent, argues Adrian Bingham.