History Today

Colin White surveys current scholarship on the national hero and announces an autumn lecture series devoted to him.

Catherine Allen describes a new oral history project that aims to create an archive charting the experiences of disabled people throughout the twentieth century.

Steven King argues that government policy on pensions is returning to the principles and practice of the Old Poor Law.

S.P. MacKenzie asks why Colditz, the prisoner-of-war camp that saw escape attempts by 316 men in the Second World War, has captured a particular place in the historical memory.

Bernard Porter argues that, through most of the nineteenth century, most Britons knew little and cared less about the spread of the Empire.

Claudius died on 13 October AD 54. Roman opinion was convinced that Agrippina had poisoned him.

Erica Fudge asks if, and how, a biography of an animal might be written.

Hugh Purcell tells the story of the man who inspired the Home Guard, taught it guerrilla warfare and paid a price for his political beliefs.

Janet MacDonald looks at the surprisingly good rations that kept the Jack-Tars jolly.

The self-styled tribune of the Roman Republic, Cola di Rienzo, was murdered by an angry mob, on October 8th, 1354.