History Today

Stephen Bourne tells how a Blitz adoption led to his passion for rediscovering Black history in Britain.

James Campbell peers into the murk of the ‘Dark Ages’ and sifts truth from fiction about our post-Roman history.

Martin Evans contrasts the triumphalism of France’s 1931 Colonial Exhibition in Paris with the rotten reality of its ramshackle empire.

Peter Ling describes how the refusal of four black students to accept a lunch-counter colour bar led to the collapse of segregation in the American south.

Phillip Hall analyses the finances of Britain’s monarchy, arguing that those who claim that the royals pay for themselves are misusing history.

Mike Greenwood on a new BBC initiative to help audiences take their interest in history further.

Debra Higgs Strickland examines the extraordinary demonology of medieval Christendom and the way it endowed strangers and enemies with monstrous qualities.

The city of Ghent in modern Belgium, birthplace of Charles V, is currently celebrating the 500th anniversary of his birth on February 24th, 1500.

Charles II's mistress was born on February 2nd, 1650.

The radical Italian thinker was burned at the stake on February 17th, 1600.