History Today

Pius X ends use of Castrati

The Pope, in a bull of 22 November 1903, ended the use of the male singers in the Sistine Chapel, who had previously dominated men’s opera.

Policing Abortion

Recent restrictions on the right to abortion in the United States imitate policies enacted 150 years ago.

Organisation Todt

‘Hitler’s architect’ Albert Speer denied all responsibility for the ruthless exploitation of millions of slave labourers. Yet he was head of a bureaucratic machine that did just that. 

Scotland’s Darien Scheme

Scotland’s short-lived, catastrophic Central American colony exposed its precarious relationship with England. Was closer union an inevitable result?

The Doctor Is In

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