History Today

'Sweet' Polly Oliver went to war to be with her lover, but there were many women for whom military life was an end in itself. Julie Wheelwright uncovers the career of one woman whose ambition was amply fulfilled.

Alan Thomas takes a look Samuel Plimsoll, the nineteenth century reformer who left his mark on ships all over the world.

Tony Aldous examines the restoration of Morecambe’s winter gardens.

Rosemary Burton observes new plans for museums.

Michael Dillon looks at the little-known and less appreciated activities of a trader class that provided a solid base for the prosperity the Ming and Qing Chinese empires.

There is nothing new in the practice of terrorism through hostage taking. Gregor Dallas traces its roots to the events in Paris during the Spring of 1871 when the city was riven by civil strife.

Yuri Afanasyev, one of the leading popular advocates of the revaluation of domestic and world history in the Soviet Union, takes his argument further, in an interview for History Today with Albert Sirotkin of Novosti.

Peter Beck looks back on the importance of Argentina's history.

In the light of genetic engineering today, Nicholas Russell explores how the thoroughbred racehorse has changed in history.

Roy Macnab examines the ongoing debate on the two Frances of 1940 – epitomized on the one side by Petain and de Gaulle on the other – in the light of an heroic Cavalry stand against the German Blitzkrieg.