20th Century - Getty Images

20th Century

David Attenborough and the evolution of nature documentaries. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Four women in military uniform celebrate VE Day by waving Union Jack flags from an open-top jeep surrounded by cheering crowds. The joyful scene takes place in a city street lined with large stone buildings, as onlookers smile and gather around the vehicle.

Second World War

A brief guide to VE Day

Black-and-white portrait of a young John F Kennedy in US Navy uniform, facing forward.

Second World War

JFK's brother was destined for the presidency. Then a tragedy struck that changed American history

A mixed group of men and women in early‑20th‑century clothing gather around a table set with dishes, with a bearded man seated at the centre of the group.

Did Rasputin really bring down the Tsars? The truth behind the dark legend of the Russian mystic. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

George Orwell's final chapter. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Was Elizabeth II's reign a golden age?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A collage-style image shows King Charles III and Donald Trump in formal evening dress on the left, set against a blended backdrop of the US and UK flags and a 19th-century painting. To the right, Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a tiara and turquoise gown, raises a glass in a toast with President Gerald Ford, while smaller historical figures appear in the background.

Pageantry and politics: a history of British royal visits to the US. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Composite image of the damaged Chernobyl nuclear reactor alongside control room panels and workers monitoring instruments.

40 years on from the world’s worst nuclear disaster, what's Chernobyl really like today?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A colour photograph shows Queen Elizabeth II wearing a bright blue coat and matching hat while operating a touchscreen display at the Science Museum. A large screen behind her shows the same moment from a different angle, and wooden architectural structures fill the background. The scene captures her engagement with science and technology during a public visit.

How did the world change during Queen Elizabeth II's reign?

Elizabeth II: life of the week. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

shows ballet dancers on stage, with a male dancer supporting a ballerina in a white tutu as she extends one leg; in her dress, the Kremlin can be seen

In times of crisis, the Soviet Union turned to something unexpected to calm the masses

Episode 1Elizabeth II: the queen who redefined an era. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Queen Elizabeth II sits on a garden bench with her young children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, holding them close as they look in different directions among colourful flowers.

What was Queen Elizabeth II like as a mother?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A young Queen Elizabeth II, then Princess Elizabeth, smiles in a black-and-white portrait, wearing a riding hat and tailored jacket against a plain sky.

The young Elizabeth II: life before she was Queen. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a lilac polka-dot dress, matching hat with decorative trim, white gloves and a pearl necklace, smiles and chats with a young participant in a yellow shirt at a children’s rally in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

In pictures: Queen Elizabeth II on tour. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

How to find a billion-dollar shipwreck. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A sepia-toned courtroom scene filled with seated men and guards is overlaid with the text “Sunday Series: Nuremberg Trials”.

Podcast seriesThe Nuremberg Trials

The Oxford neurologist who broke an 'impossible' record: the incredible life of Roger Bannister. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Stalin's murderous vendetta against Trotsky. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A low-angle photograph of a large rocket standing upright on a launch platform, framed by tall metal towers on either side. The rocket is white with a prominent orange central tank and is mounted on a mobile launcher above rail tracks. The sky is clear and bright blue, and small vehicles and structures around the base emphasise the scale of the launch site.

8 weird stories from the Space Age: from hungry tortoises to gorilla suits

A black‑and‑white portrait photograph of a person wearing large round glasses, a collared shirt, and a leather jacket rests on top of an aged folder with a string‑tie closure, placed on a wooden surface.

I wrote a letter to the world's most famous terrorist – and nothing could have prepared me for his reply. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The relentless rise of the mafia. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A military pilot seated inside an aircraft with a Nato emblem overlaid across the image.

Nato is in crisis. Can history predict what happens next?

Black-and-white portrait of a Vladimir Lenin.

Why does Putin blame this infamous Russian revolutionary for Ukraine’s independence?

Winston Churchill wearing round glasses and a bow tie reads from a document during a speech.

Winston Churchill created the special relationship. Could Donald Trump kill it?

The relentless rise of the mafia: a grisly tale of extortion, execution and Don Corleone. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

How Rasputin helped doom the Romanovs. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Halle Berry holds up her Oscar statuette while posing in a sheer embroidered evening gown beside a large gold Oscar statue at a press backdrop.

16 remarkable moments in the history of the Oscars

"We shall never surrender": 14 quotes that have defined the past century. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Vladimir Lenin: life of the week. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.