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Men enjoying a drink and a chat in a coffee house, 1674. Coffee houses became known as ‘schools of the wise’, where people would gossip, argue and discuss the breaking news of the day. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A drink for the devil: 8 facts about the history of coffee

8 things you (probably) didn’t know about Jane Austen

Nelson Mandela special

Painting by Paul Delaroche depicting the execution of Lady Jane Grey. In the National Gallery, London. (Photo by VCG Wilson/Corbis via Getty Image)

Lady Jane Grey: the curse of the nine-day queen

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In the news

Today’s events in historical context…

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Water stress and sustainability: what can we learn from history?

Girls shower at a Woodcraft Folk meeting in Stanmore in 1947. (Photo by George W. Hales/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Britain’s green  pioneers

Nelson Mandela special

The last Russian royal family, Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra and their five children, were shot and bayonetted to death by their Bolshevik guards in the early hours of 17 July 1918. (Photo by Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

The legacy of the Romanovs: how is the last Russian royal family remembered in Russia?

The Second World War

Everything you need to know...

Hawker Hurricane in flight, Battle of Britain, World War II, 1940. A Hawker Hurricane of Fighter Command on its way to intercept German bombers as they crossed the south coast of England. Fought between 10 July and 31 October 1940, the Battle of Britain was the first major battle to be won in the air. The RAF's victory in the battle effectively prevented the Germans from attempting an invasion. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Second World War

6 Battle of Britain myths

A mushroom cloud over Nagasaki after the dropping of the second atomic bomb, 9 August 1945. The dropping of the bomb prompted Japan to agree to surrender unconditionally, as it now seemed likely that the Americans could mount an inexorable process of bombing. (Photo by Time Life Pictures/Us Air Force/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Second World War

WW2 10 of the most important Second World War dates

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Second World War

Beevor on Arnhem

British troops move on the Normandy shore from their landing craft on June 6, 1944 during the D-Day invasion of German occupied France during World War II. (AP Photo)

Second World War

D-Day: a resounding success for the Allies

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Second World War

Holocaust landscapes

Sunset on the Western Front during the Second World War – watchmen at their posts. Official British postcard issued by the Ministry of Information. War Office Photograph B. 1370. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Second World War

10 things you (probably) didn’t know about the Second World War

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The Library

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A scene from the Queen Mary Psalter (c1310-20)

What did Magna Carta mean to the English in 1215?

From The Library

Wallis Simpson. (Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

The vilification of Wallis Simpson

From The Library

Malcolm X chats with Eric Abrahams – the Oxford Union president who vowed to “fill the room with blacks” – before giving his famous address on 3 December 1964. (Getty)

Malcolm X in Oxford: Black power amid dreaming spires

From The Library

Anne of Denmark, wife of James I of England. Although she gave the appearance of a dutiful consort, Anne was ambitious for power and meddled in politics, says Tracy Borman. (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images)

Anne of Denmark: a killer queen?

From The Library

More from The Library

The Bayeux Tapestry

How much do you know about the medieval embroidery?

A scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting a naked man with an erection reaching out towards a naked woman, who is covering both her face and her pudenda with her hands. (© Bayeux Museum)

The Bayeux Tapestry with knobs on: what do the tapestry’s 93 penises tell us?

A scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Norman conquest of England in 1066. (Photo by DEA/M. SEEMULLER via Getty Images)

The Bayeux Tapestry now and in the future

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The story of the Bayeux Tapestry

A scene from the Bayeux Tapestry, depicting the Norman invasion of 1066. The majority of historians now agree that the tapestry was probably commissioned by Odo of Bayeux, the half-brother of Duke William. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

5 Bayeux Tapestry facts: what is it, why was it made and what story does it tell?

The charging Norman cavalry shown in glorious technicolour at the battle of Hastings in this masterpiece of storytelling. (Art Archive)

How English is the Bayeux Tapestry?

Norman cavalry on the charge in the Bayeux Tapestry. (Image by Bettmann/Getty Images)

Second World War

Why the Nazis fell in love with the Bayeux Tapestry

From The Library

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Lady Jane Grey's execution, as imagined by painter Paul Delaroche in 1833. (VCG Wilson/Corbis via Getty Images)

Lady Jane Grey: why do we want to believe the myth?

Andrew Roberts.

History Weekends 2018: 5 minutes with Andrew Roberts

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Issue 11 of BBC World Histories is out now

An illustration depicting King Arthur fighting the Saxons, from the Rochefoucauld Grail. The absence of a clear and present origin for King Arthur has created a ‘void’ which many are keen to fill, says Miles Russell. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

The real King Arthur: why are we so obsessed with trying to solve the mystery?

History Extra Podcast

The latest episodes from the History Extra podcast

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The murder of the Romanovs

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Britain’s refugee camps

Spies through the ages podcast

General ancient history

Spies through the ages

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Industrial revolution

Making the modern world

Ireland podcast

General Early Modern

Ireland’s past and present

Sherwood Forest podcast

Sherwood Forest through the ages

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History Quizzes

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In this painting from c1650, a witch wields a broomstick as demons and 'familiars' (helpers of witches) congregate before her. (Photo by Rischgitz/Getty Images)

History quiz – witchcraft and superstition

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Great Fire of London quiz – how much do you know?

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Second World War

Second World War quiz

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Medieval quiz

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