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General Early Modern

Tails from the deep: separating the real folklore of mermaids from Disney stories

“A spotlight on historic societal misogyny and disbelief of women”: what The Last Duel gets right and wrong

General Early Modern

Q&A Why do we say 'bury the hatchet'?

Martha S Jones charts African-American women’s long and determined pursuit of the vote, and of broader political power

African-American women’s battle for the vote

Alanbrooke Hall has long since been demolished, but memories of the alleged poltergeist activity on the sixth floor still trouble Ken, a former resident. (Image by Getty Images)

Paranormal cold case Alanbrooke Hall, Belfast

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In the news

Today’s events in historical context…

Gareth Williams explores previous efforts to combat lethal diseases, from smallpox to polio. (Image by Getty Images)

The race for vaccines: lessons from history

Sara Forbes Bonetta (seated besides her husband James Davies was brought to England in the late 1840s by a Navy captain. Presented to Queen Victoria, she impressed the monarch so much that Victoria became her godmother

Black History Month: what is it, historians on its relevance, plus 6 articles you should read

Women protest in London following the death of Sarah Everard, 2021

Walking a dangerous road: women’s safety on the streets

Illustration of the Red Dragon of China

Has China always been the world’s greatest superpower?

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Today's highlights

A young woman sat in front of a mirror applies lipstick, 1967

The price of beauty: the dangerous cosmetics used until the 20th century

A kelpie, from British folklore. (Image by Getty Images)

Supernatural stories: 9 unusual British folktales

A scene from the German film 'Ways to Strength and Beauty', 1925. (Ullstein Bild via Getty Images)

Second World War

Germany’s naked truth: the 19th-century nudism movements co-opted by the Nazis

More weird and wonderful history

On this day in history

What happened on this day in the past? Historian Dominic Sandbrook rounds up the landmark events, births, deaths and more...

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21 October

On this day_Numbers_orange20

20 October

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19 October

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18 October

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Historical Q&As

How did Spanish Flu get its name? When did our ancestors start using toilet paper? Why did the famous Crystal Palace burn down? And where was the WW1 Armistice signed? Here are the top questions about history, answered by historians and experts…

Hume Castle

Q&A Who was the original king of the castle and who was the dirty rascal?

Q&A Could Roman slaves buy their own freedom?

The fabled ‘Vegetable Lamb of Tartary’ was a plant said to grow sheep as its fruit.

Q&A What was the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary?

The Bal des Ardents (the 'Ball of the Burning Men'), from 'The Chronicler of European Chivalry' by GG Coulton (London, 1930). The 1393 tragedy claimed the lives of four people. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Q&A What was the ‘Ball of the Burning Men’?

Tony Robinson as Private Baldrick and Rowan Atkinson as Captain Blackadder

Q&A Was there a real Blackadder?

The burgundy cover of a British passport

Q&A When were passports as we know them today first introduced?

Read more answers from the experts

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HistoryExtra Podcast

The latest episodes from the History Extra podcast

Tim Harper reveals how clandestine networks of anti-colonialist rebels operated across Asia in the early 20th century

Asia’s anti-imperial revolutionaries

Pod Emma Rothschild WL

A family history of France

Wayne Dooling answers listener questions on South Africa’s Apartheid regime. (Image by Getty Images)

Apartheid: everything you wanted to know

King Arthur and a hand holding the sword Excalibur.

The legends of King Arthur: everything you wanted to know

Pectoral ornament in the form of a double headed serpent, Aztec/ Mixtec, c 1400/1521 (Photo by Getty Images)

The Aztecs: everything you wanted to know

Pod Marjoleine Kars WL

Berbice: a slave rebellion that nearly succeeded

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Trending in the US

Elizabeth I

History quiz: how much do you know about Tudor Queen Elizabeth I?

Atomic bomb damage in the city of Hiroshima, 1945. The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 “razed and burnt around 70 per cent of all buildings”, according to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Second World War

Was the US justified in dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War?

This 16th-century woodcut depicts King James VI at the North Berwick witch trials, the case that first sparked his obsession with hunting. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

James VI and I: the king who hunted witches

A portrait of Henry VII, the first Tudor king of England, by Michiel Sittow. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Medieval monarchy timeline: from the Norman Conquest to the Tudors

Picture galleries

Explore our historical galleries covering a wide range of historical periods and topics…

England's World Cup-winning captain, Bobby Moore (1941–93) kisses the Jules Rimet World Cup trophy after England's 4-2 win over West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final at Wembley Stadium, London. Also pictured are Moore's team-mates George Cohen, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

In pictures: when England won the football World Cup

'The Last Supper' by Leonardo da Vinci.

Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings: a guide to 8 famous works

2C2A1441

In pictures: 150 years of the British Red Cross

Emma Corrin as Princess Diana in season 4 of 'The Crown'. (Photo by Netflix)

The Crown S4 news: Netflix releases first images of Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher

Latest articles

Pumpkins carved into jack o'laterns with candles inside

Which historic character should you choose for your Halloween costume?

7 weird and wonderful Georgian beauty treatments. (Getty Images)

7 weird and wonderful Georgian beauty treatments

Gulielma Lister became the world's leading expert on slime moulds (Illustration by Rachel Dickins)

Gulielma Lister: the female botanist who became the queen of slime moulds

A man goes into a village at night on the eve of Samhain

What is the history behind the Celtic festival of Samhain and what does it have to do with Halloween?

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History Quizzes

How much do you know about history? Test out your knowledge with our quizzes...

How much do you know about the Vikings? Test your knowledge with our quiz. This mid-19th century painting shows Viking ships on the River Thames. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

History quiz: How much do you know about the Vikings?

People praying for relief from the bubonic plague, circa 1350. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Medieval quiz

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Quiz How Much Do You Know About Ancient Greece?

The effects of the disease known as the Black Death

History quiz: how much do you know about the Black Death?

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Popular historic periods

Portrait of King Henry VIII, Jane Seymour and Prince Edward. (Photo by Getty Images)

Tudor

Illustrated Medieval scene from the Romance of Lancelot

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Victorian

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20th Century

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Painting of Henry VIII

Henry VIII

Portrait of Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria

Winston Churchill gives his famous v-sign as he opens the new headquarters of 615 (County of Surrey) Squadron of the RAAF (Royal Auxiliary Air Force) at Croydon, 1948. (Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Winston Churchill

Golden funerary mask of Tutankhamun, inlaid with lapis lazuli, obsidian and turquoise. (Photo By DEA / G. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini/Getty Images)

Tutankhamun

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Social history

Photo of Mabel Capper and Patricia Woodlock advertising a meeting, Manchester, Lancashire, July 1908

Women's history

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The charge of the light, battle illustration

Military history

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