BBC History Magazine & BBC World Histories Magazine - HistoryExtra

British nurse Florence Nightingale (1820–1910), aka the 'Lady with the lamp', makes her rounds during the Crimean War. (Photo by Illustrated London News/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Why Florence Nightingale was so much more than the ‘Lady with the Lamp’

Roll up, roll up: how the Roman mosaics at Fishbourne Palace were saved

Second World War

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Medieval Life and Death Week

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Florence Nightingale

The life and legend of Florence Nightingale

Latest articles

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In the news

Today’s events in historical context…

A visitor stands on a toppled standing stone at the megalithic structure of Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

10 things you (probably) didn’t know about Stonehenge

Illustration of Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19). (Photo by Alamy)

Coronavirus: a historical perspective

Young woman gets hair cut in to a bob

A brief history of changing hairstyles

The regions of Britain in 1635, before the 1707 Acts of Union that united England and Scotland. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

“The anglocentric view we have of British history is unsustainable,” says Misha Glenny

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…

What was a drunkard's cloak used for? This illustration shows a man wearing the archaic punishment tool designed to punish habitual drinkers. (Photo by Getty Images)

Q&A What was a drunkard’s cloak used for?

A calendar

Q&A Where do the names for days of the week come from?

John Wilkes Booth leans forward to shoot President Abraham Lincoln as he watches a play at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C, in 1865.

Q&A What play was Abraham Lincoln watching when he was shot?

'The Landing of St Augustine in Kent', AD 597

General ancient history

Q&A When did Christianity first arrive in Britain?

Why were the Tudors called the Tudors? The answer lies with Catherine of Valois (pictured), widow of Henry V. (Photo by Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty)

Q&A Why were they called the Tudors?

The Church of St Martin of Tours in Canterbury

Q&A What is the oldest church in England?

Read more answers from the experts

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Pandemics in history

With coronavirus spreading around the world, what might we learn from pandemics in the past?

Clothes infected by the Black Death are burned in medieval Europe

Black Death facts: your guide to “the worst catastrophe in recorded history”

Illustration of Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19). (Photo by Alamy)

Coronavirus: a historical perspective

Photo of flu patients during the First World War

First World War

Q&A Why was the 1918-19 pandemic known as Spanish Flu?

c1656: A plague doctor in protective clothing. The beak mask held spices thought to purify air, while the wand was used to avoid touching patients. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Q&A Why did 17th-century plague doctors wear peculiar beaked masks?

The effects of the disease known as the Black Death

Black Death quarantine: how did we try to contain the most deadly disease in history?

c1955: A child pulls toilet paper from a roll. But what did humans do before toilet paper was invented? (Photo by Mac Gramlich/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

General ancient history

When was toilet paper invented and what did people use before?

Read more about pandemics

HistoryExtra Podcast

The latest episodes from the History Extra podcast

Animal head-post from the Oseburg ship burial, from the Viking Ships Museum's collection in Oslo, 9th century (Photo by Alamy)

Everything you ever wanted to know about the Vikings, but were afraid to ask

The German chief of staff General Alfred Jodl signs an unconditional surrender to the Allies in Reims, France, 7 May 1945 (Photo by Getty Images)

Second World War

Britain at War

Miners work hard in cramped conditions at the pit face in Ellington Colliery, Northumberland, 1951 (Photo by Getty Images)

The Northumbrians: from Bede to Geordie Shore

View of the Norse Buildings, L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site, Newfoundland. (Photo by Alamy)

General prehistory

Medieval globetrotters

Victorian family. (Photo by Sean Sexton-Getty images)

Everything you ever wanted to know about the Victorians, but were afraid to ask

Irish people starving during the Potato Famine

The Corn Laws crisis

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Trending in the US

Engraving of the death of Cleopatra

When did Queen Cleopatra die and who killed her?

Alexander Dreymon as Uhtred in season 4 of 'The Last Kingdom'

The Last Kingdom: the real history behind the series

Firemen tackling a blitz fire at St Paul's Cathedral, London

Second World War

The Second World War: a timeline

Princess Margaret attends the premiere of Captain Horatio Hornblower, Leicester Square, 1951. (Photo by Ron Burton/Keystone/Getty Images)

The Queen’s “rebel sister”: 8 facts about Princess Margaret

Picture galleries

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

VE Day revellers blowing party trumpets

Second World War

In pictures: jubilant VE Day street party celebrations

Keith Granville, managing director of BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation), holding a model of the Boeing 747 jet, with the new aircraft hangars under construction in the background, at Heathrow Airport, 17 March 1969. (Photo by Jim Gray/Keystone/Getty Images)

In pictures: the history of London’s Heathrow Airport

A family at the seaside in the 1960s.

In pictures: English life in the 1960s, photographed by Tony Ray-Jones

Figure of Tutankhamun

In pictures: the glittering treasures of Tutankhamun

Latest articles

A medieval couple being married by a clergyman

Love and marriage in medieval England

Detail of the processional frieze Ara Pacis Augustae, Rome. (Photo by Alamy)

7 podcasts about the Romans to listen to right now

John Bellingham Who Shot the Hon. Spencer Percival Print

The assassination of prime minister Spencer Perceval: what happened and was it a popular murder?

Queen Victoria c1870

‘Dumpy’ dowager or vibrant beauty: what did Queen Victoria really look like, and how tall was she?

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History Quizzes

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

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

Medieval quiz

A depiction of a witch on a broomstick. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Halloween history quiz: test your knowledge

The results of the poll: 100 women who changed the world. (Photos by Getty Images/Alamy)

Quiz: 100 Women Who Changed The World

great fire 4

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

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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

Medieval

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Victorian

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20th Century

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Popular people from history

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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Popular historic topics

Dockers unloading wine barrels

Social history

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

Women's history

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Sex and love

The charge of the light, battle illustration

Military history

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