BBC History Magazine, BBC History Revealed & BBC World Histories - HistoryExtra

Archimedes heat ray sets fire to Roman ship

Archimedes’ greatest inventions and discoveries

The global legacy of the Boston Tea Party . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Reading, writing and retribution: inside Victorian prison schools . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Premium

A black and white engraving showing three rows of girls with dresses and white caps, sitting and working at desks, looked over by some women.

Reading, writing and retribution: inside Victorian prison schools . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Santa Claus rides in a sleigh overflowing with toys through the night sky. Two reindeer pull him along on his quest to deliver gifts to the children all over the world. Below is a sleepy town in the middle of winter unaware of the visitor above.

General History

The history of Christmas, plus 10 festive facts you might not know

Latest articles

06_05_3_month_Trial - homepage banner - 900x250 (1)

Bitesize history: watch in under 5 minutes

Premium

Aethelflaed.

5 things you should know about Æthelflæd, Lady of the Mercians . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Video Trench foot WL

First World War

Q&A What caused trench foot in WW1 and how could it be treated?

Why is Napoleon such a figure of ridicule in cinema?

Why is Napoleon such a figure of ridicule in cinema?

Premium

What was Albert Einstein's role in the creation of the atom bomb?

What was Albert Einstein’s involvement in the creation of the atomic bomb? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

More historical videos

Homepage 900 x 374 Xmas23 UK book offer

On this day in history

What happened on this day in the past? We round up the landmark events, births, deaths and more...

On this day_Numbers_greenB7

7 December

On this day_Numbers_greenB6

6 December

On this day_Numbers_greenB5

5 December

On this day_Numbers_greenB4

4 December

More On This Day

Most searched for

Napoleon’s mother, Letizia Bonaparte

Who was Letizia Bonaparte, the mother of Napoleon?

Premium

The Tower of London

The Tower of London: Anne Boleyn’s place of triumph and terror . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A composite image showing an astronaut on the moon against a purple sky.

Conspiracy Did NASA fake the Moon landing?

Simo Häyhä, said to be the deadliest sniper in history

Second World War

The world’s deadliest sniper: Simo Häyhä

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…

Video Trench foot WL

First World War

Q&A What caused trench foot in WW1 and how could it be treated?

Premium

Oppenheimer

Q&A How did J Robert Oppenheimer react to the first nuclear weapons test? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Video Teeth WL

Q&A Did medieval people have rotten teeth?

Scenic view of Cornwall

General History

Q&A Why is Cornwall called Cornwall?

Inflation hit Britain hard in the 1970s. Here activist Erin Pizz addresses a protest by housewives holdiing placards decrying rising food prices in July 1971

Q&A UK inflation: how does today’s economic crisis compare to the 1970s?

Tudor codpieces

Q&A What was the fascination behind Tudor codpieces?

Read more answers from the experts

Homepage 900 x 374 US Xmas 23 offer

HistoryExtra Podcast

The latest episodes from the History Extra podcast

Premium

Pod Daniele Cybulskie WL

Medieval manners: social etiquette in the Middle Ages . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Pod Behind headlines WL

History Behind the Headlines: Poverty, populism and The Crown . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Premium

Pod Julian Jackson WL

Marshal Pétain: Vichy France in the dock . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Premium

Pod Alwyn Turner 50s WL

1950s Britain: everything you wanted to know . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Premium

Pod Robert Darnton WL

The dangerous road to the Bastille . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Premium

Shakespeare WL

Shakespeare: Past Master 8. The Tempest . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

View all podcasts

More of our latest articles

Illustatration of the siege of Syracuse, showing Archimedes' cranes used to destroy Roman ships

The siege of Syracuse: how Archimedes took on the Romans

Illustrated portrait of Greek mathematician and inventor Archimedes

Why Archimedes was the greatest scientist of the Classical age

This illustration shows “Boston boys throwing tea into the harbour” on 16 December 1773

Boston Tea Party: your guide to the protest that ignited a revolution

Lucy Worsley in 'Killing Sherlock'

History TV and radio in the UK: what’s on our screens this week?

More of our latest articles

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?

Flagellants or Brothers of the Cross in Netherlands scourging themselves as they walk through streets

Quiz How much do you know about medieval history?

Weekly history quiz from the team at HistoryExtra

General History

Quiz of the week Which British royal erected the first Christmas tree?

Premium

The effects of the disease known as the Black Death

History quiz: how much do you know about the Black Death? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

View more quizzes

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

Victorian - Getty Images

Victorian

20th Century - Getty Images

20th Century

Explore more historic periods

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

Explore more people from history

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

Illustration of a couple

Sex and love

The charge of the light, battle illustration

Military history

Explore more historic topics