Home - History Extra

Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin stands beside an American flag, soon after landing on the Moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission. (Photo by NASA/Liaison)

Opinion: Was the Moon landing really a great leap for mankind?

Second World War

Should we be glad the plot to kill Hitler failed?

Lettice Knollys: Elizabeth I’s nemesis

From The Library

Nelson Mandela podcast

Nelson Mandela’s extraordinary life

Latest

In the news

Today’s events in historical context…

Water2_Sep08_sml-6c58aa3

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

podcast-logo_v4_15-2348aeb

Second World War

The Battle of Britain

A photograph of Nelson Mandela. Peter Hain told the History Extra podcast about the South African leader’s remarkable achievements in the face of tremendous adversity. (Photo by Allan Tannenbaum/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)

Peter Hain on Nelson Mandela: “A symbol for good leadership in the world”

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

Podcast Website large Antony Beevor

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

Warsaw-Ghetto-children-2-40d6e9c

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

Read more on the Second World War

The Library

Unlock exclusive content for BBC History Magazine subscribers

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

Podcast Website large Kathryn Hurlock

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

Advertisement

Robert Burns. (Getty Images)

7 facts about Robert Burns, Scotland’s national bard

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

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

History Extra Podcast

The latest episodes from the History Extra podcast

Podcast Website large Helen Rappaport

The murder of the Romanovs

Podcast Website large Jordanna Bailkin

Britain’s refugee camps

Spies through the ages podcast

General ancient history

Spies through the ages

Podcast Website large Simon Winchester

Industrial revolution

Making the modern world

Ireland podcast

General Early Modern

Ireland’s past and present

Sherwood Forest podcast

Sherwood Forest through the ages

View all Podcasts

History Quizzes

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

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

great fire 4

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

Second World War soldiers

Second World War

Second World War quiz

Medieval illustration

Medieval quiz

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

Photo of a Victorian family

Victorian

Photo of a London Dandy on Carnaby Street, London

20th Century

Explore more historic periods

Popular people from history

Painting of Henry VIII

Henry VIII

Portrait of Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria

Photo of Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

Photo of Tutankhamen's mask

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