HistoryExtra | BBC History Magazine's Official Website | HistoryExtra

Most searched for

Anne Boleyn, who was executed by beheading on 19 May 1536 after being found guilty of high treason, was said to have had "much joy and pleasure in death". (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

The final days of Anne Boleyn: why did she die?

Caracalla and Geta: the real lives of the mad emperors of Gladiator II

Lord Lucan and his wife Veronica, shortly after becoming engaged in 1963. It is thought that Lady Lucan was the intended target of the attack in 1974 (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Murder and vanishing without a trace: the mysterious case of Lord Lucan. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Simo Häyhä, said to be the deadliest sniper in history

Second World War

The world’s deadliest sniper: Simo Häyhä

On this day in history

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

11 December

10 December

9 December

8 December

More On This Day

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…

King Henry VI of the Hohenstaufen dynasty

What was the Erfurt Latrine Disaster?

General History

Why was Mozart obsessed with poo?

Women at Kappa Kappa Gamma and Gamma Phi Beta Houses of University of California at Los Angeles in 1952

General History

What is Greek life?

Former British prime minister Ramsay MacDonald sitting behind a desk

Where does the term ‘champagne socialist’ come from?

Roman soldiers on the detail of Trajan's Column

Why decimation was the most unfair punishment in the Roman Army

Spanish republican propaganda referring to the term 'fifth column'

General History

Q&AWhere does the term ‘fifth column’ come from?

Read more answers from the experts

HistoryExtra Podcast

The latest episodes from the History Extra podcast

Tempting treats & festive feats: christmas shopping down the ages. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Robert the Bruce: life of the week. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Germany's postwar reinvention. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Robot history: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Britain's wild republican decade. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Kublai Khan: ruler of the waves. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Princes in the Tower: could this new discovery solve the mystery?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

View all podcasts

More of our latest articles

Victorian family life | HistoryExtra Academy video lecture. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Living in sin: unmarried relationships in Victorian Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

How to celebrate a Victorian wedding. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

American actress Charlotte Cushman and Matilda Hayes. (Image by Alamy)

How Georgian and Victorian same-sex couples co-opted marital traditions and made them their own. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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)

QuizHow much do you know about the Vikings?

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

QuizHow much do you know about medieval history?

General History

Quiz of the weekWhat historical mystery may have been solved by a discovery by historian Tim Thornton?

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

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