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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

3 December

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...

1 December

Historical anniversariesDecember

30 November

29 November

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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…

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?

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HistoryExtra Podcast

The latest episodes from the History Extra podcast

Nelson & Winnie: inside the Mandelas' marriage. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Tudor England | 2. Daily Life. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Tudor England | 1. Power and Politics. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Tudor England | 5. The Wider World. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Tudor England | 4. Religion and Superstition. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Tudor England | 3. Culture and Innovation. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A Victorian cult: inside the strange world of the Agapemone. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Fess Parker, an American actor, as Davy Crockett

The man in the coonskin cap: your guide to Davy Crockett

A group of men in front of cannon with a ruined building behind them and rubble on the street

The war Britain won in 38 minutes

'Monster soup commonly called Thames water, being a correct representation of that precious stuff doled out to us!!!', 1828; showing an ugly woman holding a spy glass which touches the circumference of a large circle representing a magnified drop of water filled with grotesque aquatic creatures. A satire on the Metropolitan Water Supply.

From murder bottles to arsenic wallpaper: 5 hidden killers in Victorian Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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

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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 was a common ingredient in ancient Roman toothpaste?

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.

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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

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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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Dockers unloading wine barrels

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

Women's history

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