Explainer

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

Connie Nielsen as Lucilla in Gladiator 2

Was Lucilla from Gladiator real? What her tragically short life tells us about women in ancient Rome

What was Mary Tudor and Thomas Cromwell's relationship – did they plan to marry?

Paul Mescal as Lucius in Gladiator II

Sharks in the arena? Gladiator II's real history and historical accuracy explained

Engraving of Roman emperor Macrinus and Denzel Washington as Macrinus in Gladiator II

The real Macrinus: how Gladiator II’s power broker became a short-lived Roman emperor

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

Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius in Gladiator

Was Maximus Decimus Meridius real? These five historical figures inspired Gladiator’s hero

Frozen Charlotte dolls: the Victorian Barbie

London crowds celebrating the signing of the armistice at the end of the First World War.

First World War

Armistice Day: what does it commemorate? Why are poppies worn? Plus 4 more things you need to know

Charlotta Bass, the first black woman to be nominated to the US Vice Presidency

Charlotta Bass: the first woman of colour to run for US vice president

Workhouses were meant to be unpleasant. Inmates worked hard (like these women hanging out laundry c1880). (Photo by Sean Sexton/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Victorian daily life: what was it like for 'ordinary' Victorians?

Statue of Zeus, king of the Greek gods

King of the gods and sex pest: the legend of Zeus and his thunderbolts

Halloween card depicts a pair of girls as they look out of a window as a witch (with a black cat) rides a broom across a full moon, early 20th century.

General History

What is the history of Halloween?

Napoleon Bonaparte retreats from Moscow, as depicted in a painting from 1851. The French leader is the classic example of a man driven to wage war by a lust for power, says Richard Overy. (Photo by Getty Images)

What drives our addiction to war?

A collage showing historical babies. Edward VI as a baby, Edward VIII as a baby, and a depiction of the baby Jesus.

Historical baby names: a guide to baby name trends from the Anglo-Saxons to today

A cup depicting a male couple making love

The boy that emperor Nero made his ‘wife’: what the tragedy of the castrated Sporus tells us about homosexuality in ancient Rome

Police chase demonstrators during the 1936 battle of Cable Street

When Mosley's fascists took on East End London and lost: the Battle of Cable Street explained

Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor in Rings of Power

How ancient history influenced Tolkien: did a forgotten legend inspire Rings of Power's Celebrimbor?

English prime minister Spencer Perceval being assassinated by bankrupt businessman John Bellingham in the lobby of the House of Commons

Why was Spencer Perceval assassinated? Inside the killing of a Georgian prime minister

Portrait of Mary Wollstonecraft

Mary Wollstonecraft: the firebrand feminist thinker with a rule-breaking life

Lee Miller and Kate Winslet.

Second World War

Who was Lee Miller?The model-turned-war correspondent who photographed WW2 horrors

Bust of the Roman Emperor Lucius Verus.

The Antonine Plague: the killer disease that devastated the Roman empire

George Orwell in front of a BBC microphone.

George Orwell: the indomitable life of the writer who confronted totalitarianism

Exterior of the White House, Washington, D.C

Who built the White House?

King Henry VI of the Hohenstaufen dynasty

What was the Erfurt Latrine Disaster?

Roman soldiers on the detail of Trajan's Column

Why decimation was the most unfair punishment in the Roman Army

German tank at the battle of Kursk, 1943. (Photo by Roger Viollet via Getty Images)

Second World War

The 1943 battle of Kursk: was it the biggest tank battle in history?

The death of Simon de Montfort at the battle of Evesham, 1265

Hacked to pieces, testicles removed & body parts gifted as “dark trophies”: the grisly fate of Simon de Montfort

A man helps his partner to dress by lacing her whalebone corset.

Victorian corsetsDangerous or misunderstood?