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Ye olde travel guide: Rio de Janeiro 1820.

When completed in the early 12th century, Durham Cathedral was "absolutely up-to-the-minute in its design and near-perfect in its execution," says Marc Morris. (Jim Gibson via Getty Images)

Where history happened: Norman churches.

Thomas Cromwell: a thug in a doublet?.

Where now for Richard III?

A noisy history of the world.

Abraham Lincoln in 1863. The 16th president of the United States "understood the value of hard work, had deep beliefs and pursued them," says Alastair Campbell. (Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

My history hero: Abraham Lincoln (1809–65).

Holding the line: France in the First World War.

One of the two 19th-century bronze sphinxes sited next to Cleopatra's Needle, London's oldest monument. (Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)

Where history happened: Egypt in Britain.

Ye olde travel guide: Florence 1380.

An oil painting depicting the battle of Camperdown, a "crushing British victory" over the Batavian (Dutch) Republic in the North Sea. (Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Tales from Nelson's navy.

"I read and studied much": Adolf Hitler at his Berghof mountain retreat in c1936. (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images)

Hitler's philosophers.

The call for the First Crusade was initially made by Pope Urban (pictured) in 1095. (Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

Britain and Islam: a matter of faith.

"Although the circus as we know it has its roots in the 18th century, the history of its three basic forms (clowning, equestrianism and animals) goes back much further," says Vanessa Toulmin. (Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Where history happened: the circus in Britain.

Image by Jonty Clark.

Ye olde travel guide: Calcutta 1905.

My history hero: Clara Schumann (1819-96).

An illustration depicting the battle of Naseby, arguably one of the most significant land battles in British history. (Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

20 important battles that shaped Britain

A big day in history: A speck of glitter triggers the California Gold Rush.

BBC History Magazine

Elizabeth I's faithful tutor

A rail revolution: Dan Snow on the meteoric rise of British railways.

The Bank of England in a late 18th century illustration. A 1783 investigation into malpractice at the Bank is reminiscent of the current financial crisis. (Guildhall Library & Art Gallery/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Georgian banking blunders.

The Black Prince's tomb in Canterbury Cathedral depicts Edward III's son as a resting warrior, a paragon of knightly virtue. The prince conceived the tomb's design himself but not everyone has bought into his favourable assessment of his life's achievements. (Photo by RDImages/Epics/Getty Images)

The Black Prince: hero or villain?.

John Linnell's 1816 portrait of Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick. His high-pressure steam engine "was the invention that unleashed power on this planet," says Michael Mosley. (Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

My history hero: Richard Trevithick (1771-1833).

George Frederick Handel married opera's passion with the respectability of biblical texts, says Tim Blanning. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

10 milestones in the history of western music.

A portrait of Jane Austen. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Where history happened: Jane Austen.

Ye olde travel guide: Aksum AD 537.

Effigy of Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Canterbury Cathedral, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Canterbury, Kent, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Where history happened: the cult of Thomas Becket.

Medieval ploughmen ploughing with oxen

The dark side of the Anglo-Saxons.

First Textbook

Toys and games that killed in Tudor England.

A 1864 campaign banner. (David J & Janice Frent/Corbis via Getty Images)

US presidents: Race, religion and re-election?

A Mayan funeral mask, made from jadeite and shell

The Maya and the apocalypse.