North America

'Yorktown' sustains a hit during the battle of Midway. The US aircraft carrier sank three days later but, by then, the Japanese had accepted that their attempt to land a war-winning blow had failed. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

How miraculous was the battle of Midway?

Scores of people milled about the entrance to the Stock Exchange on 24 October 1929, as the market went through the greatest shake up in its history. It was a light tremor heralding the earthquake to come. (Photo by NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

The Wall Street Crash: the day the bubble burst

The Haiti slave revolt. (Image by Getty)

Slave revolt

Illustration by Davide Bonazzi.

The WW2 obsession: why the world can't move on from 1945

Queen Elizabeth II

The differences between UK and US governments: a brief guide

This 1867 magazine illustration shows a group of children preparing for Halloween. (Photo by American Stock/Getty Images)

The origins of Halloween: tricks, treats and cobbled streets

On 20 July 1969, Lunar Module 'Eagle' touched down gently on the Sea of Tranquility on the moon. (Photo by NASA/Newsmakers via Getty Images)

From ‘moon-germs’ to motion sickness: health and safety on NASA’s 1969 lunar landing mission

Henry Hemming.

Fake news in World War Two

Q&AHow did Area 51 become associated with aliens?

Highclere Castle

The secrets of Downton Abbey’s Highclere Castle

A gamer plays the video game 'Red Dead Redemption II', an action-adventure and multi-platform western video game developed by Rockstar Studios released on October 26, 2018. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)

Red Dead Redemption, L.A. Noire and Battlefield V: the real history behind 3 popular video games

History heroJulia Bradbury chooses Amelia Earhart (1897–1937)

Courtiers dancing La Volta in a scene from 1953 film The Sword And The Rose

Strictly shocking: the dances that shook the world

Brendan Simms photographed by Ian Farrell

Hitler’s war with Anglo-America

American business magnate JD Rockefeller sits at a desk

Q&AWho was the first billionaire?

US President John F Kennedy gives his first State of the Union address to Congress at the House of Representatives, Washington DC, 30 January 1961. Kennedy is one of eight presidents to have died during their term in office. (Photo by NASA/SSPL/Getty Images)

Q&AHow many US presidents died in office?

Native American leader Sitting Bull

History heroSteven Knight chooses Sitting Bull (1831–90)

US soldiers in Vietnam

From the Napoleonic Wars to Vietnam and Iraq: a history of war trauma

Why black hair matters

US infantrymen in snowdrifts

Second World War

Q&AWhy is Hitler's Ardennes campaign called the battle of the Bulge?

9 notable ambassadors in history

Stonewall and the fight for gay rights

NASA’s unknown Welsh hero: the story of Tecwyn Roberts

Kendrick Oliver explores the space race that led to the 1969 moon landing and considers the legacy of the momentous events of July 1969. (Photo by NASA/Newsmakers/Getty Images)

The race to the moon

Launch of the Apollo 16 mission, 1972. ((Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

The Space Race: The Cold War rivalry that put humans on the Moon

Back down to Earth: the legacy of the 1969 moon landing

Illustration by Kate Hazell for BBC History Magazine.

From Churchill and Roosevelt to May and Trump: 75 years of the 'special relationship' between the US and the UK

Dornier 217 bombers of the Luftwaffe bomb London during the Battle of Britain. "The crucial role of the RAF in denying the Germans control of the air in 1940 and therefore persuading Hitler to abandon his invasion plans is so well known that it might seem almost sacrilegious to question it, " says Sean Lang. "But was it solely responsible for saving Britain from invasion? Not quite." (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

9 of the most overrated battles in history (and one underrated one)

Charles I. (Photo by World History Archive/Alamy)

King killers in America

Revealed: the history of America’s national anthem