American history

(Illustration by Davide Bonazzi for BBC World Histories Magazine)

How the American Revolution created a global storm

Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. When Edward became king in January 1936, he was the darling of the nation. Yet when he abdicated in December 1936, few believed he was making the wrong decision. (Photo by Getty Images)

Love before duty: the story of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson

The destroyer USS Shaw explodes in a massive fireball at Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941. The attack led almost immediately to Germany declaring war on America, and so brought Stalin an unexpected ally of colossal potential power, says Laurence Rees. (Bettmann/Getty Images)

Second World War

Why December 1941 was the most important month of the Second World War

Richard Nixon gives a thumbs-up

Presidents under pressure: the resignation of Richard Nixon and the impeachment case against Trump

German-born physicist Albert Einstein.

5 things you (probably) didn’t know about Albert Einstein

The battleship USS California following the attack at Pearl Harbor

Second World War

12 things you (probably) didn’t know about Pearl Harbor

Few war leaders have been more profoundly steeped in history than Winston Churchill, who drew inspiration from his ancestor – and one of Britain's most celebrated generals – the Duke of Marlborough (left). (Images by Getty Images/Bridgeman

Second World War

Sending history into battle: the lessons that war leaders have tried to learn from the past

The White House in Washington DC, which has been home to all US presidents since John Adams in 1800. (Photo by Getty Images)

8 facts you might not know about the White House, home of the president of the USA

Lauren Bruner and Iyozo Fujita

Second World War

Pearl Harbor: 5 frontline stories from people who were there

Members of the Ku Klux Klan march down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC in 1925. The Klan of this era was a terrorist group in the precise meaning of that term, says Linda Gordon. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

When the Ku Klux Klan was a mass movement

John F Kennedy and Richard Nixon were both in their 40s during the 1960 presidential campaign. (Image by Alamy)

Does history show that age affects US presidents’ performance? Plus, how old is too old?

Mixed signals: A shortwave radio listening post in California, set up to report and translate broadcasts from Asia. (Photo by AP/Shutterstock)

Second World War

Caught off guard: why didn’t America see Pearl Harbor coming?

President John F Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and Texas governor John Connally ride through the streets of Dallas

The assassination of JFK: an eyewitness account

A young American woman gazes at a human skull, sent to her by a boyfriend during WW2

Second World War

Opinion: Midway’s treatment of the Japanese enemy highlights the power and limits of empathy

Sir Anthony Blunt, British art historian and Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures

Who was Sir Anthony Blunt and the Cambridge Five? Plus 4 others who spied for the Soviets