March 2011

Articles from the March 2011 issue of BBC History Magazine

A c1616 edition of King James bible. (Photo by Linda Davidson / The Washington Post via Getty Images)

5 reasons why the King James version of the Bible matters

Machines produce the final statistics for a census, c1931. From 1841, censuses helped the government calculate everything from the size and distribution of the population to the contrasting death rate in each of the hundreds of occupations. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Bulldog burners and dungboys: classifying occupations in British censuses (1841-1911)

The coronation of King Henry III, 13th century. (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

The fine rolls of King Henry III

An illustration depicting the death of William II at the hands of Walter Tirel. Although his death is thought to have been a hunting accident, some contemporary observers "wondered whether Tirel had been put up to it by the king's brother Henry," says Dominic Sandbrook. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A big day in history: when William II met his demise in the New Forest

Welcome home: the cruiser 'Exeter' arrives back at Plymouth, c15 February 1940, after taking part in the battle of the River Plate. The action resulted in the scuttling of the German pocket battleship 'Admiral Graf Spee', which had sent several British merchant ships to the bottom of the Atlantic. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The battle of the Atlantic

Douglas Bader. "It wouldn't be particularly good news to hear: 'Welcome onboard this Ryanair flight to Malaga. I'm Captain Bader," says Jonathan Agnew. (Photo by Evening Standard/Getty Images)

My history hero: Douglas Bader (1910–82)

Illustration by Jonty Clark.

Ye olde travel guide: Olympia 480 Bc

An engraving of the frontispiece to the first edition of the King James Bible. Published in 1611, the Bible was soon to become required reading across the English-speaking world. (Culture Club/Getty Images)

The making of the King James Bible

A re-enactment of the American Civil War. The conflict looms large in the US psyche 150 years after if began. (Getty Images)

Civil rights and the Civil War

Two women from South America. Six centuries ago South American civilisations matched the west in some respects. (Getty Images)

The wonder of the west

The site of the battle of Naseby, which saw parliament's New Model Army win its first major battle against the royalists in June 1645. (Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Where history happened: the Wars of the Three Kingdoms part 1