20th Century

Charles Sobhraj (centre) pictured in 2011, while trying to sue the Nepalese government for unlawful imprisonment

The real history of The Serpent: the true story of Charles Sobhraj

Trevor Barnes details the 1960s operation to uncover the infamous Portland Spy Ring – one of the most dangerous KGB espionage networks ever to operate in the UK. (Image by Getty Images)

Hunting down the Portland Spy Ring

Berlin by night: Haus Vaterland on Potsdamer Platz during the 1930s. It contained the largest cafe in the world, a major cinema and numerous theme restaurants. (Photo by Getty Images)

The gay MPs who opposed appeasement

Georg Elser, a little-known carpenter-turned-assassin whose daring attempt to kill Hitler almost succeeded

Second World War

Georg Elser: the man who nearly assassinated Hitler

Simon Hall explores why Fidel Castro’s visit to New York City in 1960 shaped the rest of the decade. (Image by Getty Images)

Castro and the trip that shaped the 1960s

Shocked and despondent Lennon fans gather in New York’s Central Park to mourn his death (Photo by Luiz Alberto/Keystone/Getty Images)

The death of John Lennon: what happened?

Giles Tremlett discusses how more than 35,000 volunteers from across the globe fought against fascism in the Spanish Civil War. (Image by Getty Images)

The International Brigades: fighting fascism in Spain

British Royal Navy Type 21 frigate HMS Antelope explodes in San Carlos Water, off East Falkland, after attacks by the Argentine Air Force during the Falklands War, 24 May 1982. (Photo by Martin Cleaver/Pool/Getty Images)

The Falklands War: when was it fought, why did it happen and how was it won?

Robert Colls discusses the importance of sport to English society over the past 200 years. (Image by Getty Images)

England’s sporting obsession

Maaza Mengiste on the HistoryExtra podcast. (Image by Getty Images)

Ethiopia 1935: The real history behind The Shadow King

Rosa Parks being fingerprinted after her arrest

Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat: what happened next?

British mystery writer Agatha Christie, c1926. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The mysterious disappearance of Agatha Christie

Land girls on an Essex turkey farm round up the turkeys for the last time. (Photo by Reg Speller/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

A brief history of turkeys, plus why we eat a turkey dinner at Christmas

Actress Lily James and actor Michael Huisman looking at each other in a still from the film The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Second World War

Life under Nazi rule: the occupation of the Channel Islands

The future King George VI playing at the Wimbledon tennis championships, 1926

How George VI’s sheer ordinariness made him the darling of the nation