20th Century

Princess Margaret attends the premiere of Captain Horatio Hornblower, Leicester Square, 1951. (Photo by Ron Burton/Keystone/Getty Images)

The Queen’s “rebel sister”: 8 facts about Princess Margaret

A portrait of Fridtjof Nansen, taken after his daring expedition across Greenland. (Image by Alamy)

My history hero Paul Rose chooses Fridtjof Nansen

A 1954 illustration of a woman wearing nylons. Lightweight, easy to conceal and fiercely sought after, stockings were a favourite with smugglers. (Photo by Bridgeman)

The Library Nylon pirates: the postwar craze for cut-price stockings

Historian and geographer Jared Diamond

Books interview with Jared Diamond: “With countries, as with people, crises attract attention”

Jared Diamond (Photo by Jochen Braun)

Jared Diamond on countries in crisis

Expelled Germans leaving Poland's western territories

Second World War

After VE Day: The war without an end

Cathy Newman speaks to the History Extra podcast about 'Bloody Brilliant Women'. (Photo by Getty Images)

Women who made modern Britain

A portrait of Queen Victoria, who during her reign curbed the use of the title HRH (His or Her Royal Highness) by restricting it to children of a sovereign (of either gender) and grandchildren of a sovereign (in the male line). (Photo by Glasshouse Images/Alamy Stock Photo)

The rise and fall of ‘Royal Highness’: a brief history of royal titles and what it means for Prince Harry’s baby

Paul Morland (Photo by Fran Monks)

How population has shaped world history

Elizabeth II and Prince Philip with their third son, Prince Edward, on the balcony at Buckingham Palace. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Royal mothers and childbirth: a brief history

Japanese troops celebrate the capture of a British artillery position, Hong Kong, December 1941 (Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

The lion and the rising sun: Britain and Japan’s 400-year relationship

Two American soldiers wait for the second wave of combat helicopters of the 1st Air Cavalry Division during Operation Pershing during the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War defined America in the second half of the 20th century. (Photo by Patrick Christain/Getty Images)

7 things you might not know about the Vietnam War

US baseball legend, Joseph 'Shoeless Joe' Jackson, who was banned from the game along with seven other players after admitting that they had accepted money to lose the 1919 World Series.

“Say it ain’t so”: The ‘Black Sox’ scandal that rocked American baseball

Queen Elizabeth II driving her children Prince Charles and Princess Anne at Windsor, 1957. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Why do Brits drive on the left-hand side of the road? Plus 4 other facts about the history of driving in Britain