20th Century

Dominic Sandbrook

Exclusive podcast Dominic Sandbrook on the 1980s

A meeting of early 19th century Freemasons in which the an apprentice or candidate is introduced to the lodge (Photo by Alamy)

The story of the Freemasons

Francisco Franco, who ruled Spain as dictator from 1939 to 1975, raises his arm in salute

Francisco Franco: is it accurate to call the Spanish dictator a fascist?

People gather around the Mona Lisa painting after its return in January 1914

Mona Lisa heist: how do you steal the world’s most famous painting?

The eyes of American actress Gene Tierney. (Photo via John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images)

The history of seduction

President Donald Trump

A brief history of election “rigging” in the United States

Male and female militia fighters on the march at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, July 1936. (Photo by Getty Images)

Everything you ever wanted to know about the Spanish Civil War, but were afraid to ask

Historian Peter Caddick-Adams

Second World War

Exclusive podcast Peter Caddick Adams on whether D-Day could have failed

Hiroshima.

Second World War

The end of WW2: 5 articles you can read right now

Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall: everything you need to know

Afrikaners with a Nordenfeld-Maxim field gun at Mafeking during the Second Boer War, 1900. (Photo by Getty Images)

Authors in the Boer War

(Photo by Dreamstime)

Documents that changed the world

In 1926, 19-year-old New Yorker Gertrude Ederle made history by becoming the first woman to swim the English Channel – and in a faster time than the five men who had already achieved the feat. (Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

Gertrude Ederle: the first woman to swim the English Channel

German Chancellor Adolf Hitler reviews storm troopers

Second World War

How did the Nazi party rise to power in Germany in 1933? And what were Hitler’s motivations?

National guardsmen confront confront citizens during Chicago's race riots

Red summer of 1919: the history of Chicago’s race riots