General Modern

Flames and smoke are seen billowing from the roof at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, 15 April 2019. Yet despite the devastation, the fire is “not the worst chapter in its 850-year history”, argues Dr Emily Guerry. (Patrick Anidjar/AFP/Getty Images)

Notre-Dame fire “not the worst chapter in its 850-year history”

The ruins of Dunluce Castle, which sit on the coastal cliffs of North Antrim in Northern Ireland. They are thought to have been the inspiration for CS Lewis’s castle Cair Paravel in ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ (1950–56). (Photo by Andrea Ricordi/Contributor/Getty Images)

9 of Britain’s best castles

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4 revelations about the Titanic disaster

President Abraham Lincoln visiting soldiers encamped at the Civil War battlefield of Antietam in Maryland, 1 October 1862. (Photo by Rischgitz/Getty Images)

The American Civil War: 7 facts and fictions

An illustration showing the effects of the Fugitive Slave Act, passed by Congress in 1850. The law aimed to make it easier for slaveholders to reclaim runaway ‘property’ in the free states, and contributed to rising political tension. (Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty images)

The story of the American Civil War: 32 key moments in the landmark conflict

c1943: Soldiers enjoy a baseball match at Wembley Stadium in London between the United States Army and Canadian Forces. With them sits Bobby, the mascot of the Canadian Highland Scottish regiment. (Photo by Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Animals at war: 12 amazing pictures

Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales (1961 - 1997) pose together during their honeymoon in Balmoral, Scotland, 19th August 1981. (Photo by Serge Lemoine/Getty Images)

Diana: the rebel princess

The origins of the Conservative Party can be traced to the ‘Tory’ group in parliament which emerged in the last quarter of the 17th century and, led by Lord Bolingbroke (pictured) and Robert Harley, held power during the final years of Queen Anne’s reign. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

A brief history of the Conservative Party

Making a splash: Diana relishes taking her sons on a water ride at the Thorpe Park theme park in 1993. William has since recalled how his mother loved "laughter and fun". (Photo by Getty Images)

Princess Diana: a mother who ripped up the rule book

Nationalist troops escort captured Republican militia during the Spanish Civil War. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

The Spanish Civil War: an avoidable tragedy

A French print by the Thierry bothers depicting the appearance of the landscape and inhabitants of the Moon

How to carry off a great hoax

Perkin Warbeck, an imposter and pretender to the English throne, being humiliated in the stocks before his execution in 1499. Warbeck was used by Henry VII’s Yorkist enemies in an unsuccessful plot to threaten the new Tudor dynasty. (Getty Images)

Imposters in history: 16 famous con-artists and pretenders

Josephine Baker with her adopted children. She called them the ‘Rainbow Tribe’. (Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)

History’s most memorable mums

Illustration by Davide Bonazzi.

The big question: should museums return their treasures?