General Modern

The execution of Louis XVI in the Place de la Revolution

What is a revolution?

Fern Riddell

Contraception, consent & erotic connection: sex through history

American billionaire Howard Hughes (shown here in a car in 1947) went from a visionary filmmaker to a germ-obsessed recluse, dying in 1976. (Photo by Getty Images)

“His flesh had rotted, and his bed was full of worms”: 5 of history’s most eccentric hermits

The Three Lions crest. A trio of lions has appeared on the arms of every English (and British) monarch since the late 12th century, and has been flown as a battle standard on English soil and abroad. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Offside/Getty Images)

Q&A Why are there three lions on the shirts of the English football team?

Everything you wanted to know about Canadian history

Canadian history: everything you wanted to know

Illustration by Eleanor Shakespeare

“Make love not midnight snacks”: a social history of slimming clubs

On the evening of 13 March thousands of people in Phoenix, Arizona, and surrounding areas see a triangular formation of lights drifting above the city. Fife Symington, the governor of Arizona at the time, was one of the witnesses and he described the UFO as “otherworldly”. This image shows something similar to what was reported at the time. (Photo by Alamy)

A brief history of UFOs: top 10 sightings & timeline

A UFO photographed in New Mexico by a government employee. The image was released by the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization after careful study. It is unknown what the image shows.(Photo by Getty Images)

How UFOs conquered the world – without firing a shot

Front door of No 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British prime minister

From Walpole to Johnson: lessons from the 300-year history of the British prime minister

Victorian London prison, Newgate. Prisoners in the exercise yard. Engraving by Gustave Doré, 1872 (Photo by Getty Images)

British prisons: everything you wanted to know

Prisoners exercise and play sport in the courtyard of the Fleet Prison, circa 1872

Timeline: a history of prisons in Britain

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Arrives Japan

Q&A Have the Olympic Games ever been cancelled?

Alan M Turing and colleagues working on the Ferranti Mark I Computer, 1951.

Second World War

Your guide to Alan Turing: the man, the enigma

Cat got your tongue? It certainly seems to be the case with this surprised tabby

Why do we say ‘cat got your tongue’?

A young girl reading a book. We recently asked our Twitter followers which historical fiction book inspired them as a child. (Photo by Terry Vine via Getty Images)

Historical fiction recommendations for children: the best history books for kids