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This 1876 portrait by shows Frederick Douglass (1818–1895), the formerly enslaved man who became one of America’s leading abolitionists, orators, and reformers.

Frederick Douglass escaped enslavement in 1838 – but here's why he was still far from true freedom

A black and white photograph showing a young boy playing with two girls in the sand

"Imagine starting a life with so little": the stories of South Asians in Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Defendants at the Nuremberg Trials listen to proceedings in 1946. In the front row sit Hermann Göring, Rudolf Hess, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Wilhelm Keitel, and Ernst Kaltenbrunner; behind them are Karl Dönitz, Erich Raeder, Baldur von Schirach, and Fritz Sauckel. Together they represent the senior leadership of the Nazi regime held to account for its crimes.

Second World War

“I hope I would have defended the Nazis at Nuremberg”

Hermann Göring in his office at the Reichstag, where he served as a leading figure of the Nazi regime. As Hitler’s deputy and head of the Luftwaffe, Göring wielded immense power during the Third Reich, later facing prosecution for war crimes at Nuremberg.

Second World War

Who was Hermann Göring? The truth about Hitler’s drug-fuelled enforcer who met his downfall at Nuremberg

Hermann Göring testifies in his own defense at the Nuremberg Trials in 1946. Once a leading figure of the Nazi regime, Göring faced prosecution alongside other high-ranking officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the aftermath of the Second World War.

Second World War

The Nuremberg Trials: the real history behind the post-WW2 tribunal that brought Nazi leaders to justice

Was Robin Hood ACTUALLY real? The history explained. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Five partitions that shaped South Asia. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A side-by-side comparison of the real Lucretia Garfield, alongside how she is seen in the Netflix series Death by Lightning.

Who was the real Lucretia Garfield? Inside the forgotten life of a fleeting First Lady

Chester Arthur as played by Nick Offerman in Netflix drama Death by Lightning, and a photo of the real Chester Arthur

Who was the real Chester Arthur – and what was his relationship with James Garfield?

US President James Garfiled as played by Michael Shannon in Netflix drama Death by Lightning, and a photo of the real James Garfield

Who was the real James Garfield, ‘the man from Ohio’ and doomed president of Death by Lightning?

A collage of Matthew Macfadyen as Charles Guiteau in Netflix series Death by Lightning, alongside a portrait of the real Charles Guiteau.

Death by Lightning real history: the true story of Charles Guiteau and a president’s assassination

This 3rd-century AD Roman mosaic shows two murmillones — gladiators named Symmachus and Maternus — locked in combat as their trainers watch from the arena’s edge.

Think you know what an ancient Roman gladiator looked like? The reality will make you think again

Two pictures of women, one modern day one looking at the camera, the other Victorian facing towards the right sit in circular frames against an orange background

My history hero: Rain Newton-Smith chooses Helen Keller (1880-1968). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A selection of illustrations of medical procedures, including childbirth and someone vomiting, around a circular chart that depicts flasks of different coloured urine

Marvellous medieval medicine: why their curious cures were better than you think. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Crystal balls & contacting angels: predicting the future in early modern England. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Second World War

Beyond the podcast: Nuremberg

Episode 3Was Henry V really DESTINED for greatness?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The REAL history behind 'All Creatures Great and Small'. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

This 1605 print depicts Guy Fawkes and his fellow conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot, a failed Catholic scheme to blow up the Houses of Parliament during the state opening by King James I.

420 years ago, a deadly conspiracy to kill Britain’s king nearly succeeded. What if it had worked?

Giuseppe Garibaldi: life of the week. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A man in medieval attire hands another man an arrow

Was there a real Sheriff of Nottingham?

A black and white photograph of a large, smoky explosion on the sea

Terror in the deep: how Hitler's U-boats pushed Britain to the brink. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A day in the life of a gladiator. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A formal painted portrait shows a middle-aged man with a ruffled collar and ornate clothing seated against a dark interior backdrop

What if the Gunpowder Plot had succeeded?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A woman looks on in fascination during a visit to the Paris Catacombs in the mid-1930s. (Photo by Getty Images)

General History

Living with the dead? You need to know these 7 gruesome facts about the history of human burial

Are these Britain's MOST HAUNTED places?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Bodies, bones & overflowing churchyards: a history of graveyards. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Frances Forsyte (Tuppence Middleton) and Jolyon Forsyte Jr (Danny Griffin) of new drama The Forsytes, against a backdrop of 19th-century stockbrokers in London. (Images by Getty Images/Mammoth Productions/Masterpiece)

The real history behind The Forsytes

In December 1929, investigator and ghost hunter Harry Price demonstrates an electric control device he designed to monitor a medium’s movements during séances. (Photo by Alamy)

When a Victorian ghost hunter investigated Britain’s most haunted house, this is what he found

An illustration of a haunted house. The background is black and purple, and the house is split into orange, green, black and white boxes. In each box, there are Halloween themed things such as skulls, ghosts, and eyes looking through keyholes

From tragic Tudor queens to restless Roman soldiers: Britain's 8 most haunted houses. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.