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This William H. Mumler photograph shows a bearded man seated while a faint female “spirit” appears behind him. Mumler’s images — a blend of portraiture and supposed spirit photography — captivated Victorians eager for proof of the afterlife, even as critics accused him of trickery and photographic manipulation.

Did he photograph the ghost of a president? Meet the scheming Victorian who exploited a grieving America

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BONUS: What does Hitler’s DNA really tell us?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

What does Hitler’s DNA really tell us?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration of a witch on a broomstick, wearing a pointed hat.

General History

Why do ‘wicked’ witches wear pointed hats? The real history explained

Mutilated corpses and undead mothers-in-law: vampire epidemics through history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Books of the Year 2025

BBC History Magazine's 2025 Books of the Year37 best books for history lovers

The REAL history behind Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and more. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

This Roman mosaic depicts gladiators locked in combat. Created to celebrate the spectacle of the arena, it offers a glimpse into one of the most popular, and most brutal, entertainments of the Roman world.

Step inside the ancient Roman empire's gladiatorial arenas, and witness 24 hours of shocking violence

After Franco: Spain's miraculous transition to democracy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A depiction of Roman communal toilets

Tales of the toilet: a historical A–Z. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting of a ship with several white sails and flags on it. In front of the ship, there are large crowds of people in small boats

Not 1066 again! Should we ditch our obsession with dates?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 8Windsor Castle

The problem with poo: a millennium of manure. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Toilets through timeAbsolutely bogging. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 7Early modern chamber pots. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 6Prehistoric toilets. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 5Anglo-Saxon and Norman cesspits. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration showing a samurai soldier dressed in a black and blue robe. Behind him is a person holding up a bar with two buckets of poo hanging from it.

Let’s think before we flush, with Dr Christopher Harding. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 3Tudor garderobes. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 1Roman latrines. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 4Victorian lavatories. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 2Medieval privies. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

This 15th-century 'Zodiac Man' illustrates how each sign of the zodiac was thought to govern a different part of the human body. Such images helped shape early modern astrology, which blended medieval medical theory with renewed interest in celestial influence. Astrological medicine guided decisions from diagnosis to bloodletting, reflecting a world in which the heavens were seen as active forces in human health and destiny.

How do you cope with living in a century of chaos? By learning how to predict the future

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

Episode 2The LAST Anglo-Saxon kings of England | Harold II and the road to 1066. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A new history of multicultural Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A red and black illustration showing a large wolf jumping up, above a man laying on the floor. Around the central wolf, there are several others

Spectral beasts and hounds of hell: a spooky history of Britain's ghost dogs. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Research into Adolf Hitler's DNA has thrown up some extraordinary insights into the Nazi dictator’s private life. (Images by Getty Images)

Second World War

“We analysed Hitler’s DNA – and what we discovered made us gasp”

This 1865 image shows Giuseppe Garibaldi at Caprera, the veteran revolutionary whose campaigns made him a hero of the Italian unification movement. Celebrated across Europe, Garibaldi became the enduring symbol of Italy’s struggle for independence and national unity.

History’s sexiest revolutionary? Meet the mesmerising general whose charms helped win a war

An illustration showing a large white building with a triangular roof and columns. In front of it, there is an open gate with chains and several padlocks hanging from the left hand side

Who should decide the stories museums tell?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.