Period

The bikini was showcased to the world for the first time in July 1946. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

8 historical events that happened in July

A girl, with her brother on her back, trudges past a stalled American tank, South Korea, June 1951. (Photo by Alamy)

How we forgot the Korean War

A gilt-bronze effigy of Henry III in what is his greatest legacy, Westminster Abbey. (Photo by Alamy)

Henry III in his own words: the medieval king as you’ve never seen him before

Who’s holding the baby? How working mothers navigated the 20th century

A bust of Ludwig van Beethoven before the original handwritten score for his Piano Sonata no. 28 in A major, Op. 101. The composer stood at the vanguard of a new artistic movement that celebrated emotion and nature. (Getty Images/Alamy/Dreamstime)

The soundtrack of Beethoven’s life

c1935: Beatrice Shilling sits astride her Norton motorcycle. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

History heroCathy Newman chooses Beatrice Shilling (1909–1990)

Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France meet (in marquee, top) at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, June 1520. “For all their expressions of friendship,” writes Glenn Richardson, “the two kings spent most of the summit attempting to outshine one another”. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

Fields of the Cloth of Gold: the greatest show on earth

John Nichol is a historian, author and RAF veteran who was captured and paraded on Iraqi television during the Gulf War, before returning to active service. He has since written several works of military history as well as a number of novels, and is a regular commentator on military affairs

Second World War

Your guide to the Lancaster bomber

Anne Boleyn (left) and her daughter, Elizabeth I. (Photos by Getty Images)

What did Elizabeth I think of her mother, Anne Boleyn? Historian Tracy Borman explains

Battle of Culloden

General History

10 things you (probably) didn’t know about Scottish history

Japanese school girls wear protective masks to guard against the influenza outbreak, February 1920. (Photo by Getty Images)

A history of pandemics: from Spanish Flu to Covid-19

Thomas Becket murder

7 controversial saints in history

Globe Theatre illustration

The Globe theatre fire of 1613: when Shakespeare’s playhouse burned down

The Baillie Family c1784, by Thomas Gainsborough

The Georgians: everything you wanted to know

Queen Emma and her sons

Exclusive podcastWilliam and Cnut: a tale of two conquerors

Queen Emma and her sons, miniature in 'Encomium Emmae reginae', mid 11th century, British Library (Photo by Getty Images)

Are women at the heart of the action in the Norman Conquest?

Pompeii,Italy

What was life like in ancient Pompeii? Mary Beard shares an A-Z guide

Scene from the the Westminster Tournament Roll, commissioned by Henry VIII to document the lavish jousting tournament held to celebrate the birth of his son with Catherine of Aragon

What if…Henry VIII's first son had lived?

Dan Jones by the River Medway at Rochester in Kent. Jones is the presenter of 'Walking Britain’s Roman Roads', which aired on 1 July 2020 at 9pm on 5Select

Exploring Britain’s Roman roads with historian Dan Jones

Amy Robsart and the Earl of Leicester

Amy Robsart: a Tudor tragedy

Portrait of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (1532–88) an English nobleman. Dated 16th century. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Robert Dudley: Queen Elizabeth I's great love

Mel Gibson in a scene from the film 'Braveheart'

Good drama, bad history: 11 historically inaccurate films you need to watch

Postcards from the past: a selection of entries from our lockdown competition

Pyongyang wreckage, Korean War

The Korean War “created a blood debt that is crucial to understanding North Korean behaviour ever since”

Britain and the Korean War

Newgrange Passage Tombs, Boyne Valley, County Meath, Ireland. (Photo by Hoberman Collection/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

BlogMedieval(ish) matters #9: Do early medieval Irish texts shed light on prehistoric incest?

This photo dated 1948 shows the devastated city of Hiroshima some three years after the US dropped an atomic bomb on the city on 6 August 1945, at the end of World War 2. Around 140,000 people, or more than half of Hiroshima's population at the time, died in the first atomic bombing – with another 70,000 people perishing in the bomb dropped over Nagasaki 9 August 1945. (Photo credit should read AFP/AFP/Getty Images)

In pictures: the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Simo Häyhä, said to be the deadliest sniper in history

Second World War

The world’s deadliest sniper: Simo Häyhä

How much do you know about the Vikings? Test your knowledge with our quiz. This mid-19th century painting shows Viking ships on the River Thames. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

QuizHow much do you know about the Vikings?

The coronation of Philippa of Hainault

How did Philippa of Hainault, wife of Edward III, become one of medieval England’s best-loved queens?