Period

My history hero: Clara Schumann (1819-96).

A view of Valletta during the Second World War, showing its harbour filled with naval hardware. (Photo by Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The LibraryBritain's island weapon: Malta in the Second World War.

A big day in history: A speck of glitter triggers the California Gold Rush.

Why Magna Carta matters.

BBC History Magazine

Shortlist announced for Young Historians' Podcast Competition

BBC History Magazine

Elizabeth I's faithful tutor

Vintage Astro lava lamp from the 1960s

50 years of the lava lamp

200-year-old diary posted online

Q&A: Where does the word ‘crack’, describing military units, originate?

The Wallace Collection, Hertford House, London

A rail revolution: Dan Snow on the meteoric rise of British railways.

The Bank of England in a late 18th century illustration. A 1783 investigation into malpractice at the Bank is reminiscent of the current financial crisis. (Guildhall Library & Art Gallery/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Georgian banking blunders.

Winston Churchill, former prime minister of the United Kingdom, gives his 'victory' sign while making a polling day tour of his constituency during an election. (Getty Images)

Are these the most overrated people in history?.

BBC History Magazine

January issue out now

The Black Prince's tomb in Canterbury Cathedral depicts Edward III's son as a resting warrior, a paragon of knightly virtue. The prince conceived the tomb's design himself but not everyone has bought into his favourable assessment of his life's achievements. (Photo by RDImages/Epics/Getty Images)

The Black Prince: hero or villain?.

John Linnell's 1816 portrait of Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick. His high-pressure steam engine "was the invention that unleashed power on this planet," says Michael Mosley. (Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

My history hero: Richard Trevithick (1771-1833).

George Frederick Handel married opera's passion with the respectability of biblical texts, says Tim Blanning. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

10 milestones in the history of western music.

A portrait of Jane Austen. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Where history happened: Jane Austen.

Ye olde travel guide: Aksum AD 537.

Effigy of Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Canterbury Cathedral, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Canterbury, Kent, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Where history happened: the cult of Thomas Becket.

BBC History Magazine

Britain Begins

BBC History Magazine

Histories of Nations: How Their Identities Were Forged

BBC History Magazine

BBC History Magazine now available on Google Play

BBC History Magazine

Merchant, Soldier, Sage: A New History of Power

Rydal Mount, Cumbria

Medieval ploughmen ploughing with oxen

The dark side of the Anglo-Saxons.

First Textbook

Toys and games that killed in Tudor England.

A misunderstood view of de Montfort's rule

Historic Helmsley

A 1864 campaign banner. (David J & Janice Frent/Corbis via Getty Images)

US presidents: Race, religion and re-election?