Historical people

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General History

What gift would you buy figures from the past? Find out in historical Secret Santa 2022

The real Wenceslas is that he was not actually a king, but Duke of Bohemia.

Q&AWho was Good King Wenceslas, and was he actually good?

St Andrew, in St Andrew chapel, depicted at his crucifixion displayed in the manner known as the Saltire cross

St Andrew’s Day: 11 things you might not know about Scotland’s patron saint

My history heroJeremy Bowen chooses Vincent Sheean. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Mikhail Gorbachev as seen in a 1995 portrait. His leadership saw the Soviet Union undergo dramatic reform, leading to its dissolution in 1991 (Photo by Dana Gluckstein / mptvimages / eyevine)

Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev as a Cold War hero or a failed idealist: the historians' verdict. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Former British Prime Minister John Major (left) and Johnny Lee Miller as John Major in The Crown

John Major: a brief guide to Britain’s prime minister in the 1990s

Jan Žižka: one of history's greatest military leaders, who was blind but undefeated

Kleisthenes is credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens and setting it on a democratic footing in 508/7 BCE. For these accomplishments, historians refer to him as 'The Father of Athenian Democracy'. (Picture by Alamy)

15 minutes of fameMichael Scott chooses Kleisthenes

Chaucer’s disputed legacy: new discoveries. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Black History MonthThe slave who stole a ship and sailed to freedom. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Douglas Mawson

Douglas Mawson: a tale of tragedy and survival in the Antarctic. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Two-Penny Whist, published January 11, 1796, James Gillray (English, 1756-1815), published by Hannah Humphrey (English, c. 1745-1818), England, Etching in dark brown, with handcoloring, on cream wove paper, 231 × 334 mm (image), 247 × 350 mm (plate), 270 × 384 mm (sheet). (Photo by: Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

15 minutes of fameHannah Greig chooses Hannah Humphrey

Image of Aina Forbes Bonetta and her husband, James Davies (GettyImages-3318942)

15 minutes of fameHannah Cusworth chooses Aina Forbes Bonetta

The Napoleon of Fleet Street. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Coloured engraving of Malintzin

General Early Modern

15 minutes of fameCaroline Dodds Pennock chooses Malintzin

Hannah HumphreyEntrepreneurial Georgian printseller. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Mussolini salutes in front of the statue of the Roman emperor Nerva, in the 1930s

How Italian dictator Benito Mussolini became the first face of fascism

Why we should remember…the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent

KleisthenesFather of Athenian democracy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Aina Forbes BonettaQueen Victoria’s Yoruba goddaughter. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

MalintzinAztec interpreter. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Writer JRR Tolkien smokes a pipe

JRR TolkienThe making of Middle Earth

Baron Franz Nopcsa in Albanian uniform.

15 minutes of fameTom Holland chooses Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration of fossil hunter Dorothea Bate

Dorothea Bate: A fearless fossil hunter. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

St Hadrian of Canterbury

15 minutes of fameMichael Wood chooses St Hadrian. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

St Hadrian of CanterburyMedieval African theologian. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Robin Hood: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

How one woman liberated a notorious US slave jail. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Historian Fern Riddell

15 minutes of fameFern Riddell chooses Charley Wilson. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Portraits of William III and Mary II, the only joint sovereigns in British history

Your guide to William and Mary, the only joint sovereigns in British history