Historical people

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.

Aina Forbes BonettaQueen Victoria’s Yoruba goddaughter.

MalintzinAztec interpreter.

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.

An illustration of fossil hunter Dorothea Bate

Dorothea Bate: A fearless fossil hunter.

St Hadrian of Canterbury

15 minutes of fameMichael Wood chooses St Hadrian.

St Hadrian of CanterburyMedieval African theologian.

Robin Hood: everything you wanted to know.

How one woman liberated a notorious US slave jail.

Historian Fern Riddell

15 minutes of fameFern Riddell chooses Charley Wilson.

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

Is Queen Henrietta Maria’s rotten reputation deserved?.

Historian Leanda de Lisle photographed at her home with her dog Millie

Leanda de Lisle“Henrietta Maria has been looked at far too much through the male gaze”.

15 minutes of fameHakim Adi chooses Alice Kinloch.

First World War poets: everything you wanted to know.

Saint Wilfrid

15 minutes of fameMarc Morris chooses Saint Wilfrid

A portrait of Moses Roper, the first African-American fugitive from slavery to make a home in Britain

Moses Roper: the story of an American fugitive from slavery in Britain

Hannibal: Rome’s greatest nightmare.

Rosalind Franklin as seen in a 1956 photo

Why we should remember…Rosalind Franklin’s pioneering scientific career.

Marie Tharp stands at a table, drawing her map of the Atlantic Ocean's floor

15 minutes of fameJerry Brotton chooses Marie Tharp.

Estelle Paranque

Estelle Paranque“Elizabeth I was in charge of her fate. Perhaps that’s why Catherine de Medici despised her”.

15 minutes of fameRana Mitter chooses Tsiang Tingfu.

Laura Mvulu and Thelonius Monk

My history heroLaura Mvula chooses Thelonious Monk.

A portrait of silversmith Paul Revere, with his head resting on his hand.

19 key figures of the American Revolution, from royals to revolutionaries

Hildegard of Bingen

15 minutes of fameJanina Ramirez chooses Hildegard of Bingen.

Casanova: more than a serial seducer.

1842 self-portrait of Sarah Biffin

The armless artist who wowed Queen Victoria.