Historical people

Illustration of Major Stede Bonnet, the Gentleman Pirate

Stede Bonnet, Gentleman Pirate: how a mid-life crisis created the 'worst pirate of all time'

Emmett TillThe murder that reshaped the American civil rights movement. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

J. Edgar Hoover holding a gun

How J Edgar Hoover secretly ruled America. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Howard Hughes: the troubled tycoon. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The cover of Le Petit Journal, 13 January 1895, showing the "degradation" of Alfred Dreyfus during which his sword was snapped over a warrant officer’s knee (Photo by Leemage / Corbis via Getty Images)

The Dreyfus Affair: how France was divided over a miscarriage of justice

A portrait of Vlad the Impaler, aka Vlad II, whose bloodlust and cruelty was said to have inspired the most famous vampire of literature

The real Dracula? The bloodthirsty life of Vlad the Impaler

Edda Mussolini, c1929

Second World War

Edda Ciano & Hilde Beetz: how the women stood up to Hitler

Secret Santa Getty Dreamstime

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.