History hero

Charles Darwin at his home at Down House, Kent, c1880. (Photo by English Heritage/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

History hero My history hero: Andrew Marr chooses Charles Darwin (1809–82)

Young girl putting garland around Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. (Photo by Dinodia Photos/Getty Images)

History hero My history hero: Fergal Keane chooses Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964)

Krystyna Skarbeck, also called Christine Granville

Second World War

My history hero: Michael Morpurgo chooses Krystyna Skarbek

Mary Seacole as seen in a contemporary photo. Although she became famous for her nursing work in the Crimean War, her story subsequently became largely forgotten. (Photo by Alamy)

My history hero: Bernardine Evaristo chooses Mary Seacole (1805–1881)

Victorian heroine Grace Darling (1815–1842) with her father, lighthouse keeper William Darling. They are rowing from the Longstone Lighthouse on the Farne Islands off Northumberland, to rescue the passengers of the stricken ship 'SS Forfarshire'. (Photo by Nigel Dobinson/Getty Images)

My history hero: Miriam Stoppard chooses Grace Darling (1815–1842)

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

My history hero: Cathy Newman chooses Beatrice Shilling (1909–1990)

American jazz singer Helen Forrest performing with trumpeter Harry James (1916-1983), c1945. (Photo by Metronome/Getty Images)

Second World War

My history hero Dame Vera Lynn chooses Helen Forrest (1917-1999)

Rosa Parks (right) riding on a bus following the Supremacial segregation on Montgomery's public transit system. (Photo by Don Cravens/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images)

My history hero Gabby Logan chooses Rosa Parks (1913–2005)

Sylvia Pankhurst is taken into custody

My history hero Emma Barnett chooses Sylvia Pankhurst (1882–1960)

Oskar Schindler, who prevented hundreds of Jews from being murdered in the Holocaust

Second World War

My history hero Simon Reeve chooses Oskar Schindler (1908–74)

A contemporary portrait of scientist Ada Lovelace

My history hero Konnie Huq chooses Ada Lovelace (1815–52)

Native American leader Sitting Bull

My history hero Sitting Bull (1831–90)

Margaret Hodge has been the MP for Barking since 1994. She held a number of ministerial positions during the 1997–2010 Labour administration, and was appointed DBE in 2015. (Photo by AP/REX/Shutterstock)

My history hero: Katharine Graham (1917–2001)

Arthur Ashe in action at Wimbledon, where he won the men's singles title in 1975. (Photo by Ed Lacey / Popperfoto / Getty Images)

My history hero Tracy Austin chooses Arthur Ashe

A portrait of Fridtjof Nansen, taken after his daring expedition across Greenland. (Image by Alamy)

My history hero Paul Rose chooses Fridtjof Nansen