Culture

Alex Renton shares the story of his own family’s involvement in the slave trade, and considers how best to deal with this unwanted inheritance. (Image from Getty Images)

The slave trade: a family history

Tokyo Olympics 1964: Yoshinori Sakai prepares to light the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony. Born on the day that the first atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima, he was a symbol of Japan’s postwar reconstruction and peace

Tokyo Olympics 1964: the Games that defined Japan

From players who captivated audiences to composers who pushed boundaries, Susan Tomes explores the history of the piano. (Image from Getty Images)

The piano: a musical history

Queen Elizabeth I dancing with Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Artist unknown. (© Lebrecht Music and Arts Photo Library/Alamy)

Tudor tunes: music at the courts of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and James VI and I

Bronwen Everill discusses the Benin Bronzes

The battle over the Benin Bronzes

Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle

Q&A Who wrote the French national anthem?

A portrait of William Barnes. The accomplished linguist wanted to adopt a form of English purged of foreign imports

National English: the language that would save England

Ritchie Robertson responds to listener questions on the intellectual and philosophical movement that swept Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. (Image by Getty Images)

The Enlightenment: everything you wanted to know

Colour portrait of Jane Austen

Jane Austen: a guide to her life, books and death – plus 8 fascinating facts

A man digs a grave in Sarajevo for victims of the war in Bosnia, 1992

Yugoslavia: why shared Slavic identity couldn’t save an idealised nation from fracture and bloodshed

On the evening of 13 March thousands of people in Phoenix, Arizona, and surrounding areas see a triangular formation of lights drifting above the city. Fife Symington, the governor of Arizona at the time, was one of the witnesses and he described the UFO as “otherworldly”. This image shows something similar to what was reported at the time. (Photo by Alamy)

A brief history of UFOs: top 10 sightings & timeline

A UFO photographed in New Mexico by a government employee. The image was released by the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization after careful study. It is unknown what the image shows.(Photo by Getty Images)

How UFOs conquered the world – without firing a shot

Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy (Photo by Alamy)

Ravenna: from Roman powerhouse to artistic hub

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Arrives Japan

Q&A Have the Olympic Games ever been cancelled?

A young girl reading a book. We recently asked our Twitter followers which historical fiction book inspired them as a child. (Photo by Terry Vine via Getty Images)

Historical fiction recommendations for children: the best history books for kids