10 Downing Street, the residence of the prime minister of the United Kingdom. (Photo by Getty Images)

Politics

Irish people starving during the Potato Famine

The Corn Laws crisis.

Harvest time in Surrey in the mid-19th century. Powerful Tory landowners had agitated for the introduction of the Corn Laws to protect the income from their farms. (Photo by Christie's Images via Bridgman)

The Corn Law crisis: the bitter political war that threatened thousands with starvation.

Traditional Kente cloth from Ghana (Photo by Dreamstime)

A new view of Africa’s past.

Ramsay MacDonald, the first British Labour prime minister, pictured after the general election of 1931

A brief history of the Labour Party

Two American soldiers wait for the second wave of combat helicopters of the 1st Air Cavalry Division during Operation Pershing during the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War defined America in the second half of the 20th century. (Photo by Patrick Christain/Getty Images)

Your guide to the Vietnam War – plus 7 surprising facts you might not know

How William Shakespeare shaped America.

Scotland's cry for liberty: the Declaration of Arbroath.

Wales’s turbulent 20th century.

Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler watch a Nazi parade staged for the Italian dictators's visit to Germany. (Photo by Getty Images)

How do dictators seize power? The malevolent careers of eight 20th-century leaders explained

Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler watch a Nazi parade staged for the Italian dictators's visit to Germany. (Photo by Getty Images)

Dictators explained.

"We cannot walk alone": 26 August 1963 – As they hold hands, Martin Luther King Jr and the other leaders of the March On Washington For Jobs And Freedom make history. (Photo by Robert W. Kelley/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)

The story of Martin Luther King's struggle for civil rights in America.

Nancy Astor on the campaign trail in 1919

Nancy Astor facts: who was the first female MP in British history to take her seat in parliament?

The Cato Street conspiracy

Georgian terrorists: the Cato Street Conspiracy.

Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Donald Trump

From Lincoln to Trump: a brief history of the US Republican Party.

The rise of Hitler. (Photo by Getty Images)

The rise of Hitler.

Founding fathers: the men who made America

Prime Minister Harold Macmillan at Admiralty House, London

History heroMichael Heseltine chooses Harold Macmillan (1894–1986).

A bust of Charlemagne

Charlemagne: creating the myth.

John F Kennedy and Richard Nixon

Does history show that age affects US presidents’ performance? Plus, how old is too old?.

Democratic presidential candidates Birch Bayh, Jimmy Carter, Fred R Harris, Milton Shapp take on the press during the Iowa Democratic Caucus on 11 January 1976. (Photo by NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)

A brief history of the US Democratic Party.

January 1973: Londoners reading the newspapers headlining Britain's entry into the Common Market.

When did the UK join the European Economic Community (EEC) and why?

(Illustration by Davide Bonazzi for BBC History Magazine)

The big question: has the European Union been a success?

Photo of Adolf Hitler

Rise of a dictator: how did Hitler gain power and become the führer of Germany?.

An illustration of the barons compelling King John to ratify Magna Carta, 1215. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

6 facts about Magna Carta

The state funeral of Sir Winston Churchill

The death of Sir Winston Churchill and the top-secret plans for his funeral

Ayatollah Khomeini

General ancient history

A brief history of Iran

French prime minister Georges Clemenceau (left), US president Woodrow Wilson (centre) and British PM David Lloyd George at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919. The treaty's provisions have been blamed for causing the Second World War. (Image by Topfoto)

First World War

Did the Versailles peace treaty trigger another world war?

From Allies to enemies.

Crowds protest in Tehran

Opinion: is Iran a nation at war with itself?

The long history of Brexit.