Sport and leisure

Edward the Confessor

10 things you (probably) didn’t know about the Anglo-Saxons

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Arrives Japan

Q&A Have the Olympic Games ever been cancelled?

In 1926, 19-year-old New Yorker Gertrude Ederle made history by becoming the first woman to swim the English Channel – and in a faster time than the five men who had already achieved the feat. (Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

Gertrude Ederle: the first woman to swim the English Channel

St David painting in stained glass window, Ceredigion, UK. Exact date unknown. (Photo by David Angel/Alamy Stock Photo)

16 things you (probably) didn’t know about St David’s Day traditions

American athlete Jesse Owens and German long-jumper Carl Ludwig 'Luz' Long.

5 acts of kindness that changed history

British from the 11th Brigade 4th division and German soldiers at Ploegsteert in Belgium on Christmas Day 1914. (Photo by The Art Archive/Alamy)

First World War

Did the First World War Christmas truce football match really happen?

A scene from an early rugby union game

The history of rugby: when was the sport invented?

A game of real tennis, also called royal tennis

Q&A Did the Tudors play tennis?

Men play kemari ball game

Q&A Who played the sport of kemari?

The card game cribbage

General Early Modern

Q&A Why do we say ‘level pegging’?

BDW39T The Australian XI of 1882, the cricket team toured England and won the only test at the Oval, the start of the Ashes legend. Image shot 1882. Exact date unknown.

In pictures: The Ashes through history

Belgium and the Netherlands compete in a tug of war at the Antwerp Olympic

Olympic oddballs: 5 unusual Olympic sports from the past

Wrestlers in ancient Greece

Q&A How did ancient athletes prepare for the Olympics?

An Indian cricket team in imperial Britain. (Photo by Elliott & Fry/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

An Indian cricket team in imperial Britain

WM Woodfull of Australia ducks to avoid a rising ball from Harold Larwood of England during the Fourth Test match at Brisbane on the infamous 'Bodyline' Tour of Australia. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

4 historical cricketing curiosities