Sport and leisure

American athlete Jesse Owens (right) perhaps would never even have won one of his gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics if it wasn't for an act of kindness from a fellow athlete, German long-jumper Carl Ludwig 'Luz' Long. (Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

5 acts of kindness that changed history

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

Edward the Confessor, the penultimate Anglo-Saxon king of England, depicted here in a scene from the Bayeux Tapestry. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

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

By the time George II came to the throne in 1727, Britain was a nation addicted to gaming. A Georgian gaming table is shown in this sketch by Thomas Rowlandson. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

“A nation addicted to gaming”: the Georgians’ crackdown on addictive betting

Wood engraving from The Graphic magazine features an illustration of a young man running with the ball during a football match on a grassy field, late 19th century. (Photo by Stock Montage/Getty Images)

5 facts about the history of football

People approach the VI Lenin Stadium, now known as the Luzhniki Stadium, in Moscow, in 1956. (Photo by James Whitmore/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images)

The history of Luzhniki Stadium, home of the 2018 football World Cup final

Crowds flock to the beach at Hastings in August 1938. (Photo by Photo12/UIG/Getty Images)

Holiday revolution: We’re all going on a summer holiday

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A 19th-century cricket match at the Kennington Oval. (Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images)

10 things you didn’t know about London’s sporting history

Fred Perry in action in the Wimbledon final in 1936. (Photo by Getty Images)

Fred Perry: the icon and the outcast

England's World Cup-winning captain, Bobby Moore (1941–93) kisses the Jules Rimet World Cup trophy after England's 4-2 win over West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final at Wembley Stadium, London. Also pictured are Moore's team-mates George Cohen, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

In pictures: when England won the football World Cup

Gussie Moran shocked onlookers with her lace knickers on show at the 1949 Wimbledon Championships (George W. Hales/Fox Photos/Getty Images)

10 scandalous moments in Wimbledon’s history

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Life of the Week: Fred Perry

Members of Preston Ladies' Football Club (formerly Dick, Kerr’s Ladies) pose while carrying out leg exercises during practice, March 1937. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

First World War

1921: the year when football banned women

Kinder Scout

History explorer: The fight for the right to ramble

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