Sport and leisure

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

Sunbathers on Blackpool beach in 1954. (Credit: John Chillingworth/Getty Images)

Caravans, spa towns and seaside resorts: a brief history of British holidays

A view of Mount Everest

Mystery on Everest: did Mallory and Irvine reach the summit in 1924?

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

Summer holiday revolution: when were Britons first allowed to take paid holiday?

Hillsborough Disaster floral tributes

A brief history of the Hillsborough disaster and justice campaigner Anne Williams, ahead of ITV drama Anne

Spartacus is now associated with political upheaval, as in the 1919 Spartacist uprising.

Who were the gladiators of ancient Rome? Plus Spartacus, Crixus and 8 more fighters you should know

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?

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’?