Volume: 54 Issue: 8

The Director of the National Gallery, Sir Edward Poynter, acquired Titian's 'Man with a Quilted Sleeve' for the museum on August 14th, 1904.

Anthony Fletcher reads his grandfather’s correspondence from the Western Front to see how he maintained morale and developed his leadership.

Louis XVI was born on August 23rd, 1754, in the palace of Versailles.

Peter Furtado introduces the August 2004 issue of History Today.

Latha Menon deplores the effects of religious extremism on Indian society and the writing of history.

Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Finland, Matthew Kirk, describes the impact of the Crimean War on that country and how it is being commemorated.

David Nicholls calls for curriculum reform so that the past might have a future in England.

Mark McDonald introduces an earlier Spaniard with a famous name who made an art collection in the Low Countries.

Feedback from History Today readers.

Charles Spencer tells how the victories of his great ancestor John Churchill have always fascinated him.

Glen Jeansonne sees the former president as a mirror of his age.

George Watson considers how news of a political and moral bombshell was received, particularly by intellectuals on both the Left and the Right.

Patricia Wright revisits the career of a 14th-century abbot who ruthlessly protected the interests of his abbey and who built a remarkable celestial clock.

Gallery owner John Martin appeals to readers to help identify figures in a significant work ‘The Opening Session of the United Nations’ by the twentieth-century...

It was not until a year after the armistice that the remaining American divisions were withdrawn from Korea, on August 18th, 1954.

Geoffrey Parker considers the far-reaching consequences of a sudden change of plan by the king of Spain in 1567.