Paul Julius Reuter born in Germany
The news pioneer was born on July 21st, 1816.
History Today
The Origins of Rio de Janeiro
The teeming metropolis was once an undeveloped natural bay which became the site of a battle between Portugal and France for control of the New World.
Turin Papyrus Map, c.1150 BC
Kate Wiles surveys one of the world's oldest surviving maps, prepared for a quarrying expedition led by Ramesses IV.
Adam Smith, the Prophet of Profit
The life and thought of Adam Smith, the father of modern economics, and the competing claims for his legacy.
The first issue of Punch
The satirical magazine appeared on July 17th, 1841.
Oliver Cromwell, the Laughing Roundhead
Behind the serious face of the Lord Protector lay a man with a taste for terrible puns, pillow fights and unseemly practical jokes.
Portrait of the Author as a Historian: Fernand Braudel
The leading light of the French Annales school revolutionised the writing of history by imbuing it with wider, holistic, narratives and literary flair, says Alexander Lee.
Looking back on the Great Leap Forward
Frank Dikötter explains how the gradual opening of Chinese archives has revealed the appalling truth about Chairman Mao’s genocidal rule.
Louis Braille and the Night Writer
Louis Braille’s tactile reading system made literacy for the blind a reality, but he was indebted to an officer in Napoleon’s army.
The Spoils of Battle
Men took up arms for many reasons during the Hundred Years War. In the wake of new research into soldiers’ lives, Nicholas Gribit reveals how the promise of fortune was as big a draw as any.