Crossing the Continent
The medievalist Wilhelm Levison was a living embodiment of the deep links between Britain, Germany and a wider Europe.
History Today
Breaking the Peace
After the UK voted to leave Europe, Northern Ireland’s fragile relationship with both its past and its neighbour is once again to the fore.
The Death of Amye Robsart
The mysterious death of Amye Robsart – murdered, as many of her contemporaries thought, at the instigation of her scheming husband, favourite of Queen Elizabeth I – provides one of the strangest unsolved problems in Elizabethan history.
Paul Julius Reuter born in Germany
The news pioneer was born on July 21st, 1816.
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.