History Today

Early 17th century England saw the emergence of pirates, much romanticised creatures whose lives were often nasty, brutish and short. Adrian Tinniswood examines one such career.

In May 1610 Henry IV of France was assassinated by a religious fanatic apparently acting alone. Though popular, Henry had nevertheless aroused animosity on his way to kingship, not least because of his Protestant beliefs, writes Robert J. Knecht.

Ben Wilson visits the History Today archive to examine Diana Spearman’s analysis of the British constitution in the 18th century, an age characterised by liberty and individualism.

In April, in the cruellest of ironies, many of Poland’s political elite perished when their plane crashed on the way to a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the massacre of an earlier generation of Polish leaders. John P. Fox reports.

President Roosevelt’s introduction of United Nations Day and his Four Freedoms boosted morale in the fight against fascism and set the stage for a post-war UN.

When the England football team visited Germany in May 1938, diplomatic protocol resulted in the team giving a Nazi salute.

By taking a rational, global overview of the past, historians can better understand the challenges facing humanity, says Paul Dukes.

Britain’s diverse landscape reveals much about the people who live in it, whether it is ‘Constable Country’ or Hounslow. We should all take a closer look, says Francis Pryor.

Bettany Hughes contemplates the vanity of her profession as she outlines the reasons why we must continue to engage with our very distant past.