History Today

Robert Knecht describes the shortcomings of Henry III, the last Valois king, and the circumstances that led him to become the first – but not the last – French monarch to die at the hands of one of his subjects.

The Cold War has become this year’s hot media topic. Taylor Downing welcomes the chance to look more critically at the era of ‘mutually assured destruction’.

York Membery visits the capital of Bavaria and explores the historic heart of this twenty-first century metropolis – and its annual beer festival.

The emperor Hadrian presided over the Roman empire at its height, defined its borders and was one of the most cultured rulers of the ancient world.

Aug 15, 1308

Aug 27 1928

Richard Cavendish remembers what now appears the most brittle of peace pacts.

John Hanning Speke discovered the source of the Nile on August 3rd, 1858.

Jacqui Livesey unmasks the cleric who revealed Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton’s most intimate secrets.

Tobias Grey meets the journalist who was at Charles de Gaulle’s side for twenty-six years.

 In 1909 Beatrice Webb produced a controversial report which proposed abolishing the stigma and penury of the Poor Law and its workhouses. James Gregory argues that this plea for a less judgemental approach to poverty created the foundations of the modern Welfare State.