History Today

July 15th, 1957

Napoleon and Alexander I of Russia signed a peace treaty on 7 July, 1807.

Mark Bryant discovers the world’s first cartoon character, who sold large numbers of books, and all manner of merchandising.

Edward Longshanks died on July 7th, 1307. 

Simon Ditchfield looks at the achievement of Ignatius Loyola and sees the Society of Jesus, which he founded, as the first organization with a truly global reach.

Hanna Diamond examines the mixed experiences of the French men and women of every social class who fled their homes in the mass exodus from the Nazis in 1940, and those who took them in.

R.J. Knecht looks at the ­practical considerations behind the smooth operation of the huge courts of the Valois kings of France.

Serving general and military historian Jonathon Riley uses his personal knowledge of command to assess Napoleon’s qualities as a strategist, operational commander and battlefield tactician.

Roland Quinault asks whether politicians from north of the Border have always dominated Parliament, as some people think is the case today. Tam Dalyell, Labour MP for West Lothian and Linlithgow 1962-2007, adds his own comments.

Will the new super-casinos bring about the demise of the commercial bingo hall? Carolyn Downs traces the history of the game back to the eighteenth century and finds that then – as now – it had a strong attraction for women gamblers.