History Today

The illegitimate child of Pope Alexander VI, Cesare Borgia thwarted a plot by his own men on December 31st, 1502.

As Gibraltar conducts a referendum on its future, Martin Murphy shows the degree to which its status was determined by rivalries between the 18th-century Great Powers.

As the Museum of London launches its new Prehistory Gallery, its recently appointed Director, Jack Lohman, gives us his perspective on the challenges of bringing the distant past to life. Mr Lohman, a born Londoner, joined the Museum in August, moving from South Africa where he was responsible for developing a common vision for the country’s fifteen national museums.

John Klier reviews Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s recent venture into the history of his native country.

Austin Woolrych reflects on how historians’ approaches to the events of 1640-60 have been changing over the half century that he has been working on the period.

Historians have famously been divided into parachutists and truffle-hunters. M.R.D. Foot explains how he began his careeer as a real parachutist in the SAS.

T.A. Jenkins discusses the political career of the Iron Duke.

Taylor Downing recalls the BBC series The Great War.

Michael Rosenthal and Martin Myrone look beyond the traditional view of Gainsborough and argue for a view of the painter beyond that of society portraitist, as a modernist responding to the broader themes of his times.