History Today

The Bishop and the Bomber

The role of the Church in wartime has always been ambiguous. Today, with the question of nuclear weapons to the fore, churchmen are again in conflict over the moral issues involved. With this in mind, Geoffrey Best considers an earlier occasion when the Church found itself in a similar dilemma.

William Hunter, Surgeon

Roy Porter on a Scottish doctor who became the fashionable surgeon of choice in 18th century London.

The American Revolution 1783

What caused former Englishmen to declare their separate identity as Americans? Ian R. Christie explores the issues underlying British recognition of United States' independence.

Germany 1945-1950 - Problems of the 'Economic Miracle'

In 1945, Europe was devastated by the effects of the Second World War. The determination to reconstruct Europe was forged both from the disaster of war and from dreams of the creation of a stabilised and more equitable peace.

Thomas Bowdler and the Cockrane Affair

Kenneth Walthew explains how, on a visit to Malta for medicinal purposes, Thomas Bowdler the purifyer of English literature, found himself involved in a farce which was worthy of a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta.