Victorian

William Huskisson was the first person to die in a railway accident.

In recent years the reputation of Mary Seacole as a pioneering nurse of the Crimean War has been elevated far beyond the bounds of her own ambition. Meanwhile that of Florence Nightingale has taken an undeserved knocking, as Lynn McDonald explains.

England has been conflated with Britain for so long that unravelling English history from that of its Celtic neighbours is a difficult task. Paul Lay considers recent histories of England and its people.

The wars of 1839-42 and 1856-60 are a perfect case study of the divergence of opinion that the British Empire continues to generate.

The pioneer of English travel writing was born on June 7th, 1662.

The Antipodean reformer died on May 16th, 1862.

Britain's political elite are often criticised for having few achievements away  from Whitehall. Richard Foreman contrasts their inexperience with the 19th-century statesman Lord Rosebery.

The leading Victorian radical and Liberal politician John Bright was born on November 16th 1811.

Lee Jackson of Victorian London selects some of his favourite Victorian jokes.