BBC History Magazine

The early works of a pioneering Chinese photographer have gone on public display for the first time. The Herbert F Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, New York, is exhibiting nearly 50 photographs by Lai Fong (c1839–90), who founded one of t

Historians can be rather easily distracted, and they readily responded when James Palmer (@Jamespqr77) tweeted: “Tell me a scholar from a previous generation or an earlier era, one you never met when they were alive, but whose work became so importan

An archaeologist who claimed to have found the earliest known depictions of Christ’s crucifixion is standing trial in Spain accused of forgery. Some experts believe that the ancient ‘graffiti’ on items discovered by Eliseo Gil are historically inaccu

A diary entry penned by a farmer in 1810 suggests Georgian Britons may have been more tolerant of homosexuality than previously thought, say historians. Writing about a sodomy trial reported in the press, Matthew Tomlinson argues that it “seems cruel

In the autumn of 1924, rumours began emerging from the Mexican quarter of Los Angeles of an outbreak of a horrifying new disease. Symptoms included fever, coughing and severe pneumonia, and when nine Latinos who had attended the funeral of a recent v

Confusion at sea is settled with the creation of the Union Jack Three years after James VI of Scotland headed south to take the English throne, the king and his advisers contemplated a question that would have enormously long-lasting consequences.

Two hundred and fifty years ago, on Thursday 19 April 1770, James Cook – perhaps Britain’s greatest navigator – sighted the south-east coast of Australia while commanding HMS Endeavour. It was “rather low, and not very hilly, the face of the country

I’m a retired officer who served with the Metropolitan Police. I read with interest the article “We are the Lions, Mr Manager!” (February) as I was on duty at Grunwick Film Processing Laboratories. Those who policed the Grunwick strike were drawn f

“Chris, you better get out here quick; I think we’ve had it!” It was the evening of Monday 13 April 1970 and Flight Director Gene Kranz was on the phone to his predecessor Chris Kraft who had been promoted to director of Flight Operations. What was h

When the news broke that the Apollo 13 crew had splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean, Americans breathed a huge sigh of relief. But their elation couldn’t hide an underlying truth: that the nation was experiencing a ‘Space Slump’, a sense of dis

“ A horrible and bloody time.” That’s how the 16th-century Puritan preacher John Foxe described the reign of Mary I. And it’s a verdict that’s stuck. For much of the past 450 years, Mary has been widely cast as a malevolent force in English history.

Mary is born in Greenwich. She is the only child of Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon (pictured below), to survive infancy Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine is declared invalid five months after he marries a second wife, Anne Boley

In December 1558, a matter of days after Mary’s death at the age of 42, Philip II of Spain wrote to his sister Juana, telling her that he felt his wife’s loss deeply. While perhaps not a gushing testament to love, it is far from the picture of indiff

“For so long as 100 of us remain alive, we will never give consent to subject ourselves to the dominion of›the English. For it is not›glory, it is not riches, neither›is it honours that we›fight and contend for, but›freedom alone, which no›honest man

Within 50 years of his death, Robert Bruce (1274–1329) was already acclaimed by Scots as the saviour of his country, having bravely overcome defeats to emerge victorious. In his own lifetime, however, he was a divisive figure. To his enemies – Scots

Some authors spend years on their first novel. Ian Fleming’s came in a matter of weeks. In January 1952, the middle-aged British journalist was enjoying a little winter’s sun on holiday in the Caribbean. One morning, after a swim and his usual breakf

“Mute astonishment was excited a few days ago in the London Bankruptcy Court, by the appearance there, briefs in hand, with work to do, of a gentleman of colour – of the darkest tint. He was received by all the other members of the bar with the court

In 1620, the artist Artemisia Gentileschi was in the process of splitting up with her husband. In between the legal paperwork, she made a painting of the Old Testament heroine Yael. In the Book of Judges, Yael saves the Israelites by assassinating th

Sofonisba Anguissola’s best-known painting is her Lucia, Minerva, and Europa Anguissola Playing Chess (dating to 1555 and pictured below), a portrait of her sisters, significant for its novel image of domestic warmth and informality. The daughter of

This painting sold at auction in 2014 for €865,500, testimony to the attraction of Artemisia’s work today. It is a strikingly modern work, showing the saint in 17th-century dress in an intimate moment of religious transformation. Artemisia painted

Pacific War, an 83-day slog that cost 250,000 lives. Saul David describes a battle so terrible that it persuaded President Truman to reject an invasion of Japan and turn instead to the atomic bomb “Smoke and dust rose up from the shore, thousands of

Ever since the publication of the second book in the Wolf Hall trilogy, Bring Up the Bodies, in 2012, speculation has been rife as to when the final instalment would appear. Then in May last year, a huge billboard went up in London’s Leicester Square

Can you tell us about the real story that inspired your book? Out of Darkness, Shining Light is inspired by what happened after the death of the Scottish explorer, David Livingstone, in 1873. He died some months after being found in Ujiji by the Am

Artistic and literary treasures from across the Indian subcontinent form the heart of a new exhibition opening in Edinburgh. Visitors to the Queen’s Gallery will be able to explore a vast selection of south Asian paintings, prints and manuscripts fro

When did you first come across Aubrey Beardsley (1872–98)? I discovered Beardsley through becoming interested in Oscar Wilde. I was about 16 or 17, I think, deeply pretentious and all about baggy cardigans, eyeliner and long fringes! In a way, Beard

These delicious pastries have been enjoyed across the Middle East for hundreds of years. While there are many different regional variants of ma’amoul, their popularity transcends religious boundaries, being eaten by Christians at Easter, Muslims du

If you happen to visit the small Bavarian town of Oberammergau in 2020, you will soon notice that the local men are unusually hirsute. Wandering through the streets, beards and long hair will be everywhere you look. But this town-wide grooming regime

Munich has been home to a thriving market since the 12th century. The market moved to its current site in the 19th century to spare city-dwellers from piles of rotting leftovers. Today, it’s a gastronomic hub. Stalls selling gigantic pretzels and pla

Imagine you are an average person living in the Middle Ages. What would you do if you fell ill? How do you go about staying healthy? And what medical advice is available to you at this time? Elma Brenner turns medieval doctor, issuing health advice o

Discover how the Nazis were defeated, in a special 24-page Second World War supplement Matthew Lewis offers a new take on the 12th-century civil war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda Linda Porter discusses the women who dominated the Stuart

When did you hear about Rosa Parks? As a kid, I was interested in the civil rights movement. I read Harper Lee’s novel about racial injustice, To Kill a Mockingbird, and some of the black American writer Maya Angelou’s books, and it was then that I h