All About History

We all have our history obsessions. Whether it’s a particular period or historical figure, some key event or remarkable invention, I certainly have a few that do laps around my head with some frequency. The subject of this issue’s lead feature has be

In a ceremony at San Francisco City Hall, film star Marilyn Monroe married retired American baseball player Joe DiMaggio. The celebrity couple had been dating since 1952, and their high-profile relationship garnered plenty of media attention. Their m

The controversial silent film The Birth Of A Nation, directed by DW Griffith, marks the beginning of Hollywood’s Golden Age thanks to its advanced production techniques. However, it also includes racist depictions of African Americans and makes the K

The Golden Age of Hollywood saw some of the most iconic films ever produced, from Gone With The Wind (1939) to Citizen Kane (1941). Between 1930 and 1945, Tinseltown was dominated by a method of production known as the ‘Studio System’, which saw even

The makeup artists’ tools would often vary depending on the task at hand. For example, when creating the iconic monster makeups, Jack Pierce used everything from cotton and collodion to yak hair. However, for glamour makeups traditional brushes and t

Having arrived in Hollywood in the silent era when a script could be little more than a handful of scenarios to play out, Marion helped to define the screenwriter role. She started as an actress, but quickly transitioned behind the camera, writing in

This pair of slippers is not a true pair. The shape of the throats, the internal lining and the markings are different, showing that many different pairs were used during the film’s production. Marked ‘#1 Judy Garland’ this slipper appears to have be

Frida Kahlo was one of the most important artists of the 20th century, and her popularity continues to grow. She is the subject of blockbuster exhibitions across the world, her work sells at record-breaking prices, and in almost every museum shop you

Having been founded in 1912, Paramount Pictures Studio is the longest operating major studio in Hollywood. It was here that classics such as King Kong, Sunset Boulevard and Breakfast At Tiffany’s were filmed, as well as later successes like The Godfa

The Frida Kahlo Museum, also known as Casa Azul, is a museum dedicated to the life and work of Kahlo. It was here where Kahlo grew up, lived occasionally with her husband and later died, and has since been made a public museum welcoming about 25,000

Marxism Will Give Health To The Ill (1954) is one of Kahlo’s more directly political works. The symbols of her ill health, her crutches and leather corset were common in her self-portraits, here being cast away. This painting, Self-Portrait Dedicated

After her death, Kahlo would only gain in popularity. Today you can buy cups, bags and tea towels sporting her well-known but anti-establishment visage. These are now widely marketed images, printed as they are on T-shirts and posters; they have beco

Sometimes, when you look at a map showing populations, there are groups that don’t seem to belong. The Crimean Tatars are an example of this. If the average person knows anything about them, they might link them correctly to Attila the Hun/Genghis Kh

Raw steak mixed with raw egg is a hugely popular dish in France, but it is not a Tatar delicacy. An idea that the Tatars didn’t have time to cook, so they cut strips of raw beef and placed them under the saddle to soften it, is entirely made up. It w

At the time of writing, the Ukraine War still rages. While the major invasion happened in 2022, it should be remembered that the Crimea was illegally annexed by Putin and the Wagner Group in 2014. For eight years before the war, Crimea had been torn

Elagabalus was never supposed to rule. As a minor member of the Severan dynasty, there were others who were more likely to sit on the throne; he was just a first cousin once removed of Emperor Caracalla. In fact, if Caracalla hadn’t been assassinated

While we know that the vast majority of it is untrue, the Historia Augusta can make very entertaining reading. Here are some of the highlights when it comes to Elagabalus. When proclaimed consul, it was customary to throw coins and sweets into the cr

The Anglo-Canadian convoy SC 42 left Nova Scotia bound for England on 30 August 1941. It consisted of more than 60 slow-moving merchant ships protected by four warships from the Royal Canadian Navy. Ahead of it lay 4,500 kilometres of wild ocean, tem

In the annals of alchemy and occultism, only a handful of practitioners remain legendary today. Names such as Fulcanelli, St Germain and, one of the most notorious of them all, Count Alessandro Cagliostro (pronounced ‘Cali-Ostro’). Infamous even cent

Once described by Cagliostro as “my best friend and master, the wisest as well as the most learned of men”, it was from the enigmatic Althotas that he learned many of his alchemical and occult secrets. He purportedly met Althotas as a young man in Me

After being approached by Goalhanger Podcasts to start a history podcast during the COVID-19 lockdown, renowned historian Tom Holland decided to recruit his good friend and fellow historian Dominic Sandbrook to the project. Since their first episode

The ‘Underground Railroad’ (UGRR) was the name given to routes of escape for enslaved people labouring in the southern United States. Operating during the 19th century, ‘conductors’ guided the escapees and hid them in buildings owned by sympathetic a

The disastrous retreat from Moscow following the invasion of 1812 would have broken most military commanders, as well as the war-fighting spirit of most nations, but Napoleon Bonaparte had proved to have superhuman resilience, raising a new army in 1

The older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, Joseph had been made king of Naples from 1806–08 and then king of Spain from 1808–13. He abdicated after the French defeat at Vitoria and was made Lieutenant General of the Empire from Paris as Napoleon took o

An exciting, eccentric take on the French military legend’s life Cert: 15 Director: Ridley Scott Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim Released: Out now Ridley Scott is one of cinema’s supreme visual stylists and a director adept at tackl

In the latest collaboration with the al-Sabah Collection in Kuwait, a new publication from Thames & Hudson spectacularly highlights the glory and grandeur of historic Indian jewellery and other bejewelled objects. Salam Kaoukji, an author and curator

Author: W Jeffrey Tatum Publisher: OUP USA Price: £26.99 Released: 1 March 2024 In A Noble Ruin: Mark Antony, Civil War, And The Collapse Of The Roman Republic, W Jeffrey Tatum presents a new and deeply layered examination of the life and times of Ma

Author: Leah Redmond Chang Publisher: Bloomsbury Circus Ltd Price: £25 Released: Out now In the 16th century, three women were linked through family bonds and the weight of power. Catherine de’ Medici, Elisabeth de Valois and Mary, Queen of Scots wer

Director: Stanley Kubrick Starring: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Tony Curtis Country: Italy Year: 1960 Does this tale of rebel gladiators hold up in the arena of historical records? 01 Spartacus claims to be the descendant of a long line of slaves

Mole derives from the Aztec word 'mulli', which translates simply as mix or sauce. There are a great many varieties of mole from across Mexico, all deriving from this original concept. It's a mix of cocoa and chilli peppers, with regional produce bei