BBC History Magazine

The online archive of articles from BBC History Magazine

Adolf Hitler, photographed from behind, stands on a raised platform overlooking thousands of troops arranged in formation at a Nazi rally in Dortmund.

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The Nazis fell in love with the Bayeux Tapestry – and there's a dark reason why. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A young boy walks across a grassy hillside near his family's farm in Aberfan, Wales, in November 1966, with stone buildings and vehicles behind him.

20th Century

Death under the black mountain: surviving the 1966 Aberfan disaster

Julius Caesar, wearing a red cloak, rides a dark horse through the shallow water of the Rubicon, accompanied by two soldiers. The painting’s muted, misty landscape suggests the moment of his fateful crossing.

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Monsters of Rome: do emperors such as Nero and Caligula deserve their reputations?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

British troops surrender to the Argentines in Port Stanley

20th Century

The Falklands War: why did it happen?

A coloured medieval-style engraving depicts the Venerable Bede, an elderly monk in a red robe and cap, seated while reading from an open book.

Period

After the Romans left, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes arrived. What was the difference?

A black-and-white photograph shows British troops wading through the surf towards the Normandy coast during the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944. Landing craft push through rough water beneath a dramatic, cloud-filled sky, while dark silhouettes in the foreground frame the scene and emphasise the scale and danger of the operation.

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The seaborne invasion: why we must remember the forgotten heroes of D-Day and the battle for Normandy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A colour photograph shows Queen Elizabeth II wearing a bright blue coat and matching hat while operating a touchscreen display at the Science Museum. A large screen behind her shows the same moment from a different angle, and wooden architectural structures fill the background. The scene captures her engagement with science and technology during a public visit.

21st Century

How did the world change during Queen Elizabeth II's reign?

A young Queen Elizabeth II, then Princess Elizabeth, smiles in a black-and-white portrait, wearing a riding hat and tailored jacket against a plain sky.

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The young Elizabeth II: life before she was Queen. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a lilac polka-dot dress, matching hat with decorative trim, white gloves and a pearl necklace, smiles and chats with a young participant in a yellow shirt at a children’s rally in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

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In pictures: Queen Elizabeth II on tour. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Late 19th and early 20th-century 'lock-up mugshots' show style-conscious villains staring down the camera

Victorian

Who were the real Peaky Blinders?

Bright pink background with two large overlapping circles. In the left circle, an older woman with a bright pink bob haircut smiles warmly at the camera. She wears bold blue eye makeup, a colorful patterned jacket in pink and yellow, and a chunky metallic statement necklace. In the right circle, a sepia-toned vintage photograph shows a younger woman with short dark hair in profile, holding a cigarette to her lips and looking off to the side with a serious expression

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"She was like an angel – albeit one with claws": Zandra Rhodes chooses Adel Rootstein (1930–62) as her history hero. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A coloured engraving showing a large group queuing up to go into a dance ball. Each couple is holding hands, and the men are wearing high necked suits and the women are in long colourful gowns

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Lonely hearts and holiday flings: a brief history of dating. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Why did Maggie O'Farrell write about Shakespeare's son?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Jessie Buckley plays Anne (Agnes) Hathaway

Tudor

What happened to Shakespeare's daughters? A guide to the playwright's family life and descendants

A photograph showing two Asian women, one dressed in white robes sitting in a chair, leaning over with her arm around the other, crouched on the floor wearing blue jeans and a purple top

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The Bengal Famine was one of the 20th century's greatest tragedies – so why is there no memorial to it?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration showing two bearded men in a wooden boat with oars, on a blue river, surrounded by jungle, with animals poking out the trees. The man at the back of the boat is holding an umbrella in one hand and a wooden crucifix in the other

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Uncontacted peoples: why do nearly 200 groups choose to live outside 'civilisation'?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration of a stage with red curtains, with a crowd holding up signs in the middle

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From Churchill to Vietnam: protests that changed the world. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A purple and blue illustration shows a young woman in a long dress with frilly sleeves, holding a red book. Around her, there is a pirate ship and a man dressed in white robes, sitting crossed-legged on a rug

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In 1756, a young Englishwoman was taken hostage by Barbary pirates. This is her story. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A black and white photograph of a man and a woman close together. The man has his arms around the woman and they are both in stage dress: her in a long dress and him with a ruff and feathered hat

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Keep calm and carry on singing: why Britons fell in love with opera during World War Two. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A large drawing showing multiple different sea creatures in a light blue ocean

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From krakens to serpents: 5 fearsome sea monsters from history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A sketch showing a woman surrounded by men. One man is putting a hood over her head and another is reading from a book next to her

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These are four of the most brutal Victorian murders. Were women really the perpetrators?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration shows two old bearded men, one in red shorts and a red Santa hat and the other in green shorts and a wreath headband in a boxing ring

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Father Christmas v Santa Claus: the centuries-long battle for Britain's chimneys. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An engraving showing a young woman in a pale blue dress, wearing a frilly bonnet on her head

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Sex, slavery and royal scandal: how Jane Austen's novels exposed a darker side of Georgian Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A black and white photograph of a plane with Japanese characters written on its side

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He shot down 3 planes in 4 minutes: meet the WW2 pilot you won't have heard about. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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We often refer to countries as 'female' – so why has history excluded women from nation-building?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration of a monk writing on a large piece of parchment, with colourful and dramatic scenes spilling out of the pen

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The Book of Kells: "a masterpiece of medieval calligraphy and painting". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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AI: good or bad for history? Our experts weigh in. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A painting of a man with a snake like body, all piled on top of each other, with a sad face and long black hair, plus red wings

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The US 'voodoo' scare: why 19th-century racists spread fake news about Haiti. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A British government poster highlighting the dangers of Aids, 1987

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Aids: the epidemic that changed Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A poster showing a black and white photo of Hitler with a young blond boy in the foreground

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Hitler's war on words: how the Nazis used art to bolster their murderous regime. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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