Home
Membership
The history of museums: everything you wanted to know

The history of museums: everything you wanted to know

Dr Caroline McCaffrey-Howarth reveals how museums have evolved over the centuries – and what their collections can reveal about the people who created them

Jon Bauckham

Published: May 26, 2024 at 7:21 AM

Save

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on whatsapp
Email to a friend

Millions of people flock to museums each year, eager to learn about the past and be inspired by the artefacts on display. But how old is the concept of the museum? How exactly has it shifted over time? And what controversies have plagued museums in recent years? Dr Caroline McCaffrey-Howarth talks to Jon Bauckham about the history of these remarkable institutions, covering everything from Renaissance ‘cabinets of curiosities’ to the triumphant Great Exhibition of 1851.

Authors

Jon BauckhamDigital commissioning editor

Jon Bauckham is the digital commissioning editor at HistoryExtra

Visit us on Twitter