Louis Botha and the first government of the Union of South Africa
When Louis Botha formed the first government of the Union of South Africa in 1910,…
Neuschwanstein Castle
If fairytales had a headquarters, it would probably be Neuschwanstein Castle. Sitting dramatically on a…
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong was not just a man. He was a paradox in motion, a walking…
Dracula: History’s Most Persistent Neck Enthusiast
Dracula. The name alone has more baggage than a Ryanair flight to Transylvania in peak…
Henry Kissinger: The Mighty Man of Realpolitik
Henry Kissinger. There, now you’ve either clenched your jaw or raised an eyebrow. Possibly both.…
The Inventor of the Guillotine Regretted Everything
Joseph-Ignace Guillotin really thought he was doing everyone a favour. Picture it: a French doctor,…
The Dancing Plague of 1518
In the sweltering summer of 1518, Strasbourg, that fine medieval city snug between what we…
Francisco Pizarro: The Gold, the Greed, and the Sword
Francisco Pizarro: this was a man whose life read like a particularly bloody adventure novel,…
Wojtek the bear: Carried Shells and enjoyed his beer
Of all the unlikely mascots to march into the pages of military history, Wojtek the…
The University of Oxford: Where Genius, Chaos and Latin Collide
The University of Oxford has inspired many things: awe, envy, wildly dramatic novels, and probably…
The Berlin Wall: A Concrete Comedy of Errors
The Berlin Wall and events surrounding it are one of those historical rollercoasters that somehow…
Roman religion: The gods and rituals
The gods and rituals of Roman religion had a flair for spectacle, bureaucracy, and a…
Life in the Iron Age: Survival and Society
If you’ve ever thought that life in the Iron Age was all iron swords, painted…
Conquistador: Unwelcome Tourist from Europe
The word that still echoes through history classrooms and travel documentaries alike: conquistador. It sounds…
George III
George III wasn’t supposed to be interesting. That was the job of his more scandalous…
The First Sputnik
On 4 October 1957, the world changed with a beep. Not a speech. Not a…
The Fake Beard That Saved Cleopatra
The fake beard that saved a queen wasn’t some hastily glued prop or pantomime costume…
The Spy Pigeons of WWI
The Spy Pigeons of WWI: feathered agents with impeccable navigation skills. Not exactly what you…
Derinkuyu: Turkey’s Underground City
At first glance, Derinkuyu looks like a perfectly ordinary Turkish town. A few dusty streets.…
The world’s first vending machine
The world’s first vending machine didn’t dispense crisps, fizzy drinks or even those clunky plastic…
Seven Wonders: Then and Now
Humanity loves a list. We rank everything: best albums, worst outfits, top ten dog breeds…
Stari Most: The Bridge That Brought Mostar Back Together
The city of Mostar has a flair for drama. It always has. Maybe it's the…
The Soviet space dog, Laika, Who Chased the Stars
Some stories sound like they were tailor-made for tearjerker film scripts. You know the type:…
The Eiffel Tower almost destroyed
If you've ever stood beneath the iron lattice of the Eiffel Tower and craned your…
John Wilkes Booth: Drama Turned Tragedy
If history were a theatre production, John Wilkes Booth would be that overly dramatic understudy…
Romania’s Child King: A Crown Too Early
Romania’s Child King sounds like the title of a Brothers Grimm story that never made…
Why Some Countries Drive on the Left (And Others Don’t)
It all starts with horses. Naturally. Before cars came along and ruined everything by belching…