The Extraordinary Tale of...

Letter from the Editor

Mention the Spanish Armada and the mental image evoked is

The Spanish Armada

Across the water, a single burning light moved through the

Snapshots

On a bright 22 June 1897, the churchyard of St

I Read the News Today

The dram-guzzling father of Scotch whisky was 15th-c friar John

Yesterday’s Papers

The Soviet Union took a comfortable early lead in the

Graphic History

On 1 June 1935, driving tests were made compulsory in

What Happened Next...

Several passengers had been held in German concentration camps –

Top 10: Animals on trial

When Frenchman Jacques Ferron was caught copulating with a female

The Big Story: Celts in Britain

Portrayed by the Romans as savage and uncivilised – and

Need to Know

The Greeks called them ‘Keltoi’ or ‘Galatians’, while the Romans

Timeline: The Evolution of Celtic Britain

The beginning of the Iron Age in Britain. The first

The Mad Monk Rasputin

Mysterious powers and eyes able to hypnotise; a penchant for

JFK, Sinatra and the Mob

Frank Sinatra was angry. Livid. Livid enough to take an

In Pictures: Apartheid

A group of children stare out from behind the barbed-wire

Great Adventures: Over the Arctic by Balloon

A mid the Heroic Age of Polar Exploration, at the

Ask the Experts

Social historian, genealogist and author of Mr Darcy’s Guide to

In a Nutshell

The decade-long global economic downturn, which became known as the

How Did They do That?

Ancient Egyptians believed that eternal life after death could be

On our Radar

Runs until 27 November at the British Museum, London. Find

Britain’s Treasures…

Sir Tomas Bodley, a fellow of Oxford University’s Merton College

Past Lives

One day in May 1912, eight-year-old Grace Griffin, along with

Books

The Long Weekend: Life in the English Country House Between

Letters

I am writing to you in response to a letter

A-Z of History

In 1928, American inventor Otto Rohwedder announced the best thing