All About History

Editor Jonathan Gordon jonathan.gordon@futurenet.comArt Editor Kym WintersFeatures Editor Callum McKelvieStaff Writer Jessica LeggettProduction Editor Iain NobleEditor in Chief Tim WilliamsonSenior Art Editor Duncan Crook Catherine Curzon, Tom Garner

The USA detonates two atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, effectively ending war with Japan. Nuclear weapons change warfare and this event begins an arms race as the USSR seeks to gain the technology themselves. On 24 June 1948 the Soviet Union

While Lockheed’s U-2 spy plane remains in operation to this day, it is still synonymous with the Cold War era, not least because of some high-profile successes and failures. Originally designed by Clarence ‘Kelly’ Johnson in 1953, the plane was inten

A member of the infamous Cambridge Five, Philby was probably the most successful double-agent of the Cold War. Recruited by the USSR while at Cambridge in 1933, he went on to be a journalist before being recruited into MI6 in 1940 by another double-a

Professor Odd Arne Westad is the Elihu Professor of History at Yale University. He specialises in Modern International and Global History with a particular focus on East Asia since the 18th century. His books include Restless Empire: China and the Wo

The town of Bechevinka was founded in the 1960s by Nikita Khrushchev as a secret naval base for the submarines of the Soviet Pacific Fleet during the Cold War. Its codename was Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky-54, which combined the name of the regional capi

One of the original breakout stars of reggae, Cliff became an international sensation after his leading performance in The Harder They Come. Originally combining pop and ska music, he added soul and R&B influences as his career progressed and moved i

Ruling over a large tribe in northern Britain, Cartimandua relied on the support of Roman invaders, much like many large tribal chiefs of her era, including against her own husband who was co-ruler. The Roman army reinforced her reign on several occa

The Chinese hopping vampire Similar to the Western concept of the zombie, the Jiangshi is seen wearing the clothing of the Qing Dynasty. Jiangshi are said to be created by a soul that is unable to leave a person’s body because of suicide or a lust fo

Having led the armies of parliament against Charles I and deposed the king of England, Cromwell was now arguably the most powerful man in the country. With this battle closing out the Civil War he went on to be named Lord Protector of the British Isl

Professor Joe Maiolo is a historian of International Politics at King’s College London. He is the author of Cry Havoc: The Arms Race and the Second World War, 1931-41 and is currently completing a book on the war’s origins for Cambridge University Pr

He managed to avoid being involved in the front lines of World War I until 1916 as a captain in the Queen’s Own Yorkshire Dragoons. Halifax was surprised to find himself mentioned in dispatches of January 1917, proclaiming: “Heaven knows what for!” F

Professor Joe Maiolo suspects that Halifax may have shown more sensitivity towards the threat of air power, and in particular German bombing. Beginning on 7 September 1940 when 300 German bombers raided London, the subsequent 57 attacks would constit