All About History

There’s a certain amount of cleaning up that has gone into the recording of history. When you start lifting up the rug and running your finger over the mantelpiece, you realise there’s a lot more dirt here than first appeared to be the case. So it go

Carrying seven members of crew onboard, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds into its journey. The shuttle had taken off from Cape Canaveral in Florida as part of America’s Space Shuttle programme. None of the crew members survived t

Track the rise of the Scandinavian seafarers, from their earliest communities to their adventures across the Atlantic ■

C.859 Björn Ironside launches a series of raids along the Mediterranean coast. He sacks towns in both Spain and Portugal as well as travelling to North Africa where he takes slaves. His looting voyage continues towards France and then Italy. 878 In a

Although the Vikings had numerous types of ship, it is the longship that has become eternally associated with the marauding warriors. Indeed, longships were incredibly important to the Vikings’ success and were a dominant force in Northern European n

Viking warriors would wear their beard either short or long, depending on the preference of the wearer. However, according to ScienceNordic, despite the image of the Vikings as savage and dishevelled warriors, the beard would always be well groomed a

The game of chess has its roots in 7th century India, but it soon spread across the Islamic world and into Europe via Spain and Italy. The game pieces themselves morphed to reflect the different societies in which the game was played, with Indian set

Sometimes known as Cnut the Great, this Danish triple monarch was the son of Sweyn Forkbeard. He first became king of England in 1016 after invading and conquering the Anglo-Saxon kingdom. He ruled England firmly for almost 20 years but also expanded

On the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula on Newfoundland Island lies the first and only confirmed location of Viking settlement in the Americas. The site features eight Viking-style turf structures, similar to other Atlantic migration sites in Gree

On 7 September 1592, the Madre de Dios was brought into the harbour at Dartmouth. Seven decks high and weighing some 1,600 tons, it was the largest ship England had ever seen. It was also the most treasure-filled. Its hold was packed with luxury good

From the Greek poet Sappho to 20th century footballer Lily Parr, history is full of women who were romantically and sexually attracted to other women. Unfortunately, like other queer peoples, queer women have found themselves erased from the history

From the 1950s, a singer began to tell the world through her music about the injustice being faced in South Africa. This woman later came to be referred to as Mama Africa – a moniker that highlighted the unity she inspired in the fight against the Ap

The Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BCE was propelled into the pop-culture stratosphere by Zack Snyder’s 2006 hit movie 300. Based on the 1998 comic by Frank Miller, it sticks fairly closely to the tale told by Herodotus, writing some 50 years after the

Considered one of the greatest rappers ever, Tupac Shakur is still a larger–than-life legend nearly 30 years after his death. Born in New York City in 1971 to Afeni Shakur and Billy Garland, active members of the Black Panther Party, he was raised by

Spread along India’s western coast, Maharashtra had long been home for elite kshatriyas – the warriors of the Hindu caste system – whose clans assumed the responsibility of governing the local population, albeit in tenuous feudalism. These Marathas f

The Battle of Lake George was actually three connected engagements, fought on 8 September 1755, which resulted in a victory for the British. A British expedition to capture the fort at Crown Point, in the north-east of New York province, became a cat

From the early 1960s the fight against oppression, inequalities, injustices, and discrimination in the lives of Black and other non-white American citizens gathered pace, spearheaded by Martin Luther King Jr. Through his passionate, charismatic and m

Love is a phenomenon that has permeated all human life since ancient times through to the modern day. It has been the cause of marriages and alliances as well as war and conflict. It affects everything and everyone and always has. So, how do you cond

Book Film TV Podcast Games Other A subtle but affecting biopic of Mrs Elvis Presley Cert: 15 Director: Sofia Coppola Cast: Cailee Spaeny, Jacob Elordi, Dagmara Domińczyk Released: Out now In historical films, as in history generally, there’s a tenden

Director: Steve McQueen Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong’o Country: USA Year: 2013 A case of fact being horrific enough without the need for fiction 01 Solomon Northup (Ejiofor) is a free man and violinist who is drugged b

Today, mac and cheese is a staple dish in the United States, often served as a side with barbecue across areas of the southern states, made lovingly to a passed-down family recipe or, perhaps more frequently, straight out of a packet. Of course, its