To celebrate the French premiere of Disney’s One Hundred and One Dalmatians, a group of Parisian schoolchildren don dog masks and greet some real-life dalmatians at the cinema. The film, Disney’s 17th animated feature, would go on to be one of the mo

The adult life of Richard I of England – aka Richard Coeur de Lion, aka Richard the Lionheart – can be divided into two clear halves. First, there’s the lengthy struggle for power waged against his father, Henry II. Then, once he ascended the English

I enjoyed reading the essential guide to the World War II British home front (Christmas 2020). When I reached the section on the Blitz and saw the photograph of the ‘spotter’ my thoughts immediately went to the Royal Observer Corps (ROC) – my father-

Not willing to let a good deal pass them by, shoppers jostle to get their hands on cut-price crockery in London’s iconic department store, Harrods. The January sales have been a tradition in western societies since at least the early 20th century – a

Born in Huntingdon, in what is now Cambridgeshire, Oliver Cromwell’s family had modest wealth and were part of the landed gentry – his father, Robert, had been an MP in Elizabeth I’s parliament of 1593. Through his father, Oliver was also distantly r

Charles Sobhraj was once asked what makes someone a murderer. “Either they have too much feeling and cannot control themselves,” he calmly answered, “or they have no feelings. It is one of the two.” Sobhraj definitely falls into the latter camp. Born

This contraption may look like an elaborate torture device, but it is in fact a hairdryer. First developed in the late 19th century, one of the earliest hairdryers came from France and consisted of a simple bonnet attached to the chimney of a gas sto

AMERICA’S WORLD WAR II GHOST ARMY GRACE O’MALLEY: IRISH PIRATE QUEEN WHAT IF JULIUS CAESAR HADN’T BEEN ASSASSINATED? THE GREAT 19TH-CENTURY MORMON MIGRATION IN A NUTSHELL: THE IRA AND MUCH MORE...

A massive project led by historians, scientists and artificial intelligence experts is to recreate the smells of old Europe. The €2.8m (£2.5m) initiative, named Odeuropa, will attempt to bring back scents that people would have been familiar with bet

Where would we be without the printed word? By 1450, Johannes Gutenberg had transformed the world with his printing press. Soon, news and ideas were flowing between towns, countries and even continents, and access to printed material such as books be

Virginia Oldoini, the Countess of Castiglione, was an Italian aristocrat who rose to fame as a mistress of Emperor Napoleon III of France. Married at 17 to the Count of Castiglione, she was sent to France to request the aid of the emperor in Italian

HOW DID YOU BECOME INVOLVED AND INTERESTED IN MARITIME ARCHAEOLOGY? I grew up as far from the sea as you can get in the UK, but I always had a love of the ocean. I elected to study archaeology and anthropology at university: it was the breadth of th

Before the Civil Wars, England had no permanent standing army. Each county had its own local militia that could be called upon during times of conflict, but these weren’t professional soldiers. In 1644, the parliamentarians suffered one of their bigg

Tens of thousands of people turn out to watch Lord Nelson’s funeral procession in London, with some purchasing tickets to secure the best view. The service takes place at St Paul’s Cathedral the following day – sailors refuse to fold the Victory’s fl

SHORT ANSWER Well, they didn’t call poor Franz Reichelt the ‘Flying Tailor’ for nothing LONG ANSWER In the early days of aviation, pilot safety became a priority issue rather quickly. The parachute had long been a firm favourite, but a Bohemian tail

The Children’s Crusade is said to have been a failed popular (meaning not sanctioned by the Pope) crusade of 1212, mainly made up of children, with the intent of taking back Jerusalem. It is said to have been inspired by the crusades of Western Europ

When it came to choosing sides during the Civil Wars, it usually depended on who controlled your local area.There were three main types of soldiers within both armies: cavalry (horsemen), infantry (foot soldiers) and dragoons (mounted infantry who wo

The Civil Wars of the 17th century tore the British Isles apart, pitting Parliament against the King, and brother against brother. In 1642, disagreements and mistrust between Charles I and his government boiled over into the unthinkable – years of bl

Arguably the most important woman of the Civil Wars was the wife of Charles I, Henrietta Maria. Although the French-born queen has sometimes been overlooked, Professor Mark Stoyle argues that she was a far more pivotal figure in the conflict than is