Richard of york’s decapitated head is given a crown of paper

LONG MARSTON, YORKSHIRE 2 JULY 1644

I n 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. That, at least, is what the famous rhyme tells us. Memorising such dates is a common experience of being taught history – a cliché superbly lampooned by the w

On a cold morning in North Carolina’s Ocracoke Inlet, an infamous career was ending in smoke, blood and fury. Edward Teach, better known as ‘Blackbeard’, the most notorious pirate of his age, was abou

On 21 October 1805, smoke filled the skies over the seas west of Cape Trafalgar, a headland in the Province of Cádiz in the southwest of Spain, as a fierce battle raged. After nearly five hours of int

I greatly enjoyed your interview with Alice Roberts about her new book Domination, (Books Interview, September), and its argument that the church was essentially Rome rebadged, with its structures and

FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA, USA 11-15 DECEMBER 1862