The name ‘Joseph Knight’ is largely unknown, yet he played an important role in the history of Scotland, its laws and the abolition of slavery….

As Minister of Food during the Second World War, Lord Woolton kept Britain from starving. He was determined that Britain’s larder remained well-stocked, and that, despite rationing and poverty, everyone had something to put on the table. “We must all be fighting fit,” he declared.

Edmund II, king of the English in 1016, is perhaps better known as “Ironside” for his heroic resistance to a massive invasion led by the Danish king Cnut…