Welcome to the History of Britain! The home nations share a varied and shared history unlike anywhere else, so we thought it only right to create a section dedicated to our mutual heritage.
On 9th October 1779, a group of English textile workers in Manchester rebelled against the introduction of machinery which threatened their skilled craft…
The Bow Street Runners were the first professional police force…
The worst civilian disaster of World War II also represented the greatest single loss of life on the London Tube system, but curiously didn’t involve a train or vehicle of any description. On 3rd March 1943, an air-raid warning sounded and locals raced for cover at Bethnal Green tube station. Confusion and panic conspired to trap hundreds on the staircase entrance. In the crush that ensued, 173 were killed including 62 children with over 60 injured…
The Royal Navy’s latest aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, was commissioned into the Royal Navy in December 2017. Wind back the clock to December 1914, and another warship to bear the name was also commissioned into the fleet. Like her modern-day namesake, she was one of the most powerful of her time: a super dreadnought battleship!
In 1999, Sir Alexander Fleming was named in Time magazine’s list of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th century. This eminent scientist is most famous for his discovery of the first antibiotic, Penicillin…
On 26th August 1676 Sir Robert Walpole was born, a man who would become not only Britain’s first Prime Minister, but also the longest serving Prime Minister in British history…
William Joyce, better known to the British public as “Lord Haw-Haw,” was famous for broadcasting anti-British propaganda on behalf of Nazi Germany during World War Two. Following the war’s conclusion, Joyce was tried and found guilty of high treason…
The 1963 film, ’55 Days at Peking’ was based on the siege of the foreign legations’ compounds in Peking (modern day Beijing) during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900…
Keir Hardie played an important role in British political history. He was the founder of the Labour Party, the first Leader of the Labour Party and the first ever Labour Member of Parliament…
On 1st August 1798 at Aboukir Bay near Alexandria, Egypt, the Battle of the Nile began. It would turn out to be one of the Nelson’s greatest victories against the French…
Click here for this month's articles in our History of England magazine.
Click here for this month's articles in our History of Scotland magazine.
Click here for this month's articles in our History of Wales magazine.