As the 70th anniversary of the start of the blitz approaches, Duncan Campbell reveals how black marketeers, thieves and looters took advantage of the misfortunes of war

Marcel Albert, who became one of the leading French fighter pilots of World War II, flying Soviet-built planes in duels with German aircraft on the Eastern front, died Monday in Harlingen, Tex. He was 92.

Marcel Albert, who became one of the leading French fighter pilots of World War II, flying Soviet-built planes in duels with German aircraft on the Eastern front, died Monday in Harlingen, Tex. He was 92.

By the 1970s, she was internationally famed as a humanitarian and advocate for the poor and helpless, due in part to a documentary and book Something Beautiful for God by Malcolm Muggeridge. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1980 for her humanitarian work. Mother…

COUNCIL officials in Runnymede are joining national attempts to establish a new bank holiday in 2015 to mark the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta.

COUNCIL officials in Runnymede are joining national attempts to establish a new bank holiday in 2015 to mark the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta.

An award-winning TV historian is using ancient maps to fight plans to route hundreds of walkers through his front garden after claims he has blocked off a public footpath.

An award-winning TV historian is using ancient maps to fight plans to route hundreds of walkers through his front garden after claims he has blocked off a public footpath.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum says the refusal of Romania's central bank to withdraw a coin bearing the image of a prime minister who stripped Jews of their citizenship before World War II is "insensitive" to the memory of Holocaust victims.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum says the refusal of Romania's central bank to withdraw a coin bearing the image of a prime minister who stripped Jews of their citizenship before World War II is "insensitive" to the memory of Holocaust victims.

A woman who urinated on a war memorial in Blackpool and performed a sex act nearby has been barracked by veterans.

A woman who urinated on a war memorial in Blackpool and performed a sex act nearby has been barracked by veterans.

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of 50 Aztec children during excavations for a new subway line in Mexico City.

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of 50 Aztec children during excavations for a new subway line in Mexico City.

From about AD 800 to 1300 the Earth underwent a slight warming period so dubbed "The Medieval Warm Period."…

From about AD 800 to 1300 the Earth underwent a slight warming period so dubbed "The Medieval Warm Period."…

While memories of the Battle of Britain remain fresh in the minds of The Few who flew, and the staff who supported them, veterans fear its significance could soon be forgotten by others.

While memories of the Battle of Britain remain fresh in the minds of The Few who flew, and the staff who supported them, veterans fear its significance could soon be forgotten by others.

The 1960 U-2 incident occurred during the Cold War on May 1, 1960, during the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower and during the leadership of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, when an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over Soviet Union airspace. The United States government at first denied the plane’s purpose and mission, but…

Tracing the history of English villages or pieces of land is to become easier with a new online database that helps map out records from the Domesday Book.

Tracing the history of English villages or pieces of land is to become easier with a new online database that helps map out records from the Domesday Book.

The Florence Nightingale museum is a good place to start learning about the famous nurse. You may also like to listen to this rare recording of Nightingale speaking in 1890.

Annie Oakley (August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926), born Phoebe Ann Mosey, was an American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter. Oakley’s amazing talent and timely rise to fame led to a starring role in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show, which propelled her to become the first American female superstar…[wikipedia article]

Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso, Count of Cavour, of Isolabella and of Leri (August 10, 1810 – June 6, 1861) was a leading figure in the movement toward Italian unification. He was the founder of the original Italian Liberal Party and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, a position he maintained (except for a…

Polymath writer of epic history of modern Europe relished controversy even after disease trapped him in his own body

Polymath writer of epic history of modern Europe relished controversy even after disease trapped him in his own body

Fidel Castro, the former Cuban leader, has delivered his first speech to the national assembly since resigning over ill health four years ago.

Fidel Castro, the former Cuban leader, has delivered his first speech to the national assembly since resigning over ill health four years ago.

Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (June 6, 1599 – August 6, 1660) was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist. In addition to numerous renditions of scenes of historical and cultural…

Norman names such as William, Henry and Alice have been popular for 1,000 years. Why did the English copy their invaders?

Norman names such as William, Henry and Alice have been popular for 1,000 years. Why did the English copy their invaders?

In 1850, the vessel embarked on a search mission to follow the trail of a doomed expedition to find the Northwest Passage.

In 1850, the vessel embarked on a search mission to follow the trail of a doomed expedition to find the Northwest Passage.

Two of the greatest artists of the Renaissance.

A leading historian who wrote anonymous reviews on the Amazon website praising his own work and criticising rivals is to pay libel damages and costs.

A leading historian who wrote anonymous reviews on the Amazon website praising his own work and criticising rivals is to pay libel damages and costs.

A video showing a Jewish Holocaust survivor and his grandchildren singing and dancing to the tune "I will survive" at the entrance to the Auschwitz death camp has provoked a storm of controversy after receiving more than half a million hits on YouTube.

A video showing a Jewish Holocaust survivor and his grandchildren singing and dancing to the tune "I will survive" at the entrance to the Auschwitz death camp has provoked a storm of controversy after receiving more than half a million hits on YouTube.

A roadside billboard created by a branch of the Tea Party in Iowa comparing President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin has been condemned by other groups in the movement.

A roadside billboard created by a branch of the Tea Party in Iowa comparing President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin has been condemned by other groups in the movement.

One of the biggest canals ever built by the Romans in an ancient port as important as Carthage or Alexandria has been discovered by British archaeologists.

One of the biggest canals ever built by the Romans in an ancient port as important as Carthage or Alexandria has been discovered by British archaeologists.

Historians claim to have finally located the site of King Arthur’s Round Table – and believe it could have seated 1,000 people.

Nelle Harper Lee (born April 28, 1926) is an American author, best known for her 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom of the United States for her contribution to literature in 2007…[more]

Aneurin Bevan was one of the most important ministers of the post-war Labour government and the chief architect of the National Health Service…[more]

Barnum is widely but erroneously credited with coining the phrase “There’s a sucker born every minute.”…[more]

As a result of this heavyweight boxing match, race riots broke out across the United States. YouTube Video

Prolific Italian astronomer whose research ranged widely but whose name is forever associated with Mars, and the controversy over the Martian “canals” which, unwittingly, he helped to unleash…[more]

Deep in the forests of central France, an unusual architectural experiment is half-way to completion, as a team of masons replicates in painstaking detail the construction of an entire medieval castle.

Rare memorabilia of former French Emperor Napoleon 1st, including a lock of hair cut from his head after he died in exile in 1821 on the remote island of St. Helena, have fetched 140,000 New Zealand dollars ($97,000) at auction.

Thousands of French citizens who collaborated with the Nazis during the Second World War will be unmasked when police reports from the era are finally made public and published online.

A German man is facing up to six months in jail for having a speech by Adolf Hitler as his mobile phone ringtone.

Every time the 54-year-old man's phone rang, it played a speech by Hitler, in which the former dictator pledged the destruction of world Jewry if Germany was dragged into war.

Goodyear’s discovery of what came to be known as vulcanization strengthened rubber so it could be applied to a vast variety of industrial uses, including, eventually, automobile tyres…[more]

A statue of the former Soviet dicatator Josef Stalin was removed from a plinth in his birthplace in Georgia.

Two Canadian teachers who wanted a memento of their trip to Auschwitz have been arrested by Polish police for stealing pins from the camp's railway track, according to reports.

Seeking to score a point against Darwin’s disciples, the Bishop of Oxford unwisely baited Thomas Henry Huxley by enquiring whether he would prefer to think of himself descended from an ape on his grandfather’s or grandmother’s side. According to legend he quickly had his comeuppance. Huxley whispered to a neighbour: “The Lord hath delivered him…

A nurse famously photographed being kissed by an American sailor in New York's Times Square in 1945 to celebrate the end of the Second World War has died at the age of 91…

While Mr. Reed said he can "appreciate the concern" of locals who have voiced their opposition to the bust, he said the bust can serve as a teaching tool to make visitors recognize the importance of Stalin as one of the leaders in World War II…

This strange and unusual story begins in 1910 London, with 48 year old American born Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen, MD. (who also enjoyed practicing dentistry) Dr. Crippen was married to Cora, who preferred her stage name ‘Belle Elmore.’ ‘Belle’ was a mediocre theatrical singer in her early 30’s originally from New York and the couple…

A new examination of his papers shows how he agonised over every famous phrase – even adding one at the last minute – and how his private secretary was secretly unimpressed by his efforts.

A postcard sent home by a Bosnian soldier in the First World War has finally reached his family after 95 years, thanks to an antique collector who delivered it personally to the man's grandson after buying it at a fair in California.

Diaries and documents belonging to Benito Mussolini are hidden in a secret location near the Swiss border, it has been claimed.

Michelangelo concealed anatomical sketches in the robes and faces of the figures he painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in a coded attack on the Church's disdain for science, researchers believe.

Napoleon Bonaparte still harboured ambitions of invading Britain even as he was sailing to St Helena where he was exiled, according to a previously unseen diary.

An archaeologist has discovered an 800 year-old medieval badge emblazoned with three lions.

Slowly but steadily, a decade-old business around the dead and universally despised dictator Adolf Hitler is emerging as a small-scale industry in India.

A photograph of Winston Churchill giving his victory salute has been airbrushed to remove his signature cigar.

The idea that Hitler should be thanked for Indian independence proceeds from the view that, by weakening Britain, Germany forced it to abandon its empire.

Mikhail Gorbachev, whose attempts to reform the Soviet Union helped to bring about its demise, says he regrets the destruction of monuments to Joseph Stalin which he described as a “silly, anti-historical act”.

A former UK ambassador to Israel has been named as the government's first envoy for post-Holocaust issues.

Russia has uncovered at least 495 skeletons, many with head gunshot wounds, in a mass grave probably dating back to purges under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in the 1930s, municipal authorities said.

A legendary bluesman and massive influence upon rock groups such as Led Zeppelin. Take a look at the great man in action here: video.

Schumann’s parents were not musical but they encouraged his interest in music with Piano lessons from the age of 10. However his family was later to be beset by tragedy. When Schumann was in his teens, his father died and his sister committed suicide in quick succession, events that were to have a deep impact…

Germany's two main neo-Nazi parties are considering plans to merge in an attempt to gain popularity, according to reports.

Almost a generation after leaving the Kremlin, Mikhail Gorbachev blames himself – for reforming the Soviet Union so fast that it couldn't survive. Mary Dejevsky meets him

Life in Medieval Britain may not have been comfortable but its inhabitants had a dedication to debt-free living that we could learn from today, a think-tank has claimed.

The hovercraft was invented by Christopher Cockerell in 1956. The theory behind one of the most successful inventions of the 20th century, the Hovercraft, was originally tested in 1955 using an empty KiteKat cat food tin inside a coffee tin, an industrial air blower and a pair of kitchen scales. link

A top Russian official says there's no legal basis for reopening an investigation into the Katyn massacres, when thousands of Polish officers were killed by Soviet secret police.