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History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why and how it happened. Some theorists categorize history as a social science, while others see it as part of the humanities or consider it a hybrid discipline. Similar debates surround the purpose of history—for example, whether its main aim is theoretical, to uncover the truth, or practical, to learn lessons from the past. In a more general sense, the term history refers not to an academic field but to the past itself, times in the past, or to individual texts about the past.

Historical research relies on primary and secondary sources to reconstruct past events and validate interpretations. Source criticism is used to evaluate these sources, assessing their authenticity, content, and reliability. Historians strive to integrate the perspectives of several sources to develop a coherent narrative. Different schools of thought, such as positivism, the Annales school, Marxism, and postmodernism, have distinct methodological approaches.

History is a broad discipline encompassing many branches. Some focus on specific time periods, such as ancient history, while others concentrate on particular geographic regions, such as the history of Africa. Thematic categorizations include political history, military history, social history, and economic history. Branches associated with specific research methods and sources include quantitative history, comparative history, and oral history.

History emerged as a field of inquiry in antiquity to replace myth-infused narratives, with influential early traditions originating in Greece, China, and later in the Islamic world. Historical writing evolved throughout the ages and became increasingly professional, particularly during the 19th century, when a rigorous methodology and various academic institutions were established. History is related to many fields, including historiography, philosophy, education, and politics. (Full article...)

Outline of history · Index
Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.
  • Image 1 Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar James Bond series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his father was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Henley from 1910 until his death on the Western Front in 1917. Educated at Eton, Sandhurst, and, briefly, the universities of Munich and Geneva, Fleming moved through several jobs before he started writing. While working for Britain's Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War, Fleming was involved in planning Operation Goldeneye and in the planning and oversight of two intelligence units: 30 Assault Unit and T-Force. He drew from his wartime service and his career as a journalist for much of the background, detail, and depth of his James Bond novels. (Full article...)
    Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar James Bond series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his father was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Henley from 1910 until his death on the Western Front in 1917. Educated at Eton, Sandhurst, and, briefly, the universities of Munich and Geneva, Fleming moved through several jobs before he started writing.

    While working for Britain's Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War, Fleming was involved in planning Operation Goldeneye and in the planning and oversight of two intelligence units: 30 Assault Unit and T-Force. He drew from his wartime service and his career as a journalist for much of the background, detail, and depth of his James Bond novels. (Full article...)
  • Image 2 Aquitania (at left) and Île de France during Operation Pamphlet The converted ocean liners Aquitania (at left) and Île de France travelling in convoy during Operation Pamphlet Operation Pamphlet, also called Convoy Pamphlet, was a World War II convoy operation conducted during January and February 1943 to transport the 9th Australian Division home from Egypt. The convoy involved five transports, which were protected from Japanese warships by several Allied naval task forces during the trip across the Indian Ocean and along the Australian coast. The division embarked in late January 1943 and the convoy operation began on 4 February. No contact was made between Allied and Japanese ships, and the division arrived in Australian ports during late February with no losses from enemy action. The operation came after the British and United States governments agreed to an Australian government request that the 9th Division be returned home, and ended the role of the Second Australian Imperial Force in the Western Desert Campaign. This followed a lengthy debate between the respective national leaders, with Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt attempting to convince the Australian Prime Minister John Curtin to withdraw his request until the Allied victory in North Africa was complete. Curtin was unwilling to delay, as he and the Allied military leaders in the South West Pacific believed that the veteran division was needed to bolster the forces for offensive operations in New Guinea. (Full article...)

    Black and white photo of two passenger ships sailing near each other
    Aquitania (at left) and Île de France during Operation Pamphlet
    The converted ocean liners Aquitania (at left) and Île de France travelling in convoy during Operation Pamphlet

    Operation Pamphlet, also called Convoy Pamphlet, was a World War II convoy operation conducted during January and February 1943 to transport the 9th Australian Division home from Egypt. The convoy involved five transports, which were protected from Japanese warships by several Allied naval task forces during the trip across the Indian Ocean and along the Australian coast. The division embarked in late January 1943 and the convoy operation began on 4 February. No contact was made between Allied and Japanese ships, and the division arrived in Australian ports during late February with no losses from enemy action.

    The operation came after the British and United States governments agreed to an Australian government request that the 9th Division be returned home, and ended the role of the Second Australian Imperial Force in the Western Desert Campaign. This followed a lengthy debate between the respective national leaders, with Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt attempting to convince the Australian Prime Minister John Curtin to withdraw his request until the Allied victory in North Africa was complete. Curtin was unwilling to delay, as he and the Allied military leaders in the South West Pacific believed that the veteran division was needed to bolster the forces for offensive operations in New Guinea. (Full article...)
  • Image 3 The siege of Bukhara took place in February 1220, during the Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire. Genghis Khan, ruler of the Mongol Empire, had launched a multi-pronged assault on the Khwarazmian Empire ruled by Shah Muhammad II. While the Shah planned to defend his major cities individually, the Mongols laid siege to the border town of Otrar, and struck further into Khwarazmia. The city of Bukhara was a major centre of trade and culture in the Khwarazmian Empire, but was located far from the border with the Mongol Empire, and so the Shah had allocated fewer than 20,000 soldiers to defend it. A Mongol force, estimated to number between 30,000 and 50,000 men and commanded by Genghis himself, traversed the Kyzylkum Desert, previously considered impassable for large armies. Bukhara's defenders were caught by surprise and, after a failed sortie, the outer city surrendered within three days on 10 February. Khwarazmian loyalists continued to defend the citadel for less than two weeks, before it was breached and taken. (Full article...)
    The siege of Bukhara took place in February 1220, during the Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire. Genghis Khan, ruler of the Mongol Empire, had launched a multi-pronged assault on the Khwarazmian Empire ruled by Shah Muhammad II. While the Shah planned to defend his major cities individually, the Mongols laid siege to the border town of Otrar, and struck further into Khwarazmia.

    The city of Bukhara was a major centre of trade and culture in the Khwarazmian Empire, but was located far from the border with the Mongol Empire, and so the Shah had allocated fewer than 20,000 soldiers to defend it. A Mongol force, estimated to number between 30,000 and 50,000 men and commanded by Genghis himself, traversed the Kyzylkum Desert, previously considered impassable for large armies. Bukhara's defenders were caught by surprise and, after a failed sortie, the outer city surrendered within three days on 10 February. Khwarazmian loyalists continued to defend the citadel for less than two weeks, before it was breached and taken. (Full article...)
  • Image 4 The Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque in Homs, Syria Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (Arabic: خالد بن الوليد بن المغيرة المخزومي, romanized: Khālid ibn al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīra al-Makhzūmī; died 642) was a 7th-century Arab military commander. He initially led campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career serving Muhammad and the first two Rashidun caliphs: Abu Bakr and Umar. Khalid played leading command roles in the Ridda Wars against rebel tribes in Arabia in 632–633, the initial campaigns in Sasanian Iraq in 633–634, and the conquest of Byzantine Syria in 634–638. As a horseman of the Quraysh's aristocratic Banu Makhzum clan, which ardently opposed Muhammad, Khalid played an instrumental role in defeating Muhammad and his followers during the Battle of Uhud in 625. In 627 or 629, he converted to Islam in the presence of Muhammad, who inducted him as an official military commander among the Muslims and gave him the title of Sayf Allah (lit. 'Sword of God'). During the Battle of Mu'ta, Khalid coordinated the safe withdrawal of Muslim troops against the Byzantines. He also led the Bedouins under the Muslim army during the Muslim conquest of Mecca in 629–630 and the Battle of Hunayn in 630. After Muhammad's death, Khalid was appointed to Najd and al-Yamama to suppress or subjugate the Arab tribes opposed to the nascent Muslim state; this campaign culminated in Khalid's victory over rebel leaders Tulayha and Musaylima at the Battle of Buzakha in 632 and the Battle of Yamama in 633, respectively. (Full article...)

    The Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque in Homs, Syria

    Khalid ibn al-Walid ibn al-Mughira al-Makhzumi (Arabic: خالد بن الوليد بن المغيرة المخزومي, romanized: Khālid ibn al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīra al-Makhzūmī; died 642) was a 7th-century Arab military commander. He initially led campaigns against Muhammad on behalf of the Quraysh. He later became a Muslim and spent the remainder of his career serving Muhammad and the first two Rashidun caliphs: Abu Bakr and Umar. Khalid played leading command roles in the Ridda Wars against rebel tribes in Arabia in 632–633, the initial campaigns in Sasanian Iraq in 633–634, and the conquest of Byzantine Syria in 634–638.

    As a horseman of the Quraysh's aristocratic Banu Makhzum clan, which ardently opposed Muhammad, Khalid played an instrumental role in defeating Muhammad and his followers during the Battle of Uhud in 625. In 627 or 629, he converted to Islam in the presence of Muhammad, who inducted him as an official military commander among the Muslims and gave him the title of Sayf Allah (lit. 'Sword of God'). During the Battle of Mu'ta, Khalid coordinated the safe withdrawal of Muslim troops against the Byzantines. He also led the Bedouins under the Muslim army during the Muslim conquest of Mecca in 629–630 and the Battle of Hunayn in 630. After Muhammad's death, Khalid was appointed to Najd and al-Yamama to suppress or subjugate the Arab tribes opposed to the nascent Muslim state; this campaign culminated in Khalid's victory over rebel leaders Tulayha and Musaylima at the Battle of Buzakha in 632 and the Battle of Yamama in 633, respectively. (Full article...)
  • Image 5 Battle of Chiclana, 5 March 1811, Louis-François Lejeune The Battle of Barrosa (Chiclana, 5 March 1811, also known as the Battle of Chiclana or Battle of Cerro del Puerco) was part of an unsuccessful manoeuvre by an Anglo-Iberian force to break the French siege of Cádiz during the Peninsular War. During the battle, a single British division defeated two French divisions and captured a regimental eagle. Cádiz had been invested by the French in early 1810, leaving it accessible from the sea, but in March of the following year a reduction in the besieging army gave its garrison of British and Spanish troops an opportunity to lift the siege. A large Allied strike force was shipped south from Cádiz to Tarifa, and moved to engage the siege lines from the rear. The French, under the command of Marshal Victor, were aware of the Allied movement and redeployed to prepare a trap. Victor placed one division on the road to Cádiz, blocking the Allied line of march, while his two remaining divisions fell on the single Anglo-Portuguese rearguard division under the command of Sir Thomas Graham. (Full article...)

    Battle of Chiclana, 5 March 1811, Louis-François Lejeune

    The Battle of Barrosa (Chiclana, 5 March 1811, also known as the Battle of Chiclana or Battle of Cerro del Puerco) was part of an unsuccessful manoeuvre by an Anglo-Iberian force to break the French siege of Cádiz during the Peninsular War. During the battle, a single British division defeated two French divisions and captured a regimental eagle.

    Cádiz had been invested by the French in early 1810, leaving it accessible from the sea, but in March of the following year a reduction in the besieging army gave its garrison of British and Spanish troops an opportunity to lift the siege. A large Allied strike force was shipped south from Cádiz to Tarifa, and moved to engage the siege lines from the rear. The French, under the command of Marshal Victor, were aware of the Allied movement and redeployed to prepare a trap. Victor placed one division on the road to Cádiz, blocking the Allied line of march, while his two remaining divisions fell on the single Anglo-Portuguese rearguard division under the command of Sir Thomas Graham. (Full article...)
  • Image 6 Imaginary depiction by Lambert Barnard Cædwalla (/ˈkædˌwɔːlə/; c. 659 – 20 April 689) was the King of Wessex from approximately 685 until he abdicated in 688. His name is derived from the Welsh Cadwallon. He was exiled from Wessex as a youth and during this period gathered forces and attacked the South Saxons, killing their king, Æthelwealh, in what is now Sussex. Cædwalla was unable to hold the South Saxon territory, however, and was driven out by Æthelwealh's ealdormen. In either 685 or 686, he became King of Wessex. He may have been involved in suppressing rival dynasties at this time, as an early source records that Wessex was ruled by underkings until Cædwalla. After his accession, Cædwalla returned to Sussex and won the territory again. He also conquered the Isle of Wight, gained control of Surrey and the kingdom of Kent, and in 686 he installed his brother Mul as king of Kent. Mul was burned in a Kentish revolt a year later, and Cædwalla returned, possibly ruling Kent directly for a period. (Full article...)

    Imaginary depiction by Lambert Barnard

    Cædwalla (/ˈkædˌwɔːlə/; c. 659 – 20 April 689) was the King of Wessex from approximately 685 until he abdicated in 688. His name is derived from the Welsh Cadwallon. He was exiled from Wessex as a youth and during this period gathered forces and attacked the South Saxons, killing their king, Æthelwealh, in what is now Sussex. Cædwalla was unable to hold the South Saxon territory, however, and was driven out by Æthelwealh's ealdormen. In either 685 or 686, he became King of Wessex. He may have been involved in suppressing rival dynasties at this time, as an early source records that Wessex was ruled by underkings until Cædwalla.

    After his accession, Cædwalla returned to Sussex and won the territory again. He also conquered the Isle of Wight, gained control of Surrey and the kingdom of Kent, and in 686 he installed his brother Mul as king of Kent. Mul was burned in a Kentish revolt a year later, and Cædwalla returned, possibly ruling Kent directly for a period. (Full article...)
  • Image 7 Swedish postcard of Poltava The Russian battleship Poltava (Russian: Полтава) was one of three Petropavlovsk-class pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the 1890s. The ship was transferred to the Pacific Squadron shortly after completion and based at Port Arthur from 1901. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, she participated in the Battle of Port Arthur and was heavily damaged during the Battle of the Yellow Sea. She was sunk by Japanese artillery during the subsequent siege of Port Arthur in December 1904, but was raised by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) after the war and renamed Tango (丹後). During World War I, she bombarded German fortifications during the siege of Qingdao. The Japanese government sold Tango back to the Russians at their request in 1916. She was renamed Chesma (Чесма) as her former name had been given to a new ship. En route to the White Sea, she joined an Allied force that persuaded the Greek government to disarm their ships. Her crew declared for the Bolsheviks in October 1917, but made no effort to resist when the British captured her during the North Russia intervention in early 1918. In poor condition, the ship was used as a prison hulk. Abandoned by the British when they withdrew in 1919 and recaptured by the Bolsheviks, she was scrapped in 1924. (Full article...)

    Swedish postcard of Poltava

    The Russian battleship Poltava (Russian: Полтава) was one of three Petropavlovsk-class pre-dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the 1890s. The ship was transferred to the Pacific Squadron shortly after completion and based at Port Arthur from 1901. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, she participated in the Battle of Port Arthur and was heavily damaged during the Battle of the Yellow Sea. She was sunk by Japanese artillery during the subsequent siege of Port Arthur in December 1904, but was raised by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) after the war and renamed Tango (丹後).

    During World War I, she bombarded German fortifications during the siege of Qingdao. The Japanese government sold Tango back to the Russians at their request in 1916. She was renamed Chesma (Чесма) as her former name had been given to a new ship. En route to the White Sea, she joined an Allied force that persuaded the Greek government to disarm their ships. Her crew declared for the Bolsheviks in October 1917, but made no effort to resist when the British captured her during the North Russia intervention in early 1918. In poor condition, the ship was used as a prison hulk. Abandoned by the British when they withdrew in 1919 and recaptured by the Bolsheviks, she was scrapped in 1924. (Full article...)
  • Image 8 Presentations of colours and guidons to 108 units of the Territorial Force by King Edward VII at Windsor Castle, 19 June 1909 The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry into a unified auxiliary, commanded by the War Office and administered by local county territorial associations. The Territorial Force was designed to reinforce the regular army in expeditionary operations abroad, but because of political opposition it was assigned to home defence. Members were liable for service anywhere in the UK and could not be compelled to serve overseas unless they volunteered to do so. In the first two months of the First World War, territorials volunteered for foreign service in significant numbers, allowing territorial units to be deployed abroad. They saw their first action on the Western Front during the initial German offensive of 1914, and the force filled the gap between the near destruction of the regular army that year and the arrival of the New Army in 1915. Territorial units were deployed to Gallipoli in 1915 and, following the failure of that campaign, provided the bulk of the British contribution to allied forces in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. By the war's end, the Territorial Force had fielded twenty-three infantry divisions and two mounted divisions on foreign soil. It was demobilised after the war and reconstituted in 1921 as the Territorial Army. The force experienced problems throughout its existence. On establishment, fewer than 40 per cent of the men in the previous auxiliary institutions transferred into it, and it was consistently under strength until the outbreak of the First World War. It was not considered to be an effective military force by the regular army and was denigrated by the proponents of conscription. Lord Kitchener chose to concentrate the Territorial Force on home defence and raise the New Army to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France, a decision which disappointed the territorials. The need to replace heavy losses suffered by the BEF before the New Army was ready forced Kitchener to deploy territorial units overseas, compromising the force's ability to defend the homeland. To replace foreign-service units, the Territorial Force was doubled in size by creating a second line which mirrored the organisation of the original, first-line units. Second-line units assumed responsibility for home defence and provided replacement drafts to the first line. The second line competed with the New Army for limited resources and was poorly equipped and armed as a result. The provision of replacements to the first line compromised the second line's home defence capabilities until a third line was raised to take over responsibility for territorial recruitment and training. The second line's duties were further complicated by the expectation, later confirmed, that it too would be deployed overseas. (Full article...)

    Presentations of colours and guidons to 108 units of the Territorial Force by King Edward VII at Windsor Castle, 19 June 1909

    The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry into a unified auxiliary, commanded by the War Office and administered by local county territorial associations. The Territorial Force was designed to reinforce the regular army in expeditionary operations abroad, but because of political opposition it was assigned to home defence. Members were liable for service anywhere in the UK and could not be compelled to serve overseas unless they volunteered to do so. In the first two months of the First World War, territorials volunteered for foreign service in significant numbers, allowing territorial units to be deployed abroad. They saw their first action on the Western Front during the initial German offensive of 1914, and the force filled the gap between the near destruction of the regular army that year and the arrival of the New Army in 1915. Territorial units were deployed to Gallipoli in 1915 and, following the failure of that campaign, provided the bulk of the British contribution to allied forces in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. By the war's end, the Territorial Force had fielded twenty-three infantry divisions and two mounted divisions on foreign soil. It was demobilised after the war and reconstituted in 1921 as the Territorial Army.

    The force experienced problems throughout its existence. On establishment, fewer than 40 per cent of the men in the previous auxiliary institutions transferred into it, and it was consistently under strength until the outbreak of the First World War. It was not considered to be an effective military force by the regular army and was denigrated by the proponents of conscription. Lord Kitchener chose to concentrate the Territorial Force on home defence and raise the New Army to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France, a decision which disappointed the territorials. The need to replace heavy losses suffered by the BEF before the New Army was ready forced Kitchener to deploy territorial units overseas, compromising the force's ability to defend the homeland. To replace foreign-service units, the Territorial Force was doubled in size by creating a second line which mirrored the organisation of the original, first-line units. Second-line units assumed responsibility for home defence and provided replacement drafts to the first line. The second line competed with the New Army for limited resources and was poorly equipped and armed as a result. The provision of replacements to the first line compromised the second line's home defence capabilities until a third line was raised to take over responsibility for territorial recruitment and training. The second line's duties were further complicated by the expectation, later confirmed, that it too would be deployed overseas. (Full article...)
  • Image 9 Bahia sometime before its mid-1920s modernization, as indicated by its two funnels Bahia was the lead ship of a two-vessel class of cruisers built for Brazil by the British company Armstrong Whitworth. Crewmen mutinied in November 1910 aboard Bahia, Deodoro, Minas Geraes, and São Paulo, beginning the four-day Revolta da Chibata (Revolt of the Lash). Brazil's capital city of Rio de Janeiro was held hostage by the possibility of a naval bombardment, leading the government to give in to the rebel demands which included the abolition of flogging in the navy. During the First World War, Bahia and its sister ship Rio Grande do Sul were assigned to the Divisão Naval em Operações de Guerra (Naval Division in War Operations), the Brazilian Navy's main contribution in that conflict. The squadron was based in Sierra Leone and Dakar and escorted convoys through an area believed to be heavily patrolled by U-boats. Bahia was extensively modernized in the mid-1920s. It received three new Brown–Curtis turbine engines and six new Thornycroft boilers, and it was converted from coal-burning to oil. The refit resulted in a striking aesthetic change, with the exhaust being trunked into three funnels instead of two. The armament was also modified, adding three 20 mm (0.79 in) Madsen autocannons, a 7 mm (0.28 in) Hotchkiss machine gun, and four 533 mm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes. In the 1930s, it served with government forces during multiple revolutions. (Full article...)

    Bahia sometime before its mid-1920s modernization, as indicated by its two funnels

    Bahia was the lead ship of a two-vessel class of cruisers built for Brazil by the British company Armstrong Whitworth. Crewmen mutinied in November 1910 aboard Bahia, Deodoro, Minas Geraes, and São Paulo, beginning the four-day Revolta da Chibata (Revolt of the Lash). Brazil's capital city of Rio de Janeiro was held hostage by the possibility of a naval bombardment, leading the government to give in to the rebel demands which included the abolition of flogging in the navy. During the First World War, Bahia and its sister ship Rio Grande do Sul were assigned to the Divisão Naval em Operações de Guerra (Naval Division in War Operations), the Brazilian Navy's main contribution in that conflict. The squadron was based in Sierra Leone and Dakar and escorted convoys through an area believed to be heavily patrolled by U-boats.

    Bahia was extensively modernized in the mid-1920s. It received three new Brown–Curtis turbine engines and six new Thornycroft boilers, and it was converted from coal-burning to oil. The refit resulted in a striking aesthetic change, with the exhaust being trunked into three funnels instead of two. The armament was also modified, adding three 20 mm (0.79 in) Madsen autocannons, a 7 mm (0.28 in) Hotchkiss machine gun, and four 533 mm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes. In the 1930s, it served with government forces during multiple revolutions. (Full article...)
  • Image 10 Hermes off Yantai, China, circa 1931 HMS Hermes was a British aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy and was the world's first ship to be designed as an aircraft carrier, although the Imperial Japanese Navy's Hōshō was the first to be commissioned. The ship's construction began during the First World War, but she was not completed until after the end of the war, having been delayed by multiple changes in her design after she was laid down. After she was launched, the Armstrong Whitworth shipyard which built her closed, and her fitting out was suspended. Most of the changes made were to optimise her design, in light of the results of experiments with operational carriers. Finally commissioned in 1924, Hermes served briefly with the Atlantic Fleet before spending the bulk of her career assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet and the China Station. In the Mediterranean, she worked with other carriers developing multi-carrier tactics. While showing the flag at the China Station, she helped to suppress piracy in Chinese waters. Hermes returned home in 1937 and was placed in reserve before becoming a training ship in 1938. (Full article...)

    Hermes off Yantai, China, circa 1931

    HMS Hermes was a British aircraft carrier built for the Royal Navy and was the world's first ship to be designed as an aircraft carrier, although the Imperial Japanese Navy's Hōshō was the first to be commissioned. The ship's construction began during the First World War, but she was not completed until after the end of the war, having been delayed by multiple changes in her design after she was laid down. After she was launched, the Armstrong Whitworth shipyard which built her closed, and her fitting out was suspended. Most of the changes made were to optimise her design, in light of the results of experiments with operational carriers.

    Finally commissioned in 1924, Hermes served briefly with the Atlantic Fleet before spending the bulk of her career assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet and the China Station. In the Mediterranean, she worked with other carriers developing multi-carrier tactics. While showing the flag at the China Station, she helped to suppress piracy in Chinese waters. Hermes returned home in 1937 and was placed in reserve before becoming a training ship in 1938. (Full article...)
  • Image 11 Ljubljana's sister ship Beograd (right) and the flotilla leader Dubrovnik (left) in the Bay of Kotor after being captured by Italy Ljubljana (Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: [ʎubˈʎana]; Cyrillic: Љубљана) was the third and last Beograd-class destroyer built for the Royal Yugoslav Navy (Serbo-Croatian: Kraljevska mornarica, Краљевска морнарица; КМ) in the late 1930s, and designed to operate as part of a division led by the flotilla leader Dubrovnik. She entered KM service in November 1939, was armed with a main battery of four Škoda 120 mm (4.7 in) guns in superfiring single mounts – two forward and two aft of the superstructure – and she had a practical top speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph). In 1940, Ljubljana ran aground on a reef off the Yugoslav port of Šibenik and sank due to the serious damage caused to her hull. After considerable effort she was refloated and then towed to the naval arsenal at Tivat in the Bay of Kotor for repairs. This incident resulted in her gaining a reputation as an "unlucky ship" with Yugoslav sailors. Yugoslavia entered World War II when the German-led Axis powers invaded in April 1941, and Ljubljana – still under repair – was captured by the Italians. After repairs and refitting, including replacement of her anti-aircraft armament, she saw service from November 1942 with the Royal Italian Navy under the name Lubiana, mainly as a convoy escort on routes between Italy and Greece and Italy and Tunisia. She was lost on 1 April 1943, when a navigational error was made in poor visibility off the Tunisian coast. She ran aground and was stranded and then abandoned due to heavy seas, and was declared a total loss. (Full article...)

    two naval ships side by side alongside a dock with mountains in the background
    Ljubljana's sister ship Beograd (right) and the flotilla leader Dubrovnik (left) in the Bay of Kotor after being captured by Italy

    Ljubljana (Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: [ʎubˈʎana]; Cyrillic: Љубљана) was the third and last Beograd-class destroyer built for the Royal Yugoslav Navy (Serbo-Croatian: Kraljevska mornarica, Краљевска морнарица; КМ) in the late 1930s, and designed to operate as part of a division led by the flotilla leader Dubrovnik. She entered KM service in November 1939, was armed with a main battery of four Škoda 120 mm (4.7 in) guns in superfiring single mounts – two forward and two aft of the superstructure – and she had a practical top speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph).

    In 1940, Ljubljana ran aground on a reef off the Yugoslav port of Šibenik and sank due to the serious damage caused to her hull. After considerable effort she was refloated and then towed to the naval arsenal at Tivat in the Bay of Kotor for repairs. This incident resulted in her gaining a reputation as an "unlucky ship" with Yugoslav sailors. Yugoslavia entered World War II when the German-led Axis powers invaded in April 1941, and Ljubljana – still under repair – was captured by the Italians. After repairs and refitting, including replacement of her anti-aircraft armament, she saw service from November 1942 with the Royal Italian Navy under the name Lubiana, mainly as a convoy escort on routes between Italy and Greece and Italy and Tunisia. She was lost on 1 April 1943, when a navigational error was made in poor visibility off the Tunisian coast. She ran aground and was stranded and then abandoned due to heavy seas, and was declared a total loss. (Full article...)
  • Image 12 A postwar view of sister ship Zheleznyakov Nezamozhnik (Russian and Ukrainian: Незаможник, Ukrainian romanization: Nezamozhnyk, lit. 'poor peasant') was one of eight Fidonisy-class destroyers built for the Imperial Russian Navy during World War I. Originally named Zante (Занте), the ship was left unfinished during the Russian Revolution in 1917 and later captured by Ukrainian and White forces. The mostly complete destroyer was towed from her shipyard by retreating White forces and wrecked during a storm in 1920. She was refloated by the Soviets following their victory in the Russian Civil War and completed in 1923 as Nezamozhny (Незаможный). Serving with the Black Sea Fleet, she was renamed Nezamozhnik and made several international port visits. Refitted twice during the interwar period, the destroyer served in the Black Sea during World War II, helping to evacuate Odessa, supply besieged Soviet forces in Sevastopol, and support several amphibious operations during the Kerch–Feodosia Offensive and the Battle of the Caucasus. The ship saw no combat after October 1943 after three destroyers were sunk by German aircraft in a single action. She received the Order of the Red Banner for her actions during the war. Nezamozhnik was converted into a target ship at the end of the 1940s and sunk during the early 1950s. (Full article...)

    A postwar view of sister ship Zheleznyakov

    Nezamozhnik (Russian and Ukrainian: Незаможник, Ukrainian romanization: Nezamozhnyk, lit. 'poor peasant') was one of eight Fidonisy-class destroyers built for the Imperial Russian Navy during World War I. Originally named Zante (Занте), the ship was left unfinished during the Russian Revolution in 1917 and later captured by Ukrainian and White forces. The mostly complete destroyer was towed from her shipyard by retreating White forces and wrecked during a storm in 1920. She was refloated by the Soviets following their victory in the Russian Civil War and completed in 1923 as Nezamozhny (Незаможный).

    Serving with the Black Sea Fleet, she was renamed Nezamozhnik and made several international port visits. Refitted twice during the interwar period, the destroyer served in the Black Sea during World War II, helping to evacuate Odessa, supply besieged Soviet forces in Sevastopol, and support several amphibious operations during the Kerch–Feodosia Offensive and the Battle of the Caucasus. The ship saw no combat after October 1943 after three destroyers were sunk by German aircraft in a single action. She received the Order of the Red Banner for her actions during the war. Nezamozhnik was converted into a target ship at the end of the 1940s and sunk during the early 1950s. (Full article...)
  • Image 13 Three sketches of the battle by Theodore R. Davis The Battle of Raymond was fought on May 12, 1863, near Raymond, Mississippi, during the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. Initial Union attempts to capture the strategically important Mississippi River city of Vicksburg failed. Beginning in late April 1863, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant led another try. After crossing the river into Mississippi and winning the Battle of Port Gibson, Grant began moving east, intending to turn back west and attack Vicksburg. A portion of Grant's army consisting of Major General James B. McPherson's 10,000 to 12,000-man XVII Corps moved northeast towards Raymond. The Confederate commander of Vicksburg, Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton, ordered Brigadier General John Gregg and his 3,000 to 4,000-strong brigade from Jackson to Raymond. Gregg's brigade contacted the leading elements of McPherson's corps on May 12. Neither commander was aware of the strength of his opponent, and Gregg acted aggressively, thinking McPherson's force was small enough that his men could easily defeat it. McPherson, in turn, overestimated Confederate strength and responded cautiously. The early portions of the battle pitted two brigades of Major General John A. Logan's division against the Confederate force, and the battle was matched relatively evenly. Eventually, McPherson brought up Brigadier General John D. Stevenson's brigade and Brigadier General Marcellus M. Crocker's division. The weight of superior Union numbers eventually began to crack the Confederate line, and Gregg decided to disengage. McPherson's men did not immediately pursue. (Full article...)

    Three sketches of the battle by Theodore R. Davis

    The Battle of Raymond was fought on May 12, 1863, near Raymond, Mississippi, during the Vicksburg campaign of the American Civil War. Initial Union attempts to capture the strategically important Mississippi River city of Vicksburg failed. Beginning in late April 1863, Union Major General Ulysses S. Grant led another try. After crossing the river into Mississippi and winning the Battle of Port Gibson, Grant began moving east, intending to turn back west and attack Vicksburg. A portion of Grant's army consisting of Major General James B. McPherson's 10,000 to 12,000-man XVII Corps moved northeast towards Raymond. The Confederate commander of Vicksburg, Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton, ordered Brigadier General John Gregg and his 3,000 to 4,000-strong brigade from Jackson to Raymond.

    Gregg's brigade contacted the leading elements of McPherson's corps on May 12. Neither commander was aware of the strength of his opponent, and Gregg acted aggressively, thinking McPherson's force was small enough that his men could easily defeat it. McPherson, in turn, overestimated Confederate strength and responded cautiously. The early portions of the battle pitted two brigades of Major General John A. Logan's division against the Confederate force, and the battle was matched relatively evenly. Eventually, McPherson brought up Brigadier General John D. Stevenson's brigade and Brigadier General Marcellus M. Crocker's division. The weight of superior Union numbers eventually began to crack the Confederate line, and Gregg decided to disengage. McPherson's men did not immediately pursue. (Full article...)
  • Image 14 Melville Island (centre) in 1878 Melville Island is a small peninsula in Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Northwest Arm of Halifax Harbour, west of Deadman's Island. It is part of the Halifax Regional Municipality. The site was discovered by Europeans in the 17th century, though it was likely earlier explored by Indigenous peoples. The land is rocky, with thin, acidic soil, but supports a limited woodland habitat. It was initially used for storehouses before being purchased by the British, who built a prisoner-of-war camp to hold captives from the Napoleonic Wars and later the War of 1812. The burial ground for prisoners was on the adjacent Deadman's Island. (Full article...)
    View of Melville Island from a wooded area
    Melville Island (centre) in 1878


    Melville Island is a small peninsula in Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Northwest Arm of Halifax Harbour, west of Deadman's Island. It is part of the Halifax Regional Municipality.

    The site was discovered by Europeans in the 17th century, though it was likely earlier explored by Indigenous peoples. The land is rocky, with thin, acidic soil, but supports a limited woodland habitat. It was initially used for storehouses before being purchased by the British, who built a prisoner-of-war camp to hold captives from the Napoleonic Wars and later the War of 1812. The burial ground for prisoners was on the adjacent Deadman's Island. (Full article...)
  • Image 15 Paul Kagame (left) and Juvénal Habyarimana (right), leaders of the RPF and Rwandan Government forces, respectively, for most of the war. The Rwandan Civil War was a large-scale civil war in Rwanda which was fought between the Rwandan Armed Forces, representing the country's government, and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) from 1 October 1990 to 18 July 1994. The war arose from the long-running dispute between the Hutu and Tutsi groups within the Rwandan population. The Rwandan Revolution, which broke out in 1959, had replaced the Tutsi monarchy with a Hutu-led republic, forcing more than 336,000 Tutsis to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. A group of these refugees in Uganda founded the RPF which, under the leadership of Fred Rwigyema and Paul Kagame, became a battle-ready army by the late 1980s. The war began on 1 October 1990, when the RPF invaded north-eastern Rwanda, advancing 60 km (37 mi) into the country. They suffered a major setback when Rwigyema was killed in action on the second day. The Rwandan Army, assisted by expeditionary troops from France, gained the upper hand and the RPF were largely defeated by the end of October. Kagame, who had been in the United States during the invasion, returned to take command. He withdrew troops to the Virunga Mountains for several months before attacking again. The RPF began an insurgency, which continued until mid-1992 with neither side able to gain the upper hand. A series of protests forced Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana to begin peace negotiations with the RPF and domestic opposition parties. Despite disruption and killings by Hutu Power, a group of extremists opposed to any deal, and a fresh RPF offensive in early 1993, the negotiations were successfully concluded with the signing of the Arusha Accords in August 1993. (Full article...)

    Paul Kagame (left) and Juvénal Habyarimana (right), leaders of the RPF and Rwandan Government forces, respectively, for most of the war.

    The Rwandan Civil War was a large-scale civil war in Rwanda which was fought between the Rwandan Armed Forces, representing the country's government, and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) from 1 October 1990 to 18 July 1994. The war arose from the long-running dispute between the Hutu and Tutsi groups within the Rwandan population. The Rwandan Revolution, which broke out in 1959, had replaced the Tutsi monarchy with a Hutu-led republic, forcing more than 336,000 Tutsis to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. A group of these refugees in Uganda founded the RPF which, under the leadership of Fred Rwigyema and Paul Kagame, became a battle-ready army by the late 1980s.

    The war began on 1 October 1990, when the RPF invaded north-eastern Rwanda, advancing 60 km (37 mi) into the country. They suffered a major setback when Rwigyema was killed in action on the second day. The Rwandan Army, assisted by expeditionary troops from France, gained the upper hand and the RPF were largely defeated by the end of October. Kagame, who had been in the United States during the invasion, returned to take command. He withdrew troops to the Virunga Mountains for several months before attacking again. The RPF began an insurgency, which continued until mid-1992 with neither side able to gain the upper hand. A series of protests forced Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana to begin peace negotiations with the RPF and domestic opposition parties. Despite disruption and killings by Hutu Power, a group of extremists opposed to any deal, and a fresh RPF offensive in early 1993, the negotiations were successfully concluded with the signing of the Arusha Accords in August 1993. (Full article...)
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An engraving of Fawkes made in 1605

Guy Fawkes (/fɔːks/; 13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes while fighting for the Spanish, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics involved in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. He was born and educated in York; his father died when Fawkes was eight years old, after which his mother married a recusant Catholic.

Fawkes converted to Catholicism and left for mainland Europe, where he fought for Catholic Spain in the Eighty Years' War against Protestant Dutch reformers in the Low Countries. He travelled to Spain to seek support for a Catholic rebellion in England without success. He later met Thomas Wintour, with whom he returned to England. Wintour introduced him to Robert Catesby, who planned to assassinate King James I and restore a Catholic monarch to the throne. The plotters leased an undercroft beneath the House of Lords; Fawkes was placed in charge of the gunpowder that they stockpiled there. The authorities were prompted by an anonymous letter to search Westminster Palace during the early hours of 5 November, and they found Fawkes guarding the explosives. He was questioned and tortured over the next few days and confessed to wanting to blow up the House of Lords. (Full article...)

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