Biography

Alexander the Great

Though he ruled for just thirteen years, Alexander the Great casts a long shadow, famed as much for his hedonistic lifestyle as his military genius. But how did he becom

Muhammad Ali

From the day he burst onto the scene, Muhammad Ali changed boxing history. But he also influenced the American civil rights movement, the perception of Islam, the view

Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo is as much a modern icon for her personal flair as she is for her paintings. But how did her style develop, and what did she intend it to communicate? What w

William Shakespeare

No single writer has shaped the way we speak and think more than William Shakespeare. Whether we’re being cruel to be kind, wearing our hearts on our sleeves, or wrestli

Pocahontas

Pocahontas is probably the best known Native American in history. But the true story of her life has been eclipsed by a fictionalised version, played out as a romance bet

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln’s life reads like an American folk tale: the story of a boy born into poverty, whose drive and determination saw him become the most powerful man in the n

Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh was one of the most important and influential figures in the history of art. But though he created thousands of drawings and paintings, his life was one

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein overhauled our understanding of the universe—from the sub-atomic level to beyond the edges of the cosmos. Today his ideas are in evidence everywhere, fro

Cleopatra

The last of the Ptolemaic Pharoahs, Cleopatra has captivated our imaginations for centuries. Though some write her off as a manipulative femme fatale, her competence as

Amelia Earhart

As one of the great pioneers of air travel, Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. She pushed aviation technology to its limits, broke count

Queen Elizabeth the Second, Part 2 of 2

As the Queen’s family life grew more complex, the relationship between palace and press intensified. But balancing the need for security and privacy against her very pub

Queen Elizabeth the Second, Part 1 of 2

Spanning seventy years, Queen Elizabeth II’s reign saw the world change beyond recognition. From her earliest public appearances, representing her father King George VI,

Henry VIII

In 1509, at just seventeen years old, Henry VIII was crowned King of England. Over the next four decades, he would burn through six marriages, bankrupt the nation, and va

Bonnie and Clyde

Forged by the Great Depression, Bonnie and Clyde became icons of lawlessness, thrilling and shocking America with their crime sprees and doomed romance. But what drove t

William Wallace

Despised by the English, mistrusted by the Scottish nobles, and revered by his countrymen, William Wallace is synonymous with the battle for Scottish freedom. But scratc

Rosa Parks

By the time she died in 2005, Rosa Parks was known around the world as an icon of activism. Her act of defiance one ordinary Thursday afternoon in Montgomery, Alabama cat

Blackbeard

In the early eighteenth century, one man made his name as the most notorious pirate of all time. The legend of Edward Thatch, aka "Blackbeard", has spawned television sh

Agatha Christie

The so-called “Queen of Crime”, Agatha Christie remains the best-selling novelist of all time, as well as one of the most prolific. Across 66 novels, 14 short-story colle