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The Great Yarmouth Suspension Bridge Disaster of 1845
Historian article
Many communities have cataclysmic disasters which tend to dominate or define their local history. Gareth Davies reveals that the sudden collapse of the Great Yarmouth Suspension Bridge is a telling example of this trend.
Beside the waters of the River Bure in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk stands a shiny black memorial...
The Great Yarmouth Suspension Bridge Disaster of 1845
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Populism, Progressivism and Trumpism
Historian article
Populism, Progressivism and Trumpism: third party, inter-party and intraparty candidates in campaigns for the American presidency
Michael Dunne explores the complexities of American presidential political campaigning over the last 200 years.
Vox populi, vox dei. The voice of the people is the voice of God. Since these words were first...
Populism, Progressivism and Trumpism
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The Somme: a last innings for Yorkshire and England
Historian article
Ronan Thomas explores a tragic sporting outcome of the Battle of the Somme.
At the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, the losses suffered by the British Army still have the power to shock. On 1 July 1916 alone nearly 60,000 men became casualties, of whom almost 20,000 were...
The Somme: a last innings for Yorkshire and England
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Verdun: the endless battle
Historian article
Most can agree that the battle of Verdun started 100 years ago, on 21 February 1916, when the Germans began attacking French positions north and east of the old fortress town on the Meuse river. Few can agree on when it ended. The Germans might draw a line under it...
Verdun: the endless battle
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Recorded webinar series: The Olympic Games
Culture and political impact across the twentieth century
2024 was an Olympic Games year. Held every four years (with the exception of during the World Wars and Covid-19 restrictions), the modern Olympics is the largest international sporting event in the world. However, historically it has not always been just the sports that are played and the athletes’ performances...
Recorded webinar series: The Olympic Games
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An Interview with Antony Beevor (Film)
Antony Beevor, the Medlicott Medal awardee for 2016, tells us his thoughts….
The 2016 Medlicott Medal for services to history will be presented to Antony Beevor this July. He is a popular historian with a loyal following while also being a heavy duty writer whose preparation and research for each of his books takes him years and into archives across the world....
An Interview with Antony Beevor (Film)
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Recorded webinar series: Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the UN Convention on Genocide
Multipage Article
9 December 2023 was the 75th anniversary of the passing of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (known as the UN Convention on Genocide). The convention was a clear statement by the international community that crimes of that nature should never happen...
Recorded webinar series: Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the UN Convention on Genocide
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A Zeppelin VC remembered
Historian article
Ronan Thomas introduces the bravery of Rex Warneford who was the first pilot successfully to bring down a Zeppelin in 1915.
Rex Warneford was one of Britain’s ‘bravest of the brave’. A Royal Navy fighter pilot during the First World War, he was awarded the Victoria Cross by King George...
A Zeppelin VC remembered
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Radicalism and its Results, 1760-1837
Classic Pamphlet
Radicalism with a large "R", unlike Conservatism with a large "C" and Liberalism with a large "L", is not a historical term of even proximate precision. There was never a Radical Party with a national organization, local associations, or a treasury. But there were, and there are, "Radicals", generally qualified...
Radicalism and its Results, 1760-1837
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Local Authority Housing
Classic Pamphlet
Local authority housing has been a distinctive feature of the British housing system throughout the twentieth century. This pamphlet outlines the development of local authority housing in Britain from its origins in the late nineteenth century to the present day, focusing on the ways in which policy changes have affected...
Local Authority Housing
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Medical aspects of the battle of Waterloo
Historian article
Michael Crumplin explores the medical facilities of the British Army and asks how likely soldiers wounded at Waterloo were to survive.
The road to Waterloo
One of the very few benefits of conflict is the advancement of medical practice. The recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistanhave been dealing with relatively...
Medical aspects of the battle of Waterloo
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Driver Ben Cobey 8th Royal Field Artillery
Historian article
Alf Wilkinson asks why three men were awarded the Victoria Cross during the retreat from Mons in August 1914 and the fourth involved in the action wasn’t. What does that tell us about Britain during the arly days of the Great War?
In August 1914, when war broke out, the...
Driver Ben Cobey 8th Royal Field Artillery
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Waterloo's prizefight factor
Historian article
Image: 'Pierce Egan celebrates the Boxiana touch as Napoleon is floored'
David Snowdon examines the impact of the world of ‘pugilism' on the army during the Napoleonic Wars and looks at some famous boxers who perished in the battle.
By 1815, one writer, and one sporting publication, had become synonymous with...
Waterloo's prizefight factor
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Film: An Interview with Margaret MacMillan
An Interview with Margaret MacMillan
The HA are delighted to announce that the Medlicott Medal for 2015 has been awarded to Professor Margaret MacMillan. The Medlicott Medal is for outstanding contributions to the study and enjoyment of history. The award will be presented on Wednesday 8 July 2015 in central London, where she will also...
Film: An Interview with Margaret MacMillan
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The Japanese History Textbook Controversy: a Content Analysis
Historian article
With almost monotonous regularity the official release in Japan of new or revised secondary school history textbook editions, as well as primeministerial annual visits to the Yasukuni Shrine to commemorate the 2.5 million Japanese war dead (including 14 Class-A war criminals), unleash a wave of international protest concerning Japan’s official...
The Japanese History Textbook Controversy: a Content Analysis
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Franz Ferdinand
Historian article
The Kapuzinerkirche (Church of the Capuchins) in Vienna's Neue Markt is one of the more curious attractions of the city, housing as it does the Kaisergruft crypt in which the Habsburgs are entombed, or rather in which their bodies are entombed: the hearts are usually kept in the Loreto Chapel...
Franz Ferdinand
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Podcast Series: Canadian Confederation
Multipage Article
In this podcast Professor Edward MacDonald of the University of Prince Edward Island discusses the origins of the Charlottetown Conference of 1864, Canadian Confederation and the development of Canada over the 20th Century.
Podcast Series: Canadian Confederation
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Filmed Interviews: The Women of Bletchley Park
The Women of Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park was the most important of the top secret intelligence sites during the Second World War. The quiet Buckinghamshire village hosted 10,000 people dedicated to defeating the Nazis, 75% of those were women.
In this podcast we are lucky enough to have some of those women talking about their...
Filmed Interviews: The Women of Bletchley Park
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A Story in Stone: the Tirah War Memorial in Dorchester
Historian article
The Tirah memorial stands in a corner of Borough Gardens, a Victorian park in Dorchester, county town of Dorset. It is a granite obelisk decorated with a motif of honeysuckle and laurel wreaths standing 4.5 metres high on a square granite plinth. This in turn stands upon a circular concrete...
A Story in Stone: the Tirah War Memorial in Dorchester
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The death of Lord Londonderry
Historian article
Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, better known to his contemporaries and to history as Viscount Castlereagh, committed suicide on 12 August 1822, at the age of fifty-three, when Foreign Secretary and Leader of the House of Commons. He was one of the great statesmen of his age: as Chief...
The death of Lord Londonderry
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The shortest war in history: The Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896
Historian article
At 9am on 27 August 1896, following an ultimatum, five ships of the Royal Navy began a bombardment of the Royal Palace and Harem in Zanzibar. Thirty-eight, or 40, or 43 minutes later, depending on which source you believe, the bombardment stopped when the white flag of surrender was raised...
The shortest war in history: The Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896
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The Origins of the Local Government Service
Historian article
The concept ‘local government’ dates only from the middle of the nineteenth century. ‘Local government service’ emerged later still. In 1903 Redlich and Hirst1 wrote of ‘municipal officers’, while in 1922 Robson2 preferred ‘the municipal civil service’. ‘Local government service’ perhaps derives its pedigree from its use in the final...
The Origins of the Local Government Service
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Leopold von Ranke - Pamphlet
Classic Pamphlet
Leopold von Ranke (21 December 1795 - 23 May 1886) was a German historian and a founder of modern source-based history. According to Caroline Hoefferle, "Ranke was probably the most important historian to shape historical profession as it emerged in Europe and the United States in the late 19th century." ...
Leopold von Ranke - Pamphlet
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Gary Sheffield: Origins of the First World War
Podcast
Gary Sheffield, Professor of War studies, the University of Wolverhampton, is one of the UK's foremost historians on the First World War. He is the author of numerous books and previously held posts at the University of Birmingham and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. In April 2014 he spoke at an HA event for teachers...
Gary Sheffield: Origins of the First World War
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The Centenary of the First World War: An unpopular view
Historian article
We are delighted to have an original article by Gary Sheffield in this edition of The Historian.
Gary Sheffield is Professor of War Studies, University of Wolverhampton. He is a specialist on Britain at war 1914-45 and is one of Britain's foremost historians on the First World War. He has...
The Centenary of the First World War: An unpopular view
