All Articles

By the age of twenty, Phil Spector was one of the most famous and richest musicians in America. He produced records for some of the best pop groups of his time. But Spector’s childhood and his controlling personality made him a very dangerous man. And then he killed a girl… (1,170 words)

Julius Caesar is one of the most famous generals in history. He made the Roman Empire much richer and bigger by conquering France (then called Gaul) and he made it stronger because he included foreigners among its people. But he was killed by his friends in Rome, not in a foreign war. (735 words)

Cowboy films are still popular. People like the brave men who faced many dangers and cared more about women and children than they cared about themselves. They are often presented as the first true Americans. However, this is not quite true. (1,045 words)

Until recently, blood was simply blood. But we have discovered different blood types and that can literally save our lives when we need transfusions. All blood can be categorised as Rhesus positive or negative, but we don't know why. We also know nothing about why human beings have four blood types but cows have 800. This article explores the mysteries of blood. (865 words)

Erwin Rommel was a professional soldier. He fought in the First World War and again the Second World War when Adolf Hitler was the leader of Germany. He was the most famous and respected general of his time but he died soon after trying to kill Hitler. Who was this great soldier who fought for his country but tried to kill its leader? (1,055 words)

The machine gun was first used in the American Civil War of 1861 to 1865 and its effects were terrible. Sales of the weapon immediately increased, as more countries wanted to buy and develop this deadly new piece of arms technology. It has continued to be developed and used ever since. (870 words)

Charles Darwin argued that there was a clear link between monkeys and men but others said that the difference between the two was so great that there must be a missing link. And then, a hundred years ago, some old bones were found that showed a skeleton with some characteristics of a monkey and others of a man. But did this monkey-man ever exist? (440 words)

This is the story of the plague that spread across North Africa, the Middle East and Europe in the Middle Ages. The Black Death killed as much as a third of the populations of some countries and wiped out whole cities. The article looks at its causes and the terrible effects it had on the people and their ways of life. (1,700 words)

Not too long after James Maybrick married his much younger wife, she was on trial for his murder. She was convicted but released some years later and then a diary was found that seemed to be Maybrick's and which describes a series of horrible murders very similar to those committed by Jack the Ripper. (1,070 words)

Nat Turner was a slave in America and was never famous in his lifetime. We know him today because, one day, he decided to kill the people who took away his freedom. In a few hours, he murdered many white men, women and children. He was the first slave to use violence to fight against his slavery in the USA. This is his story. (385 words)

We know nothing about Socrates or his books. We only know what other people said or wrote about him. He died thousands of years ago in Greece. This story is probably not true but it is very, very short and easy to read! (110 words)

There can be few examples of cruelty and superstition more sadistic in western history than the treatment of so-called 'witches'. They were often older women living alone who were burnt, mutilated, drowned and crushed as agents of the Devil. This article explores this strange episode in history. (1,750 words)

Attitudes to the use of different drugs have changed a lot over the years. Right through the 19th century, the upper classes in Britain used opium. Sigmund Freud, the father of psychology, used cocaine morning and evening. And the French were regular smokers of hashish, including their greatest novelist, Flaubert. Now, though, they are illegal nearly everywhere in the world. (1,585 words)

A brief history of London's past and its present. Its transport system and its geography, its food and weather, but most of all its people. (1,145 words)

We remember Caligula as the craziest Roman emperor. He was only the head of the Roman Empire for four years but he did some terrible things. What did he do that was so bad? And how did it all start? (400 words).