History

British History (A key on an old map of Britain)

British History

From Magna Carta to WW2 discover the key events in the story of Britain...

Hands on History (Melvyn Bragg presents Reel History of Britain)

Hands on History

Bring history to life with activities, films and events for the whole family.

British History Timeline

British History Timeline

From the Neolithic era to the present day, track British history with our interactive timeline.

Go to British History Timeline
Family History (Who Do You Think You Are?)

Family History

Get the latest from Who Do You Think You Are? and learn how to trace your own family history.

World Wars (St Paul's seen through the fires created by the Blitz)

World Wars

Discover how our world was shaped through WW1, WW2 and the Cold War.

Battle of Britain Season

The Battle of Britain

Explore the Battle of Britain with clips from BBC programmes.

Ancient History (Leptis Magna)

Ancient History

Uncover more about Egyptian, Roman and Anglo Saxon history.

Filming the talk show In Town Tonight, 1955

BBC Four Collections

Discover old programmes from the BBC archives.

History for Kids (World War Two: Children in World War Two)

History for Kids

Have fun exploring a wide selection of historical games and activities.

Historic Figures

A-to-Z of biographies

Previous day

On this day: 19 May

Next day
  • 1536: Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife, is executed on probably fabricated charges of adultery and incest.
  • 1897: Irish playwright Oscar Wilde is released from prison after a two-year sentence for 'gross indecency'.
  • 1943: Churchill and Roosevelt agree 1 May 1944 as the final date for the D-Day landings (actually 6 June).
A History of Royal Weddings (Princess Elizabeth on her wedding day in 1947 © Press Association)

Royal Weddings

Indulge yourself by taking a look back at previous royal nuptials.

Explore bbc.co.uk/history

Around bbc.co.uk

A History of the World (History of the World logo)

History of the World

Explore the 100 objects that tell two million years of history.

history footer image

bbc.co.uk navigation

BBC © 2012 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.