British History

How the British Cleverly Diverted Nazi Missiles

Operation Double Cross was the British response to the threat of Nazi V2 rockets. It involved relaying bogus information about British targets

Graves of Franklin Expedition members on Beechey Island

Thumbnail Reveals the Final Days of Franklin Expedition Explorer

A synchrotron micro-x-ray sheds new light on the cause that led to one crew member's death

Men smoke pipes and drink on the London streets. Booth's police notebooks reveal the everyday habits of Londoners.

Explore the Seedy Reality of a London Long Gone

Charles Booth explored the poorest parts of England’s capital—and changed the way social scientists think about the world

Ever Wonder Why Encylopedia Is Sometimes Spelled Encyclopædia?

Scribes added the ash to the Roman alphabet so they could phonetically spell sounds that Latin didn't include

The new, meatier five-pound note

Why Vegetarians Hate the U.K.'s New £5 Note

The new currency uses a polymer that contains some animal fat, and it turns out at least 24 other nations use the same product

Human skeletons found in a mass grave near the ruins of a medieval monastery in the English countryside.

English Mass Grave Sheds New Light on the Horrors of the Black Death

The burial pit contained 48 skeletons that tested positive for the plague

The Flying Scotsman in 2003

The 'Flying Scotsman' Made Train History When The Speedometer Hit 100

The first locomotive to hit 100 miles per hour was billed as "The Most Famous Train in the World"

A detail of a 17th century map found stuffed in a Scottish chimney.

Rare 17th-Century Map Found Shoved Up a Chimney Is Restored

Nothing like an antique document to block a draft

Today, the Marsh Collection is treasured for its inherent cultural value as well as its connection to the debates that framed the Smithsonian.

American Culture’s Unlikely Debt to a British Scientist

A fortuitous influx of cash launched the Smithsonian Institution and its earliest art collection

New Dictionary Explains 45,000 English and Irish Surnames

Using sources dating back to the 11th century, researchers have put together the massive Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland

An archaeologist studies remains of the Curtain theater's foundations.

Shakespeare May Have Tailored "Henry V" for a Specific Theater

Archaeological digs at the Curtain theater suggest it looked very different from the Bard’s usual venues

The historic St. Anne's Well after it was rediscovered and excavated.

A “Cursed” English Well Has Been Rediscovered

An old photograph led archaeologists to the long-lost well

Dove

Hi-Res Photography Reveals New Details of the Centuries Old Aberdeen Bestiary

Fingerprints, wear marks and other details show the beautiful manuscript was once a teaching tool, not a royal collectible

Eric the robot stands tall once again

Britain’s First Robot Lives Again

A recreation of the spark-spitting Eric the Robot is once again delighting audiences

A Fish Prized Among King Henry's III's Court Could Soon Swim Back Into British Waters

Fish passes will allow shad to finally return to their historic spawning grounds

Secrets of the Tower of London

Before it was a popular tourist attraction, the Tower of London was, well, just about everything else

Weeping Window will travel throughout the U.K. through 2018.

How the Poppy Came to Symbolize World War I

Red blooms help the world commemorate a bloody war

The Swedish count Philip Königsmarck, left, and his lover Sophia Dorothea, right. A skeleton possibly belonging to Königsmarck was recently uncovered in the German castle where he disappeared.

A Skeleton Found in a Castle Could Be the Key to Cracking a 17th-Century Cold Case

A murder mystery complete with royal intrigue

One of the Wentworth elms rediscovered at Holyroodhouse

"Extinct" Variety of Tree Rediscovered at Queen's Palace in Scotland

Two Wentworth elms identified at Holyroodhouse escaped Dutch elm disease, which destroyed millions of other trees

Amateur Archaeologist Discovers Significant Amount of Scotland's Ancient Rock Art

Musician and avid walker George Currie has catalogued 670 pieces of prehistoric rock art in the Highlands

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