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HistoryExtra
@historyextra.bsky.social
2.4K followers 170 following 350 posts
Posts from HistoryExtra, the home of Britain’s bestselling history magazine (BBC History Magazine) and award-winning podcast.

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An artistic depiction of Guy Fawkes in a cellar with barrels, accompanied by text asking viewers to 'make the comments look like Guy Fawkes's search history.'
November 5, 2025 at 6:00 PM
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HistoryExtra is Apple’s App of the Day!
October 17, 2025 at 12:51 PM
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Have you heard of this word?
An orange graphic with a white HistoryExtra logo in the top left corner. Text reads: Panjandrum (English, 19th century) A self-important person. Originally coined by playwright Samuel Foote
October 15, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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Have you heard of this word?
An orange rectangle graphic with a white HistoryExtra logo. Text says: Namelings (English, 18th century) People who share the same name
September 24, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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Did you know? Strict sumptuary laws dictated what Tudors could wear depending on their social rank. Only royalty could wear purple, silk or gold, and certain furs and colours were reserved for the highest ranks.

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Engraving of a Tudor couple standing in a decorated room, with two small dogs at their feet
September 10, 2025 at 5:00 PM
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#OnThisDay in 1941, American soul singer Otis Redding was born in Dawson, Georgia. Often referred to as 'the King of Soul', he was killed in a plane crash in 1967, just days after recording his biggest hit (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay.

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A black and white photo of Otis Redding in a suit, holding a microphone and singing on stage with his head back and eyes closed slightly
September 9, 2025 at 7:00 AM
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Have a read of Dr Dave Musgrove's latest Life Lesson from History on our Substack, with expert advice from Dr Selena Wisnom, to learn how the ancient people of the Near East delegated their anxieties, in a very modern way 👉
historyextra.substack.com
A screenshot of text reading: "They worry so much that they invent an entire branch of scholarship devoted to it. This is worrying on a kind of national cosmic scale". A screenshot reading: "These professional lamenters were essentially state-appointed national worriers. Their job was to imagine worst-case scenarios in elaborate poetic form, and recite them in public ceremonies, even when no immediate crisis was at hand." A screenshot reading: "But maybe there is something basic here, in terms of personal delegation of worrying. "I do like the concept of delegating your worrying to somebody else or something else," says Wisnom. "that's something that I have in fact inadvertently tried myself. One night I was very worried about something. It was late at night. Nobody was awake so I called a friend in America because they are awake in America. He said to me 'Don't worry. I will hold your worries until morning' and it actually worked. I got back to sleep."
June 6, 2025 at 8:20 AM
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#OnThisDay in 1615, the Roman Catholic Church formally banned Galileo Galilei from teaching or defending the heliocentric model of the universe.
An etching of Galileo, a man with a white beard wearing long cloaks, kneeling before three people seated on a raised throne. He is gesturing to the sky, where a stylised image of the sun and planets is visible.
February 26, 2025 at 9:22 AM
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#OnThisDay in 1570, Pope Pius V excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I from the Roman Catholic Church, deepening the divide between Catholic Europe and Protestant-ruled England.

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A painting of Queen Elizabeth I wearing an elaborate black dress with a jewelled bodice and sleeves, leaning on a red velvet covered table, holding a sceptre.
February 25, 2025 at 9:20 AM
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#OnThisDay in 1868, Andrew Johnson became the first US president to be impeached by the House of Representatives. The impeachment set a lasting precedent in American governance, though Johnson was ultimately acquitted by the Senate.

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A black and white photo of Andrew Johnson wearing a dark suit and bow tie
February 24, 2025 at 9:28 AM
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OnThisDay in 1942, Lieutenant Edward O’Hare achieved fame as America’s first Second World War flying ace after single-handedly shooting down multiple enemy bombers.
A black and white photo of the pilot Lieutenant Edward O’Hare sitting in the cockpit of a plane, wearing goggles and a helmet A colour photo of the pilot Lieutenant Edward O’Hare standing alongside a plane in a flying suit with goggles on his head.
February 20, 2025 at 9:44 AM
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#OnThisDay in 1878, Thomas Edison received a patent for the phonograph, the first device capable of recording and playing back sound.

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Thomas Edison sitting in a chair in a library, holding a cigar, with shelves of books and recording equipment nearby.
February 19, 2025 at 9:15 AM
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#OnThisDay in 1943, members of the White Rose, a student-led resistance group opposing Nazi rule in Germany, were arrested (including Hans and Sophie Scholl, pictured). The group distributed leaflets urging Germans to resist Hitler. On being charged, they were subject to show trials.

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A black and white photo of Hans and Sophie Scholl, two German school children. The picture shows them both in profile, looking at each other. They both have short hair. Hans is wearing a dark sweater with a shirt collar, and Sophie is wearing a dark floral dress.
February 18, 2025 at 9:41 AM
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#OnThisDay in 1801, a tense deadlock in the US Electoral College was finally resolved when the House of Representatives elected Thomas Jefferson as President and Aaron Burr as Vice President.
A painted portrait of Thomas Jefferson, wearing dark clothing with a white scarf around his neck. He he white hair, and looks straight ahead.
February 17, 2025 at 9:09 AM
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#OnThisDay in 1780, Sir William Blackstone died. His four-volume 'Commentaries on the Laws of England' was a major influence on the creators of the constitution of the United States of America.

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A black and white etching of a man wearing a long white curly wig and elaborate robes. He is holding a piece of paper with a seal in his hands.
February 14, 2025 at 9:08 AM
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The Illuminati was a secret society formed in Bavaria (now part of modern-day Germany) that existed from 1776 to 1785 – its members originally referred to themselves as Perfectibilists.
The Illuminati symbol, featuring a pyramid with an eye at the top, surrounded by yellow beams of light.
February 13, 2025 at 2:54 PM
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#OnThisDay in 1542, Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of King Henry VIII, was beheaded at Tower Green in the Tower of London after being attainted for high treason following sexual indiscretions. She was buried in the nearby chapel of St Peter ad Vincula.

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Engraving of Catherine Howard, leaning down to in front of a swordsman at the Tower of London
February 13, 2025 at 9:57 AM
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#OnThisDay in AD 55: Nero assassinated his stepbrother. “A drink, still harmless, very hot, and already tasted, was handed to Britannicus,” wrote Tacitus, a Roman historian and politician.
A white marble bust of Nero, with wavy hair and a beard
February 11, 2025 at 9:36 AM
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#OnThisDay in 1840, Queen Victoria married Prince Albert. Unusually for brides of the time, Victoria wore a white dress, a symbol not so much of purity than of wealth, which proved immensely influential.
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A wedding photo of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. She is wearing a white dress and veil and leaning on a small column, with her bouquet on top. Albert is wearing military dress and facing her.
February 10, 2025 at 9:14 AM
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#OnThisDay in 1952, Elizabeth II ascended the British throne following the death of her father, King George VI. Her reign, which began in a post-war world and spanned into the 21st century, became the longest in British history.

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Queen Elizabeth II standing alongside a corgi and leaning on a stone wall, surrounded by flowers Queen Elizabeth II seen through a car window, wearing a hat and a brooch.
February 6, 2025 at 9:34 AM
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During the Second World War, what did an 'average day' at Bletchley Park look like?

Code-breaking went on around the clock, in a three-shift system, and in different huts – very often plain wooden huts.
February 5, 2025 at 4:20 PM
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#OnThisDay in 2 BC, the Roman Senate honoured Emperor Augustus with the title pater patriae (‘Father of the Country’). As the founder of the Roman Empire, Augustus reshaped Rome’s political and military structures, creating a legacy that lasted for centuries.

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Statue of Emperor Augustus in Roman attire, holding a scroll in one hand and wearing a draped cloak, displayed against a plain backdrop.
February 5, 2025 at 9:24 AM
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#OnThisDay in 1789, George Washington was unanimously elected as the first president of the United States by the electoral college.

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Portrait of George Washington wearing a black coat and white cravat.
February 4, 2025 at 9:34 AM
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#OnThisDay in 1995, American astronaut Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot a space shuttle, guiding Discovery on a historic mission.

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Portrait of astronaut Eileen Collins in a dark blue NASA flight suit, standing beside a model Space Shuttle and in front of an American flag.
February 3, 2025 at 9:25 AM
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#OnThisDay in 1971, Apollo 14 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center. Crewed by Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa and Edgar Mitchell, it became the third Apollo mission to land men on the moon.

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Three individuals in business attire stand in front of Apollo 14 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, underneath a blue sky.
January 31, 2025 at 9:59 AM