Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© Mez Merrill, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Open Government v1.
Armistice Day is the anniversary of the end of the First World War on the 11th of November, 1918.
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By Nathaniel Dance-Holland (1735–1811), via the National Trust and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Robert Clive helped to establish a lasting bond between India and Britain, laying the foundations of modern India.
Wikimedia Commons. Public domain image.
An English monk warned of a flaw in the world’s most widely-used calendar.
© PHParsons, Wikimedia Commons. CC-BY-SA 3.0 Licence.
The ruthless diamond magnate and Prime Minister of the Cape divided opinion in his own lifetime as he still does today.
© xlandfair, Wikimedia Commons. Public domain image.
It lasted barely forty minutes, but it brought slavery to an end in the little island territory.
By George W. Joy (1844-1925), via Wikimedia Commons.
General Gordon’s death was a sensation and a scandal in its day.