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British History

Cool Finds

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.

Europe

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.

Cool Finds

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

Cool Finds

“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

Cool Finds

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

“Three days after the attack on the armored train, Churchill arrived in Pretoria, the Boer capital, with the other British prisoners of war. Surrounded by curious Boers eager to see the new prisoners, he glared back at them with unconcealed hatred and resentment. Although he respected the enemy on the battlefield, the idea that average Boers would have any control over his fate enraged him.”

Even When He Was in His 20s, Winston Churchill Was Already on the Verge of Greatness

The future Prime Minister became known throughout Britain for his travails as a journalist during the Boer War

Suspected 1665 Great Plague pit unearthed at Crossrail Liverpool Street site

DNA from 17th-Century Teeth Confirms Cause of London’s Great Plague

Skeletons excavated from a mass grave during London’s Crossrail project yield new clues about the ancient mystery

Celebrate 50 Years of International Literacy Day With the British Library

Butterflies, rabbits and Shakespeare: there’s something for everybody

The Chandos portrait is the only-known painting of Shakespeare made during his lifetime.

Cool Finds

Cleaning This Portrait Could Change the Way Historians See Shakespeare

The only portrait of the Bard made while he was alive might be getting touch-ups

The Mary Rose undergoing restoration.

Cool Finds

Explore Skulls and Artifacts From a 16th-Century Warship

The Mary Rose was the pride of Henry VIII’s fleet before it sank at sea

Queen Victoria's coronet

Trending Today

The U.K. Bans Queen Victoria’s Coronet From Leaving British Soil

The government has placed the artifact under an export ban in hopes a collector will keep it in-country

Cool Finds

Ancient Egyptian Stories Will Be Published in English for the First Time

Translated from hieroglyphics on monuments, tombs and papyri, the book will present tales few outside of academia have read

If you're going to be riding a horse for a while, you're probably going to want to amble.

New Research

Today’s Smooth-Running Horses May Owe Their Genetics to the Vikings

Scientists have determined the likely origin for the “gaitkeeper” gene, which controls gaitedness in horses

Image of Fleet Street taken in 2005

Trending Today

Last Journalists Exit the Birthplace of Modern News

After 300 years, Fleet Street, the London thoroughfare home to dozens of newspapers and thousands of reporters, becomes a tourist stop

Interior of the Crystal Palace peep show, 1851

Cool Finds

This Museum’s Giant Collection of Paper Peepshows Offers a Pinhole into the Past

The art pieces were created during the 19th and earth 20th centuries to celebrate coronations, world events and illustrate children’s stories

Excavations of a Dark Ages palace on the Tintagel Peninsula in Cornwall

Cool Finds

A Palace Was Unearthed Where Legend Places King Arthur’s Birthplace

Archaeologists at Tintagel uncover walls and artifacts from a Dark Ages complex likely used by local kings

A reconstruction from the 3,700-year-old remains of Ava, a woman unearthed in the Scottish Highlands

Cool Finds

Meet Ava, a Bronze Age Woman From the Scottish Highlands

A forensic artist has recreated the face of a woman alive 3,700 years ago

Cool Finds

Museum Unveils Henry VIII’s Flagship

The Mary Rose sank almost 500 years ago, but following more than 30 years of restoration, the remains of the warship are open to the public

Larry, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office

Cool Finds

10 Downing Street’s “Chief Mouser” Is Keeping His Job Despite Brexit

Larry the Cat will outlast David Cameron at the Prime Minister’s residence

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