A Stunning John Constable Sketch That Hadn’t Previously Been Recorded in the Literature Is Heading to Auction
Experts think the early 19th-century artwork could be an early draft of the British painter’s “View of Dedham Vale From East Bergholt”
How Guy Fawkes, Figurehead of the Gunpowder Plot, Avoided the Full Horrors of Execution by Hanging, Drawing and Quartering
The Catholic conspirator jumped or fell from the gallows on this day in 1606, breaking his neck before the executioner could cut him down from the noose and disembowel him
See the Stunning Ancient Roman Statue of Athena That’s Going on View for the First Time in Nearly 260 Years
After spending centuries on a British aristocrat’s estate in North Yorkshire, the marble masterpiece will be unveiled in Chicago’s Wrightwood 659 gallery later this week
Climate Activists Spray-Paint Warning on Charles Darwin’s Grave
The two protesters hoped to draw attention to reports that global temperatures in 2024 exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels for the first time
Ten Must-See Museums Opening Around the World in 2025
New institutions dedicated to artificial intelligence, West African art, barbeque and more are expected to welcome visitors this year
Construction Workers Discover Ancient Stone Coffin Filled With Plaster While Expanding Highway in England
The intricately crafted coffin dates back more than 1,500 years. Researchers say it weighs around 1,650 pounds, “comparable to an adult male polar bear”
A Quarry Worker Felt Strange Bumps While Digging. They Turned Out to Be the Largest Dinosaur Trackway in the U.K.
The five sets of tracks represent four-legged sauropods and a three-toed carnivore that might have crossed paths on a prehistoric landscape
On This Day in 1785, Two Men Braved Death When They Flew Across the English Channel in a Balloon
Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries’ harrowing journey was the first aerial crossing between France and Britain
Archaeologists Unearth Early Medieval Sword Engraved With Mysterious Runes in a Cemetery in England
Dating to the fifth and sixth centuries C.E., the burials held a trove of grave goods—but the team was particularly impressed by the sword, which was covered in intricate decorations
Once Feared Extinct, 1,329 Pea-Sized Snails Have Been Released on an Atlantic Island After Captive Breeding Effort
Goats, rodents and habitat loss threatened the snails on Deserta Grande Island, so the mollusks were reintroduced on a neighboring island that’s free of invasive species
Ancient Britons May Have Built Stonehenge to Symbolize Unity
The monument was built during a period of immigration from mainland Europe, and it may been intended to unify communities across the British Isles
In 1577, an English Explorer Set Out to Circumnavigate the World. Here’s What His Groundbreaking Journey Accomplished
Francis Drake’s successful voyage included British sailors’ arrival in California and the plundering of a glut of Spanish riches that sustained Elizabeth I’s empire
When a British King Stunned the Royal Family by Abdicating the Throne to Marry a Divorced American Socialite
Scandal dogged Edward VIII, a suspected Nazi sympathizer, even after he relinquished his crown to marry Wallis Simpson, the woman he loved
This Peculiar Painting From the Experimental Mannerist Movement Is Back on Display After a Stunning Ten-Year Restoration
Parmigianino painted St. Jerome asleep on the ground in his 16th-century altarpiece—a choice that’s still puzzling experts five centuries later
Chaotic Traffic From Horse-Drawn Carriages Inspired the World’s First Traffic Lights
Initial reactions to the signal, installed in London on this day in 1868, were mixed. Then, a freak accident scrapped the project entirely after just a month
A Woman Appeared on the English Stage for the First Time on This Day in 1660, Transforming the World of Theater Forever
Despite this historic first, the identity of the first professional English actress on stage remains a theatrical mystery
Visitors Can See the View From Henry I’s Tower at Corfe Castle for the First Time in Nearly Four Centuries
Located in southern England, the king’s quarters haven’t been open to the public since the castle’s destruction during the English Civil War in the 1640s
A Little Boy Found a Strange Stone on the Beach. Archaeologists Told Him It Was a Neanderthal’s Hand Ax
The artifact is now on display at a museum in southern England. Experts say the find is “so rare that most qualified archaeologists would never find one themselves”
How ‘Blackbirders’ Forced Tens of Thousands of Pacific Islanders Into Slavery After the Civil War
The decline of the American South’s cotton and sugar industries paved the way for plantations in British-controlled Fiji and Australia, where victims of “blackbirding” endured horrific working conditions
This Mysterious Gold Pendant Featuring a Misspelled Inscription Is an Early Medieval Imitation of a Roman Coin
A metal detectorist in England discovered the unusual piece of jewelry, which was likely made in the late fifth or early sixth century C.E.
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