History Extra

BBC History Magazine aims to shed new light on the past to help you make more sense of the world today. Fascinating stories from contributors are the leading experts in their fields, so whether they're exploring Ancient Egypt, Tudor England or the Second World War, you'll be reading the latest, most thought-provoking historical research. BBC History Magazine brings history to life with informative, lively and entertaining features written by the world's leading historians and journalists and is a captivating read for anyone who's interested in the past.

WELCOME JULY 2026

THREE THINGS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE

THIS ISSUE'S CONTRIBUTORS

ANNIVERSARIES • DANNY BIRD highlights events that took place in July in history

Why are humans reaching for the stars – again? • The success of Artemis II signalled a renewal of the space race, with nations vying to reach and perhaps colonise celestial bodies. IAN CRAWFORD talks to Danny Bird about the history of space exploration and what it can tell us about potential future developments

MICHAEL WOOD ON… • IRAN'S ENDURING CULTURE AND BELIEFS

JFK wasn't his family's first choice to be president • The untimely death of Joe Kennedy Jr refocused his family's White House ambitions, with dramatic consequences for American politics

Women formed the engine room of the Viking world • The raiders and kings of the Viking Age were dependent on women who ran households, forged alliances and did the work that powered expansion

Churchill's ‘finest hour’ carried a hidden warning • The wartime leader's most famous phrase inspired a nation in 1940, but also hinted at a future in which such greatness might never return

The Huns wanted the Roman empire to endure • These terrifying invaders posed a serious threat – but their real power lay not in destroying the empire but in exploiting its weaknesses

HIDDEN HISTORIES

Defying dictatorship

History Extra

THE HARD ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE • The US Declaration of Independence was formally adopted on one famous day in July 1776. Yet this celebrated event was the product of years of misunderstandings and escalating tensions. On the 250th anniversary of the birth of a nation, GEORGE GOODWIN traces the evolution of one of the most consequential documents in history

DIVORCE PROCEEDINGS • The journey from Tea Party to independence

AMERICA'S CONTINENTAL RIFT • When American Patriots turned on their colonial masters in 1775, they also took aim at Britain's territories to the north. Eliga Gould traces the early history of US ambitions to incorporate Canada into the nascent nation, from the Revolutionary War to the Monroe Doctrine

What is the most inaccurate historical film? • Our team of historians, broadcasters and authors expose cinema's most spectacular departures from historical truth

The troubled birth of England • The collapse of Roman rule in Britain, followed by the emergence of kingdoms established by Germanic tribes, marks one of the most turbulent periods in Britain's history. But what factors drove this dramatic transformation? Nick Higham chronicles the rise of the Anglo-Saxons

FROM ROMAN RULE TO ANGLO-SAXON DOMINATION

“WAR MINUS THE SHOOTING” • As the 2026 World Cup gets under way, Tony Shaw and Alan McDougall revisit eight football matches played during the Cold War that turned the beautiful game into a battleground of ideology, identity and state power

Meet the Boleyns • The cultured charmer, the moneybags lord mayor, the powerful heiress, the scheming uncle. Anne's colourful family shaped the mind and character of the future queen of England, as Tracy Borman reveals

At home at Hever • The Boleyn family's manor has its own rich tale

Q&A • A...