Utterly interesting

On 14 November 1959, the quiet Kansas town of Holcomb was shattered when Herb Clutter, his wife Bonnie, and their two teenage children were brutally murdered in their farmhouse. Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, ex-convicts chasing a rumour of hidden cash, left no witnesses. Truman Capote later immortalised the case in In Cold Blood, but his narrative blurred fact and fiction — leaving behind a legacy of controversy as well as tragedy.

When the world slid towards chaos in the late 1930s, there were individuals who, faced with impossible choices, quietly chose to do the...

Imagine this: it’s a crisp Sunday morning in late 1973, and the usually bustling streets of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague are...

Black Bart, the gentleman bandit of California, robbed Wells Fargo stagecoaches politely and left poems—until a laundry mark exposed him in 1883.

Mary Surratt was an American boarding house owner executed in 1865 for her role in the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. She became the first woman executed by the U.S. government.

Mata Hari was born on August 7, 1876 as Margaretha “Gretha” Geertruida Zelle in the Netherlands. Since her conviction as a double agent...

Six and a half months before Adolf Hitler’s invasion of Poland, an unsettling event took place in New York City’s Madison Square Garden...

Yakov Dzhugashvili, Joseph Stalin’s eldest son, lived a life overshadowed by his father’s power. Captured during World War II, his death in a Nazi camp remains shrouded in controversy and tragedy.

Throughout history, certain figures stand as vivid reminders of an era characterised by excess and liberation. Anita Berber, an...

When we conjure up images of crime gangs, our minds often drift to Italian mobsters or Japanese Yakuza members, maybe Mexican or...

In 1915, Cecil Chubb went shopping for dining chairs and came home with Stonehenge. Discover how his impulse buy became a national treasure.

Some people juggle, some perform card tricks, and then there was Alfred Langevin—who could smoke a pipe through his eyes. A Man of Unique...

Ernest Hemingway survived through anthrax, malaria, pneumonia, dysentery, skin cancer, hepatitis, anemia, diabetes, high blood pressure,...

On 6 July 1957, a significant event occurred in the world of modern music: it was that date when John Lennon met Paul McCartney. It was...

In 1908, London saw a bizarre spectacle: duels fought not with lead but wax bullets. Competitors donned masks and armour for this “bloodless sport” that blurred the line between honour and entertainment. Discover the short life of wax bullet duelling

The concept of concentration camps is often associated with Nazi Germany, but their origins stretch deep into British history. Over the...

“Un momentito, Señor.” They were the only three words Israeli intelligence Peter Malkin knew in Spanish, but they were about to change...

Cecil Beaton had only one shoot with Marilyn Monroe, which took place at the Ambassador Hotel in New York in February 1956. The actress...

Benito Mussolini had dreamt of rebuilding the Roman Empire, but by 1945 his dreams, just like the crumbling Roman Forum, were in in...

Throughout the world, Jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald's voice is celebrated by millions. However, what's lesser known is her profound...

For over half a century, photographer Ron Galella got up close – often far too personal – with some of the world’s biggest celebrities....

Dirk Bogarde, whose real name was Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde, was serving as a captain in the British Army at the...

Julie d’Aubigny, better known as La Maupin, was a woman of remarkable contradictions. In an era when women’s roles were sharply defined...

The duel between the Duke of Wellington and the Earl of Winchilsea stands out in British history as a notable example of how personal...