In August 1922, Irish revolutionary leader Michael Collins was killed in an ambush at Béal na Bláth during the Civil War. His assassination shocked the nation, cutting short the life of one of Ireland’s most influential figures at a pivotal moment in its history.

A whiskey heir. A brutal expedition. A child murdered before a crowd. James Jameson’s Congo diary and the disputed sketches from Riba Riba still shock today. What did he pay for What did he witness And why did no one act Read the story behind the scandal that shadowed an era.

At sunrise on August 14, 1936, somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 people crowded a vacant lot in Owensboro, Kentucky to watch a 22 year old Black man named Rainey Bethea hang. It's remembered today as the last public execution in American history, but that headline barely scratches the surface of what actually happened that morning. There was a rape charge chosen specifically because it carried a public hanging instead of a private electrocution. There was a sheriff who neve

On the morning of 12 August 1895, at Invercargill Gaol, a woman walked with measured steps towards the gallows. She cast a glance at the executioner, her lips pressed together in quiet defiance. When asked if she had any last words, she simply declared, 'I have nothing to express except my innocence.' Moments later, the trapdoor beneath her feet opened, and Minnie Dean became the only woman ever executed in New Zealand.

Lizzie Borden walked free in 1892, but six other people had means, motive or opportunity. Here's the evidence the jury never fully weighed.

Most people who get a walk-on role in the fall of the Romanovs stay a walk-on role. Maria Rasputin didn't get that choice. She was Grigori Rasputin's eldest surviving daughter, she may have had to identify his mutilated body in 1916, and by the time she died in Los Angeles sixty-one years later she'd worked as a cabaret dancer, a circus lion tamer mauled by a bear mid-performance, a wartime shipyard riveter and, more than once, a woman formally investigated as a suspected com

"I have always loved your son, and I shall die still loving him." On a quiet summer morning in 1955, Ruth Ellis stepped through the doors of Holloway Prison for the last time. Just minutes later, she became the last woman to be hanged in Britain. Her crime was shocking—a point-blank shooting of her lover, David Blakely, outside a Hampstead pub. But what really grabbed the public’s attention was everything that came after: the trial, the headlines, and the growing sense that t

Ken Rex McElroy terrorised Skidmore, Missouri for two decades, beat 20 criminal charges, then was shot dead in front of 46 witnesses. Nobody saw a thing. The full story.

Before Paris sped up, Eugène Atget walked it slowly. With a wooden camera and endless patience, he recorded shop windows, empty streets, and everyday lives that modernity was about to erase. A quiet archive of a city in transition.

Roy Sullivan survived seven recorded lightning strikes, more than anyone in history, only to die alone after years of being shunned by people who feared he attracted storms.

I'm a little late to the party but I'm a big fan of Jessica Harrison 's take on the traditional porcelain doll. We all remember them. Maybe perched on your nan’s mantlepiece, or lined up behind the glass in your local charity shop, those prim little porcelain ladies, frozen mid-curtsy, eternally rosy-cheeked and sweet as sugar. Innocuous. Old-fashioned. Harmless. Until artist Jessica Harrison gets hold of them. In her series Broken , Harrison takes these mass-produced figurin

Cleopatra VII, the last reigning pharaoh of Egypt, was determined to continue the ancient Egyptian custom of passing power from parent to child. Her son, Caesarion, born from her relationship with the Roman general Julius Caesar, became the focus of her ambition. Cleopatra envisioned Caesarion as her successor, intending for him to rule Egypt and continue her dynasty’s legacy. However, the complex politics of Rome, especially the ambitions of Caesarion's adoptive brother, Oct

A rare photo of Thomson himself with two Manchu soldiers in Xiamen in 1871 In the mid-19th century, photography was still in its infancy, and images of distant lands were rare and inaccessible to most people. Few Westerners had ventured far into China, and those who had were among a privileged minority. It was during this time that John Thomson , a Scottish photographer, embarked on a journey that would not only capture the people and landscapes of China but also bring these

The death of two-year-old Caylee Anthony from Orlando, Florida, back in 2008, still stirs strong feelings and curiosity even now, more...

Medgar Evers was shot dead in his driveway in 1963. His killer bragged about it for decades. The state of Mississippi helped him walk free. It took 30 years to get justice. The full story.

In September 1956, a young John Lennon took home a dismal report card–the kind that many smart, wayward kids can probably relate to. French teacher: “An intelligent boy who could be very much better with a little concentration in class.” Maths teacher: “He is certainly on the road to failure if this goes on.” Physics teacher: “His work always lacks effort. He is content to ‘drift’ instead of using his abilities.” Religion teacher: “Attitude in class most unsatisfactory.” Hea

Nestled on the eastern coast of Cyprus lies Varosha, an eerily silent testament to a bygone era of glamour and geopolitical upheaval. This once-thriving resort town, part of the Famagusta district, has stood abandoned for nearly half a century, encapsulating a poignant chapter in the island's tumultuous history. To the discerning eye, Varosha is more than just an empty shell; it is a symbol of the enduring complexities between the Greek Cypriot community and Turkey. The Rise

Alan Turing cracked Enigma, invented modern computing, and helped shorten World War II. Then the British state chemically castrated him for being gay. This is his full story.

Known as "the wickedest city on earth," Port Royal, Jamaica evokes images of pirates, naval battles, plunder, wealth, and destruction. Its history is marked by rapid growth, establishing itself as a key trading hub in the New World. However, its prosperity came to a sudden end on June 7, 1692, when an earthquake struck, causing two-thirds of the town to sink into the sea. Subsequent fires and hurricanes further devastated the town, leading to its decline. Port Royal eventuall

In June 1989, Chinese troops opened fire on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing. Here's what really happened during the Tiananmen Square massacre, from the Goddess of Democracy to Tank Man and the death toll China won't acknowledge.

Victor Lustig was a master of deception, infamous for his bold scams that spanned Europe and the United States in the early 20th century. Born in Hostinné, Bohemia, when it was part of Austria-Hungary, Lustig’s life was defined by cleverness, charm, and a remarkable criminal mind. He became most famous for selling the Eiffel Tower not just once, but twice, and for devising the notorious “Rumanian Box” scam. His name endures as one of history’s most skilful fraudsters. Early L

Everyone knows Thomas Edison, the prolific inventor behind the phonograph and the electric light bulb, but what you might not know is that he also had a knack for ideas that never quite took off. Across his lifetime, Edison held more than 2,300 patents worldwide. While some changed the course of history, others quietly disappeared, lost to time or doomed from the start. One such misstep was the eerie and ill-fated Edison Talking Doll. Embedded in each doll's tin torso was a m

On 10th April, 1834, a fire in a grand New Orleans mansion exposed a hidden horror. The story of Delphine LaLaurie is part history, part folklore, and remains one of the city’s most unsettling chapters.