John F. Kennedy’s closest friend was not a politician or adviser but Lem Billings, a constant presence from prep school to the White House. Their intense bond, long shadowed by rumours, reveals how personal loyalty shaped life inside Camelot.

Charlie Chaplin, the eternal Little Tramp, had audiences rolling in the aisles for decades. His physical comedy crossed borders, class lines and languages, leaving the world a little lighter for it. Yet there was nothing remotely amusing about what befell Chaplin’s remains after he bowed out for good. If ever a man could be said to have turned in his grave, it was Chaplin — or rather, two desperate men turned him, quite literally. A Quiet Life in Switzerland Having spent much

Roger Tichborne (left) The man claiming to be him (right) The Tichborne Claimant case has everything you’d want from a Victorian...

Roberta Haynes and Cary Grant both attended Dr. Mortimer Hartman’s LSD therapy sessions. When we think of the ever-poised Cary Grant, that velvet-voiced paragon of charm and refinement, we picture him dodging crop dusters in North by Northwest, or suavely trading banter with Katharine Hepburn and Audrey Hepburn alike. What we don’t picture (at least not immediately) is Cary Grant, eyes closed, lying on a therapist’s couch in Beverly Hills while deep in the throes of a psyched

William Poole, aka Bill the Butcher, led the Bowery Boys in mid-1800s New York, fought Irish immigrants in the streets, and died with a bullet in his heart saying "I die a true American." The real story behind the Daniel Day-Lewis character.

Discover the extraordinary life of Peter Freuchen, the towering Danish explorer who survived an ice cave with a frozen dagger, hunted polar bears, resisted the Nazis and became a game show champion. A remarkable story of adventure, resilience and survival.

In the age of chivalry, monasteries and monarchs, land was rarely handed out lightly. Yet in 12th-century England, one rather singular individual managed to secure a manor and a substantial stretch of Suffolk countryside not through valour in battle or ecclesiastical service, but by passing wind on command. Roland le Petour, remembered to history as Roland the Farter, held his land from the king in exchange for one performance a year: a jump, a whistle and a fart, delivered b

Charles Harrelson was a contract killer, convicted of assassinating a federal judge and linked to the JFK conspiracy. He was also Woody Harrelson's dad.

On the 7th February 1991, the IRA fired three mortars over Whitehall during a Gulf War Cabinet meeting. One exploded in Downing Street’s garden, narrowly missing the Prime Minister and senior ministers. A detailed look at the attack and its aftermath.

Leopold II reigned as King of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909 and established the Congo Free State in order to seize vast quantities of ivory and rubber. Belgium may not be the first European country that most people think of when they hear the words “blood-soaked colonial tyranny.” Historically, the little country has always been more famous for beer and chocolate than epic crimes against humanity. During the zenith of European imperialism in Africa, a historical period marke

A painting like this is bound to draw anyone in, and also arouse some questions in regard to it's back story. What makes it even more fascinating is that the pale breasts, framed by swirling fabric, were painted by the artist herself, Sarah Goodridge, an accomplished miniaturist born in 1788, on a small ivory plate. The intrigue deepens when you find out that, in 1828, Goodridge sent this particular miniature, carefully enclosed in a leather case with two clasps, to the newly

Being gay and black in the deep south during the 1950s may sound like a recipe for disaster, but not so much for Little Richard. Innovative, extravagant, and eccentric—Little Richard embodied these qualities and more. Beyond his electrifying performances, the late legend led a life characterized by a whirlwind of experiences, including indulgence in sex, drugs, spirituality, and acts of generosity. He exuded a blend of audacity, charm, and kindness that transcended the piano

Behold a curious relic from the 1890s: a photo album without a title but brimming with an unexpected treasure trove of self-defence techniques. Imagine two impeccably dressed Victorian gentlemen locking horns in a series of dramatic tableaux—one moment sternly glaring at each other, the next mid-chokehold, or engaged in an arm-twisting tango. It’s both instructional and unintentionally comedic. Each double-page spread in this enigmatic manual captures a “before and after” seq

After Eva Perón died in 1952, her embalmed corpse spent 20 years being hidden, stabbed, urinated on, and buried in Milan under a false name. Then Juan Perón kept it on his dining room table. Here's the full story.

The Daily Mail did not merely misjudge fascism in the 1930s. It promoted it. From “Hurrah for the Blackshirts” to praising Hitler, this is how Britain’s most powerful newspaper embraced authoritarianism.

Meet Timothy Dexter — the poor tanner who became an accidental millionaire, sold coal to Newcastle, and faked his own funeral just to see who cared. America’s most eccentric businessman turned luck, ego, and chaos into legend.

Salvador Dalí was never one to shy away from pushing boundaries. Whether it was his surrealist paintings, sculptures, photography, films, or even his quirky foray into jewellery design, his creativity seemed limitless. Yet, one of the lesser-known aspects of Dalí’s prolific career is his unexpected—and surprisingly traditional—contribution to holiday culture: Christmas card illustrations. For an artist so associated with avant-garde and eccentric works, this venture might see

The kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr. on 08/12/1963 was one of the strangest crimes of the 1960s. Just weeks after JFK’s assassination, three amateur kidnappers abducted the young singer in Lake Tahoe, triggering a frantic national investigation. Here is the full story.

A detailed and engaging look at the 1949 Posēs adhesive bra, the bold invention by Charles L. Langs that promised strapless freedom, revealed unexpected complications, and quickly disappeared from fashion history.

It is almost impossible to listen to a Bob Marley song and picture the man ducking bullets in his own home. Yet that’s precisely what happened one tense December evening in 1976, when political rivalry, foreign meddling, and Marley’s immense influence on the streets of Kingston collided in a hail of gunfire at 56 Hope Road. Kingston on Edge To understand how Bob Marley, a prophet of peace, ended up a target, you have to picture mid-1970s Kingston. It was less a city and more

London Nomades, by John Thomson, in Victorian London Street Life (1877). Mary Pratt is sat on the steps of the caravan. Police Constable Charles Shelton from the Metropolitan Police made his way to 40 Kent Street during the early hours of Thursday, November 16th, 1876. Situated in one of the most impoverished areas of the Borough, Kent Street was bustling with street vendors, market traders, gypsies, nomads, and thieves. Not far away was the notorious Mint Street, famed as t

The FBI sketch of D.B. Cooper It all started on a grey Wednesday afternoon—24 November 1971—when a man walked into the Portland...

A bacteriological experiment being conducted on a test subject in Nong’an County of northeast China’s Jilin Province by Unit 731 personnel. November 1940. Officially known as the Epidemic Prevention and Water Purification Department of the Kwantung Army, Unit 731 was a covert biological and chemical warfare research and development unit of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Located in the Pingfang district of Harbin, in the puppet state of Manchukuo (now Northeas