People Who Made History
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The Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher with Charles Moore
Charles Moore discusses the legacy of Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady: where she succeeded, where she failed and why she still matters today.
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Hatshepsut: She Who Would Be King
Hatshepsut – whose name means “foremost of noblewomen” – was an exceptional figure in the history of Ancient Egypt. Only the second woman in history to assume the title of pharaoh, during her reign she oversaw the building of monumental temples, established trade connections with far away African...
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A Georgian Trailblazer! The Amazing Life of Charles Ignatius Sancho
Join Paterson Joseph, actor (‘Boat Story’, ‘Wonka’) and author (‘The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho’), in this special History Hit film as he takes us on a fascinating journey through 18th century London, discovering the life, loves and losses of a truly remarkable man.
Georgian Londo...
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Death in the Parsonage: The Brontës
The Brontë family created some of the world's most passionate and enduring novels, yet their lives were shadowed by tragedy.
Dr Maddy Pelling and Dr Anthony Delaney challenge the romantic myths surrounding the family, tracing the harsh reality of their lives in 19th-century Haworth—a crowded Yor...
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Eleanor of Aquitaine: England's Royal Matriarch
Eleanor of Aquitaine is at least as responsible for the vast empire of the Plantagenets as her more celebrated husband, Henry II. Sara Cockerill has written a wonderful biography of Eleanor, placing her back at the centre of English medieval history where she belongs. Sara and Dan discuss her lon...
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Sir Joseph Banks: Pioneer of British Botany
‘Dictator of British Botany’. ‘Autocrat of the Philosophers’. Sir Joseph Banks has been called many things over the past few centuries. A towering figure in the development of British botany and British natural history during the 18th century, he voyaged across the World with famous navigators su...
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Painting Elizabeth: Creating a Royal Legend
Elizabeth I is one of the most iconic figures from British history - her image can be recognised in an instant. But this was no mistake, for Elizabeth’s portraits were an audacious act of spin to cement her image of female majesty. In this documentary Dr Nicola Tallis and Prof Anna Whitelock take...
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Gandhi
1 season
The first definitive series on the life of Gandhi, examining his relationship with his wife, his controversial views on race and his role on the path to Indian independence. On the world stage, Martin Luther King, the Dalai Lama and a myriad of peace movements have marched in Gandhi's footsteps. ...
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Britain's Wild West: Discovering Hay Castle
The peaceful South Wales town of Hay-on-Wye offers few clues today of its brutal past on a violent frontier. A monument to this history can be found in Hay Castle. Once right on the border between England and Wales, it sits in a region densely packed with castles that saw border skirmishes and bi...
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Rise of Caesar
Julius Caesar lived a dramatic life filled with battles, conspiracies and unparalleled ambition. He sits amongst the greatest military leaders of all time but what made him cross the Rubicon and march on his own city, Rome? This documentary reveals the truth behind the legend.
Historians Adrian...
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Tutankhamun: A Century of Discovery
On November 4th 1922 a breathless archaeologist, who had spent his life working in Egypt, wrote a hurried diary entry: “First steps of Tomb Found”. This was the very moment that Howard Carter found the entrance to the tomb of Tutankhamun.
In this very special film, shot in Egypt and England, Dan...
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Rise of Cleopatra
In this film three leading Egyptologists explore how Cleopatra became one of the most influential and powerful women of the ancient world.
We trace how Cleopatra's learning and intelligence enabled her to gain control of her own Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt; skilfully and ruthlessly overcoming her...
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Queen Victoria and Her Nine Children
1 season
This is the story of Queen Victoria - a widow in mourning who had to raise her nine children on a very public stage.
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were an unusually devoted couple with strong ideas about the role of the Royal Family. But when Albert died, Queen Victoria was left a single (car...
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Simon Sebag Montefiore on Stalin
How did a young boy from Georgia become a merciless politician who shaped the Soviet Empire in his own brutal image? Historian and bestselling author, Simon Sebag Montifiore talks to Dan about the rise of Joseph Stalin, a man who caused the death and suffering of tens of millions under his regime...
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Hitler: The Rise to Power
In the 1930s Germany, one of the World's richest, most technologically-developed and culturally-sophisticated countries, was transformed into an extreme authoritarian state under its dictator Adolf Hitler. His unbridled ambition would plunge the World into a war bloodier and more destructive than...
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Giants of Art
1 season
A ground-breaking three-part documentary series that dedicates each episode to an extraordinary artist – Michelangelo, Rembrandt van Rijn, and Vincent van Gogh.
Discover the men behind the genius, and how their lives were shaped by their artistic talent. From the rebellious Michelangelo and his ...
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A Voice for Richard
Imagine if we could hear one of the most fascinating figures from history speak again.
In this special film, Richard III expert Matthew Lewis follows a remarkable project to give Richard III back his voice and to hear and see him speak again. Forget the words put into his mouth by Shakespeare a...
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Rebels: Owain Glyndŵr
In the second part of his new series, conflict analyst Professor Michael Livingston is continuing his journey across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom on the trail of some of Britain’s best known rebels.
In this episode Michael is heading to Wales to discover the astonishing story of ...
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The Rise of Hitler
Professor Frank McDonough has just written a monumental history of the Third Reich. He is a world leading expert on the domestic side of Hitler's Germany. In this filmed podcast Dan asks Frank why and how Hitler was able to establish and sustain his rule within Germany.
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The Lady with the Lamp: The Florence Nightingale Museum
Alice Loxton pays a visit to The Florence Nightingale Museum to unveil the true story of the Lady with the Lamp. Joined by David Green and Amber Lickerish, she learns how Nightingale broke through the restrictions of Victorian convention, laid the foundations for modern nursing, and tirelessly ca...