People Who Made History

People Who Made History

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People Who Made History
  • Alan Turing: The Pride of Manchester

    A special film exploring the life and legacy of Alan Turing - genius pioneer of modern computing. With Alan's nephew Sir Dermot Turing and exclusive access to unseen family records, we investigate lesser known aspects of his incredible work. This story is rooted in the City of Manchester, home t...

  • The Man Who Volunteered for Auschwitz

    In 1940 the Polish resistance decided it needed to send an agent to Auschwitz concentration camp. They were desperate to find out what was going on in a place that even by that stage of the war had an evil reputation. Historian Jack Fairweather tells the story of Witold Pilecki the Pole who volun...

  • Alexander the Great in Egypt

    History Hit's Tristan Hughes travels to Egypt to explore its extraordinary links to one of the most famous names from antiquity, Alexander the Great. Of all the lands in the Eastern Mediterranean, it is Egypt that has the most fascinating - and enduring - connection to this ancient conqueror.

    I...

  • 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...

  • Fire and Blood: Boudica's Vengeance

    In 60 AD, the fledgling Roman town of Colchester witnessed ancient Armageddon. Thousands of British warriors descended on the settlement, turning what was then the capital of Roman Britain to ash. At the head of these attackers was one of the most well-known figures in British history - the warri...

  • The Road to the Crown - Elizabeth I's Coronation Procession

    On January 14th 1559 one of the most extraordinary royal parades of Tudor England made its way through the heart of London. It was the Coronation Procession of Queen Elizabeth I.

    In this special History Hit film, made to coincide with the coronation of King Charles III, royal historian Tracy B...

  • The House of Byron

    Emily Brand has written a brilliant book about the Byrons. Not just the great romantic, poet and adventurer, George Gordon Byron, but his parents and grandparents who are equally as deserving of our attention. Dan loved this opportunity to delve into 18th century British life. There are admirals,...

  • Tutankhamun: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh

    Tutankhamun, 'The Boy King' of Ancient Egypt, is one of history's most famous names. Though his short reign proved fairly-insignificant, his legacy lives on thanks to Howard Carter's discovery of his magnificent tomb in 1922. Now, as the centenary of Carter's discovery creeps ever nearer, many of...

  • Looking for Victoria

    1 season

    Prunella Scales researches the life of Queen Victoria and interviews historians to help her with her portrayal of Queen Victoria in her one-woman stage show "An Evening with Queen Victoria". She also portrays Queen Victoria in the historical reconstructions in this programme and reads from Queen ...

  • The Roman Emperors: With Mary Beard

    Classicist and national treasure Mary Beard speaks to Dan about Ancient Rome and its emperors.

  • Buffalo Bill: The Man Behind the Legend

    Buffalo Bill was America’s first celebrity… and the most famous man in the world at the turn of the 20th century.

    He was a former scout, soldier, Buffalo hunter…but what he’s most known for of course, is his showmanship. He vied with PT Barnum for the title of greatest showman on earth.

    At the ...

  • Sir Thomas More - Not Just the Tudors... Lates

    How far would you go to save your immortal soul?’

    This is the question that plagued Tudor High Chancellor, Sir Thomas More. Lawyer, philosophiser, and advisor to Henry VIII, when the court turned on its head at the arrival of Anne Boleyn. Hounded by prolific characters like Thomas Cromwell, his ...

  • Queen Victoria at Kensington Palace with Lucy Worsley

    BAFTA winning historian and Joint Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces Lucy Worsley takes Dan on a tour of Kensington Palace, one of the principle royal residences since 1689. It was the childhood home of Queen Victoria who was born on the 24 May 1819. The rooms of the royal residence are bein...

  • Anne Boleyn and Katherine of Aragon - Brilliant Rivals

    Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn - the first two wives of Henry VIII - are so often portrayed as opposites. Katherine as the loyal, scorned wife - Anne as the bright, bewitching upstart.

    But now Prof. Suzannah Lipscomb returns to Hever Castle to explore what Anne and Katherine were really l...

  • Mary Ellis: Touching the Sky

    During the years of World War Two, a short lived, but remarkable, organisation existed. The Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) was a civilian service that was tasked with the delivery of aircraft from factories to the squadrons of the RAF and Royal Navy, and the delivery of supplies. Featuring pilots ...

  • Rollo the Viking: From Exile to Conqueror

    You’re probably familiar with Rollo, a main character of the series Vikings. But did you know that he is based on a real-life Viking leader: Rollo?

    After years of inquiry, based on a manuscript, you’ll discover, thanks to experts and re-enactments, the epic tale of this forgotten hero, ancestor ...

  • The Polish Pilots Who Fought for Britain

    In the summer of 1940 Britain fought a battle for survival against the might of Hitler’s Luftwaffe. This Battle of Britain would see German air attacks on British airfields, cities, factories and docks. Brave RAF pilots intercepted these raids, but Britain was not alone. Among the RAF and Allied ...

  • The Making of Wellington

    1 season

    Mike Loades explores Wellington's surprising ascension during the Napoleonic Wars - by tracing his impact in Portugal and immersing himself in the locations that still bear the evidence of efforts to repel Naopleon's invasion.

  • 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...

  • Dynasties: Families that Changed the World

    0 seasons

    This documentary explores powerful families in different spheres of influence that have had an impact either directly or indirectly on the lives of others. How and why did they attain and maintain these positions over generations?

  • Shackleton: The Story of Endurance

    1 season

    This 3-part documentary celebrates an explorer who failed in everything he set out to do, but whose toughness, courage and leadership made him a legend: Sir Ernest Shackleton.

  • The Complete History Of Vladimir Putin's Rise To Power

    Vladimir Putin is the modern face of dictatorship, rising out of the ashes of the chaotic Yeltsin years. In the 90's, Putin was a relatively unknown figure would go on to occupy an untouchable position in a country spanning 11 timezones. We delve inside the twisted mind of Vladimir Putin.

  • The Life of Churchill's Cook

    Annie Gray's latest project is a biography of the woman who cooked for Churchill. Georgina Landemare was one of the few people able to cope with the demands, eccentricities and public nudity that came with working for the Churchills. Where all the other servants came and went fairly rapidly, she ...

  • Medieval Kings

    1 season

    A biography on each of the Medieval Kings