History

A white home home underneath a large, moss-draped Southern Live Oak tree (Credit: Alamy)

The US coast that wouldn't let African culture die

Along the US's South-eastern coast, Gullah Geechee communities preserve a distinct culture and language rooted in West Africa that is spoken nowhere else on Earth.

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Six pictures black and white photos of cocker spaniels from the School for Dogs experiment. Hands wearing blue latex gloves have been edited into the picture, apparently drawing on or pointing to one the dogs with a pen, against a wider yellow background (Credit: BBC/ Serenity Strull/ The University of Chicago Press)

The forgotten experiment to create a 'super dog'

In 1940s Maine, a group of scientists built the School for Dogs, a massive facility to breed a "super-dog". Things didn't go as planned.

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Detailed black-and-white historical map of St Helier, Jersey, dated 1834 and credited to Elias Le Gros. The map shows a dense network of streets and buildings at the town centre, surrounded by fields, gardens and open land. The harbour and shoreline of St Aubin’s Bay run along the bottom edge, while Fort Regent is depicted prominently near the lower right. Decorative borders frame the map, and an ornate title cartouche in the upper-right corner reads “States of the Island of Jersey” with a compass rose beside it. Fine linework labels streets, roads, landmarks and property boundaries throughout the map.

Proposal for plaque honouring man behind early map

Elias Le Gros is possibly made the earliest accurate map of St Helier, Jersey Heritage says.

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A general view picture of the Cemetery Arch outside Reading Old Cemetery.

Quicker cemetery repairs urged by volunteer group

Reading Borough Council is evaluating quotes for the structural work to the Grade II listed arch.

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A black and white image of a WW1 soldier on a horse

Blue plaque unveiled for World War One hero

Major Fred Davenport was awarded both the Distinguished Service Order and the Military Cross.

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A head and torso shot of Mike Thrift, sitting in a living room. He has white hair and is wearing a cream jacket over a light blue shirt and is smiling broadly.

Wartime evacuee reunited with beloved Sunbeam car

Mike Thrift, 90, is taken for a spin in the vehicle that captured his imagination as a youngster.

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Portrait of King Harald Gormsson wearing a crown and holding a sceptre (Credit: Getty Images)

The Viking king who gave Bluetooth its name

A pair of ancient runestones in Jelling tell the story of the Viking king who shaped Denmark – and inspired the name Bluetooth.

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A woman with long dark hair, smiling with a letter in her hand. In the background are stairs that have been opened up so you can see underneath.

Child's hidden letter found after 44 years

Michelle Harwood had not been born when the letter was written and did not expect to find the writer.

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Benjamin Ferencz acting as the chief prosecutor during the Einsatzgruppen trial in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1947 (Credit: Alamy)

The US lawyer who put Nazis on trial at Nuremberg

On 29 September 1947, the "biggest murder trial in history" began. Seventy years on, the chief prosecutor, Ben Ferencz, told the BBC how he fought to bring 22 killers to justice.

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