Reference History Articles

Many historians think they don’t need to understand archaeology to understand history.

Key facts about history Our idea of history has changed over time, and has been influenced by many things.

193 - Roman emperor Pertinax was stabbed to death by his Praetorian Guard.

845 - Vikings sacked Paris, possibly led by Ragnar Lothbrok. They left after being paid 7000 livres of gold and silver.

1917 - Women were recruited for service with the British army in a non-nursing capacity for the first time.

1941 - Writer Virginia Woolf filled her pockets with stones and drowned herself in the River Ouse in Sussex.

1987 - Maria von Trapp, who provided the inspiration for The Sound of Music, died of heart failure, aged 82.

1991 - A jury returned a verdict of 'accidental death' at the inquest into the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.