Dictionary of 50,000 surnames and their origins published
Four-year study by linguists and historians of British and Irish records back to 11th century analyses family names
Alex Danchev obituary
Historian and biographer who explored the political and ethical force of art
Lost cities #4: Pompeii was preserved by disaster. Now it risks ruin all over again
The volcanic eruption that destroyed the Roman city also froze it in time – but now, 2,000 years later, it is alive with people who threaten its existence all over again
Antony Copley obituary
Other lives: Historian and campaigner who taught at universities around the world
Why you should record the stories of your parents or grandparents
The story of GR Gemin’s Italian immigrant parents moving to Wales in the 1950s has inspired his new book, Sweet Pizza. One regret: never recording the oral history of his dad before he died
Tudormania: Why can’t we get over it?
The Long Read: Our fixation with the sexy powerplays of the Tudor court shows no signs of fading. What is it about this 16th-century dynasty that still obsesses us?
Keith Jeffery obituary
Historian who wrote on the British and Irish military and chronicled the early years of MI6
Donald Weinstein obituary
Other lives: Historian in the study of the Italian Renaissance
John Blatchly obituary
Other lives: Headteacher and champion of historical activities in Suffolk
The Jewish story, the Arab story … and a plan by Mr Davies
After a trip to Israel and the West Bank, teacher Michael Davies is planning to change the way students learn about the history of the conflict
Why my alternative second world war story is from a female point of view
When Julie Mayhew was researching her book The Big Lie, which explores what would happen if the Nazis won, she discovered the stories of the women and girls including Sophie Scholl, who dared speak up against the atrocities
Russian region bans British historians’ books from schools
Authorities in Yekaterinburg tell schools to ‘prevent access’ to works by Antony Beevor and John Keegan, claiming they promote Nazi stereotypes
The best horrible history facts ever
Horrible Histories author Terry Deary and the stage-adaptor and actor Neal Foster got together to pick their all time favourite horrible history facts…
Wolf Hall is wrong: Thomas More was a funny, feminist Renaissance man
Jonathan Jones: He was a literary wit, a family man ... and a proto-feminist. Evidence that Hilary Mantel’s version of More is a travesty abounds in Hans Holbein’s revealing painting and the statesman’s own masterpiece, Utopia
Gwynne Lewis obituary
Historian whose books on the French Revolution emphasised social tensions as the root cause of the uprising