About Us

The original history magazine, History Today has been published monthly in London since January 1951. Our founder was the enigmatic Brendan Bracken, Minister of Information during the Second World War, publisher of the Financial Times and faithful lieutenant of Winston Churchill. 

..in the aftermath of the war Bracken conceived the idea of starting an historical journal with a broader appeal than the academic journals of the universities. So in 1951 the Financial News Group launched History Today, edited by his former assistant Alan Hodge in partnership with Peter Quennell.

‘Love of history ran through his words,’ recalled the historian A.J.P. Taylor, who was present at the launch in Claridges and who was impressed by Bracken’s erudition as well as his commitment, which had to be honoured, to persevere with the magazine even if it did not make money at first.

From Charles Lysaght's 2002 History Today article Churchill's Faithful Chela

History Today created the concept of popular history, mixing styles, genres and periods to achieve a fusion of intellectual excitement and readability.

Essays by the world’s leading scholars, on all periods, regions and themes of history, are published. All are carefully edited and illustrated to make the magazine a pleasurable, as well as an informative, read. The depth of our archives can be explored by issue or via the search box at the top of each page.

Our sister publication, History Review, is a three-times-a-year illustrated magazine for sixth-form history students and undergraduates. It closely follows the A-level syllabuses, develops study skills and engages hungry minds.

This website includes an archive of virtually every article published by both magazines since 1980. The online archive can be accessed either through a subscription, or by purchasing a selection of online articles.

If you have any questions, please consult the FAQ page.

See who works for History Today on our Staff page. We also recommend website users refer to our Security & Data Policy and the Terms of Use.

You can ask questions, or just say hello, via the Contact form. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

We hope you enjoy our website and look forward to hearing from you!