Jonathan Gordon

2 weeks ago | historyanswers.co.uk | Jonathan Gordon

It didn’t have to be the Tudors. This noble house had its ties to the throne, going back to Edward III, but that was the best it could do. Theirs was not a claim that could be backed by lineage; only on the battlefield. And yet, getting to the stage where Henry Tudor could lead an army against Richard III at Bosworth Field was a task in itself. The role of his mother, Margaret Beaufort, in this endeavour cannot be understated. This was a woman on a mission to see her son on the throne of England.

1 month ago | theweek.com | Jonathan Gordon

This article and interview originally appeared in All About History magazine issue 96. "The Sword And The Shield" by Dr Peniel E Joseph is available from Basic Books. They didn't hold high public office, they didn't fight wars and they didn't possess vast wealth and riches. Yet, Dr Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X still managed to become two of the most iconic figures of the 20th century.

1 month ago | historyanswers.co.uk | Jonathan Gordon

Just how bad was Nero, really? That’s the simple question we wanted to find an answer to in our new issue. Did he really play his fiddle as Rome burned? Was he as hated by his subjects as he seems to have been by the senators and aristocrats of the empire? Was he guilty of the many horrible killings and humiliations that he’s accused of? As with so much of history, the answers paints a picture of a more complex and challenging figure than you might first expect.

2 months ago | historyanswers.co.uk | Jonathan Gordon

What did it feel like when the war in Europe came to an end in 1945? That was the question we wanted to answer with our 80th anniversary cover feature in All About History 155, available from today. We scoured the archives and personal recollections of people who witnessed it first hand, from children having to share the event with their birthday to soldiers enviously watching the celebrations from afar.

Mar 20, 2025 | historyanswers.co.uk | Jonathan Gordon

Like many growing up I learnt about the ancient Egyptians in school and was taught about the two crowns of Egypt. The confusingly arranged Upper Egypt (in the south) and Lower Egypt (in the north) had the Hedjet and Deshret respectively and when the two kingdoms were combined, the crowns were merged to become the double crown, known as the Pschent. What I don’t recall being taught about is which pharaoh actually did the merging.