''BBC History'' is a British magazine devoted to both British and world history, and aimed at readers of all levels of knowledge and interest. There are thirteen issues a year, one each month and a Christmas special. The magazine is published, under licence from the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, by the

Immediate Media Company Immediate Media Company Limited (with IMMEDIATE styled in all uppercase as its logo) is a British multinational publishing house that produces a wide range of magazine titles, including ''Radio Times, BBC Top Gear, Good Food'' and many others ...

. ''BBC History'' is the biggest-selling history magazine in the UK. The magazine contains topical features, often aligned with programmes being broadcast on

Radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

Television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and written by academic historians, as well as historical analysis of news events and comparisons with similar previous events, reviews of new books and media, and features on significant locations in history.

History

''BBC History'' was launched in May 2000 by BBC Magazines, with Greg Neale, an experienced journalist and history graduate, as editor. In February 2004 its parent company BBC Worldwide acquired Origin Publishing, which had published the rival ''

Living History Magazine ''Living History'' was a monthly history magazine launched in April 2003 by Origin Publishing in the United Kingdom. The magazine was devoted entirely to British history. As the name implied it was intended to encourage readers to get out and s ...

'' since April 2003. ''Living History Magazine'' was then incorporated into ''BBC History'' and its former editor Dave Musgrove, a journalist with a doctorate in medieval archaeology, became editor of ''BBC History''. Following the merger the magazine increased its sales and subscriptions. In March 2010 ''BBC Historia'' was launched through a partnership with the Spanish publishers Ediciones Nobel. In March 2011 the Hungarian edition, retaining the English title, was launched by the Hungarian publisher Kossuth Kiadó; it features articles by Hungarian historians in addition to items translated from English. In August 2022, after a four-month hiatus, a different publisher, Kocsis Kiadó Zrt., managed by András Sándor Kocsis, formerly at Kossuth Kiadó, started to publish the magazine. A Greek edition was launched in December 2020. From 2001 through 2012, the main BBC website also included tie-materials, in the form of historical articles and topic summaries, at BBC.co.uk/history (which was later redirected to an index of BBC's historically themed television offerings).

In the news

In January 2006 the magazine's list of the "ten worst Britons" was widely reported, and in April 2006 its report of a poll in which the day

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...

was signed was chosen as a suitable day for a celebration of "Britishness" also attracted unusual attention, to the ire of some in Scotland. In August 2006 a feature on the "best

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pri ...

" hit the headlines. In 2008 some newspapers picked up on a piece by Dave Musgrove asking whether it might be time to have the

Bayeux Tapestry The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidery, embroidered cloth nearly long and tall that depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest, Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William the Conqueror, William, Duke of Normandy challenging H ...

brought over from France for an exhibition. In November 2009 the ''

Today Programme ''Today'', colloquially known as ''the Today programme'', is BBC Radio 4's long-running morning news and current-affairs radio programme. Broadcast on Monday to Saturday from 06:00 to 09:00 (starting on Saturday at 07:00), it is produced by BB ...

'' on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

reported on a story in the magazine about when history ends and current affairs begin.

Advisory board

The magazine once had an advisory board of historians including * Richard Evans *

Ian Kershaw Sir Ian Kershaw (born 29 April 1943) is an English historian whose work has chiefly focused on the social history of 20th-century Germany. He is regarded by many as one of the world's foremost experts on Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, and is ...

Kenneth O Morgan Kenneth Owen Morgan, Baron Morgan, (born 16 May 1934) is a Welsh historian and author, known especially for his writings on modern British history and politics and on Welsh history. He is a regular reviewer and broadcaster on radio and telev ...

Laurence Rees Laurence Rees (born 1957) is an English historian. He is a BAFTA winning historical documentary filmmaker and a British Book Award winning author of several books about Adolf Hitler, the Nazis and the atrocities committed, especially by them, d ...

Simon Schama Sir Simon Michael Schama ( ; born 13 February 1945) is an English historian and television presenter. He specialises in art history, Dutch history, Jewish history, and French history. He is a professor of history and art history at Columbia Uni ...

Podcast

In June 2007 the magazine launched the first of its podcasts featuring interviews with leading historians.BBC History Magazine podcast
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References

External links

BBC ''History'' Magazine website

Origin Publishing website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bbc History 2000 establishments in the United Kingdom

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...