''History Today'' is an illustrated history magazine. Published monthly in London since January 1951, it presents serious and authoritative history to as wide a public as possible. The magazine covers all periods and geographical regions and publishes articles of traditional narrative history alongside new research and

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...

. A sister publication ''History Review'', produced tri-annually until April 2012, provided information for

sixth-form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-lev ...

history students.

History

The magazine was founded after the Second World War, by

Brendan Bracken Brendan Rendall Bracken, 1st Viscount Bracken, PC (15 February 1901 – 8 August 1958) was an Irish-born businessman, politician and a minister in the British Conservative cabinet. He is best remembered for supporting Winston Churchill during ...

, former

Minister of Information An information minister (also called minister of information) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with information matters; it is often linked with censorship and propaganda. Sometimes the position is given to ...

, chairman of the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' and close associate of

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

. The magazine has been independently owned since 1981. The founding co-editors were

Peter Quennell Sir Peter Courtney Quennell (9 March 1905 – 27 October 1993) was an English biographer, literary historian, editor, essayist, poet, and critic. He wrote extensively on social history. Life Born in Bickley, Kent, the son of architect C. H ...

, a "dashing English man of letters", and

Alan Hodge Alan Hodge (16 October 1915 – 25 May 1979) was an English historian and journalist. He was a member of the circle of writers and artists that centred on Laura Riding and Robert Graves in the late 1930s, and later collaborated with Graves on '' ...

, former journalist at the ''Financial Times''. The website contains all the magazine's published content since 1951. A digital edition, available on a dedicated app, was launched in 2012 and re-released with improvements in 2015. ''History Review'' was a tri-annual sister publication of ''History Today'' magazine publishing material for sixth form level history students. The final issue of ''History Review'' was published in April 2012. The history departments of the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

and

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

recognized the magazine as a "Best in History Online pick" as "a history magazine who aims to bring serious history to a wide audience."

Editors

(January 1951–October 1979) and

(January 1951–June 1979) *

Michael Crowder Michael Crowder (9 June 1934 – 14 August 1988) was a British historian and author notable for his books on the history of Africa and particularly on the history of West Africa. Early life and education Michael was born in London and educat ...

(November 1979–July 1981) *

Michael Trend Michael St John Trend, CBE (born 19 April 1952) is a British former Conservative politician and journalist who was a member of parliament from 1992 to 2005, when he stood down after an expenses scandal. Early life He is the son of Lord Trend, ...

(August 1981–April 1982) *

Juliet Gardiner Juliet Gardiner (born 24 June 1943) is a British historian and a commentator on British social history from Victorian times through to the 1950s. She is a former editor of ''History Today'' magazine, a Research Fellow at the Institute of Histor ...

(May 1982– August 1985) *

Gordon Marsden Gordon Marsden (born 28 November 1953) is a Labour Party (UK), British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament for Blackpool South (UK Parliament constituency), Blackpool South from 1 ...

(September 1985–October 1997) * Peter Furtado (January 1998–August 2008) * Paul Lay (January 2009–January 2022) * Rhys Griffiths and Kate Wiles (July 2022–present)

Awards

Since 1997, The Longman-''History Today'' Charitable Trust has held an annual awards ceremony at which presentations are made to those that have fostered a wider understanding of, and enthusiasm for, history. The main prize in the Longman-''History Today'' Awards is for Book of the Year, given for an author’s first or second history book. Since 2003, a prize for an undergraduate dissertation has been presented in association with the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

. The Trustees' Award is presented to a person or organisation that has made a major contribution to history. Past winners of the Trustees' Award include Professor

David Olusoga David Adetayo Olusoga (born January 1970) is a British historian, writer, broadcaster, presenter and film-maker. He is Professor of Public History at the University of Manchester. He has presented historical documentaries on the BBC and contribu ...

References

External links

*{{Official website, https://www.historytoday.com 1951 establishments in the United Kingdom History magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1951 Magazines published in London Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom