Individuals

The 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta has attracted plenty of attention this year, and it has made clear that its value lies in a living tradition.  By a neat coincidence this year

March 5th marks the 200th anniversary of the death of Franz Anton Mesmer, the man who brought the world psychoanalysis, despite his very best efforts. Oh, and the glass harmonica. Mesmer was born in Austria

I recently came across the ‘Punkabbestia’ movement, a group of people who reject contemporary society and live a life of voluntary poverty. This is the Italian version of the ‘Gutter Punks’ that can be found

Last Sunday, in something of a PR coup, Pope Francis I carried out an ‘unprecedented’ canonisation ceremony for not just one, but two popes, John XXIII (pope 1958-63) and the rather-better-known John Paul II (pope

Adolfo Suárez’s state funeral later today, on Monday 31 March, marks the passing of the principal architect of Spain’s transition to democracy. The story was an unlikely one. After nearly forty years of dictatorship, General

I never actually met Tony Benn. That’s a shameful thing for an historian of the British left to admit. And I do regret it. There’s really no excuse. He had a reputation for extraordinary generosity