Your History

Derek Boshier, amongst the first artists to propel British pop art, his work supported by the likes of David Bowie and contemporary David Hockney. And the life of Helen Fisher, one of America’s most prominent anthropologists who's studied the science of romantic love, attachment, adultery, divorce, and the evolution and future of family life.

Three extraordinary lives today: Rowena Jackson, New Zealand’s first prima ballerina; Willi Lemke, the German politician turned football manager; and Michel Siffre, the French geologist who lost track of time after living in a dark cave for 1,500 hours.

Sven-Göran Eriksson managed England's so-called "Golden Generation". And while his success was limited, he brought perspective, respect and a calmness that was before missing. And the life of Virginia Ogilvy, Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth II.

A special profile of Mike Lynch, one of Britain's most celebrated tech entrepreneurs, who lived for years under investigation by U.S. prosecutors until his acquittal just months ago.

Italian, Benito Nonino played a key part in elevating what was once seen as an uncouth grappa into a premium beverage. And we look back at Sigmund Freud's life and work through the eyes of one of his greatest critics, Frederick Crews.

Second Lieutenant William Calley was the sole person convicted for the 1968 My Lai massacre: US forces indiscriminately killed as many as 500 unarmed Vietnamese villagers. And we hear about the career of Lord Robert Fellowes, Queen Elizabeth II's private secretary during a tumultuous period of divorces in the Royal Family and Princess Diana's death.

In 1960, Ireland’s minister for culture pronounced Edna O'Brien's first novel, The Country Girls, “a smear on Irish womanhood”. Over time she would come to be hailed as one of the country’s most gifted writers. And we celebrate the life and work of Sir Kenneth Grange who, as a designer, created objects that changed the way we live.

Ray Reardon was one of Britain’s best-known sportsmen, but when he was honoured at Buckingham Palace in 1985 with an MBE for services to snooker, the Queen enquired: “And what do you do?” What he did, was win, triumphing in the World Snooker Championship six times. And we marvel at the life of aid worker Simon Boas, whose candid reflections on his terminal cancer diagnosis moved millions of people around the world.