Tango, Nelson, Munich Mouser and Jock - the original marmalade puss. Winston Churchill loved cats. They lived with him at home and at Downing Street. Hear the story in our History of Cats Podcast: tinyurl.com/3cmky79u #cats #Caturday #history #churchill

Forty Elephants were Britain’s first documented girl gang. Started in 1870, this Elephant & Castle mob of thieves and confidence tricksters went on the make for nearly a century. Hear their story in our Women and Crime podcast: tinyurl.com/4hducnyh #history #truecrime #women #crime

Many people believe this London cemetery tomb is a time machine. The memorial has no name inscribed on it - and the key has vanished. Hear this strange story in our Death and Burial podcast: tinyurl.com/25upnarr #history #tomb #graveyarrd #cemetary #death #timetravel

In the 1700s men wore wigs that signalled status, style and rank. They got taller and more flamboyant, until foppish men were tottering around in absurd giant periwigs. Hear the story in our Men’s Fashion Podcast: tiny.cc/3anu001 #history #fashion #menswear #clothes

James Norris was a former soldier. Sent to Bedlam, where he was tied to a post for 10 years – causing his intestines to burst. We tell his story in our podcast. Bedlam – The Story of a Madhouse: tinyurl.com/2whtb2xh #history #bedlam #mentalhealth #veteran

What is the oldest pub name in England? What is the funniest? Strangest? Most popular? Which writer has 33 pubs named for him? Find out in our History of Beer Podcast: tinyurl.com/47yrta2v #history #beer #pubs #england #ale

Tom was a decoy goose. He fell in love with a goosy girlfriend and followed her to London. But ended up at Leadenhall poultry market. Would he survive? Find out in our Strange Animal Stories Podcast: tinyurl.com/2mcp4ww5 #history #animals #goose #london

#OTD 1 November 1666 a farmhand gasped his final breath - the last of 260 people to die from plague in the remote Derbyshire village of Eyam. Hear the story in our Plague Village Podcast: tinyurl.com/2hhejvpw #history #plague #derbyshire

Wondering "witch" podcast to listen to at Halloween? Hear the story of the Pendle witches, a Lancashire family accused of putting a crippling curse on a local peddler, summoning up talking black dogs and bewitching a child to death. Listen here: tinyurl.com/v5c55e47 #history #halloween #witch

The Borough Gang robbed bodies from burials in London churchyards. The parishes built watchtowers to guard fresh graves from the bonediggers. We bring the story to life in our podcast: The Diary of a Graverobber. Listen here: tinyurl.com/rhswu35f #history #halloween #graverobber

Born #OTD 1740 James Boswell. The Scottish writer gave the world one of its greatest biographies: The Life of Samuel Johnson. A devoted friend and keen observer, Boswell captured Johnson in all his wit and wisdom. Hear the story in our Dr Johnson Podcast: tinyurl.com/r6x2d9m7 #history

Sir Walter Raleigh died #OTD 1618. The privateer and explorer was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, but was sent to the executioner’s axe at Westminster by King James I. What happened to his head? Find out in our Heads Podcast: tinyurl.com/f6n5j7kv #history #halloween #Tudors

London. 1810s. A ruthless gang of grave robbers terrorised the city. One of them writes a diary detailing the bodies sold to the surgeons. We bring the true story to life in our podcast: The Diary of a Graverobber. Listen here: tinyurl.com/rhswu35f #history #halloween #graverobber #london

Margery Jourdemayne was a seer. She became a necromancer to the Dutchess wife of the king’s brother. Accused of witchcraft, her life was in peril. Hear the story of Old Mother Madge in our Women and Witchcraft Podcast: tinyurl.com/2d4a7y2k #history #Halloween #witches #witch

The ghost of jilted lover Juliet Tewlsey haunts the Old Ferry Boat Inn - built over her grave. Juliet rises each year on the anniversary of her death. A Halloween story included in our History of Pubs Podcast: tinyurl.com/47yrta2v #history #halloween #ghosts #pubs #beer #podcast

Artist and Model Elizabeth Siddal was buried in Highgate Cemetery. Her husband, painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti, placed an original poetry manuscript in the coffin. What happened when he wanted it back? Find out in our Death and Burial podcast: tinyurl.com/4k9sfdpu #history #halloween #death

In 1956 staff at Covent Garden tube held a séance. Spooked by a ghost stalking the platforms. It was the spirit of William Terris, an actor who was stabbed at the nearby Adelphi Theatre in 1897. Hear the story in our Murder at the Theatre Podcast: tinyurl.com/56nnmbfp #history #halloween #ghost

#OTD 1707 Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell led his fleet through fog. The ships struck the Scilly Isles. Eight hundred sailors perished. An accurate chronometer might have saved these lives. Hear the story in our History of Timekeeping Podcast: tinyurl.com/yahhpzbm #history #britishnavy #clocks

#OTD 1814 a giant barrel in the Horseshoe brewery exploded. Beer flooded the streets of central London drowning local residents. We tell the story in our History of Beer Podcast. Listen here: tinyurl.com/47yrta2v #london #beer #history

Women played a critical role defending Britain during WW2. As air raid wardens, nurses, drivers, mechanics and land girls. Hear their story in our London Blitz Podcast: tinyurl.com/mrx4huz4 #WWII #history #women

In the 1800s Wombwell’s menagerie travelled England. One performance at Smithfield in London included an elephant that fired a gun. Hear more in our Strange Animal Stories Podcast: tinyurl.com/2mcp4ww5 #history #lions #animals

Only one cat has ever won the PDSA Animals in War medal. Simon was a sea cat who defeated a ferocious rat that was eating the ship's provisions. Hear the story in our History of Cats podcat. Listen at: tinyurl.com/3cmky79u #history #cats #caturday

Charles Byrne came to London in 1782. At near 8ft tall, he made money exhibiting his extreme size. But as the novelty waned and his health failed, anatomist John Hunter was determined to get hold of Byrne’s body. Hear the story in our History of Medicine Podcast: tinyurl.com/3e8bj827 #history

Ruth Ellis born #OTD in 1926. The Welsh nightclub hostess shot her lover outside a Hampstead pub. She was the last woman to be executed in Britain. Hear her story in our Women and Crime podcast: tinyurl.com/4hducnyh #history #truecrime

Crossbones Graveyard is near London's bankside. From the 12th to 17th century, the area was controlled by the Bishop of Winchester who licensed the prostitutes - known as the ‘Winchester Geese’. Hear stories of the women who lived and died here in this podcast: tinyurl.com/5czet5w5 #history

Charles Dickens was 12 when he was sent to work in a rat-infested riverside factory Here he met child workers who became characters in his books. Listen to this story in our podcast Dickens - How One Writer Changed Britain: tiny.cc/t769001 #history #dickens #literature

Born #OTD 1896, Dorothy Lawrence was a journalist determined to report from the front line of World War One. So she posed as a man and made her way to the heart of the conflict. Hear her story in our Women and War podcast: tinyurl.com/yu4yedh6 #history #womenshistory

Before affordable alarm clocks, working people relied on knocker-uppers. Many were women, armed with long poles or pea-shooters they tapped on windows and doors to get factory workers got to their shifts. Hear their stories in our History of Timekeeping podcast: tinyurl.com/yahhpzbm #history

For 700 years Newgate was the darkest, dirtiest and most miserable dungeon in London. When famine hit the jail, the inmates started eating other prisoners - until victims were avenged by a giant black dog. Hear the story in our Newgate Jail Podcast: tinyurl.com/e9mevfez #history #prison

Mary Prince was born #OTD 1788 in Bermuda the daughter of slaves. Sold four times before travelling to England with her enslavers, her autobiography is the first British book by a black woman. Hear her story in our Women and Writing podcast: tinyurl.com/jrcjkwwc #history #bhm #blackhistorymonth

The hangman’s noose outside the Prospect of Whitby is a macabre memorial to execution dock. The place where pirates were hung, their bodies displayed in iron cages along the river Thames. Hear the story in our London Pubs Podcast: tinyurl.com/yc43s3s3 #history #london #beer #pub #thames

The Pendle witch trials are the most famous in Britain. A Lancashire family was accused of putting a curse on a local peddler, summoning up talking black dogs and bewitching a child to death. Hear this dark story in our Lancashire Witches podcast: tinyurl.com/v5c55e47 #history #witches

The Salisbury Cathedral Clock dates from 1386. The world’s oldest working clock was part of a timekeeping revolution that changed the way we live. Hear the story in our History of Timekeeping podcast: tinyurl.com/yahhpzbm #history #clocks #salisbury

#OTD 1915 Cecil Chubb went to an auction to buy some chairs and walked out with lot number fifteen: 30 acres of land including Stonehenge. We tell the story in our Stonehenge Podcast: tinyurl.com/44ddu6ww #history #stonehenge #ancienthistory

Died #OTD 1933, Annie Besant campaigned to end the toxic working conditions and poor pay of the factory Match Girls in London’s East End. Then moved to #India where she supported home rule. Hear her story in our Women and Protest podcast: tinyurl.com/2p8fek9r #history #womensrights #london

Born #OTD 1709 in Lichfield, Dr Johnson came to London where he struggled to earn a living. But went on to write the dictionary that defined the English Language. Hear his life story in our podcast: tinyurl.com/r6x2d9m7 #history #English #literature

From Stonehenge to atomic clocks, Celtic seasons to Roman calendars, the oldest clock in the world to knocker-uppers, our latest podcast tells the story of timekeeping. Listen at: tinyurl.com/yahhpzbm #history #clocks #greenwich #stonehenge #johnharrison

#OTD 1665, tailor's assistant George Vicarrs was the first victim of the plague in the Derbyshire village of Eyam. Hear the dramatic story of the plague village in our podcast: tinyurl.com/2hhejvpw #history #eyam #britishhistory #derbyshire #plague #podcast

#OTD 1940 the first raid of the London Blitz. Hear the story, told through the moving testimony of people who lived through the raid in our London Blitz Podcast. Listen at: tinyurl.com/mrx4huz4 #history #london #blitz #WW2 #WWII

The Great Fire of London ended #OTD in 1666. What happened to the thousands of refugees from the inferno, and the innocent man facing execution for starting the fire? Hear these stories in our Great Fire podcast: tinyurl.com/33vfpwds #history #london #britishhistory

Ikey Solomon died #OTD 1850. The East End petty criminal was imprisoned in Newgate Jail. His adventures became legend. Hear the story of his prison breakouts and life in London and Australia - where he lived the last part of his life - in our podcast: tinyurl.com/bddffwtz #history #jewishhistory

The Great Fire of London started #OTD in 1666. It burned for five days. We bring the story of the fire to life in our dramatic podcast: tinyurl.com/33vfpwds #history #london #greatfire #britishhistory

Newgate Jail was the most miserable dungeon in London. In 1605, a merchant paid for the St Sepulchre's Church handbell. The day before an execution, the parish clerk rang the bell outside the condemned man's cell. Hear the story in our Newgate Jail podcast: tinyurl.com/bddffwtz #history

Born #OTD 1797 Mary Shelley. She endured the death of her mother, children and husband. Her legacy is one of the greatest books of world literature: Frankenstein. Hear the story in our Women and Writing podcast: tinyurl.com/jrcjkwwc #history #frankenstein #horror #WomenWriters

William Terris was the star of the Adelphi Theatre plays. But bit-part actor Richard Prince hated the matinee idol. We bring to life a story that haunts London’s West End in our Murder at the Theatre Podcast: tinyurl.com/56nnmbfp #history #westend #london #ghost #murder

Was this the worst job in Victorian London? Pure Finders collected dog faeces from the streets to sell at the Bermondsey tanneries. Listen to the story in our History of Sewerage Podcast here: tinyurl.com/2ys6jpf3 #history #london #horriblehistory

Died #OTD 1762, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu travelled to Constantinople where women were inoculating their children against smallpox. Returning to England, doctors stopped her from promoting the treatment. Hear the story in our History of Medicine Podcast: tinyurl.com/tu93s9rv #history #women

Hanged #OTD 1612. Alice Nutter was accused of witchcraft by nine-year-old Jennet Device. The respectable Nutter protested her innocence, but was hanged at Gallows Hill in Lancaster. Hear the story in this podcast: tinyurl.com/58rkzrk6 #history #witch #pendlewitches #witchcraft

Ben Jonson died #OTD 1637. The writer and actor was Shakespeare’s great friend and rival. Jonson risked a hanging when he killed an actor in a duel. Hear the story in our #Shakespeare in London podcast: tinyurl.com/wmzsxwk2 #history #london #tudors #literature #actor

During summer 1888, thousands of women working in an east #London factory walked out. Girls as young as six protested against breadline wages, industrial cancers and bullying. Hear the story of the Matchgirls’ Strike in our Women and Protest podcast: tinyurl.com/mr3d49uz #history #protest