Absolute History

The pursuit of flight was a revolution that captivated the world, and in its early days, offered a new frontier for women to break barriers. Amelia Earhart was the trailblazing aviator who became the face of this change, breaking records and defying expectations in a male-dominated world. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

This is the grizzly true crime story of James Olcott. After being pardoned for a murder in Germany, Olcott found work on the railways. He returned to his old ways, casing a busy ticket officer before carrying out a brutal, planned attack on fellow railwayman Jeffrey 'Dixie' Dean to rob the day's takings. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

Step back in time as four modern-day baking professionals tackle 63 years that utterly transformed their trade and our diet: the Victorian Age. Watch the team manage a busy 1900 high-street shop, grapple with complex new recipes (and shocking ingredients like beef tongue and lard), and navigate the intense competition, social mobility, and international influences (like German immigrant bakers) that define the birth of the modern bakery. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

In 1910, the British railway system, a symbol of progress, became the stage for a shocking crime: the brutal murder of wages clerk John Nisbet. He was robbed of £370 (a substantial sum at the time) and shot five times in a moving train carriage near Newcastle. In this detailed true-crime documentary, we investigate the case of John Alexander Dickman, the man accused of the crime. Explore the dawn of railway crime, the flaws in the police's crucial eyewitness identification, and the dramatic trial that hinged on circumstantial evidence. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

Four professional bakers leave their modern businesses behind to experience what their profession was like in the past as they bake their way through the Victorian era. It is now the 1870s and they're moving into an urban bakery during the Industrial Revolution. The bakers must now bake through the night to meet demand and start to add adulterants. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

The Victorian railway boom transformed Britain, but beneath the tracks lay a dark criminal underworld. This documentary delves into the shocking 1895 murder of Detective Sergeant Robert Kidd—the first railway policeman killed in the line of duty. Based on files from Scotland Yard and the railway police, we explore the precarious lives of the coal miners accused of the crime, the desperate motive, and the brutal fight that cost a man his life. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

Four professional bakers leave their modern businesses behind to experience what their profession was like in the past as they bake their way through the Victorian era. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

Did the Japanese Imperial family and General Yamashita bury hundreds of tons of looted gold across the Philippines during WWII? The legend of Yamashita's Gold has fueled the dreams of treasure hunters for decades, but it's a story tangled with billion-dollar lawsuits, political deception, and murder. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

For centuries, history claimed the native Gaelic Irish were nomadic, with villages and towns only built by invaders. Now, a team of archaeologists in Western Ireland is uncovering shocking evidence that could rewrite Ireland's history forever. Follow their groundbreaking five-year excavation near Lough Key, searching for the fabled 13th-century Gaelic market town mentioned in ancient manuscripts. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

The railways changed Britain forever, but they also offered new opportunities for the oldest of crimes. In 1957, a 73-year-old Polish Countess named Teresa Wubenska was fatally stabbed on the platform of Gloucester Road tube station. But who was this mysterious woman with a Nazi concentration camp number tattooed on her arm, and why was a celebrated World War II resistance hero murdered in a seemingly random attack on the London Underground? 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

It's August, and the historians' year of living as Edwardian farmers is over—but not before the final, critical oat harvest. Rain threatens to destroy their crop, forcing them to master the ancient art of charcoal making to forge a bespoke weather vane, while also building a rudimentary barometer. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

Tickets are now on sale for the 2026 Chalke History Festival! chalkefestival.com @chalkehistoryfestival Join us at Chalke History Festival, the UK’s biggest celebration of living history, as we explore how human careers have evolved from the Stone Age to the Age of Exploration. Join Kyle Cairns as he tries his hand at ancient and historic trades — from Neolithic cordage weaving to the mastery of sail making. Each craft is judged on skill, difficulty, working conditions, social status, and whether our host could actually do the job — all to find the ultimate historical career! Expect hands-on lessons, fascinating insights from living historians, and a fresh appreciation for the trades that built civilization. Huge shoutout to our contributors at Prehistory To Present, Heritage Blades, Chanz De Reiz, The Historic Sailmmaker, Pario Gallico, and of course Chalke History Festival for making it all possible! Directed and produced by McKenna Fernandez. Written and presented by Kyle Cairns. Edited by Matthew Wilson and Ben Keir. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become

The Victorian railway boom transformed Britain, but it also opened the door to a new kind of crime. This is the shocking history of blood on the tracks—beginning with the notorious Brighton Express Murder of 1881. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

It’s July in the tranquil Tamar Valley, and the Edwardian farm team faces their busiest month yet. Historians Ruth Goodman, Alex Langlands, and Peter Ginn must race against time—and the weather—to bring in the highly valuable cherry and potato harvests. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

The Victorian railway network was a marvel of technology, connecting Britain like never before—but it also offered new opportunities for crime. In 1864, the blood-splattered, empty compartment of a first-class carriage shocked the nation and exposed the terrifying vulnerability of rail travel. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

Edwardian farmers Alex, Peter, and Ruth head out of the tranquil Tamar Valley and onto Dartmoor for summer. Discover the traditional—and surprisingly difficult—craft of hand shearing as the team cashes in on Devon's historic wool industry ("white gold"). Plus, learn about the Edwardian adoption of silage for winter feed, and explore how the rise of tourism and the arrival of the motor car began to change the ancient moorlands forever. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

Explore the decades-long hunt for Yamashita's Gold, the legendary war plunder supposedly hidden across the Philippines by the Imperial Japanese Army. Learn the historical facts behind the legend—from the systematic looting of Asia by figures like the Yakuza-linked Yoshio Kodama to the final desperate efforts of General Tomoyuki Yamashita and a relative of the Emperor to conceal a rumored hundreds of tons of gold in tunnels and vaults. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

Historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn are living as Edwardian farmers for a year. The episode centers on preparing for the arrival of a paddle steamer full of tourists for Empire Day, a huge summertime bonanza. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

In the mid-season of the Victorian Farm project, our historians race to bring in the vital spring life and face the crushing challenges of an 1880s farm. Alex and Peter oversee successful lambing and pig farrowing, but an incessant wet summer leads to a disastrous failed hay harvest. With their winter feed destroyed, everything rests on the efficiency of new Victorian machinery like the massive Reaper Binder and the success of their final wheat crop. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺

Living the life of an Edwardian farmer isn't just about working the land—it's about working the sea! This month, Ruth Goodman is hunting for brown shrimp and building a fish smokery, while Alex and Peter join a traditional sailing trawler, the Key Wade, for a dangerous trawl. From cattle droving and making essential lanolin to learning the deceptive secrets of the Edwardian séance, our team fights to find a new source of income. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺

In Devon's tranquil Tamar Valley, archaeologists Alex Langland and Peter Ginn, along with historian Ruth Goodman, are living and working as Edwardian farmers for a year. In this installment, they tackle the arrival of spring in March, a crucial time for the farm's prosperity. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

The documentary series "Victorian Farm" follows three historians—Ruth Goodman, Alex Langlands, and Peter Ginn—as they spend a full calendar year living and working on a Victorian farm in Shropshire, England. Their goal is to experience and document the day-to-day life of rural Victorians, a period marked by both ancient traditions and the dawn of industrialization. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.

The Worst Jobs On An Edwardian Farm The Daily Grind Of An Edwardian Farmer Six months into their year, Ruth, Alex and Peter explore the daily lives of Edwardian farmers. This episode has a slightly different format to the rest of the series; instead of covering a whole month's changes it uses a framing device of Ruth writing a letter describing the events of a single day on the farm. Peter buys a Victorian/Edwardian Era Teasmade. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺

Archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn go down a copper mine, just a few hundred yards from their cottage, which was once the major source of Morwhellam Quay's wealth. Historian Ruth Goodman learns the art of lacemaking, visiting the town of Honiton, which became world famous for its lace. The boys also go tin mining in Cornwall, an industry which survived until the end of the 20th century. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺

The first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic, which she did in 1845 in just 14 days. Designed by Victorian engineering genius Isambard Kingdom Brunel, when completed, it was the longest passenger ship in the world. Its early years were plagued with problems before it found success. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺

As winter sets in, the three farm dwellers must look further afield to earn money. Peter and Alex fish for crabs while Ruth hires herself out for domestic work. Ruth rides a bicycle and tries period cleaning techniques, including early vacuum cleaners. They separate growing calves from their mothers. Peter finds out how leather is made. They celebrate Christmas modestly, as poor farmers might have, and listen to a Methodist Christmas message. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺

After separating from his first wife, Jack London's adventure continues. He writes White Fang and decides it is time once again to take a political stance. He also continues his journey out in the wild west and even around the world. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!

Archaeologists Alex and Peter and historian Ruth try Edwardian life for a year. The team get to grips with the revolutionary technologies of the age. Peter embarks on building a trout farm and populating it by using revolutionary fish-breeding techniques that were new to Devon's Edwardian farmers. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺

The infamous tea clipper, the Cutty Sark, endured drunken captains and murderous crews, and even inspired a whiskey. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!

Three modern archaeologists immerse themselves in early 20th-century rural life. Over a full year, they raise livestock, cultivate strawberries, make cider, and preserve food using traditional Edwardian methods. Facing the challenges of the seasons from preparing soil and tending crops to managing animals and coping with frost, they also explore the customs, trades, and celebrations that shaped Edwardian farming communities.

Archaeologist Mike Pitts investigates the cause of death of a person, whose 3,000-year-old remains were found in a shallow grave at Stonehenge. With such a significant monument as its backdrop, there must have been a reason behind this mysterious final resting place. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!

Wyatt Earp is one of the West's most legendary and enduring figures, but what made him put the law aside and become a feared gunman across the West? From executive producer Robert Redford, Robert Redford’s The West explores the dramatic evolution of the American West, when cowboys, Indians, outlaws and sheriffs populated the land. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!

A team of modern historians and archaeologists move in to a Tudor farm and experience what it was like to work during this time period. However, being a Tudor farmer doesn't just entail tending to crops and animals but a whole swathe of other tasks, including dangerous lead mining. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!

Travel to the front lines of an epic battlefield: Werner Heisenberg and Robert Oppenheimer face off in a heated contest as they strive to unleash the destructive power of the atomic bomb. The two brilliant scientists toil through World War II with a single directive - harness the laws of physics to create the most powerful weapon the world has ever seen. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!

Billy The Kid is one of the Wild West's most infamous outlaws, but his luck eventually ran out. Discover how this young gunslinger met his untimely end and the impact he had upon the West as a whole. From executive producer Robert Redford, Robert Redford’s The West explores the dramatic evolution of the American West, when cowboys, Indians, outlaws and sheriffs populated the land. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!

Three modern archeologists and historians try and spend a year living like Edwardian farmers. However, dangers rear their heads in suprising places with deadly Edwardian fertilizer being a particular concern. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!

The race for flight is chronicled as aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright face off against Glenn Curtiss in a bitter rivalry that puts lives at risk. After developing the airplane, the Wright brothers keep the technical details under wraps for years, out of fear of losing control of their invention. Meanwhile, Curtiss boldly goes public with his airplanes and innovations and quickly becomes a popular face of flight. The Wright brothers, now patent holders in control of all powered flight, counter with lawsuits; as they hold fast, they stifle innovation in the very industry they've launched. Go inside the rivalry so heated that, when Wilbur dies, Orville blames Curtiss for driving him to exhaustion. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!

Billy the Kid is one of the Wild West's most infamous outlaws, but what drove him to commit such acts, and how did he become a legend? From executive producer Robert Redford, Robert Redford’s The West explores the dramatic evolution of the American West, when cowboys, Indians, outlaws and sheriffs populated the land. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!

A team of modern historians and archaeologists move in to a Tudor farm, but can they get everything ready in time for the harsh winter? They must coppice hazel, build a pig enclosure, commission a guild, plough using oxen, make rushlights, make wattle-and-daub barriers, sow peas and barley using broadcasting, and celebrate religious festivals. Oh my! 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!

As Native Americans were forced from their ancestral homes, a new American industry moved in: the cattle barons. This new status quo was anything but peaceful, with the West now becoming a lawless battleground of rival factions, giving rise to legendary outlaws like Billy the Kid. From executive producer Robert Redford, Robert Redford’s The West explores the dramatic evolution of the American West, when cowboys, Indians, outlaws and sheriffs populated the land. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!

Medieval historian Dr Eleanor Janega investigates the sort of jobs women undertook during the Medieval period and how they were a vital and often forgotten part of the workforce.

Custer rides to a showdown at Little Bighorn with the Sioux and Crazy Horse in a battle that would become American folklore. What led to this confrontation, and how did it impact the Great Sioux War? From executive producer Robert Redford, Robert Redford’s The West explores the dramatic evolution of the American West, when cowboys, Indians, outlaws and sheriffs populated the land. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!

Ulysses S. Grant's second term is quickly derailing as economic depression grips the U.S. The country needs gold and fast, with many believing this invaluable resource lies within the 'Black Hills' in South Dakota. The problem? These mountains are sacred to the Sioux people. Is there anyway for the States to avoid another brutal and bloody war? From executive producer Robert Redford, Robert Redford’s The West explores the dramatic evolution of the American West, when cowboys, Indians, outlaws and sheriffs populated the land. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!

1 in 10 British citizens today has a direct family connection to the workhouse. Discover some of the individual stories of this cruel and dehumanising institution.

For generations, the workhouse was one of the most feared institutions in Britain. Discover the appalling conditions found within these establishments and how they were deliberately set up to humiliate their inmates.

Jack London was the most famous American writer of the twentieth century, but he didn't always have an easy time of it. This symbol of adventure was at different times a vagabond, gold prospector, sailor, farmer, war reporter and socialist militant. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!

Following the American Civil War, the Government's greatest military concern was the increasing ferocity of fighting between pioneers and the Native Americans. How did these skirmishes grow into a full-blown war with legendary figures like Crazy Horse and General Custer? From executive producer Robert Redford, Robert Redford’s The West explores the dramatic evolution of the American West, when cowboys, Indians, outlaws and sheriffs populated the land. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!

Egypt has been ruled by a woman no fewer than 18 times and yet they can often be left on the sidelines of history. Professor Joann Fletcher explores what it was like to be a woman of power in ancient Egypt, using buildings and artefacts to bring to life four of its most powerful female rulers. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits!