Churchill, Henry V and Napoleon? Overrated, says BBC History magazine

"They may be among the most famous figures from history, but the likes of Winston Churchill, Henry V and Napoleon Bonaparte don't hack it so far as some British historians are concerned. Poor old Charles Darwin doesn't figure any better either.

All are included in a list of the most overrated people in history chosen by the populist BBC History magazine to stir debate and publicity in its latest issue. Others chosen include Spartacus, Mary Queen of Scots, John Locke, William Wilberforce, Lord Baden-Powell and Malcolm X – quite enough for an eclectic fantasy dinner party guest list, or at least a row at one.

Churchill was chosen by the historian and former BBC journalist Christopher Lee, not on the basis of a wartime record which has already seen him chosen as Britain's most celebrated hero, but because of his ministerial and political failings much earlier in his career."
via guardian.co.uk / more