Military fortifications transitioned underground from above-ground stone castles to artillery fortresses, World War I trenches, Maginot Line concrete bunkers, and Cold War nuclear bunkers

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Historian Dan Jones served as a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a trustee of Historic Royal Palaces

By the early 15th century, cannon artillery routinely breached traditional European stone castle walls within weeks

In A Fortified History of the World, Dan Jones examines over 3,000 years of fortification history

During the American Civil War, Union forces utilized rifled cannon to breach Fort Pulaski in Savannah, Georgia, within 48 hours

Dan Jones authored a biography of King Henry V published in 2024

Japanese unifier Oda Nobunaga constructed Azuchi Castle during the 16th century

Sixteenth-century Jesuit missionaries sent written accounts back to Europe detailing the architecture and luxury of Oda Nobunaga's Azuchi Castle

Great walls, including the Great Wall of China, the Wall of Gorgan in Iran, and Hadrian's Wall in England, functioned as efforts to fortify entire realms

Dan Jones authored the book Powers and Thrones, published in 2021

Gunpowder artillery was deployed on European battlefields starting in the mid-14th century

Himeji Castle in Japan is historically designated as the White Heron Castle or White Egret Castle

Horace Walpole constructed Strawberry Hill House as a Gothic-style residence on the River Thames in the 18th century

During the construction of Himeji Castle, the road running west from Kyoto was diverted to pass directly through the surrounding castle town

Azuchi Castle burned down shortly after its initial construction

Historian Dan Jones lived in Edinburgh, Scotland, between the ages of six and eight

Strawberry Hill House incorporated non-structural materials, including papier-mâché, into its Gothic architectural design

On August 2, 1943, the Japanese destroyer Amagiri rammed and bisected PT-109 in the Blackett Strait in the Solomon Islands

Two crew members died during the collision between the Japanese destroyer Amagiri and PT-109, while eleven crew members survived

During prolonged periods of bed rest due to illness in John F. Kennedy's youth, John F. Kennedy read extensively about diplomatic history and political leaders

In August 1939, the chargé d'affaires at the United States Embassy in Berlin tasked John F. Kennedy with delivering a diplomatic message to London stating war would start within a week