August 2021

Articles from the August 2021 issue of BBC History Magazine

Ilustration showing thorned brambles growing up the nervous system of a pink torso, the brambles at the bottom of the piece are growing in the shape of a uterus, and there are blackberries where the ovaries should be. A blue, gloved hand is coming in from the left to pluck at the ovary blackberry, and another gloved hand coming in from the right is using gardening secateurs to cut one of the branches. A metaphor for endometriosis, and in a broader sense, women's medical neglect and oppression

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The gender pain gap: perceptions of women's health through history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Police disperse a mob attacking a Hindu temple in Calcutta (now Kolkata) during the violence of Direct Action Day, 1946

20th Century

Why we should remember…Direct Action Day

A modern fireworks display

General ancient history

Q&AHow were fireworks made in ancient China?

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Gulielma Lister: the female botanist who became the queen of slime moulds. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A statue of Oliver Cromwell stares downwards, against a red background

Stuart

The dark truth about Oliver Cromwell

A plaque which decorated the palace of the Benin Obas, The Obas butchers sacrificing a cow, the most prestigious animal sacrifice

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Benin: a kingdom cast in bronze, brought to ruin by Britain. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

20th Century

History heroSteven Berkoff chooses Laurence Olivier (1907–89)

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Emma Dabiri"William Cuffay's story is more relevant now than ever". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Tokyo Olympics 1964: Yoshinori Sakai prepares to light the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony. Born on the day that the first atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima, he was a symbol of Japan’s postwar reconstruction and peace

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Tokyo Olympics 1964: the Games that defined Japan. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Jean-Jacques-François Le Barbier’s painting portrays the Declaration of the Rights of Man

Georgian

How progressive was the French Revolution?