July 2021

Articles from the July 2021 issue of BBC History Magazine

Woman wearing a bikini

20th Century

Why we should rememberThe launch of the swimsuit that scandalised the world

William Hogarth, seen in a self-portrait with his pug

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William HogarthThe satirical artist inspired by the teachings of the Bible. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Sylvia Plath seated in front of a bookshelf.

20th Century

The tragic story behind Sylvia Plath’s writing

Illustration showing the traders who made a fortune during the wake of the Black Death

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Merchants of doom: the traders who profited from the Black Death. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

John F Kennedy with US Army officials during the Cuban missile crisis

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“We are eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked”: how the Cuban Missile Crisis escalated. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A photograph of the England team that faced Australia at the Oval in the 1896 Ashes series

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Batting for the British Empire: how Victorian cricket was more than just a game. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Black and white image of a group of five men sat on the floor in a room in Fiji. One of them is pointing at another with a serious expression on his face.

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Cakobau: the first (and last) king of Fiji. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Alice Roberts, author of Ancestors: A Prehistory of Britain in Seven Burials

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Alice Roberts“Graves are like time capsules – little microcosms of prehistoric culture". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Georgian

Mary Wortley Montagu: the scourge of smallpox

A colourised portrait of Anton Chekhov, from 1901

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History heroWilliam Boyd chooses Anton Chekhov (1860–1904). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of William Barnes. The accomplished linguist wanted to adopt a form of English purged of foreign imports

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National English: the language that would save England. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Emma Dabiri"Harriet Jacobs’ writing transports readers to the world of Southern slavery". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.