Charlotte Hodgman's blog

Tapes give insight into aftermath of Kennedy death

Fri, 2012-02-03 10:59
Submitted by Charlotte Hodgman
Tapes give insight into aftermath of Kennedy death

The US National Archives has released recordings of the Air Force One flight back to Washington on the day of John F Kennedy's assassination on Friday 22 November 1963. The tapes, which contain 42 minutes of audio not included in the original public version, reveal the grief and confusion felt in the hours after Kennedy's shooting. Among those onboard the flight were Lyndon Johnson, who had just been sworn-in as president, Kennedy’s widow, Jackie, and his mother, Rose.

February issue out now

Tue, 2012-01-31 08:49
Submitted by Charlotte Hodgman
February issue out now

The latest issue of BBC History Magazine is now on sale. In our new edition, presenter Jeremy Paxman and a selection of historians answer ten big questions about the British empire.

Elsewhere in the magazine, Michael S Goodman reveals how Britain beat the Soviet Union to the services of some of Germany's most brilliant minds at the end of the Second World War.

The BBC Story

Sun, 2012-01-29 07:16
Submitted by Charlotte Hodgman
The BBC Story
Desert Island Discs was devised by Roy Plomley, who presented the first edition on 29 January 1942. The programme was recorded two days earlier with comedian Vic Oliver in the bomb-damaged Maida Vale Studios. The success of the programme owes much to its simple format, but early programmes were scripted to comply with wartime censorship.
 

Dorset grave held 'mercenary’ remains

Thu, 2012-01-26 15:59
Submitted by Charlotte Hodgman
Dorset grave held 'mercenary’ remains
A Cambridge archaeologist has declared 54 decapitated skeletons discovered in a mass grave at Ridgeway Hill, Dorset, in 2009, to be Viking mercenaries. Carbon dating and isotype tests have revealed the bodies were Scandinavian and date from the 11th century, leading Dr Britt Baillie from the University of Cambridge to believe the killings may have taken place during the reign of Aethelred the Unready, the man behind the St Bri

Dave Musgrove talk at Kenwood House

Thu, 2012-01-26 13:29
Submitted by Charlotte Hodgman

BBC History Magazine's Dave Musgrove will be talking about his recent book, 100 Places That Made Britain, at Kenwood House in London this weekend, as part of the Kenwood Literary Season.

JRR Tolkien snubbed by 1961 Nobel jury

Thu, 2012-01-12 11:52
Submitted by Charlotte Hodgman
JRR Tolkien snubbed by 1961 Nobel jury
Newly-released documents have revealed that novelist JRR Tolkien was passed over for the Nobel literature prize in 1961, after his storytelling in the Lord of the Rings trilogy was described as second rate. Declassified after 50 years, the papers show that Tolkien was nominated for the award by fellow author CS Lewis but that the Nobel prize jury had said of his work: “The result has not in any way measured up to storytelling of the highest quality”.

Tomb raiders threaten Chinese heritage

Thu, 2012-01-05 11:13
Submitted by Charlotte Hodgman
Tomb raiders threaten Chinese heritage
China’s ancient treasures are under threat from tomb raiders using dynamite and bulldozers to break into tombs and chambers to seize precious artefacts and relics, say experts. According to one archaeologist at Peking University, 95 per cent of tombs are empty because of tomb-raiding; the team found that out of more than 900 tombs in one part of Shanxi, almost every one had been raided.

January issue out now

Tue, 2012-01-03 07:35
Submitted by Charlotte Hodgman
January issue out now

The latest issue of BBC History Magazine is now on sale. In our new edition Denis Judd examines how George VI's ordinariness inspired the love of the nation.

Elsewhere in the magazine, Martin Johnes considers how history has impacted on the construction of Welsh national identity.

Neanderthal bone structure discovered in Ukraine

Fri, 2011-12-23 07:41
Submitted by Charlotte Hodgman
Neanderthal bone structure discovered in Ukraine
Archaeologists believe they have discovered the remains of a 44,000-year-old Neanderthal building constructed using the bones of mammoths near the town of Molodova in eastern Ukraine. The structure, which is made from 16 large bones, including mammoth skulls, jaws, 14 tusks and leg bones, contained at least 25 hearths filled with ash, indicating that it was used for some time. Many of the bones were decorated with carvings and ochre pigments.

Neolithic ‘earth mother’ discovered in France

Fri, 2011-12-16 11:34
Submitted by Charlotte Hodgman
Neolithic ‘earth mother’ discovered in France

Archaeologists have unearthed what they believe to be a Neolithic ‘earth mother’ figurine in the ruins of a Neolithic kiln on the banks of the river Somme. The 6,000-year-old statuette, which was fired from local earth clay, is thought to have broken into five or six pieces during the firing process in around 4300–3600 BC, but is still being hailed as one of the most complete and well-preserved examples ever found.

Charlotte Hodgman

 

Charlotte Hodgman is Section Editor on BBC History Magazine.