HistoryExtra
type: channel
link: https://www.historyextra.com
description: Home of Britain’s bestselling history magazine and award-winning podcast
date: 2024-08-05T13:20:22.000Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
items: What was the Chappaquiddick incident?
items: When was the first international rugby match, and who played in it?
items: Enoch Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech: Britain and race in the mid 20th-century
items: Richard Nixon's final address: the day the president departed the White House
items: Your guide to the miners’ strike of 1984–85
items: The Queen's century of change
items: Queen Elizabeth II: the constant face of a changing Britain
items: How the Beatles were in tune with 60s Britain
items: The Beatles: 8 landmark moments that chart the changing face of sixties Britain
items: History’s greatest mysteries: Agatha Christie disappears

What was the Chappaquiddick incident?
type: item
date: 2024-08-05T11:00:00.000Z
creator: Dominic Sandbrook
subject: 20th Century
subject: General Modern
subject: Period
subject: A big day in history
description: On the night of 18 July 1969, a young woman named Mary Jo Kopechne drowned after a car driven by Senator Edward Kennedy plunged into a tidal channel. Dominic Sandbrook details the tragedy, Kennedy's actions and the ensuing scandal that engulfed the Kennedy family, and came to be known as the Chappaquiddick incident…
encoded: In the summer of 1969, Edward Kennedy was riding high. Tall, handsome and athletic, the 37-year-old senator from Massachusetts was the last great hope of the Kennedy family. His brother Jack had fallen to an assassin’s bullet in 1963, and Robert had been shot while campaigning for the presidency in 1968. The newspapers talked of a ‘Kennedy curse’. But when Ted Kennedy’s fellow Democrats picked him as the youngest ever Senate Majority Whip in January 1969, his political destiny seemed certain. As the future Democratic presidential candidate in 1972, he would surely recapture the White House for the Kennedy family. What happened at Chappaquiddick on 18 July 1969? In July 1969, Kennedy took part in a regatta off Martha’s Vineyard, a summer playground for New England’s elite. On the evening of the 18th, the senator took the ferry to the neighbouring island of Chappaquiddick. There his staff had arranged a party to thank the six ‘boiler room girls’ who had worked on Robert’s ill-fated presidential campaign the previous summer. It was a fine evening, and the drink flowed merrily. At some point between 11 and midnight, Kennedy slipped away, taking one of the women, 28-year-old Mary Jo Kopechne, with him. Later he said that he was driving her to her hotel – though she left her handbag and room key behind. About an hour later, a policeman saw a car streaking along an unpaved dirt road. It was Kennedy and Kopechne. Lost in the darkness, Kennedy turned down an unpaved dirt road, and at the end his car slipped off the road and plunged into a deep tidal channel. It takes little imagination to picture the scene: the car falling and turning on its head; the water roaring in; the panic of the two passengers, pounding at the windows. “I remember thinking as the cold water rushed in around my head that I was for certain drowning,” Kennedy said later. “Then water entered my lungs and I actually felt the sensation of drowning. But somehow I struggled to the surface alive.” Mary Jo Kope…

GettyImages-690955720-85330fb-e1722857337793.jpg
width: 619
height: 413

When was the first international rugby match, and who played in it?
type: item
date: 2024-02-23T10:32:00.000Z
creator: Dominic Sandbrook
subject: Victorian
subject: Period
subject: Rugby
subject: Trends-News
description: Scotland and England have long been rivals on the rugby pitch and now compete annually for the Calcutta Cup. But did you know that the two teams first faced one another in the world's first rugby international match? Dominic Sandbrook considers the occasion on 27 March 1871
encoded: To most of the people of Edinburgh, 27 March 1871 was nothing special. As they streamed to work across the city’s bridges, trudging to their workshops and factories in the fine spring air, it seemed just another Monday, heralding the start of another week of toil. Yet for local residents interested in the new sports that were taking root in Britain’s industrial cities, it would be a day to remember. In that morning’s edition of The Scotsman, an advertisement proclaimed that Raeburn Place, the home ground of the Academical Cricket Club, would be hosting an unprecedented sporting encounter, with entrance costing a shilling a head. At three o’clock, 40 young men from England and Scotland were due to contest the world’s first international rugby match. When did the first international rugby fixtures begin? There had long been talk of arranging international fixtures. The previous year, an English side had played a team of Scottish exiles at the Oval in London, although they had been playing under the Association (‘soccer’) rules, which were not very popular in Scotland. The football world was still dominated by bickering between the champions of different codes, and in January 1871 representatives from 21 English clubs had met in a Regent Street restaurant to try to standardise rugby regulations and eliminate the more violent excesses. Read more | Rugby warriors: the rugby-playing heroes of the First and Second World War Their neighbours, however, were determined not to be left behind, and a group of Scottish clubs promptly sent an invitation to London. “With a view of really testing what Scotland can do against an English team,” they wrote, “we, as representing the football interests of Scotland, hereby challenge any team selected from the whole of England, to play us a match, 20-a-side, Rugby rules, either in Edinburgh or Glasgow.” As though determined to confirm suspicions of English insularity, the newly formed Rugby Football Union did nothing about it. But one of L…

GettyImages-3321583-2-2e523fc.jpg
width: 1024
height: 673

Enoch Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech: Britain and race in the mid 20th-century
type: item
date: 2023-01-13T07:10:25.000Z
creator: Dominic Sandbrook
subject: 20th Century
subject: Period
description: When the SS Empire Windrush docked in Britain in 1948, it ushered in a new era of immigration. Two decades later, Enoch Powell delivered his Rivers of Blood speech warning of the threat that immigrants posed. Writing for BBC History Magazine in 2008, Dominic Sandbrook considered how race relations developed in the 20 years between the two events
encoded: Please note that this article quotes instances of highly offensive racial language When Enoch Powell stood up at lunchtime on Saturday 20 April 1968, his audience of local Conservative activists at the Midland Hotel, Birmingham could hardly have known that they were about to hear the most inflammatory and divisive speech by a British politician in their lifetimes. Already intensely controversial for his views on economics and immigration, the Wolverhampton MP was the darling of the Tory activists, a brooding, saturnine intellectual whose contempt for his Shadow Cabinet colleagues was legendary. Now he had decided to break with them completely. His speech, he had told a friend a day or two earlier, would “fizz like a rocket, but whereas all rockets fall to earth, this one will stay up”. From the outset, his eyes burning above his clipped moustache, Powell was in typically uncompromising form. He recounted a meeting with a working-class constituent who talked of plans to emigrate because “in 15 or 20 years’ time the black man will have the whip hand over the white man”. “I can already hear the chorus of execration,” Powell said sarcastically; but he claimed the man had a point. In Wolverhampton alone, “20 or 30 additional immigrant children” were arriving every week. The result, he predicted, would be disaster. “Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad,” he said. “We must be mad, literally mad… to be permitting the annual inflow of some 50,000 dependants… It is like watching a nation busily engaged in heaping up its own funeral pyre.” Powell then read out a letter from one correspondent describing an alleged incident in Wolverhampton, where an elderly lady had apparently become the only white resident left in her street. “She finds excreta pushed through her letter box,” the letter explained. “When she goes to the shops, she is followed by children, charming, wide-grinned piccaninnies… ‘Racialist’, they chant”. Similar scenes, Powell predicted, would s…

Enoch-Powell-GettyImages-2661390-col-WL-5c499b2.jpg
width: 620
height: 413

Richard Nixon's final address: the day the president departed the White House
type: item
date: 2022-08-09T09:06:37.000Z
creator: Dominic Sandbrook
subject: 20th Century
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: US presidents
description: Historian Dominic Sandbrook recounts the events of 9 August 1974 – the date that Richard Nixon made his final address as president of the United States…
encoded: On 9 August 1974, his last morning as president of the United States, Richard Nixon got up at six. Still in his pyjamas, he asked the chef to prepare his favourite meal, corned beef hash and poached eggs. He ate alone in his beloved Lincoln Sitting Room, staring into the fire's dying embers, doubtless pondering the Watergate scandal that had shattered his credibility and made him the first president in history to step down. After breakfast there was a knock on the door: an aide bringing the ceremonial letter. Beneath the words "I hereby resign the Office of President of the United States," Nixon scrawled his name. At nine o’clock, Nixon led his family into the East Room of the White House, where they looked down at the ranks of officials. Even on this last, emotionally searing occasion, everything had been planned with television in mind, and little pieces of tape indicated where each of them should stand. For Nixon’s elder daughter, Tricia, it was a dreadful experience. “Platform ahead,” she recorded in her diary, remembering the scene. “Step up onto platform. Find name marker. Do not trip over wires. Stand on name marker. Reach for Mama’s hand. Hold it. Applause. Daddy is speaking. People are letting tears roll down their cheeks. Must not look. Must not think of it now.” <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2011/07/GettyImages-517354418-70b5064.png" width="620" height="416" alt="Richard Nixon thrusts both arms into the air in his trademark V-for-victory salute, as he departs on a helicopter" title="In a final bizarre moment of his presidency, Richard Nixon thrusts both arms into the air in his trademark V-for-victory salute. (Image by Getty Images)" /> Exhausted from lack of sleep, shattered after 18 months of pressure, her father stood perspiring beneath the television lights. After everything that he had fought for, after all his hard work to drag himself from the parched earth of California to the elegant staterooms of the White …

GettyImages-50820053-6a0690f.jpg
width: 5058
height: 3280

Your guide to the miners’ strike of 1984–85
type: item
date: 2022-06-21T13:22:07.000Z
creator: Dominic Sandbrook
subject: 20th Century
subject: Period
description: The biggest rail strike in 30 years is causing severe disruption to passengers this week, with the walkout of at least 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union. Here, historian Dominic Sandbrook revisits the longest and most acrimonious industrial dispute in Britain’s modern history: the miners’ strike of 1984–85
encoded: The miners’ strike of 1984-85 was the longest and most acrimonious industrial dispute in Britain’s modern history. But it was more than that: to the communities involved, from Scotland and South Wales to Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, it often felt like an undeclared civil war, pitting village against village, family against family – even brother against brother. The origins of the strike lay in the gradual rundown of the British coal industry, with the workforce falling from a peak of more than 1 million between the world wars to barely 200,000 at the start of the 1980s. For decades, Conservative and Labour governments alike had been closing pits and shedding jobs. But as national unemployment mounted, it was obvious more closures would provoke an intense reaction. At the end of 1981, the miners elected a new leader in the hard-left Yorkshireman Arthur Scargill, who made no secret of his eagerness for a confrontation with the government. Scargill predicted – rightly, as it turned out – that in an attempt to stem its heavy financial losses, the National Coal Board was bound to push for further closures. But Scargill denied that there was such a thing as an ‘uneconomic pit’, and argued that every colliery should be kept open, no matter how much it cost. A brief history of strike action Three times Scargill pushed his members to vote for a national strike; three times they voted no. Then, in March 1984, the Coal Board announced plans for a new wave of pit closures. Desperate to preserve their jobs and communities, which often depended entirely on the local pit, the Yorkshire miners walked out, as did their Scottish counterparts. But instead of calling a national strike, Scargill encouraged the regions to follow suit individually. That way, he would still get a strike without having to run the risk of a national ballot. From the start, Scargill was confident of victory. Twice in recent years, in 1972 and 1974, the miners had struck for higher pay, and both times they h…

GettyImages-639614708-d6064af.jpg
width: 2324
height: 1399

The Queen's century of change
type: item
date: 2022-06-05T10:48:02.000Z
creator: Dominic Sandbrook
subject: 20th Century
subject: 21st Century
subject: Membership
subject: Period
description: As the Queen celebrates her platinum jubilee, Dominic Sandbrook looks back on how Britain has changed radically during her lifetime
encoded: This week sees Queen Elizabeth II make history as the first ever British monarch to celebrate their platinum jubilee. To mark her 70 years on the throne, Rhiannon Davies speaks to Dominic Sandbrook about some of the radical transformations the nation has undergone during her lifetime. Read more from Dominic Sandbrook about how Britain has changed during the reign of Elizabeth II

Pod-Dom-Sandbrook-WL-0dd01b8.jpg
width: 620
height: 413

Queen Elizabeth II: the constant face of a changing Britain
type: item
date: 2022-01-25T17:23:58.000Z
creator: Dominic Sandbrook
subject: General Modern
subject: Membership
subject: Period
description: For many, the Queen is a symbol of perpetual, old-fashioned stability. Yet, says Dominic Sandbrook, she has nonetheless been part of one of the most remarkable chapters of social transformation in British life
encoded: Shortly before 3am on 21 April 1926, a little girl was born to Prince Albert, Duke of York (the future George VI) and his wife Elizabeth. The new arrival’s exhausted mother had been hoping for a girl, while her father could barely contain his joy. “We always wanted a child,” Albert wrote afterwards, “to make our happiness complete.” Few could have guessed it at the time, but that little girl would become perhaps the most recognisable British face of the century. In many ways, her life could hardly have been more different from the experiences of most ordinary people. Elizabeth II has never shopped at Asda or at Aldi; never spent a week at Butlin’s or at Center Parcs; never filled in a pools coupon or gambled on the Lottery; never worried about her hire-purchase repayments, her mortgage or her pension. Read more | 12 surprising facts about Queen Elizabeth II She has never known the fear of unemployment or the joy of promotion; never felt the anxiety of the first week at university or the nerves of a first job interview; never been on a demonstration, danced at a rock festival or watched a football match in a pub. She does, however, watch television; her favourite shows down the years reportedly include Dad’s Army, Midsomer Murders and, perhaps a little implausibly, The Bill. In this, at least, she is not so different from millions of her fellow Britons. As Elizabeth II, she has become the living symbol of our nation, from giggling princess to radiant young queen, from anxious mother to beloved grandmother. Indeed, on the surface at least, the Queen has become the incarnation of the eternal, unchanging verities of selflessness, self-discipline and responsibility. To many of her people, she represents stability and continuity, the virtues of the tweed overcoat and the battered Land Rover, the appeal of old-fashioned Christian charity and unashamed moral conservatism; the embodiment not just of our royal family, our national history and our collective traditions, but of…

GettyImages-3434292-ce074cd.jpg
width: 4744
height: 3804

How the Beatles were in tune with 60s Britain
type: item
date: 2022-01-15T12:37:22.000Z
creator: Dominic Sandbrook
subject: 20th Century
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: TV interest
description: Dominic Sandbrook explains how the Beatles reflected 1960s Britain, from the globalisation of pop culture to a fascination with mysticism
encoded: The 1960s was a time of transformation, as the grey of postwar Britain gave way to a technicolour youth culture, with screaming teenage fans, an outpouring of merchandise and a deep obsession with pop music. Dominic Sandbrook speaks to Rhiannon Davies about how the Beatles provided the soundtrack to a rapidly changing society. How to download the HistoryExtra podcast Download as MP3

Podcast-Dominic-Sandbrook-WL-538316a.jpg
width: 620
height: 413

The Beatles: 8 landmark moments that chart the changing face of sixties Britain
type: item
date: 2021-12-29T12:05:50.000Z
creator: Dominic Sandbrook
subject: 20th Century
subject: Membership
subject: Period
description: On the release of Get Back, Peter Jackson’s new documentary on the Beatles, Dominic Sandbrook reveals what eight landmark moments in the Fab Four’s career can tell us about the changing face of Britain in the sixties
encoded: Listen to this article: The Fab Four rejuvenated Britain's image and, as Dominic Sandbrook reveals in eight landmark moments, defined British society in the sixties… John and Paul’s big bang moment Woolton Church Fete, 6 July 1957 It was a sunny afternoon in the summer of 1957, and all seemed right with the world. Twelve years after the end of the Second World War, Harold Macmillan’s Britain was booming, the economy buoyant, the “affluent society” in full swing. And in the comfortable Liverpool suburb of Woolton, everybody was looking forward to the St Peter’s parish church fete, a highlight of the summer calendar. On the surface, it all seemed entirely unremarkable, a sign of the underlying conservatism of British life in the late 1950s. The band of the Cheshire Yeomanry led a procession through the streets, and floats of Scouts and Guides, Cubs and Brownies, Morris dancers and schoolchildren in fancy dress all followed in their wake. In the field behind the church a makeshift stage had been set up, surrounded by stalls selling home-made cakes and sweets, fruit and vegetables and hardware, and sideshows like bagatelle, hoopla and shilling-in-the-bucket. Here was fifties Britain in miniature: an affluent, booming society, but also an intensely nostalgic, self-consciously traditional one, caught between the consolations of the past and the excitements of the future. It was only from this world, with its blend of old and new, that the Beatles could ever have emerged. And it was here, just after four o’clock, that the 15-year-old Paul McCartney had a meeting that would change his life. A keen musical enthusiast, McCartney had come to the fete hoping to meet some girls, but he had also heard reports of a local skiffle band called the Quarry Men, fronted by a teenager called John Lennon. And as he strolled onto the field, the Quarry Men were already on stage, playing a recent hit by the Del-Vikings. When the band had finished – yielding the stage to a display by the City…

https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/7/2021/12/2DDAK8Wbnwbig-a818366-e1640185207739.jpg
width: 1024
height: 660

History’s greatest mysteries: Agatha Christie disappears
type: item
date: 2021-12-27T12:08:09.000Z
creator: Dominic Sandbrook
subject: 20th Century
subject: Membership
subject: Period
subject: History's greatest mysteries podcast series
description: As part of our series on history’s greatest mysteries, Dominic Sandbrook discusses the case of Agatha Christie's disappearance…
encoded: In December 1926, crime writer Agatha Christie left her home and vanished without a trace. When she was discovered 11 days later, Christie claimed to have no memory of what had happened. As part of our series on history’s greatest mysteries, Dominic Sandbrook discusses the case that baffled the British public and triggered one of the largest manhunts ever mounted. Browse all episodes in our podcast series on History's Greatest Mysteries

Pod-Mysteries1-WL-9b59554.jpg
width: 620
height: 413