December 2015

Articles from the December 2015 issue of BBC History Magazine

Britain’s first self-service supermarket, Sainsbury’s in Croydon, opened in 1950. (Sainsbury’s)

A brief history of shopping

Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists

The Library Britain’s tearoom fascists

Clay soldier statues of the Chinese Qin dynasty. (Photo by Getty Images)

General ancient history

The six ages of China

John F Kennedy pictured in 1957

My history hero: John F Kennedy (1917–63)

The famous Big Pit Mining Museum in South Wales

History explorer: Britain’s coal industry

A canal in Venice, Italy

My favourite place: Venice, Italy

A photo which was believed to be of the Loch Ness Monster

The Library The quest for the Loch Ness Monster

A 1628 engraving of the Spanish siege of the Dutch city of Breda

Was James I murdered?

Statue of Napoleon I toppled

La débâcle! The aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War

henry-viii-holbein-portrait-441a58c

The Library Who hijacked Henry VIII’s will?

6._Ceremonial_sword_with_jewelled_gold_hilt_ca._1880-1900_Hyderabad_South_India-7becd1a

In pictures: treasures of the Al Thani Collection

chewit_kindle-9ea2856

Sam’s historical recipe corner: A delicate chewit

Professor Mary Beard, classicist and writer. (Photo by David Levenson/Getty Images)

Books interview with Mary Beard

Illustration by Sarah Young for BBC History Magazine

The Library Richard III: A hostage to fortune