Stuff You Missed in History Class

The Swing Riots took place in eastern and southern England in the years between the Luddite uprising and the Rebecca Riots. One of the hallmarks of the riots was the destruction of threshing machines – but that’s just part of the story.
Research:
Caprettini, Bruno and Hans-Joachim Voth. “Rage Against the Machines: Labor-saving Technology and Unrest in England, 1830-32.” American Economic Review: Insights. Vol. 2, no. 3, September 2020. https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/aeri.20190385
Carl J. Griffin, “Luddism, Machine-Breaking and the Swing Riots”, Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique [Online], XXX-1 | 2025, Online since 13 January 2025, connection on 14 April 2026. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/rfcb/12984 ; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/133dc
Chiltern Open Air Museum. “What were the Swing Riots?” https://www.coam.org.uk/blogs/swing-riots
Cobbett, William. “Selections from Cobbett's political works : being a complete abridgment of the 100 volumes which comprise the writings of ‘Porcupine’ and the ‘Weekly political register.’” London. Anne Cobbett. 1835.
Dyck, Ian. "Cobbett, William (1763–1835), political writer and farmer." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. September 23, 2004. Oxford University Press. Date of access 22 Jul. 2026, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-5734
Griffin, Carl J. “Swing, Swing Redivivus, or Something After Swing? On the Death Throes of a Protest Movement, December 1830-December 1833.” International Review of Social History. Vol. 54, No. 3. December 2009. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44583279
Griffin, Carl J. “The Violent Captain Swing?” Past & Present, Nov. 2010. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40960936
Hampshire History. “The Swing Riots in Hampshire.” https://www.hampshire-history.com/the-swing-riots/
History Hub. “William Cobbett: a champion of the rural poor and the reform of Parliament | Documentary.” YouTube. 10/22/2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWO4wjfqJBw
Jones, Peter. “Finding Captain Swing: Protest, Parish Relations, and the State of the Public Mind in 1830.” International Review of Social History. Vol. 54, No. 3. December 2009. Via JSTOR. http://www.jstor.com/stable/44583278
Kellett, Ian. “’Swing’ Rioters Smash Machinery at Pythouse near Tisbury.” Shaftesbury Gold Hill Museum. https://goldhillmuseum.org.uk/swing-rioters-smash-machinery-at-pythouse-near-tisbury/
Navickas, Katrina. “Captain Swing in the North: the Carlisle Riots of 1830.” History Workshop Journal. No. 71. Spring 2011. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41306809
Navickas, Katrina. “Rural Resistance and the Swing Riots.” Protest and the Politics of Space. http://protesthistory.org.uk/moors/rural-resistance-and-the-swing-riots
Randall, Adrian. “‘The Luddism of the poor’: Captain Swing, machine breaking and popular protest.” Southern History, 32, 2010, pp. 41-61.
Randall, Adrian. “Captain Swing: A Retrospect.” International Review of Social History. Vol. 54, No. 3. December 2009. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44583277
Wells, Roger. “Mr William Cobbett, Captain Swing, and King William IV.” Agricultural History Review, Volume 45 Part 1 (1997), pp. 34–48. https://www.bahs.org.uk/AGHR/ARTICLE.html?ID=439&MOD=this
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This 2018 episode covers the Battle of Amiens, near the end of World War I. It was the start of what came to be known as the 100 Days Offensive, which was the Allies’ final push to win the war.
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Tracy and Holly talk about experiences in intensely hot weather. Holly shares how moved she was by Samuel Plimsoll’s obituaries.
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Samuel Plimsoll was an advocate for better working conditions for sailors, and for a lot of other things. A lot of contemporary accounts refer to him as an agitator.
Research:
Bibby, Miriam. “Samuel Plimsoll and the Plimsoll Line.” Historic UK. June 14, 2024. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Samuel-Plimsoll-Line/
Britannica Editors. "Samuel Plimsoll". Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 May. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-Plimsoll
“Death of Mr. Samuel Plimsoll.” The Lichfield Mercury. June 4, 1898. https://www.newspapers.com/image/797510210/?match=1&terms=%22samuel%20plimsoll%22
“Friends of Humanity.” Democrat and Chronicle. Apr 27, 1913. https://www.newspapers.com/image/135735684/?match=1&terms=%22samuel%20plimsoll%22
Glover, William. “Samuel Plimsoll and the 1880 Carriage of Grain Legislation.” The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord, XXX, No. 4 (Winter 2020), 419-448. https://www.cnrs-scrn.org/northern_mariner/vol30/tnm_30_419-448.pdf
“Jack Tar’s Friend.” The Atchison Daily Globe. July 17, 1896. https://www.newspapers.com/image/479999267/?match=4&terms=%22samuel%20plimsoll%22
Japp, Alexander H. “Good men and true : biographies of workers in the fields of beneficence and benevolence.” Philadelphia. Gebbie. 1890. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/goodmentrue0000unse/page/10/mode/2up
Jones, Nicolette. “The Plimsoll Sensation.” London. Little, Brown. 2006.
Langenberg, William H. “The Plimsoll Mark.” U.S. Naval Institute. Naval History. June 1992. https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/1992/june/plimsoll-mark
“Lundhill Colliery Explosion.” Northern Mine Research Society. https://nmrs.org.uk/mines-map/accidents-disasters/yorkshire/lundhill-colliery-explosion-barnsley-1857/
“The Name of Samuel Plimsoll … “ Birmingham Gazette. June 4, 1898. https://www.newspapers.com/image/815489724/?match=1&terms=%22samuel%20plimsoll%22
“People's College Sheffield (1842 - 1878).” University of Sheffield. https://archives.shef.ac.uk/agents/corporate_entities/212
Plimsoll, Samuel. “Our Seamen: An Appeal.” London. Virtue. 1873. Accessed online: https://archive.org/details/b20406691/page/n15/mode/2up
Robertson, Jen. “It's Plimsoll Day! (and we're talking about ships, not shoes).” National Museums Liverpool. https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/stories/its-plimsoll-day-and-were-talking-about-ships-not-shoes
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Heat waves don’t get as much attention as blizzards, floods, and hurricanes, but extreme heat is one of the deadliest weather events on average.
Research:
National Weather Service. “Weather Related Fatality and Injury Statistics.” https://www.weather.gov/hazstat
Last, John. “This Summer’s Drought Is Europe’s Worst in 500 Years. What Happened Last Time?” Smithsonian Magazine. 9/8/2022. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-summers-drought-is-europes-worst-in-500-years-what-happened-last-time-180980711/
Wetter, Oliver; Seneviratne, Sonia I. et al. “The year-long unprecedented European heat and drought of 1540 - a worst case.” Climatic Change 125(3-4), https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-014-1184-2
Orth, Rene et al. “Did European temperatures in 1540 exceed present-day records?” Environmental Research Letters. 11 (2016) 114021 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/11/114021.
United Nations Environment Programme. “Impacts of summer 2003 heat wave in Europe.” Environmental Alert Bulletin. https://www.unisdr.org/files/1145_ewheatwave.en.pdf
Pfister, Christian. “The ‘Black Swan’ of 1540: Aspects of a European Megadrought.” From Climate Change and Cultural Transition in Europe. Brill. 1/1/2018. doi:10.1163/9789004356825_007
Grodzinsky, Ewa, and Märta Sund Levander. “History of the Thermometer.” Understanding Fever and Body Temperature: A Cross-disciplinary Approach to Clinical Practice 23–35. 23 Aug. 2019, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-21886-7_3
John Huxham, Dr. Watson. “Remarks upon the Heat of the Air in July 1757. in an Extract of a Letter from John Huxham, M. D. F. R. S. to William Watson, M. D. F. R S. Dated at Plymouth 19th of That Month. With Additional Remarks by Dr. Watson.” Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 50 (1757 - 1758), pp. 428-430 (3 pages). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/105279.
Huxham, John. “An Account of the Extraordinary Heat of the Weather in July 1757, and of the Effects of It. In a Letter from John Huxham, M. D. F. R. S. to Wm. Watson, M. D. F. R. S..” Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 50 (1757 - 1758). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/105292
Smeaton, John. “Remarks on the Different Temperature of the Air at Edystone, from That Observed at Plymouth, between the 7th and 14th of July 1757. By Mr. John Smeaton, F. R. S.” Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 50 (1757 - 1758). https://www.jstor.org/stable/105286
Sunderland, Helen. “The Great British Summer? A Historical Heatwave.” Doing History In Public. 8/12/2025. https://doinghistoryinpublic.org/2025/08/12/the-great-british-summer-a-historical-heatwave/
Scott, John. “Four elegies, descriptive and moral.” London J. Buckland. 1760.
The Western Flying Post; or, Sherborne and Yeovil Mercury. Page 3. 8/15/1757.
Lind, James. “An essay on the most effectual means of preserving the health of seamen in the Royal Navy.” 1774.
Walpole, Horace. “The letters of Horace Walpole, fourth earl of Orford.” Vol. 3: 1750-1756. Oxford. 1903.
Zwierlein, Cornel. "Chapter 3 The Danger between Nature and Culture: The Quotidian Threat of Urban Fires in the Premodern Era". Prometheus Tamed. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004431225_004 Web.
Luterbacher, Jürg et al. “European Seasonal and Annual Temperature Variability, Trends and Extremes since 1500.” Science 303, 1499 (2004). DOI: 10.1126/science.1093877
Beniston, Martin. “The 2003 heat wave as an example of summers in a greenhouse climate? Observations and climate model simulations for Basel, Switzerland.” Global and Planetary Change. Volume 44, Issues 1–4, December 2004. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921818104000980
Franck, Marcy. “Heat waves and annual death rates in older adults in the United States.” Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 3/16/2026. https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/heat-waves-and-annual-death-rates-in-older-adults-in-the-united-states/
Poitras, Colin. “Warming U.S. climate linked to rising deaths from heat.” Yale School of Public Health. 11/7/2025. https://ysph.yale.edu/news-article/warming-us-climate-linked-to-rising-deaths-from-heat/
World Meteorological Association. “Western Europe has hottest June on record.” 7/9/2026. https://wmo.int/media/news/western-europe-has-hottest-june-record
Cole, Deborah. “Germany records nearly 100 drowning deaths, many of them young men, in June heatwave.” The Guardian. 6/12/2026. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/12/germany-drowning-deaths-heatwave-paris-france-spain
PBS News. “Europe swelters under an early heat wave as France records 40 drowning deaths.” 6/23/2026. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/europe-swelters-under-an-early-heat-wave-as-france-records-40-drowning-deaths
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