During the development of this summer issue of The Manchester Historian, a tragic and horrific attack occurred upon our city of Manchester. Our team at the Manchester Historian wanted to pay tribute to the victims and all those affected by the awful incident. On 22 May, a suicide bombing occurred at Manchester Arena during an Ariana Grande concert, killing twenty innocent people. Our fine city has been shocked by the attack, but the manner in which the city has responded is something that every Manchester resident, whether they were born and bred here or moved here, should be proud of.

Manchester is a city of immense culture and activity. It is also city of vast diversity – you just need to think about the Curry Mile or the Gay Village for a few examples. We are the city of Emmeline Pankhurst, Alan Turing, and Danny Boyle. Manchester is a city from which Joy Division, Oasis, The Stone Roses and The Smiths hail. However, most importantly, Manchester is a city that has shown how much its population looks after each other and pulls together in very difficult times. As perfectly underlined by Tony Walsh during Manchester’s vigil following the attack, this really is the place. Manchester’s spirit, fight and sense of community is a light that will never go out.

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In this summer issue, we have focused the theme on ‘Moving into a New World.’ We both are in our final years of our degrees at the University of Manchester, and although we are excited about the future, we could not be more glad that we chose this brilliant city and this university to study at. The articles in this issue range from Idi Amin’s reign of terror to the end of the slave trade in the US. We also have submissions on the end of the Cold War, the life of Queen Victoria, and the fall of the Roman Empire.

Source of the picture is Adrian McGarry
Source of the picture is Adrian McGarry

The section on ‘History in the Headlines’ covers pieces on the UK General Election, the recent French election where Emmanuel Macron beat Marine Le Pen, a celebration of Prince Philip’s work and achievements, and 105 years since the Titanic sank.

Under ‘History You Should Know,’ we have a selection of articles on famous people, varying from Sherlock Holmes to Elvis Presley to Simón Bolívar. Finally, we have articles on the division of North and South Korea, the Hungarian revolution, and Armistice Day.

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We cannot thank our contributors enough for the thoughtfully written submissions we have received over the three issues we published.  We would also like to thank the rest of the Manchester Historian team and the amazing History department here at UoM for all their dedication and support. Finally, we want to thank you, our readers, for picking up a copy of the magazine and reading the articles.

For the last time from both of us, we hope you enjoy reading this issue of the Manchester Historian, and have thoroughly enjoyed the vast range of articles we have published this academic year. We wish you all the very best for the future. Happy reading!

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