The History Hour8 Mar 2025

The invention of the shopping trolley and the Calais 'Jungle'

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service.

We find out how Sylvan Goldman’s invention of the shopping trolley in 1930s America turned him into a multi-millionaire.

Our expert is Rachel Bowlby, Professor of Comparative Literature at University College London, who is also the author of two books on the history of shopping.

We hear about Toyota’s military pick-up trucks that transformed the 1987 north African conflict between Chad and Libya.

The 2015 migrant crisis in Europe which led to thousands of people setting-up camp in the French port of Calais.

Next, how US forces invaded the Central American state of Panama in 1989 to depose General Manuel Noriega.

And finally in 1965 at the height of the USA’s civil rights struggle, the landmark legislation that was brought in to guarantee the rights of African Americans to vote.

This programme contains outdated language which some people might find offensive.

Contributors: Charles Kuralt – a journalist for CBS News Sylvan Goldman – inventor of the shopping trolley Rachel Bowlby - Professor of Comparative Literature at University College London Mahamat Saleh Bani - former officer in the Chadian Armed Forces Enrique Jelenszky – lawyer Jean-Marc Puissesseau - former President and Chairman of the Port of Calais C T Vivian – US minister George Wallace – former Governor of Alabama Lyndon B Johnson – former President of the United States

(Photo: A woman pushing a shopping cart, 1949. Credit: Bettman via Getty Images)

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