Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
A young Peter the Great of Russia toured Europe seeking help for his diplomatic, military and architectural plans.
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© Jeff Buck, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Frederick Douglass, the American runaway slave turned Abolitionist, spent some of his happiest days in Britain.
From a self-protrait by John Opie, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
It is not educational institutions and methods that advance science or the arts, but people.
Photo from the National Parks Service (USA), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
British statesmen were among those who inspired the career of one of America’s greatest men, Frederick Douglass.
© Jorge Royan, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
William Hyde Wollaston discovered new elements and helped Faraday to greatness, all from the top of a tea-tray.
Painted by Thomas Phillips in 1842, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Faraday’s work on electromagnetism made him an architect of modern living, and one of Albert Einstein’s three most revered physicists.