The modern match is ignited by friction, a simple idea but one which had not occurred to anyone until 1826, when a Stockton pharmacist dropped a stick.
Discovery and Invention
The Man Who Mapped the Moon
In 1609, Englishman Thomas Harriot turned his new-fangled telescope on the moon, and sketched for the first time the face of another world.
fromScience (Journal)1921
Winston Spencer Churchill
The Uganda Railway
When it opened in 1901, the Uganda Railway still wasn’t in Uganda, and
Westminster’s MPs were still debating whether or not to build it.
byWinston Spencer Churchill1874-1965
Discovery and Invention
It’s Better by Rail
A contributor to the ‘Annual Review’ shared a flurry of facts about the
new Liverpool and Manchester Railway, showing what a blessing it already was.
fromThe Annual Review1832
Discovery and Invention
Roses and Poor-Rates
When Robert Southey called for a fairer and greener economy, Thomas Macaulay
warned that only politicians and bureaucrats would thank him.
byThomas Babington Macaulay1800-1859
Discovery and Invention
The Iron Seamstress
William Jerrold saw the new-fangled sewing machine
as an opportunity to get women into the professions — but time was of the essence.