1453
The engineer put his own life on the line for the safety of his fellow-workers in the coal industry.
Cornish Professor of Chemistry and multi-award-winning scientist Sir Humphrey Davy invented a safety-lamp for mines in 1815; but up in Newcastle, colliery employee George (‘Geordie’) Stephenson (1781-1848) was already working on his own design – as if his life depended on it.
Posted December 17 2015
1454
A Cornish professor of chemistry with a poetic turn who helped make science a popular fashion.
Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829), rather like the more recent American astronomer Carl Sagan, was not only an authority in his field, but a gifted communicator who inspired others to take an active interest in science.
Posted December 17 2015
1455
A prince falls for a dazzling dance-partner who teasingly vanishes at midnight.
An unhappy young woman treated as a serving-maid by her step-sisters is magically transformed into the belle of the ball. But the prince whose heart she has captured is not content with a lover who vanishes at midnight.
Posted December 16 2015
1456
A misfit duckling grew up with rejection as a way of life, until he thought all hope was gone.
The Ugly Duckling is one of the best-loved of all the fairy tales of Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen, a contemporary and friend of Charles Dickens. Below you will find a very brief précis of the story, which reminds us that it’s not where you came from that matters, it’s where you belong.
Posted December 16 2015
1457
The most important English-born composer of Handel’s day, known for his tuneful music and very busy diary.
Though little-known today, Charles Avison (1709-1770) led a busy life composing, teaching and giving daily concerts in North East England, justly gaining a reputation as the 18th-century’s finest English-born composer.
Posted December 15 2015
