1579
John Goodricke’s observations of Algol won him the Copley Medal while still in his teens, despite his disability.
John Goodricke lost his hearing when just a child, but a combination of a loving family, a private education system more advanced than some people today would have us a believe, and sheer determination meant that he achieved more in his short life than seems possible.
Posted March 13 2015
1580
Handel’s German boss fired the composer for spending all his time in London. When they met again, it was... rather awkward.
George Frideric Handel was employed to write music for the court of George, Elector of Hanover in Germany. He preferred, however, to live in London and write music for Queen Anne.
Posted March 13 2015
1581
The first thing George Frideric Handel’s oratorio ‘Messiah’ did was to set a hundred and forty-two prisoners free.
George Frideric Handel’s Oratorio ‘Messiah’ tells the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, entirely through quotations from the Bible. Its premiere was given in Dublin during the Lenten fast, and from the very beginning it touched hearts and changed lives.
Posted March 13 2015
1582
Fate and a vicious professional thief named Fagin conspire to trap orphan Oliver Twist into a life of crime.
‘Oliver Twist, or, The Parish-Boy’s Progress’ is a novel by Charles Dickens. First published in February 1837, it has been dramatised for film and TV many times, and turned into a popular musical named ‘Oliver!’. Here is the first part of a two-part summary of the plot.
Posted March 13 2015
1583
The proof of Thomas Ferres’s rags-to-riches tale is quite literally written in stone, but popular lore adds some tantalising and romantic detail.
The rags-to-riches story of Thomas Ferres (d. 1631) has blended fact with a good deal of romantic fiction. But Thomas was a real historical figure, and however he came by his wealth, the way he used it to help the poor and vulnerable is deeply moving.
Posted March 13 2015
1584
Josiah Wedgwood, a village potter whose disability meant he could not use a potter’s wheel, brought about a quiet revolution in English society.
The rich have always had nice things; what changed in the eighteenth century was that, because of private enterprise and the industrial revolution, the poor started to share them too. Josiah Wedgwood was one of the pioneers who changed the lives of the poor for the better.
Posted March 13 2015