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Tales of scientific innovation and merchant enterprise, from steam power and life-saving medicines to new trade partners far away, and new ways to reach them.

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Discovery and Invention

Abel Tasman in New Zealand

The Dutch explorer ran across two islands in the Pacific of which Europeans knew nothing, but his chief desire was to get past them.

by William Pember Reeves 1857-1932

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International Relations

Brigands and Imbeciles

John Bright dismissed fears that digging a tunnel under the English Channel would encourage a French invasion.

by John Bright 1811-1889

Character and Conduct

The Great Brassey Keeps his Word

Once railway engineer Thomas Brassey made a promise he kept it — even if he wasn’t aware that he’d made one.

by Samuel Smiles 1812-1904

Mediaeval History

The Voyage of John Cabot

On the Feast of St John the Baptist, June 24th, 1497, Venetian navigator John Cabot claimed North America for the King of England.

by Edith Louise Marsh 1870-1960

Discovery and Invention

The First Steam Whistle

After an accident at a level crossing, the bosses of the Leicester and Swannington Railway acknowledged that drivers needed more than lung power.

by Clement Edwin Stretton 1850-1915

Discovery and Invention

Private Risk, Public Benefit

For George Stephenson, the motto of the Stockton and Darlington Railway was a code to live by.

by Michael Longridge 1785-1858

Liberty and Prosperity

Fuel of Freedom

Victorian economist Alfred Marshall argued that it was no accident that free societies and coal-powered industries are found together.

by Alfred Marshall 1842-1924

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Posts tagged

# Discovery and Invention

Posts tagged

# Discovery and Invention