|
|
| History of Inventions and Discoveries
An Arabic document of the year 644 contains the first known reference to a windmill. The man who in this year assassinates the caliph Omar in the mosque at Medina is described as a Persian builder of windmills
. ...
Read more
Windmill at Opusztaszer in Hungary (David Vigh)
|
|
| Article on Charlie Chaplin
For his second film with Keystone, Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914), Chaplin improvised the costume of baggy trousers, walking cane, bowler hat and moustache which soon provided both his trademark and his character in films.
His special appeal lay in his timing in slapstick farce together with the pathos which he found in the character of the tramp
. ...
Read more
Charlie Chaplin in his costume as the tramp - Enlarge on linked site
|
|
| History of Arms and Armour
The longbow, probably developed in Wales during the 12th century, derives its range, accuracy and power of penetration from two characteristics.
It is about 6 feet long, giving a much greater acceleration to the released arrow than is possible from a shorter conventional bow. And the craftsmen make it from strips of yew cut where the hardened heart of the tree joins the sap wood
. ...
Read more
Sketch of a Welsh archer , 13th century (National Archives, Kew)
|
|
| Article on Art Deco
Art Deco was the dominant international style between the wars. It had developed gradually from about 1905, but the term became current only in the 1960s.
The name was derived from the first big international exhibition of design after World War I, held in Paris in 1925
. ...
Read more
Art Deco Vase by Clarice Cliff, c. 1929 (Victoria and Albert Museum)
|
|
| History of Augustus Caesar
Gaius Octavius, known to history first as Octavian and then as Augustus Caesar, is born in 63 BC in a relatively obscure patrician family.
His only evident advantage in life is that his grandmother is Julia, sister of Julius Caesar. His great-uncle sees talent in the boy and encourages him
. ...
Read more
Bronze head of Augustus, c. 26 BC (British Museum)
|
|
|
|