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Isaac Newton in later life. Painting by James Thornhill. Early Life and Education Newton’s early life was marked by personal hardships. His father died three months before he was born, and when Newton was three, his mother remarried, leaving him in the care of his maternal grandmother. As a child, Newton displayed a curiosity about […]
Clement Attlee with John F. Kennedy in 1961. The UK General Election held in July 2024 was a truly historic event, with Labour returning to office after more than a decade in opposition. The fact that Labour did so with such a massive majority means that they have a strong mandate to transform Britain into […]
A depiction of an early balloon flight in Annonay, France in 1783. The Origins of Hot Air Balloons The idea of flying is something that humans have fantasized about for centuries. Many have theorized about how this could happen. English philosopher Roger Bacon hypothesized in the 13th century that man could fly if attached to […]
A graphic of Nimitz’s plan at the Battle. Copyright Dale Jenkins. Printed with permission. After-action report The after-action report of Rear Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher confirms the intended movements of the carrier force in conformity with the Nimitz plan: ENTERPRISE and HORNET maintained their air groups In readiness as a striking force. During the night […]
Episode 120 (The Prairie Chicken in Wisconsin: Highlights of a Study of Counts, Behavior, Turnover, Movement, and Habitat) The Memory Palace is a proud member of Radiotopia, from PRX, a curated network of extraordinary, story-driven shows. Music We move between three different pieces from Camille Saint-Saens’: Suite, Op. 90: II Menuet, and two from Carnival of… Source […]
Stephen Maturen/Getty Images/Getty Images Stephen Maturen/Getty Images/Getty Images Drunken brawls, coercion, and lace curtains: believe it or not, how regular people vote was not something the Founding Fathers thought much about. Americans went from casting votes at wild parties in the town square to doing so in private booths, behind a drawn curtain. In this […]
Portrait of a scholar (Archimedes?). Domenico Fetti, 1620. Early life and education Archimedes was born into a family connected to the ruling elite of Syracuse. In his work ‘The Sand-Reckoner’, Archimedes gives his father’s name as Phidias, an astronomer about whom nothing else is known, it is assumed this is what likely sparked Archimedes’ early […]
Elizabeth Jennings Graham. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. “We are not going back,” is a refrain heard in this year’s election campaign. We like to think of history as steady progress forward. But during the struggle toward human rights and racial justice in the United States, we have gone back more than once. In July […]
Today, I would like to tell you a story. A story about a sinister conspiracy, a lost and noble prince, an evil tyrant, and a war over the soul of an empire. Or, more likely, a story about a crazed conspiracy theory, a deceitful imposter, an unfortunate monarch, and a chaotic civil war which brought […]
Only six weeks away from Indigenous People’s Day, and tucked away in the Andaman archipelago, is a small island known as North Sentinel. It’s not only one of the most dangerous places on earth, it’s also one of the most important. Unlike the other islands in the Andaman Chain including South Sentinel Island, this island is quite […]