Enlightenment
(1700)
Naval Gazing: The Enigma of Étienne Bottineau
In 1782, an unknown French engineer offered an invention better than radar: the ability to detect ships hundreds of miles away
October 13, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
Dahomey’s Women Warriors
For the better part of 200 years, thousands of female soldiers fought and died to expand the borders of their West African kingdom. Even their conquerors, the French, acknowledged their "prodigious bravery."
September 23, 2011 |
By Mike Dash
If There’s a Man Among Ye: The Tale of Pirate Queens Anne Bonny and Mary Read
Renowned for their ruthlessness, these two female pirates challenged the sailors’ adage that a woman’s presence on shipboard invites bad luck
August 09, 2011 |
By Karen Abbott
Booting Up a Computer Pioneer’s 200-Year-Old Design
Charles Babbage, the grandfather of the computer, envisioned a calculating machine that was never built, until now
April 02, 2009 |
By Aleta George
A Creche Reborn
In rural Connecticut, a 300-year-old nativity scene is brought back to life by the Metropolitan Museum of Art
December 08, 2008 |
By Courtney Jordan
Doctor Feelgood
Stricken by "vile melancholy," the 18th-century critic and raconteur Samuel Johnson pioneered a modern therapy
January 2007 |
By John Geirland
