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Search filters ‹ Back to results | Science History Images (46,354) Page 1 of 464 John Hunter (February 13, 1728 - October 16, 1793) was a Scottish surgeon. He was an early advocate of careful observation, scientific method in medicine, and an excellent anatomist. He built up a collection of living animals whose skeletons and other organs he prepared as anatomical specimens. His died in 1793 at the age of 65. Chinese rat-catcher. A rat-catcher is a person who practices rat-catching as a professional form of pest control. Keeping the rat population under control was practiced in Europe to prevent the spread of diseases, most notoriously the Black Plague, and to prevent damage to food supplies. In modern developed countries, such a professional is otherwise known as a pest control operative or pest technician. Rat-catchers may attempt to capture rats themselves, or release ratters, animals trained or naturally skilled at catching them. They may also set a rat trap or other traps. Modern methods of ra Airplane and signal tower, World War 1. Fedele Azari (Italian, 1895 - 1930); Italy; 1914 - 1929; Gelatin silver print. Euclid (meaning, good glory, 300 BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician, often referred to as the ''Father of Geometry''. Little is known about his life. The date and place of Euclid's birth and the date and circumstances of his death are unknown. No likeness or description of Euclid's physical appearance made during his lifetime survived antiquity. Therefore, Euclid's depiction in works of art is the product of the artist's imagination. Michael Faraday (September 22, 1791 - August 25, 1867) was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. Faraday experimented with electricity and magnetism, proposing that magnetism was a circular force. He is also known for discovering magnetic optical rotation, electromagnetic induction, inventing the dynamo, perfecting the Bunsen burner, and formulating the second law of electrolysis. Author of ''Chemical Manipulation'', Faraday was self-trained and contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry after an apprent Entitled: 'Air mail. Inauguration of service, Polo Field.' The first scheduled U.S. Air Mail service began on May 15, 1918, using six converted United States Army Air Service Curtiss JN-4HM 'Jenny' biplanes flown by Army pilots under the command of Major Reuben H. Fleet and operating on a route between Washington, D.C. (Washington Polo Grounds) and New York City (Belmont Park) with an intermediate stop in Philadelphia (Bustleton Field). John Snow (March 15, 1813 - June 16, 1858) was an English physician and a leader in the adoption of anesthesia and medical hygiene. He is considered one of the fathers of modern epidemiology, in part because of his work in tracing the source of a cholera outbreak in Soho, London, in 1854. His findings inspired fundamental changes in the water and waste systems of London, which led to similar changes in other cities, and a significant improvement in general public health around the world. Snow suffered a stroke while working in his office. He never recovered, dying in 1858, at the age of 45. Hildegard of Bingen (1098 - September 17, 1179) was a German Benedictine abbess, writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, visionary, and polymath. She is considered to be the founder of scientific natural history in Germany. One of her works as a composer, the Ordo Virtutum, is an early example of liturgical drama and arguably the oldest surviving morality play. Johannes Kepler (December 27, 1571 - November 15, 1630) was a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer. A key figure in the 17th century scientific revolution, he is best known for his works Astronomia nova, Harmonices Mundi, and Epitome Astronomiae Copernicanae. These works also provided one of the foundations for Isaac Newton's theory of universal gravitation. Kepler devised the three fundamental laws of planetary motion. Louis Pasteur (December 27, 1822 - September 28, 1895) was a French chemist and bacteriologist who founded the science of microbiology. Pasture discovered that disease could be caused by bacteria transmitted from person to person (the germ theory of disease). He also developed vaccines for rabies and anthrax. Pasteur also found that lightly heating food and beverages could preserve them from souring. This pasteurization process is now widely used in the food industry. An illustration of the herniation of an intervertebral disk in the lumbar spine. Individuals suffer from a herniated disk when the outer fibrous tissue of the disk, known as the anulus fibrosus, can rupture due to trauma or old age. As a result, the gel-like center of the disk protrudes outward and compresses the nerves in the back, weakening muscles and causing severe local back pain. Illustration showing the three types of exocrine secretion (left to right): Merocine, Apocrine, and Holocrine. In Merocine secretion, the cell stays intact; in Apocrine secretion, the pinched off portion of the cell is the secretion; and in Holocrine, the mature cell dies and becomes the secretory product. Rhizobium are a bacteria that have a symbiotic relationship with plants, specifically legumes and Parasponia. After colonizing plants roots with nodules, they convert ammonia and provide organic nitrogenous compounds to the plant. Textiles: five scenes of silk manufacture in China. The production of silk originates in China in prehistoric times. Silk remained confined to China until the Silk Road opened at some point during the later half of the first millennium BC. China maintained its virtual monopoly over silk production for another thousand years. Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. William Hyde Wollaston (August 6, 1766 - December 22, 1828) was an English chemist and physicist. In 1793 William obtained a doctorate in medicine from Cambridge University and was a fellow of his college from 1787 to 1828. During his studies he became interested in chemistry, crystallography, metallurgy and physics. The mineral wollastonite is named after him. Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de Condorcet (September 17, 1743 - March 28, 1794) was a French philosopher, mathematician, and early political scientist whose Condorcet method in voting tally selects the candidate who would beat each of the other candidates in a run-off election. He advocated a liberal economy, free and equal public education, constitutionalism, and equal rights for women and people of all races. Operating a hand drill at Vultee-Nashville, woman is working on a Vengeance dive bomber, Tennessee. Although the image of 'Rosie the Riveter' reflected the industrial work of welders and riveters, the majority of working women filled non-factory positions in every sector of the economy. What unified the experiences of these women was that they proved to themselves, and the country, that they could do a man's job and could do it well. Photographed by Alfred T. Palmer, 1942. Inokashira no ike benzaiten no yashiro. Snow scene of Benzaiten Shrine in Inokashira pond. two people crossing a bridge to a building on a small island during a winter snowstorm. Ukiyo-e (picture of the floating world) is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Ukiyo-e was central to forming the West's perception of Japanese art in the late 19th century. The landscape genre has come to dominate Western perceptions of ukiyo-e. Entitled: 'Washington youngster solves parking problem.' Transportation and no parking worries. Nelm Clark, 16-year old Washington youngster, solved this problem by combining a lawn mower motor with a set of motor cycle gears to make this unusual midget auto. Costing $60 to build the contraption weighs only 150 pounds--the weight is its main feature--and if you run out of gas you easily push it or tuck it under your arm and walk home. Washington, D.C. Photographed by Harris & Ewing March 30, 1937. Gymnastics for ladies: a treatise on the science and art of calisthenic and gymnastic exercises by Madame Brenner. The model in this illustration is exercising with Dumb-Bells. The dumbbell, a type of free weight, is a piece of equipment used in weight training. It can be used individually or in pairs, with one in each hand. Rossa Matilda Richter (1863 - 1937), AKA Zazel, was an English trapeze artist. In 1871, William Leonard Hunt developed a mechanism he called a 'projector.' Made out of heavy springs and Indian rubber, it shot a person forward, employing a gunpowder-based explosion only for effect. Richter's first performance of the stunt was on April 10, 1877, at the Royal Aquarium in London. She traveled 20 feet and landed in a net. Illustration showing the location of the salivary glands in a female profile. Nicholas Culpeper (October 18, 1616 - January 10, 1654) was an English botanist, herbalist, physician, and astrologer. His published books includes The English Physitian (1652), The Complete Herbal (1653), which contains a rich store of pharmaceutical and herbal knowledge, and Astrological Judgement of Diseases from the Decumbiture of the Sick (1655), which is one of the most detailed documents known on the practice of medical astrology. Horace-Bénédict de Saussure (February 17, 1740 - January 22, 1799) was a Genevan geologist, meteorologist, physicist, mountaineer and Alpine explorer, often called the founder of alpinism and modern meteorology. He closely examined the inclination of the strata, the nature of the rocks, the fossils and the minerals of the Alps. Illustration showing the relative sizes of an E. coli bacterium (top, purple) and several different viruses. Includes an inset showing the relative size of E. coli to a red blood cell. Means by which the large blocks of travertine and marble were lifted during the construction of the large Tomb of Caecilia Metella, from Le Antichita Romane (Roman Antiquities), 1756-57. Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italian, 1720 - 1778) While Piranesi was at work on the Antichita Romane, the result of years of research into the highly developed engineering skills of the Romans, the first threats to Roman preeminence were heard. John Hunter (February 13, 1728 - October 16, 1793) was a Scottish surgeon. He was an early advocate of careful observation, scientific method in medicine, and an excellent anatomist. He built up a collection of living animals whose skeletons and other organs he prepared as anatomical specimens. His died in 1793 at the age of 65. Diagram of the vestige of the left superior cava and of a case of its persistence. Mustachioed man in top hat riding a tricycle with a wooden horse attached to it, around 1865. Petrus Camper (May 11, 1722 - April 7, 1789) was a Dutch physician, anatomist, physiologist, midwife, zoologist, anthropologist, paleontologist and a naturalist. On the first canvas the head of a child, the head of an adult man, and the head of an old man were shown with their skulls above them, all in profile. Facial Angles refers to the content of two lectures by Petrus Camper on August 1st and 8th in 1770 to the Amsterdam Drawing Academy. John Hunter (February 13, 1728 - October 16, 1793) was a Scottish surgeon. He was an early advocate of careful observation, scientific method in medicine, and an excellent anatomist. He built up a collection of living animals whose skeletons and other organs he prepared as anatomical specimens. His died in 1793 at the age of 65. James Ferguson (April 25,1710 - November 17, 1776) was a Scottish astronomer and instrument maker. After his father taught him to write, he was sent to the grammar school for three months and that was all the formal education he ever received. In 1720 he was sent to a neighboring farm to keep sheep, where he amused himself by making models of machines, and at night he studied the stars. A young man plays a violin in front of a Punch and Judy stand while a puppeteer, who usually hides underneath the stand, manipulates the puppet. The hat and feet of second puppeteer can be seen hiding behind the curtain. Engraving by Giovanni Volpato after Francesco Maggiotto, c. late 18th century. The death of the Duke of Wellington. Arthur Wellesley (May 1, 1769 - September 14, 1852), was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman. Wellesley rose to prominence as a general during the Peninsular campaign of the Napoleonic Wars, and was promoted to the rank of field marshal after leading the allied forces to victory against the French Empire at the Battle of Vitoria in 1813. Following Napoleon's exile in 1814, he served as the ambassador to France and was granted a dukedom.. Engraving by J.L. Illustration of the feet, showing foot reflexology zones. Foot reflexology is a form of alternative medicine in which zones of the feet are believed to correspond to different parts of the body. An illustration comparing an obese and normal sleeper. In adults, sleep apnea is commonly caused by excess weight and obesity. During sleep, when the throat and tongue muscles are more relaxed, soft tissue, excess fat deposits and the weight of abdominal fat pressing on the lungs can interfere with normal sleep. Various leaf forms, leaf venation, bud arrangements and woody stems. Watercolor by Isabel Sawkins. The illustration includes: lime, spruce fir, walnut, horse chestnut, section of the bud of the ash, spines of the plecticomo palm, prickles of the brier rose, parallel nerves of the iris, sappy leaf, forked nerves of the fern, reticulated nerves, the color discharged by the nerves, reticulated nerves, and compound leaf. Thomas Henry Huxley (May 4, 1825 - June 29, 1895) was an English biologist, known as 'Darwin's Bulldog' for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Huxley's famous 1860 debate with Samuel Wilberforce was a key moment in the wider acceptance of evolution, and in his own career. Huxley was slow to accept some of Darwin's ideas, such as gradualism, and was undecided about natural selection, but despite this he was wholehearted in his public support of Darwin. Illustration of a hand touching a hot stove element and reaction in the body's neural circuits. Civil engineering: various bridges in Britain and Europe. Engraving by Gray and son, 1799 Acu-moxa point chart, showing the weizhong (Middle of the Crook) point, from Chuanwu lingji lu (Record of Sovereign Teachings), by Zhang Youheng, a treatise on acu-moxa in two volumes. This work survives only in a manuscript draft, completed in 1869 (8th year of the Tongzhi reign period of the Qing dynasty). The weizhong point is located at the back of the knee joint, in the middle of the popliteal crease. It can be needled to a depth of 5 fen (1 fen [0.1 cun/Chinese proportional inch] = c. 0. Abu 'Ali al-Husayn ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Sina (980-1037), commonly known as Ibn Sina or by his Latinized name Avicenna, was a Persian polymath, who wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived. His most famous works are The Book of Healing, a vast philosophical and scientific encyclopedia, and The Canon of Medicine, which was a standard medical text at many medieval universities. Mosaic floor inlay in the Cathedral of Siena of Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus. Hermes Trismegistus is the purported author of the Hermetic Corpus, a series of sacred texts that are the basis of Hermeticism. He may be a representation of the union of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth, both gods of writing and of magic. As a divine source of wisdom, Hermes Trismegistus was credited with tens of thousands of writings of high standing. William Lloyd Garrison with 'spirit', taken between 1862 - 1875. Garrison (1805-1879) was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. This albumen silver print was created by William H. Mumler (American, 1832 - 1884); Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Spirit photography was believed to capture images of ghosts and other spiritual entities. It was especially popular in the 19th century, first used by William H. Mumler in the 1860s. Charles William Siemens (April 4, 1823 - November 19, 1883) was a German-born engineer who for most of his life worked in Britain and later became a British subject. The regenerative furnace is his greatest single invention using the Siemens-Martin process. The electric pyrometer, which is perhaps the most elegant and original of all his inventions, is also the link which connects his electrical with his metallurgical researches. Charles Lyell (November 14, 1797 - February 22, 1875) was a Scottish geologist. Lyell at first embarked on a legal career, but his interests in geology led to his appointment as secretary of the Geological Society in 1823. In 1830-33 he published his three-volume masterpiece, Principles of Geology. In it, he provided proof to support the principle of Uniformitarianism stated by James Hutton. A postcard is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Postcards were made because people were looking for an easier way to send quick notes. The Post Office was the only establishment allowed to print postcards, and it held its monopoly until May 19, 1898, when Congress passed the Private Mailing Card Act, which allowed private publishers and printers to produce postcards. An illustration showing the cancer risks of obesity. The anatomy of plants/with an idea of a philosophical history of plants. and several other lectures. Read before the Royal Society. Printed by W. Rawlins for the author, 1682. Tab. 31 - Fig branch cut transversly. Nehemiah Grew (September 26, 1641 - March 25, 1712) was an English plant anatomist and physiologist, known as the Father of Plant Anatomy. In 1671 he took the degree of M.D. at Leiden University. In 1672, he settled in London, and soon acquired an extensive practice as a physician. Walter Raleigh (1554 - October 29,1618) was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is most remembered for popularizing tobacco in England. His plan in 1584 for colonization in North America ended in failure at Roanoke Island, but paved the way for subsequent colonies. Aquaporins also called water channels, are integral membrane proteins from a larger family of major intrinsic proteins that form pores in the membrane of biological cells and allow water to flow between cells. Acu-moxa point chart, showing the lieque (Break in the Sequence) point, from Chuanwu lingji lu (Record of Sovereign Teachings), by Zhang Youheng, a treatise on acu-moxa in two volumes. This work survives only in a manuscript draft, completed in 1869 (8th year of the Tongzhi reign period of the Qing dynasty). The text states: The lieque point is located on the radial side of the forearm, 1.5 cun above the crease of the wrist. Chippewa or Ojibwe graves and mourners, in a feast for the dead, 1873. 'In front of the nearest grave is seen the grave post, with leaves and a vessel for offerings tied to it. In the end of the wooden structure covering the grave is a hole for inserting offerings of food, and at top it is ornamented with leaves. At the side is hung the worked knife-case of the deceased, and above is a headdress of feathers.' John William Dawson. James Miranda Steuart Barry (1790s - July 25, 1865, born Margaret Ann Bulkley) was an Irish military surgeon in the British Army. Barry obtained a medical degree from the University of Edinburgh Medical School, then served first in Cape Town, South Africa and subsequently in many parts of the British Empire. Before retirement, Barry had risen to the rank of Inspector General in charge of military hospitals, the second highest medical office in the British Army. Illustration depicting gut bacteria in the stomach. Historical diagram of the brain, showing the process of sight, by Rene Descartes. The Nervous System, 1662. Entitled: 'Crying child with bleeding hand standing on box on chair in front of mirror above dresser and holding razor with soap on face'. Photographed by E. Donald Roberts, 1898. Illustration of damaged islets of Langerhans in type 1 diabetes. Woodcut from De Re Metallica. Machine for drawing water. Georgius Agricola (March 24, 1494 - November 21, 1555) was a German scholar and scientist, known as ''the father of mineralogy''. In 1556 he published his book De Re Metallica, a treatise on mining and extractive metallurgy, with woodcuts illustrating processes to extract ores from the ground and metal from the ore, and the many uses of water mills in mining. Marie François Xavier Bichat (November 14, 1771 - July 22, 1802) was a French anatomist and physiologist. Bichat is best remembered as the father of modern histology and pathology. Bichat's main contribution to medicine and physiology was his perception that the diverse body of organs contain particular tissues or membranes, and he described 21 such membranes, including connective, muscle, and nerve tissue. Pierre Eugène Marcellin Berthelot (October 25, 1827 - March 18, 1907) was a French chemist and politician noted for the Thomsen-Berthelot principle of thermochemistry which argued that all chemical changes are accompanied by the production of heat and that processes which occur will be ones in which the most heat is produced. He synthesized many organic compounds from inorganic substances and disproved the theory of vitalism. He is considered as one of the greatest chemists of all time. Entitled: 'In the Rogue's Gallery' cat is posed seated on a chair in front of another cat operating a camera. No photographer credited, 1898. Portrait of Russell Wallace soon after his return from the East. Alfred Russel Wallace (January 8, 1823 -November 7, 1913) was a Welsh naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist. He is best known for independently proposing a theory of evolution due to natural selection that prompted Charles Darwin to publish his own theory. Compound steam engines use two or more cylinders to allow the steam to expand, beginning at the input pressure and ending at the exhaust pressure, in two or more stages. Compounds are referred to by the number of stages of expansions that the steam undergoes. Most common is the double compound simple referred to as a compound steam engine. These consist only of a high pressure and a low pressure cylinder. Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (December 6, 1778 - May 9, 1850) was a French chemist and physicist known for his studies on the physical properties of gases. His first major investigation concerned the thermal expansion of gases. This was significant in the establishment of the Kelvin temperature scale later in the century. In 1805, he collaborated with Alexander von Humboldt in determining the proportions of hydrogen and oxygen present in water. Bats of the genus Pteropus, belonging to the megabat suborder, Megachiroptera, are the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as the fruit bats or flying foxes among other colloquial names. They live in the tropics and subtropics of Asia (including the Indian subcontinent), Australia, East Africa, and a number of remote oceanic islands in both the Indian and Pacific Oceans. At least 60 extant species are in this genus. The Five Punishments was the collective name for a series of physical penalties meted out by the legal system of pre-modern Dynastic China. Over time, the nature of the Five Punishments varied. One of the Five Punishments in Imperial China was Si, death. Following the Sui and Tang Dynasties there were generally two options: strangulation or decapitation. Helena Antonia Galeckha of Liège (1550-1595) was a bearded female court dwarf of Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress and was a favorite of Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain, and also a lady-in-waiting for Constance of Austria. A relatively small number of women are able to grow enough facial hair to have a distinct beard. In some cases, female beard growth is the result of a hormonal imbalance (usually androgen excess), or a rare genetic disorder known as hypertrichosis. Raymond Arthur Dart (February 4, 1893 - November 22, 1988) was an Australian anatomist and anthropologist. In 1924, Dart discovered the first Australopithecus africanus fossil, an extinct hominin closely related to humans. Secchu aiaigasa. Couple under umbrella in the snow (crow and heron). a man and a woman standing in the snow beneath a snow-covered umbrella. Ukiyo-e (picture of the floating world) is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Ukiyo-e was central to forming the West's perception of Japanese art in the late 19th century. Women dressed in instrument costumes, c. 1865. Albumen silver print. Steam powered vehicle designed by Gravesande, 1720. Willem Jacob 's Gravesande (September 26, 1688 - February 28, 1742) was a Dutch lawyer and natural philosopher, remembered for developing experimental demonstrations of the laws of classical mechanics. Professor Owen mounted upon a Chimera. Richard Owen (July 20, 1804 - December 18, 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and paleontologist. One of his positions was that of prosector for the London Zoo, which meant that he had to dissect and preserve any zoo animals that died in captivity. This gave him vast experience with the anatomy of exotic animals. He produced a vast array of scientific work, but is probably best remembered today for coining the word Dinosauria. Map charting the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, 1831-36. The Beagle carried Charles Darwin during the voyage that inspired his theory of evolution. Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was an English naturalist and geologist. The Tenth Key of Basil Valentine from the 'Twelve Keys of Basil Valentine,' an influential alchemical work first published in 1599 by Johann Thölde. It discusses general alchemical principles. Each chapter, or 'key,' is an allegorical description of one step in the process of creating the philosopher's stone, a legendary alchemical substance capable of turning base metals into gold. Abu 'Ali al-Husayn ibn 'Abd Allah ibn Sina (980-1037), commonly known as Ibn Sina or by his Latinized name Avicenna, was a Persian polymath, who wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived. His most famous works are The Book of Healing, a vast philosophical and scientific encyclopedia, and The Canon of Medicine, which was a standard medical text at many medieval universities. Model of pain perception. Descartes originally planned to publish De homine in 1633, but hearing of Galileo’s condemnation by the Church, he became concerned for his own safety and refused to have it printed. The first edition of this work appeared 12 years after his death. René Descartes (March 31, 1596 - February 11, 1650) was a French mathematician, philosopher and physiologist. Richard Bright (September 28, 1789 - December 16, 1858) was an English physician. During the 1820s and 1830s Bright again worked at Guy's Hospital, teaching, practicing and researching medicine. There he worked alongside two other celebrated medical pioneers, Thomas Addison and Thomas Hodgkin. His research into the causes and symptoms of kidney disease led to his identifying what became known as Bright's disease. For this, he is considered the father of nephrology. In most medieval households, cooking was done on an open hearth in the middle of the main living area, to make efficient use of the heat. This was the most common arrangement, even in wealthy households, where the kitchen was combined with the dining hall. Towards the Late Middle Ages a separate kitchen area began to evolve. Jacob Christian Hansen Ellehammer (1871-1946) was a Danish watchmaker and inventor who made early contributions to powered flight. Unaware of the Wright brothers' success a couple of years earlier, Ellehammer worked in isolation to invent a means of flight, a feat he achieved in a 'semi-biplane' on September 12, 1906. He soon shifted his attention to vertical flight craft, succeeding in 1912 in hopping along above ground in an experimental helicopter. Textiles: silk manufacture in China, spinning the threads. The Chinese art of twisting silk threads. The production of silk originates in China in prehistoric times. Silk remained confined to China until the Silk Road opened at some point during the later half of the first millennium BC. China maintained its virtual monopoly over silk production for another thousand years. Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Charles John Huffam Dickens (February 7, 1812 - June 9, 1870) was an English author and social critic. He created some of the world's most memorable fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian period. Dickens was the literary colossus of his age and his works enjoyed unprecedented fame. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, is one of the most influential works ever written, and it remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. An illustration showing the cancer risks of obesity. Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (April 15, 1452 - May 2, 1519) was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer. His genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal, often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance Man. Reproduction of woodcut by Egidio Lenci, 1928. Erastus Brigham Bigelow (April 2, 1814 - December 6, 1879) was an American inventor of weaving machines. He showed an inventive genius at the early age of 14, when he invented a machine to manufacture piping cord. He then devised a hand loom for suspender webbing. His work on Stenography (1832), a short manual on shorthand writing, was written and published about this time. In 1838, he invented a power loom for weaving knotted counterpanes, and later a power loom to weave coach lace. The harmonic couple. A man and a woman sitting on a bench, playing a flute, beneath a blossoming tree. Ukiyo-e (picture of the floating world) is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Ukiyo-e was central to forming the West's perception of Japanese art in the late 19th century. From the 1870s Japonism became a prominent trend and had a strong influence on the early Impressionists, as well as Post-Impressionists and Art Nouveau artists. Benjamin Franklin with his Kite in the background. Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 - April 17, 1790) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was an author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. Color enhanced drawings of the Moon and the Pleiades from Hooke's Micrographia. Robert Hooke (1635-1703) was a British scientist who made numerous discoveries in fields as diverse as astronomy and microbiology. His name is remembered in Hooke's Law, which relates the load on a spring to its extension. He used a compound microscope to observe a wide range of specimens and then published the results of his remarkably detailed observations in Micrographia in 1665. Mercury in his chariot, riding across the heavens. Mercury was a messenger who wore winged sandals and a god of trade, thieves, and travel, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His characteristics and mythology were borrowed from the analogous Greek god, Hermes. Mercury has influenced the name of many things in a variety of scientific fields, such as the planet Mercury, and the element mercury. Airplane, viewed from above looking down, during World War 1. Fedele Azari (Italian, 1895 - 1930); Italy; 1914 - 1929; Gelatin silver print. Map showing the spread of the Black Death in the 14th century from Asia to the Middle East, Western Europe, and North Africa. Areas of major outbreaks are indicated in black. The bubonic plague was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people in Eurasia in the 14th century. The bacterium Yersinia pestis, which results in several forms of plague, is thought to have been the cause. Illustration of the feet, showing foot reflexology zones. Foot reflexology is a form of alternative medicine in which zones of the feet are believed to correspond to different parts of the body. Tower of Babel engraving by Alain Manesson Mallet (1630-1706) a French cartographer and engineer. His Description de L'Universe contains a wide variety of information, including star maps, maps of the ancient and modern world, and a synopsis of the customs, religion and government of the many nations included in his text. According to Genesis the people of the Earth built a tower to scale heaven. Disposal of the dead, under police supervision during a cholera epidemic in Japan. The third cholera pandemic mainly affected Russia, with over one million deaths. In 1852, cholera spread east to Indonesia, and later was carried to China and Japan in 1854. The Philippines were infected in 1858 and Korea in 1859. In 1859, an outbreak in Bengal contributed to transmission of the disease by travelers and troops to Iran, Iraq, Arabia and Russia. An illustration of the herniation of an intervertebral disk in the lumbar spine. Individuals suffer from a herniated disk when the outer fibrous tissue of the disk, known as the anulus fibrosus, can rupture due to trauma or old age. As a result, the gel-like center of the disk protrudes outward and compresses the nerves in the back, weakening muscles and causing severe local back pain. John Dalton (September 6, 1766 - July 27, 1844) was an English chemist, meteorologist and physicist. Though he is best known for his pioneering work in the development of modern atomic theory he began a meteorological diary in 1787 in which he entered more than 200,000 observations. Ueno no hanami. Cherry blossom viewing at Ueno. Print shows a man, two women, and a young child viewing cherry blossoms. A cherry blossom (commonly known in Japan as sakura) is the flower of any of several trees of genus Prunus, particularly the Japanese cherry, Prunus serrulata. Edward Jenner (May 17, 1749 - January 26, 1823) was an English physician and scientist who was the pioneer of smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine. His work is said to have saved more lives than the work of any other human. In Jenner’s time, smallpox killed around 10 percent of the population, with the number as high as 20 percent in towns and cities where infection spread more easily. Oil painting attributed to John Raphael Smith, undated. Entitled: ''Appliance for the treatment of masturbation.'' Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. Masturbation has been depicted in art since prehistoric times and is mentioned and discussed in very early writings. Starting in the 17th century, doctors began to believe that masturbation caused insanity, disease, dysfunction and poor character. The 1910 approach of Halley's Comet, which came into naked-eye view around April 10 and came to perihelion on April 20, was notable for several reasons: it was the first approach of which photographs exist, and the first for which spectroscopic data were obtained. Furthermore, the comet made a relatively close approach of 0.15 AU, making it a spectacular sight. Indeed, on May 19, Earth actually passed through the tail of the comet. Next page Page 1 of 464 12345678910