On the Spot: Patricia Fara
‘Who is the most underrated person in history? Tupaia, the Tahitian navigator and translator who enabled James Cook to reach Australia and New Zealand’
Science & Technology
Maiden Flight of the Spitfire
On 5 March 1936 the prototype Spitfire made its maiden flight. Its creator R.J. Mitchell would not live to see its finest hour.
‘The Tree Hunters’ by Thomas Pakenham review
In The Tree Hunters: How the Cult of the Arboretum Transformed Our Landscape, Thomas Pakenham reveals the discoveries of Britain’s buccaneering botanists.
Fear, Friendship and the Channel Tunnel
November 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the first passenger trains between London and Paris. What does the history of the Channel Tunnel tell us about Britain’s relationship with its neighbours?
Paracelsus: Revolutionary or Mystic?
An enfant terrible shook up Renaissance medicine by denouncing experts and debunking accepted wisdom. Was Paracelsus as radical as he seemed?
Aliens and the Enlightenment
In the 18th century the existence of extraterrestrial life went from debatable hypothesis to fundamental tenet of Enlightenment thought.
The Extraordinary Rise and Inexplicable Decline of Lit & Phils
The Literary and Philosophical Society was once ubiquitous, allowing minds to meet and views to collide. Their disappearance has left more questions than answers.
A Brief History of English Numeracy
The people of late medieval and early modern England were almost universally numerate. Is our ability to count the thing that makes us human?
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin and the Making of Stars
What are stars made of? When a young astronomer upset standard explanations for the formation of the solar system, the establishment told her she was wrong – then stole her findings.
The Death of a Mnemonist
Solomon Shereshevsky died on 1 May 1958. He dreamt of being a hero but achieved greatness of another kind.