Continents

Wu Zetian is unique in Chinese history. Had she merely been a powerful Empress, that would have been normal. Had she even been an Empress who ruled in truth through a puppet Emperor, that would have been rare, but not unprecedented. But…

The Reverend Dionysius Lardner, LLD, Professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy in the University of London, FRSE, Hon. FPS Camb., FAstSL, Hon. FSA Scot. and MRIA was, as you might gather, somewhat of a polymath. Born in Dublin to that…

Maurice is a short three part children’s story by a writer who remains best known for the gothic horror of Frankenstein. I came upon Maurice by accident and I can hazard a guess that I am not the only gothic fiction reader who wasn’t aware…

Marcus Licinius Crassus was, by any standard, one of the richest men who has ever lived. Given that when he lived was over two thousand years ago, it’s hard to translate his wealth into modern terms, and estimates vary by orders of…

Prehistoric cave paintings are among the world’s first-known and least-understood works of art. At least two hundred painted caves, some dating to as early as 30,000 BCE, have been found throughout the Pyrenees regions of southern France…

"I have been frequently questioned, especially by women, how I could reconcile family life with a scientific career. Well, it has not been easy." – Marie Curie. When I first decided that Marie Curie would be the next Legend of the Month…

It has happened frequently to me, to celebrate this particular day not in my country. It’s like when a good friend calls you to share his happiness for a special moment in his life, and you are not there to hug him and to celebrate with…

Seoul is a city of landmarks. With a population of over ten million people you’d expect this, but few of these landmarks are older than 100 years, let alone fifty, and only one of these was designed by an Irishman. On the city’s north side…

The Tara Brooch is justifiably among the most celebrated of all works of Celtic art. Dating to the early eighth century, the “Golden Age” of Celtic Irish history, this brooch has been called “The Book of Kells of Irish jewelry”.1 It is one…

Priceless works of art disappearing throughout Europe. Centuries-old monuments imperiled. Masterpieces hidden inside salt mines. A world-famous museum evacuated via ambulance. Clandestine inventories of war loot secretly compiled by quiet…