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Mozart's wife Constanze Weber at 78 in a group photograph
- Your grandmother? - Not quite. This is Mozart's wife, the 78-year-old Constanze Weber.
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Faith · Art · People
Iconography of Gregory the Great, his election in 590 and the name Dvoeslov
Saint Gregory, Gregory the Great or Gregory the Dialogist, is usually depicted with a dove hovering at the level of his ear, symbolising the Holy Spirit. Gregory was elected Pope in 590, at the height of an epidemic of plague, which is believed to have ceased when he entered the
Archive · Faith · Science · People
Georges Lemaître, Belgian priest, astronomer and author of the expanding universe theory
Father Georges Lemaître explains the Big Bang theory to Pope Pius XII. The Belgian priest Georges Lemaître was an astronomer and mathematician, a doctor of sciences, a professor of astrophysics, who worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, became the author of the theory of the expanding Universe and made
Books · Science · People · Nature
Cholera, the volcanic eruptions of the 1810s and Pushkin’s Boldino Autumn
Strange as it may seem, Pushkin's Boldino Autumn, so often recalled of late in connection with coronavirus isolation, may also be linked to the volcanic eruptions of the 1810s, which had such a profound effect on the Earth's climate. It is believed that the gigantic cloud
Art · Monarchies · Paris · People
Ravaillac's Assassination of Henry IV in Paris on 14 May 1610 and His Execution
The regicide François Ravaillac is shown in an engraving with the very dagger with which he took the life of King Henri IV in two blows, having leapt onto the step of his carriage, which had halted on the rue de la Ferronnerie in Paris on 14 May 1610. Ravaillac
Monarchies · People
Prince Carl Philip of Sweden, Duke of Värmland, was born on 13 May 1979
Today the most handsome prince in Europe, Carl Philip of Sweden, turns 41. On the day of his birth, 13 May 1979, a salute of 101 guns was fired in Stockholm. The second child of King Carl XVI Gustaf, he studied in the USA, served in the navy and took
Art · Museums · New York · People
Ralph Cahoon, a furniture decorator who became a painter of mermaids for wealthy New York homes
The Massachusetts artist Ralph Cahoon (1910-1982), an American of Dutch descent, began as a furniture decorator but fairly soon found his subject: folk motifs featuring mermaids. With the help of one of his clients, the celebrated philanthropist and patron of the arts Joan Whitney, Cahoon introduced his work to
Archive · Interviews · Society · People
Viktor Petrovich Astafyev, in conversation with Georgy Stepanovich Zhzhenov about the war, voices an interesting thought about a people that calls itself great, yet for some reason lets itself be led on a leash like a calf, chooses a criminal government f
Viktor Petrovich Astafyev, in conversation with Georgy Stepanovich Zhzhenov about the war, voices an interesting thought about a people that calls itself great, yet for some reason lets itself be led on a leash like a calf, chooses a criminal government for itself and condemns itself to a beggarly existence.
Mores · New York · People
The woman in the photograph is Mary Ann Bevan, née Webster; in her thirties she came to be called the ugliest woman in the world
The woman in the photograph is Mary Ann Bevan, née Webster; in her thirties she came to be called the ugliest woman in the world. A nurse and mother of four, Mary Ann fell ill with acromegaly, which is caused by a disorder of the pituitary gland and shows itself
NB! · People
Mary Ann Webster (1874-1933)
Art · Mores · People
Genre painter Paul-Charles Chocarne-Moreau and the mischievous children of his paintings
Mischievous boys are the chief heroes of the work of the genre painter Paul-Charles Chocarne-Moreau (1855–1931). The artist was interested in how children from humble families spent their time, what their lives were made of, and what held their interest: running about the streets and stealing pastries,
Monarchies · Education · People
Napoleon Renamed Brienne and Fought the Allies There in 1814
On coming to power, Napoleon renamed the town of Brienne Brienne-Napoléon, in memory of his schooling. The town kept that name until 1881. In 1814 the Emperor returned to Brienne, the scene of his first childhood battle, and it was here that the first major engagement with the Allies