EuroDocs: Primary Historical Documents From Western Europe
This site offers links to numerous primary documents from Europe during all periods from Roman rule to the present. The documents are categorized by nation and many are in the original language, although a few are translated. Some of the documents have notes as well. Within each country category, the documents are listed roughly in chronological order.
The Manchester Astronomical Society have discovered that a star atlas that has been in their library since before the Second World War is one of only sixteen copies known to exist. This extremely rare atlas was compiled by John Bevis, an eighteenth century physician - turned astronomer, whose other claim to fame is as the discoverer of the Crab Nebula, the wreck of a star that became a supernova in the year 1054 and which is now regarded as a key object of interest with modern astronomers; in the UK particularly with radio astronomers at Jodrell Bank.
A century ago, at the height of what might be referred to as the "canal furor," Camille Flammarion published the first volume of his great work, La Planète Mars, which summarized what was then known about the planet. In his preface he described how he hesitated between two methods of presenting the state of Martian knowledge---in special chapters dealing with topics such as continents, seas, polar caps, and so on; or chronologically, in the order in which the facts had been obtained. He at length decided on the latter approach, "mainly," he wrote, "because it seemed to me to be the more interesting . . . and also because it provides a better account of the gradual development of our knowledge." So it has seemed to me, and I have done likewise.
An annotated bibliography of published and unpublished works on the history of the Smithsonian Institution is available on-line. Included are journal articles, monographs, reports, dissertations, and oral history interviews. Topics covered include administration, buildings, collections, exhibits, expeditions, public programs, Smithsonian Secretaries, and women's history.
This site includes information about archives at the Smithsonian Institution, as well as a few on-line exhibits. The papers of Joseph Henry, the first Secretary of the Institution, who also helped to create telegraphs and electricity, are available online, along with several primary documents. The Smithsonian also hosts the papers of many of the scientists and historians of science who have worked at the Smithsonian since its foundation. Some of the more important figures such as Charles P. Alexander, a zoologist, and Charles D. Walcott, a geologist and Secretary of the Institute, have biographies attached to the description of their papers. There are also finding guides to the collections and descriptions of various research databses and how to access them. The site is imformative and well maintained.
The Ryhiner map collection is one of the most valuable and outstanding collections of the world. It consists of more than 16,000 maps, charts, plans and views from the 16th to the 18th century, covering the whole globe. Together with the 20,000 manuscript maps of the State Archives, the Canton of Berne owns not only a local, but a worldwide geographical memory. It's our duty to preserve this cultural heritage and make it accessible.
This is an encyclopedia on mythology, folklore, legends, and more. It contains over 6100 definitions of gods and goddesses, supernatural beings and legendary creatures and monsters from all over the world.
This encyclopedia of mythology and folklore contains sections divided geographically. The entries cover a wide range of cultures in six regions: Asia, the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Oceania. The site also offers a section on folktales, an image gallery, lists of legendary beasts and heroes, and genealogies.
The collection had never been adequately listed, so in early 1997 it was professionally catalogued by Audrey Eccles. The whole collection was then photographed by Nick White of Oxford Medical Illustration. All the photographs (about 320 images on 35mm slides) were digitised, and stored as high resolution TIFF and low resolution JPEG files.
he Museum of Health Care, a non-profit corporation, is governed by a Board of Directors. The Ann Baillie Building, a historic limestone building on George Street on the property of the Kingston General Hospital, is the home of the Museum. More than 27,000 artifacts have been acquired, of which 13,000 are fully accessioned.
Michael Faraday, the discoverer of electro-magnetic induction, electro-magnetic rotations, the magneto-optical effect, diamagnetism, field theory and much else besides, was born in Newington Butts (the area of London now known as the Elephant and Castle) on 22 September 1791. His father, James, was a blacksmith and a member of the Sandemanian sect of Christianity. James Faraday had come to London in the late 1780s from North-West England. Very little is known of the first few years of Faraday's life. In an autobiographical note Faraday recalled that he had attended a day school and had learnt the "rudiments of reading, writing, and arithmetic".
This exhibit examines the evolution of teratology (i.e. the study of perceived abnormalities in the natural world, both real and imagined) through the eyes of physicians and philosophers. How have they considered and how have they intertwined different interpretations in their representations and explanations of wonders from Antiquity to the end of the 18th century?
