Tag: History Essays
-
Napoleon III, last emperor of France
The history of 19th century Europe centers largely on the name Napoleon Bonaparte. The original bearer of this name, the Corsican “little corporal”, rose from artillery officer to Emperor of France and ruler of most of Europe. He single-handedly extinguished the embers of the French Revolution, ruled the greater part of Europe for more than…
-
Deutsches Apotheken-Museum, Heidelberg
Christopher DuffinLondon, England If you find yourself in Heidelberg, you would be well advised to tackle the invigorating walk up to the sixteenth-century castle on the eastern margins of the old city, with its commanding views over the Neckar Basin, or to take the more sedate option of the cable car. The nine-euro entry fee…
-
Ulysses S. Grant in health and disease
Ulysses S. Grant was the principal commander whose efforts put an end to the Civil War. During his two terms as president after the war, he worked to bring about peace and reconciliation between the former opposing parties. There have been 134 biographies published of Grant, as well as many studies. But while most of…
-
The Santorini caldera and climate change: Modern explanations for the plagues of Egypt
Kevin LoughlinBoston, Massachusetts, United States In one of the most famous Bible verses of the Old Testament, the Lord instructs Moses to tell Pharaoh, “This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the…
-
Hilary Koprowski and the polio vaccine
Eugene KucharzKatowice, Poland Hilary Koprowski (Fig. 1) was born on December 5, 1916, in Warsaw, Poland. At the age of five, he was already playing the piano, and at the age of twelve, began studying at the Warsaw Conservatory of Music. He graduated from Mikołaj Rej High School in Warsaw and then earned a medical…
-
Inns or coffee houses?
JMS PearceHull, England Humans throughout history have resorted to drugs to stimulate or tranquilize their moods and feelings. Most were of herbal origin, the choice determined by their effects, local availability, and trading. But social factors and politics also played a part. Soon after the Republicans executed King Charles 1 in 1649, the dictatorial Oliver…
-
Thomas Hume’s recollections of the public execution of William Burke
Daniel PatroneOneonta, New York, United States In the early nineteenth century, the rapid advancement of anatomical science created a surging demand for human cadavers. Given the woefully inadequate legal supply of cadavers, this demand fueled the rise of a lucrative but illicit industry of graverobbers or “resurrection men” who supplied bodies to anatomists through unscrupulous…
-
Lord Melbourne (1779–1848): Mentor of Queen Victoria
Lord William Melbourne, Queen Victoria’s well-known prime minister, descended from the great landed aristocracy that had ruled Great Britain for most of the eighteenth century. Some of their members had sat in Parliament for many years, including one who never opened his mouth during his forty-year tenure.1 For most of his life, Lord Melbourne had…
-
The medical interests of Sir Walter Raleigh
Christopher DuffinLondon, England Sir Walter Raleigh (1552–1618; Fig. 1) was a prominent character in Elizabethan England. A one-time favorite of the Queen, he led a rich and varied life as an adventurer and explorer, statesman, soldier, and author. Less well-known is his interest in alchemy and medicine. In 1591, Raleigh married one of the Queen’s…
-
The “Blue Death:” Cholera’s reign of terror
Richard de GrijsSydney, Australia Cholera—the “Blue Death” and, in the words of one witness, “one of the most ghastly experiences a disease could inflict on a human being”1—emerged in the early 1800s from the Ganges delta, traveling along the routes of global trade2 and religious pilgrimage.3 This waterborne disease could transform proud vessels into floating…