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Gerardus Mercator, a Flemish German (5 March 1512 – 2 December 1594) was a cartographer renowned for creating a world map based on a new projection which represented sailing courses of constant bearing as straight lines—an innovation that is still employed in nautical charts used for navigation.<br/><br/> In his own day he was the world's most famous geographer but, in addition, he had interests in theology, philosophy, history, mathematics and magnetism as well as being an accomplished engraver, calligrapher and maker of globes and scientific instruments.
Gerardus Mercator, a Flemish German (5 March 1512 – 2 December 1594) was a cartographer renowned for creating a world map based on a new projection which represented sailing courses of constant bearing as straight lines—an innovation that is still employed in nautical charts used for navigation.<br/><br/> In his own day he was the world's most famous geographer but, in addition, he had interests in theology, philosophy, history, mathematics and magnetism as well as being an accomplished engraver, calligrapher and maker of globes and scientific instruments.
'Nazi plunder' refers to art theft and other items stolen as a result of the organized looting of European countries during the time of the Third Reich by agents acting on behalf of the ruling Nazi Party of Germany. Plundering occurred from 1933 until the end of World War II, although most plunder was acquired during the war. In addition to gold, silver and currency, cultural items of great significance were stolen, including paintings, ceramics, books, and religious treasures.<br/><br/> Although most of these items were recovered by agents of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program (MFAA), affectionately referred to as the Monuments Men, on behalf of the Allies immediately following the war, many are still missing.
The Madonna of Bruges is a marble sculpture by Michelangelo of Mary with the Child Jesus.<br/><br/> Considered a masterpiece, it was stolen by German forces as part of their 'Nazi Plunder' programme in 1944. It was recovered a year later by allied forces at the Altaussee salt mine in central Austria and returned safely to Bruges, where it remains today.
Gerardus Mercator, a Flemish German (5 March 1512 – 2 December 1594) was a cartographer renowned for creating a world map based on a new projection which represented sailing courses of constant bearing as straight lines—an innovation that is still employed in nautical charts used for navigation.<br/><br/> In his own day he was the world's most famous geographer but, in addition, he had interests in theology, philosophy, history, mathematics and magnetism as well as being an accomplished engraver, calligrapher and maker of globes and scientific instruments.
Henri Privat-Livemont (1861–1936) was an artist born in Schaerbeek, Brussels, Belgium.<br/><br/> He is best known for his Art Nouveau posters. From 1883 to 1889, he worked and studied in the studios of Lemaire, Lavastre & Duvignaud. He later moved back to Brussels, and worked on theaters and casinos there.
Sir Lancelot du Lac (meaning Lancelot of the Lake, baptised as Galahad) was one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He typically features as King Arthur's greatest companion, the lord of Joyous Gard and the greatest swordsman and jouster of the age.<br/><br/> Then his adultery with Queen Guinevere is discovered, causing a civil war exploited by Mordred which brings about the end of Arthur's kingdom.
'Nazi plunder' refers to art theft and other items stolen as a result of the organized looting of European countries during the time of the Third Reich by agents acting on behalf of the ruling Nazi Party of Germany. Plundering occurred from 1933 until the end of World War II, although most plunder was acquired during the war. In addition to gold, silver and currency, cultural items of great significance were stolen, including paintings, ceramics, books, and religious treasures.<br/><br/> Although most of these items were recovered by agents of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program (MFAA), affectionately referred to as the Monuments Men, on behalf of the Allies immediately following the war, many are still missing.
Gerardus Mercator, a Flemish German (5 March 1512 – 2 December 1594) was a cartographer renowned for creating a world map based on a new projection which represented sailing courses of constant bearing as straight lines—an innovation that is still employed in nautical charts used for navigation.<br/><br/> In his own day he was the world's most famous geographer but, in addition, he had interests in theology, philosophy, history, mathematics and magnetism as well as being an accomplished engraver, calligrapher and maker of globes and scientific instruments.
Henri Privat-Livemont (1861–1936) was an artist born in Schaerbeek, Brussels, Belgium.<br/><br/> He is best known for his Art Nouveau posters. From 1883 to 1889, he worked and studied in the studios of Lemaire, Lavastre & Duvignaud. He later moved back to Brussels, and worked on theaters and casinos there.
Sir Lancelot du Lac (meaning Lancelot of the Lake, baptised as Galahad) was one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He typically features as King Arthur's greatest companion, the lord of Joyous Gard and the greatest swordsman and jouster of the age.<br/><br/> Then his adultery with Queen Guinevere is discovered, causing a civil war exploited by Mordred which brings about the end of Arthur's kingdom.
'Nazi plunder' refers to art theft and other items stolen as a result of the organized looting of European countries during the time of the Third Reich by agents acting on behalf of the ruling Nazi Party of Germany. Plundering occurred from 1933 until the end of World War II, although most plunder was acquired during the war. In addition to gold, silver and currency, cultural items of great significance were stolen, including paintings, ceramics, books, and religious treasures.<br/><br/> Although most of these items were recovered by agents of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program (MFAA), affectionately referred to as the Monuments Men, on behalf of the Allies immediately following the war, many are still missing.
Henri Meunier (born Henri Georges Jean Isidore Meunier; 25 July 1873 Ixelles – 8 September 1922 Brussels) was a Belgian Art Nouveau lithographer, etcher, illustrator, bookbinder and poster designer of the Belle Epoque.<br/><br/> Henri Meunier was the son of the etcher Jean-Baptiste Meunier and was the nephew of the sculptor Constantin Meunier. He received his first training in engraving in his father's workshop. After studying at the academy in Ixelles, he diversified into printmaker, poster designer, graphic reporter and book binder. Meunier used flat colours and thick outlines, borrowed from Japanese prints, to achieve powerful images.
At the Battle of Camlann, Arthur charges Mordred and impales him with a spear. But with the last of his strength, Mordred impales himself even further, so as to come within striking distance of King Arthur, then gives a mortal blow to Arthur's head.
The Ghent Altarpiece (also called the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb or The Lamb of God, Dutch: Het Lam Gods) is a very large and complex 15th-century Early Flemish polyptych panel painting.<br/><br/> Commissioned and designed as an altarpiece, it comprises 12 panels, eight of which are hinged shutters painted on each side, giving two distinct views depending on whether they are open or closed. Except for Sundays and festive holidays, the outer wings were closed and covered with cloth.<br/><br/> It was begun by Hubert van Eyck who was most likely responsible for the overall design, but died in 1426. Probably, the individual panels were executed by his younger and better known brother Jan van Eyck between 1430 and 1432.<br/><br/> In 1945, the altarpiece was returned from Germany after spending much of World War II hidden in an Austrian salt mine, which greatly damaged the paint and varnish.
Henri Privat-Livemont (1861–1936) was an artist born in Schaerbeek, Brussels, Belgium.<br/><br/> He is best known for his Art Nouveau posters. From 1883 to 1889, he worked and studied in the studios of Lemaire, Lavastre & Duvignaud. He, with Lemaire, created the decor of the Theatre Francais as well as the Hotel de Ville, Paris. He later moved back to Brussels, and worked on theaters and casinos there.
The story of Saint George and the Dragon appended to the hagiography of Saint George was Eastern in origin, brought back with the Crusaders and retold with the courtly appurtenances belonging to the genre of Romance. The earliest known depictions of the motif are from tenth- or eleventh-century Cappadocia and eleventh-century Georgia; previously, in the iconography of Eastern Orthodoxy, George had been depicted as a soldier since at least the seventh century. The earliest known surviving narrative of the dragon episode is an eleventh-century Georgian text.<br/><br/> The dragon motif was first combined with the already standardised Passio Georgii in Vincent of Beauvais' encyclopedic Speculum Historiale, and then Jacobus de Voragine's Golden Legend (ca 1260) guaranteed its popularity in the later Middle Ages as a literary and pictorial subject. The legend gradually became part of the Christian traditions relating to Saint George and was used in many festivals thereafter.
Anthuenis, or Antoon Claeissens, Claessens, or Claeissins (c.1536 – 1613) was the son of Pieter Claes the elder and painted historical and allegorical subjects, and portraits.<br/><br/> He was a native of Bruges and became a pupil of Pieter Pourbus. He entered the Bruges Guild of Saint Luke in 1575, and became its dean in 1586, 1590, and 1601. His works, several of which are in the Hôtel-de-Ville and churches of Bruges, are distinguished by their fine colouring and finish. In the Hotel-de-Ville is a 'Grand Banquet' with many portraits of magistrates of the time, dated 1574. He died in 1613.<br/><br/> His son, Pieter Anthonie, was dean of the Guild of St. Luke at Bruges in 1607, and died in 1608
Jan van Eyck was an Early Netherlandish painter active in Bruges and one of the most significant Northern Renaissance artists of the 15th century.<br/><br/> In addition to the Ghent Altarpiece and the illuminated miniatures of the Turin-Milan Hours, about 20 surviving paintings are confidently attributed to him, all dated between 1432 and 1439.
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis.<br/><br/> Thought to have started in China, it travelled along the Silk Road and reached the Crimea by 1346. From there, probably carried by Oriental rat fleas living on the black rats that were regular passengers on merchant ships, it spread throughout the Mediterranean and Europe.<br/><br/> The Black Death is estimated to have killed 30–60 percent of Europe's population, reducing the world's population from an estimated 450 million to between 350 and 375 million in the 14th century.<br/><br/> The aftermath of the plague created a series of religious, social and economic upheavals, which had profound effects on the course of European history. It took 150 years for Europe's population to recover. The plague returned at various times, killing more people, until it died out in Europe in the 19th century.
The Triumph of Death is an oil painting on panel, painted c. 1562 by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. It is in the Museo del Prado in Madrid.<br/><br/> The painting is a panoramic landscape: the sky in the distance is blackened by smoke from burning cities and the sea is littered with shipwrecks. Armies of skeletons advance on the living, who either flee in terror or try vainly to fight back. In the foreground, skeletons haul a wagon full of skulls, and ring the bell that signifies the death knell of the world. A fool plays the lute while a skeleton behind him plays along; a starving dog nibbles at the face of a child; a cross sits in the center of the painting. People are herded into a trap decorated with crosses, while a skeleton on horseback kills people with a scythe. The painting depicts people of different social backgrounds – from peasants and soldiers to nobles as well as a king and a cardinal – being taken by death indiscriminately.<br/><br/> The painting shows aspects of everyday life in the mid-sixteenth century. Clothes are clearly depicted, as are pastimes such as playing cards and backgammon. It shows objects such as musical instruments, an early mechanical clock, scenes including a funeral service, and a common method of execution: being lashed to a cartwheel mounted on a vertical pole.<br/><br/> Pieter Bruegel's The Triumph of Death is considered to reflect the social upheaval and terror that followed the plague which devastated medieval Europe
Father Ferdinand Verbiest (1623-1688) was a Flemish Jesuit missionary in China during the Qing dynasty. He proved to the court of Kangxi Emperor that European astronomy was more accurate than Chinese astronomy.<br/><br/> He then corrected the Chinese calendar and was later asked to rebuild and re-equip the Beijing Ancient Observatory, being given the role of Head of the Mathematical Board and Director of the Observatory.<br/><br/> Verbiest was the only Westerner in Chinese history to ever receive the honour of a posthumous name by the Emperor. He is buried in Beijing.
World War I (WWI or WW1 or World War One), also known as the First World War or the Great War, was a global war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. More than 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians died as a result of the war, a casualty rate exacerbated by the belligerents' technological and industrial sophistication, and tactical stalemate. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, paving the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved.<br/><br/> The war drew in all the world's economic great powers, which were assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (based on the Triple Entente of the United Kingdom, France and the Russian Empire) and the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Although Italy had also been a member of the Triple Alliance alongside Germany and Austria-Hungary, it did not join the Central Powers, as Austria-Hungary had taken the offensive against the terms of the alliance.<br/><br/> These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war: Italy, Japan and the United States joined the Allies, and the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria the Central Powers. Ultimately, more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history.
Father Ferdinand Verbiest (9 October 1623 – 28 January 1688) was a Flemish Jesuit missionary in China during the Qing dynasty. He was born in Pittem near Tielt in Flanders, later part of the modern state of Belgium. He was known as Nan Huairen (ๅ—ๆ‡ทไป) in Chinese.<br/><br/> He was an accomplished mathematician and astronomer and proved to the court of the Kangxi Emperor that European astronomy was more accurate than Chinese astronomy. He then corrected the Chinese calendar and was later asked to rebuild and re-equip the Beijing Ancient Observatory, being given the role of Head of the Mathematical Board and Director of the Observatory.<br/><br/> He became close friends with the Kangxi Emperor, who frequently requested his teaching, in geometry, philosophy and music. Verbiest worked as a diplomat and cartographer, and also as a translator, because he spoke Latin, German, Dutch, Spanish, Hebrew, and Italian. He wrote more than thirty books.
Racism consists of both prejudice and discrimination based in social perceptions of biological differences between peoples.<br/><br/> It often takes the form of social actions, practices or beliefs, or political systems that consider different races to be ranked as inherently superior or inferior to each other, based on presumed shared inheritable traits, abilities, or qualities. It may also hold that members of different races should be treated differently.
Sir Henry Morton Stanley, GCB, born John Rowlands (28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904), was a Welsh journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa and his search for David Livingstone. Stanley is often remembered for the words uttered to Livingstone upon finding him: 'Dr. Livingstone, I presume?', although there is some question as to the authenticity of this now famous greeting.<br/><br/> His legacy of death and destruction in the Congo region is considered an inspiration for Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, detailing atrocities inflicted upon the natives.
Sir Henry Morton Stanley, GCB, born John Rowlands (28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904), was a Welsh journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa and his search for David Livingstone. Stanley is often remembered for the words uttered to Livingstone upon finding him: 'Dr. Livingstone, I presume?', although there is some question as to the authenticity of this now famous greeting.<br/><br/> His legacy of death and destruction in the Congo region is considered an inspiration for Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, detailing atrocities inflicted upon the natives.