In 1260, two Venetian brothers, Niccolo and Maffeo Polo, set off on an amazing journey. They had traveled as far as Russia and were on their way home by way of the Caspian Sea when they met some envoys from the court of Kublai Khan, the emperor of China. Instead of returning to Italy, the two brothers decided to accompany …

Long ago, in Anglo-Saxon times, the people of the town of Coventry, in England, were saved from paying very heavy taxes by the action of their countess Godiva, who rode naked round the town to prove to her husband, Earl Leofric, that she was ready to do almost anything to make her people’s life easier. This is legend, and in …

Frederic II (1712-1786) was the king of Prussia during 1740-1786. During his reign, Prussia prospered greatly and doubled in area. His countrymen called him Frederic the Great. He was the son of Frederic William-I and Sophie Dorothia von Hannover. He won many wars against neighbouring countries like Austria, Russia and France. Declaring himself to be the first servant of his …

Hermann Kallenbach (1871–1945) was a South African architect who is best known for being a very close friend of Mahatma Gandhi, starting from the latter’s early days in South Africa. Kallenbach was born in 1871 in East Prussia to a German-Jewish family. He went to study architecture in Stuttgart and Munich. In 1896, he went to South Africa, where he …

Geronimo (June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Allegedly, “Geronimo” was the name given to him during a Mexican incident. His Chiricahua name is often rendered as Goyathlay …

If you have heard of Dick Whittington at all, then you’ll probably know him as being a pantomime character, with his cat, and the Bow Bells saying those famous words: “Turn again, Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London!” Just a story? Well, not quite. Dick, or give him his full name, Sir Richard Whittington, really did exist, although you can …

A hundred years ago, Germany was divided into many small states, or countries. In one of these states, Prussia, the chancellor, or chief minister to the king, was Otto von Bismarck. A strong and ruthless man, Bismarck made Prussia the strongest of all German states and its army feared throughout Europe. When the states were gathered into one empire in …

Amit Jethwa (1975 – 20 July 2010) was an Indian environmentalist and social worker, active in the Gir Forest area near Junagadh, Gujarat. He had filed several court cases against illegal mining in the protected area, naming Bharatiya Janata Party member of parliament, Dinu Solanki as one of the respondents. On 20 July 2010 he was shot dead by two …

You may have heard people saying that somebody has an ‘Achilles heel’, which means that they have a weak spot somewhere, either in their personality or their body. Where does that expression come from, and who was Achilles? Achilles was the won of a woman called Thetis, who was told by the Fates, ancient Greek goddesses who controlled people’s destiny, …

When the Moon blocks the Sun from view, it is called in eclipse of the Sun (a total eclipse is, in fact, a rare event). In ancient times, when Sun and Moon were worshiped as gods, an eclipse was terrifying. One ancient Chinese explanation was that a dragon had swallowed the Sun.