Coeur de Lion, the Lion Heart, was the nickname of King Richard I of England (1157-99). From his youth he was engaged in almost constant war against his father, his brothers, or the king of France. Richard became king on his father’s death in 1189. He went off on the Third Crusade, and, captured on his way home, was imprisoned …

In 1827 a railroad was built from Baltimore to Ohio to counteract the prosperity that canals were bringing to Philadelphia and New York. It was originally intended to use horse power. But in 1830 a cheap, though not very reliable, method of propelling trains was tried out. The Baltimore and Ohio’s sailing car ‘Aeolus’ made its maiden voyage in the …

Whilst shopping in Athens, Arthur Evans saw some small stones on which was an unusual style of writing. Learning that these stones came from Crete he went to the island and, in 1893, began digging. In time he unearthed a great city that had been ruled by the legendary King Minos. Evans had, in fact, discovered the remains of a …

Radio and radar waves, microwaves, infrared rays, light rays, ultraviolet rays, X-rays and gamma rays all form what is called the electromagnetic spectrum. They are all various kinds of radiant energy and they differ only in their wavelength of frequency. Those with long wavelengths are generally called waves and the shorter ones rays. Before 1800, only light was known, as …

Malvika Iyer is the essence of courage and optimism. At 13, a freak accident caused her to lose both her hands and severely damaged her legs, raising serious doubts about whether she would ever walk again. But young Malvika braved the odds and emerged victorious. Today she is a dedicated social worker, a motivational speaker and model for accessible clothing …

Narendra Jadhav — Growing up in the heart of a Wadala slum, eight-year-old Narendra Jadhav knew what he wanted to be when he grew up: a gangster. Somewhere along the way he changed course and ended up as chief economist of the Reserve Bank of India and then vice-chancellor of Pune University, a chair he currently holds. This prestigious post …

Nandini Satpathy (born: 9 June 1931 – 4 August 2006) was an Indian politician and author. She was the Chief Minister of Odisha from June 1972 to December 1976. Nandini Sathpathy Nee Panigrahy was the daughter of Oriya writer, Kalindi Panigrahy. Her father, an influential writer, had founded the socialist Samajbadi Society and started the Oriya daily Dharitri in 1974. She …

Nandan Nilekani was born in Bangalore, Karnataka, as the younger son of Durga and Mohan Rao Nilekani. His father worked as a General Manager of Mysore and Minerva Mills. His father, who subscribed to Fabian Socialist ideals, had an influence on Nandan during his early years. He has an elder brother, Vijay, who works in the Nuclear Energy Institute. He …

Nammalwar was a Tamil Poet, regarded as one of the twelve Alwars in India. He is quite renowned for his beautiful hymns dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The main aim of Nammalwar’s life was to serve the Lord, love Him, praise him and surrender to Him. Even though he was originally from southernmost part of India, he won the hearts of people …

Nagarjuna — Perhaps no man in his time has more tales spun around him than Nagarjuna. He was said to be in communion with gods and goddesses, to have the power to change base metal into gold, to know the secret of making the “elixir of life.” He was famous and people looked on him with awe mingled with fear. …