Search Results: Smart home

An army of 250,000 volunteers, both men and women, working in many different services, ensured life went on during the London Blitz, a period of sustained bombing by the German Air Force on the British capital between September 1940 and May...

Rationing of food, clothing, petrol, and other essential items was introduced in Britain during the Second World War (1939-45) when the country's imports were severely threatened by German U-boat attacks on merchant shipping in the Atlantic...

Xenophon of Athens (l. 430 to c. 354 BCE) was a contemporary of Plato and a fellow student of Socrates. He is best known for his Anabasis (The March Up Country) detailing the retreat of the Ten Thousand Greek mercenaries after the defeat...

Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) was an American impressionist painter who lived most of her life in France. She focussed on capturing women at their daily tasks in oils, pastels, and prints, and produced many innovative representations of mothers...

George IV of Great Britain (r. 1820-1830) was the fourth of the Hanoverian monarchs. He first reigned as Prince Regent from 1811 for his mad father George III of Great Britain (r. 1760-1820). George IV was an unpopular monarch for his many...

Nero was Roman emperor from 54 to 68 CE. The last of the Julio-Claudian emperors to rule the Roman Empire, his 14-year reign represents everything decadent about that period in Roman history. He was self-indulgent, cruel, and violent as well...

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was a German composer of Classical and Romantic music; he is widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians to have ever lived. Most famous for his nine symphonies, piano concertos, piano sonatas, and string...

Alexander Hamilton (1755/57-1804) was a lawyer and politician, often recognized as a Founding Father of the United States. He served as George Washington's aide-de-camp during the American Revolution, before going on to become the first US...

Batu Khan (l. 1205-1255 CE) was a grandson of Genghis Khan and the founder of the Golden Horde. Batu was a skilled Mongol military commander and won battles from China to Persia, although his most famous exploits involve the grand Mongol...

Zheng Yi Sao (aka Ching Shih, Cheng I Sao, Ching Yih Saou or Mrs Cheng, d. 1844) was the chief of a massive pirate confederation which plundered the South China Sea in the early 19th century. She inherited the role from her late husband...