Images

A portrait of Empress Catherine II of Russia, oil on canvas by Alexander Roslin, 1780s. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.

Portrait of Catherine II, oil on canvas by Alexey Antropov, 18th century. Art Gallery of Tver, Russia.

A pen and ink drawing by Robert Hooke (1635-1703) first published in his Micrographia in 1665. This page shows a bluefly seen under a microscope. (National Library of Wales)

A pen and ink drawing by Robert Hooke (1635-1703) and published in his Micrographia in 1665. This page shows frozen structures seen under a microscope. (National Library of Wales)

A microscope with boxfoot made by George Adams in 1738. Based on a model designed by Edward Culpeper (1670-1737). The concave mirror at the base illuminated the specimen better than a flat mirror. (Science Museum, London)

A model of the microscope created by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723). Made by the Boerhaave Museum, Leiden, 1983. The microscope used a glass bead as a magnifier, giving a much greater magnification than other types of lenses available...

The compound monocular microscope of Louis Pasteur (1822-1895). Made by Nachet et fils, 1861-70. (Science Museum, London)

An infographic illustrating the succession of Roman rulers between 96 and 180 CE, known as the Five Good Emperors (a term unknown to the ancient Romans, coined by Nicolo Machiavelli in his 1531 manuscript Discourses on Livy and made widely...

An early 18th-century microscope designed and made by John Marshall. It is a compound microscope, that is, it uses three lenses. Made of brass, wood, and other materials. (Science Museum, London)

A map of the Moon's surface by Galileo (1564-1642), drawn using a telescope the astronomer had built himself. The uneven line of shadow aided Galileo in identifying the nature of the Moon's surface and the approximate size of its mountains...