Coretta Scott King: The Hidden Force Behind the Dream
The name Coretta Scott King often conjures up images of her husband Martin Luther King Jr, one of America's most prominent black civil rights activists. But Coretta was much more than Mrs King, even if her actions were often hidden in plain sight. She was a witness and participant in…
Herbert von Karajan: The Maestro Behind the Music and the Myths
On 2 July 1914, six-year-old Heribert Karajan and his two-year-old brother Wolfgang watched the Austro-Hungarian battleship Viribus Unitis make its way, escorted by destroyers, through the narrow Fažana Channel, near the small island where they were holidaying with their mother Martha. The funeral convoy carrying the bodies of Archduke Franz…
Dr. John Harvey Kellogg: Eccentric Innovator Behind Cornflakes and Health Reform
In the 19th century, the idea of the 'good life' still involved over-consumption and excess, which inevitably led to ill health, so this period of decadence gave birth to the need for a healthier way of life. Several visionaries were at the forefront of this movement, but few became as…
Lucrezia Borgia: Scandal, Power, and Survival in Renaissance Italy
On a spring day in 1480, Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia commissioned various astrologers to predict the future of his newborn child at his home in Rome. The girl was named Lucrezia and was the daughter of Vannozza dei Cattanei, a Roman woman renowned for her beauty. No one believed for a…
Gábor Sztehlo and the Good Shepherd: Saving Hungary’s Children from the Holocaust
Although Hungary was an ally of Nazi Germany, Hungarian Jews were largely exempted from mass extermination until the German invasion in March 1944. But when Hitler's army occupied his country, Pastor Gábor Sztehlo was torn from his peaceful pastoral work and given a new mission. It was a mission that…
Princess Fawzia: The Forgotten Queen of Glamour, Grace and Geography
The pantheon of the most beautiful women of the 20th century includes Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor and many other beauties. Hollywood goddesses are well known to us, but one member of this distinguished group is a symbol of a forgotten era. Her name was Fawzia and she was…
Fiat and Fascism: How Industrial Power Shaped Italy’s Tumultuous 20th Century
The outcome of any war is determined by production. The side that produces the most always wins. Since the Industrial Revolution, it is not battles that win wars, but factories. These factories have shaped the modern world. We are all familiar with Volkswagen, Ford, Mitsubishi, but what is less well…
Ada Lovelace: The World’s First Computer Programmer Born Ahead of Her Time
Ada Lovelace, the illegitimate daughter of poet Lord Byron, grew up in Victorian times when women were not expected to be interested in science or technology and were even routinely denied an education. But with her mother's encouragement, Ada was determined not only to learn all she could at the…
Alexandra Kollontai: The Revolutionary Who Fought for Women’s Liberation
Russian feminist and activist Aleksandra Kollontai Free kindergartens, paid maternity leave, a ban on night and hard physical work for women, public canteens, libraries, laundries, equal access to education, the right to divorce and alimony, recognition of children born out of wedlock, evening lectures for working women, political representation for…
Antwerp in the 16th Century: The Babylon of Europe
The medieval city where the streets were bustling with activity from morning till night, seven days a week, every day of the year, where most of the international trade with the most varied goods from all over the world flowed, where many languages resounded, and where everyone could satisfy his…
