Science and technology

Illustration of electric chair

Q&A Who invented the electric chair?

An engraving from Harvey's seminal work showing blood flowing through the veins of the lower arm. (SSPL/Getty Images)

A giant leap for mankind: William Harvey reveals the circulation of the blood

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A brave new world: the 1980s home computer boom

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Monument to Alexander von Humboldt

Books interview with Andrea Wulf: “Alexander von Humboldt is the forgotten father of environmentalism” . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Like so many phrases and traditions, ‘in the limelight’ – describing someone who is the centre of attention – was born in the theatre. (Photo by CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Q&A Why do we say ‘in the limelight’?

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Photo of female cyclist in 1885

Q&A Were there health scares caused by new technology in the past? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Cover of the Voyages Extraordinaires series by the French science fiction writer Jules Verne.

The phantom menace: 10 milestones in science fiction

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Spitting Blood: The History of Tuberculosis

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Time’s Anvil: England, Archaeology and the Imagination

Vintage Astro lava lamp from the 1960s

50 years of the lava lamp

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John Linnell's 1816 portrait of Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick. His high-pressure steam engine

My history hero: Richard Trevithick (1771-1833) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Richard Buckminster standing next to his draft of a house of the 21st century. (Ullstein picture via Getty Images)

My History Hero: Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Circulation: William Harvey’s Revolutionary Idea

A monument to Nicolaus Copernicus in Poland.

Q&A Was Copernicus the first to demonstrate that the earth goes around the sun?

Two women from South America. Six centuries ago South American civilisations matched the west in some respects. (Getty Images)

The wonder of the west