William III (Dutch: Willem III) was a sovereign Prince of Orange by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange (Dutch: Willem III van Oranje) over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Repu...

Thomas Savery was an English inventor. Initially interested in naval applications of engineering (he designed an early paddle-wheel), Savery then became interested in pumping machines. On July 2, 1698 he patented an early steam engine, and...

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough was a prominent English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs throughout the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Rising from a lowly page at the court of the House of...

The First Anglo-Dutch War (called the First Dutch War in England, and the First English War in the Netherlands) was the first of the four Anglo-Dutch Wars. It was fought entirely at sea between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and...

Arcangelo Corelli was an Italian violinist and composer of the Baroque era. His music was key in the development of the modern genres of sonata and concerto, in establishing the preeminence of the violin, and as the first coalescing of mode...

The Anglo-Spanish War was a conflict between the English Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell and Spain, between 1654 and 1660. It was caused by commercial rivalry. Each side attacked the other's commercial and colonial interests in various w...

The Kangxi Emperor was the third emperor of the Qing Dynasty and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1661 to 1722. Kangxi's reign of 61 years makes him the longest-reigning Chinese emperor in history (although his grands...

Agostino Steffani was an Italian ecclesiastic, diplomat and composer. Steffani stands somewhat apart from contemporary Italian composers (e.g., Alessandro Scarlatti) in his mastery of instrumental forms. His opera overtures, etc., show a re...

William Kidd, also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd, was a Scottish sailor who was tried and executed for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean. Some modern historians, for example Sir Cornelius Neale...

Jacob Bernoulli was one of the many prominent mathematicians in the Bernoulli family. He was an early proponent of Leibnizian calculus and had sided with Leibniz during the Leibniz–Newton calculus controversy. He is known for his numerous c...

Bartolomeo Cristofori di Francesco was an Italian maker of musical instruments, and is most remembered for inventing what would become the modern-day piano. He was born in Padua and became known as a harpsichord and spinet maker. In 1690 he...

The backbone of Il Palio are Siena's 17 contrade, which you can liken to city wards or administrative districts. These well-defined neighborhoods were designated in the Middle Ages, basically to aid the many military companies hired to defe...

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, baptised as Catherine Tekakwitha and informally known as Lily of the Mohawks, is a Roman Catholic saint, and was an Algonquin-Mohawk virgin and religious laywoman. Born in present-day New York, she survived smallpox...

Grigory Dmitriyevich Stroganov was a Russian landowner and statesman, the most notable member of the prominent Stroganov family in the late 17th century-early 18th century, a strong supporter of the reforms and initiatives of Peter the Grea...

Edmond Halley, Astronomer, remembered because his name is attached to a comet. Leaving Queen's College, Oxford, without a degree in 1676, he went to St Helena to map the southern stars. After a famous meeting with Wren and Hooke, he visited...