Margaret Cavendish Who was Margaret Cavendish? Margaret Cavendish was a little younger than Hobbes and Descartes, but she knew both men. She had many philosophical debates with them when they were all living [...]
William Shakespeare Who was William Shakespeare? Little Shakespeare was born in England, in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, in 1564 AD. His family was pretty well off, and he probably went to [...]
Henry VIII of England Henry VIII rules England When Henry VII died in 1509, his son Henry VIII became king of England. He was only 18 years old, but he grabbed his power [...]
Hanoverian England: King George I of England Why did the Hanoverians come from Germany to rule England? Because Queen Anne had no children, and no Catholic could be king or queen, when [...]
Beginning of the Bill of Rights How much power did British rulers have? Ever since King John agreed to the Magna Carta in England in 1215 AD, people in England had agreed that the king [...]
Kids in a spinning mill in England During the 1700s AD, the first modern factories opened. At first these were spinning factories to make thread for clothing, blankets, and sheets. Because most adults [...]
Roger Bacon's diagram of a human eye When did Roger Bacon live? Roger Bacon was born in England maybe about 1210 AD. It was late in the reign of King John. (That's the one [...]
Astrolabe in Hebrew, probably from Spain (1300s AD) In the early Middle Ages, most people in Europe were too poor to have much time for astronomy. But some people were still interested in [...]
Woman beating a man Chaucer's Wife of Bath's tale is different from the other stories in the Canterbury Tales. It's the only one told by a woman. She's a woman [...]
Tristan and Isolde, in a German woodcut (1400s AD) In the story, Isolde was a princess in Ireland, and a great healer. She was the best doctor in the land. One day this guy [...]
