Images Dated 5th August 2005

Gustave Hamel, British aviation pioneer, 1913

Gustave Hamel, British aviation pioneer, 1913. Hamel (c1884-1914) disappeared over the English Channel on 23 May 1914 on a flight from France piloting a new aircraft. The previous year he had made a record-breaking double crossing of the Channel from Dunkirk to Dover, completing the trip in 90 minutes. Flight, a cartoon from Vanity Fair. (London, 31 July 1913)

© Oxford Science Archive / Heritage-Images

Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford, 1862

Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford, 1862. Founded in 1772, the observatory is named after the physician John Radcliffe (1652-1714), a graduate of Oxford University who went on to become Royal Physician to William and Mary. It was built with funds bequeathed by him. This representation of the observatory is from the reverse of the medal of the Johnson Memorial Prize for the advance of astronomy and meteorology founded in 1862 in memory of the astronomer Manuel John Johnson (1805-1859) who was keeper at the observatory from 1839-1859

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Tamar giving birth to Pharez and Sarah, 16th century

Tamar giving birth to Pharez and Sarah, 16th century. Tamar had twins by her father-in-law Judah Pharez (Peres) whose descendants include King David and Jesus of Nazareth and Sarah (Zera). The midwife, an old woman, delivers Sarah while her brother is washed. Tamar is sitting on a birthing stool and is supported by her ladies. At centre front a basket of swaddling bands is ready to wind round the infants. An episode from the Old Testament (Leviticus 18.15), depicted as a lying-in scene in a high status 16th century house

© Oxford Science Archive / Heritage-Images