Virginia Gallery

American and British members of the Air Transport Auxiliary

American and British members of the Air Transport Auxiliary in front of a Hawker Hurricane. From left: Virginia Farr, New Jersey; Louise Dutch Schuuman, New York; Helen Ritchie, Pittsburgh; Pauline Gower, Commander; Jacqueline Cochran; Pamela Duncan, UK; Mrs D. Williams, UK; Zita Irwin, UK and Audrey Sale-Barker. Date:

© The Royal Aeronautical Society (National Aerospace Library) / Mary Evans Picture Library

'Siege of Yorktown', 1781 (c1836). Artist: Auguste Couder

'Siege of Yorktown', 1781 (c1836). French General Jean de Rochambeau (1725-1807) and American General George Washington (1732-1799) giving the last orders for the attack, October 1781. The British under Charles Cornwallis (1738-1805) were defeated in the battle, the decisive engagement in the American War of Independence.

© Ann Ronan Picture Library / Heritage-Images

1800 Thomas Jefferson Portrait

Thomas Jefferson, polymath, American Founding Father and President (b. 13 April 1743 - d. 4 July 1826). Engraving by W.Holl in "The Gallery of Portraits" 1837 with later colouring, after print by Desnoyers and painting by Peale 1800. His chief contribution to science came in paleontology, describing the American Mastodon and in 1797 the first fossil of the giant ground sloth Megalonyx jeffersonii from West Virginia. Megalonyx means "giant claw" (see Leidy 1855). Cuvier credited the discovery and illustrated it in his 1812 "Ossamens fossiles". Buffon had been dismissive of the American fauna as feeble and Jefferson was happy to counter the claim with fossils such as these. Jefferson also contributed to the sciences as an inventor and archaeologist. He founded the University of Virginia.

© This image is Paul D. Stewart 2009. Do not reproduce without permission of the photographer at Stewartpauld@aol.com.