Portraits

portraits

Alexander Helphand — impresario of revolutionary disaster who smoothed Lenin’s return to Russia

Ukrainian millionaire businessman, lauded for his business acumen, made an enormous contribution to the twentieth-century's dark history of violence - he was instrumental in suppor..

Catherine Merridale August 5, 2022

portraits

Charles Johnston: British diplomat who used a poet’s eye to fix the final phase of empire

His skill in defending British interests in the Middle East in the 1960s caught the eye of world leaders, even though his plans ultimately failed. Little matter though — his ideali..

Nigel Ashton July 22, 2022

portraits

Jaan Kross — a writer’s route to happiness

The novels of Estonian Jaan Kross, who endured both Nazi and Soviet occupation, provide a window into life under oppression.

Elisabeth Braw July 8, 2022

portraits

James Flint – a sino-pioneer ahead of his time

Possibly the first Briton to learn Mandarin, James Flint was a pathbreaker who tried to penetrate China's trade barriers and culture.

Kerry Brown July 1, 2022

portraits

Bartolus of Saxoferrato — a legal legend between two ages

The medieval mind behind the concept of popular sovereignty was a staunch imperialist whose ideas would nevertheless later lead to the death of empires.

Laurie Purnell Prynn June 22, 2022

portraits

William Shockley — accidental inventor of Silicon Valley

Genius physicist was about to change the world but he became a ridiculed footnote to history. His hubris is perhaps a lesson for today’s tech titans.

Andrew Keen June 11, 2022

portraits

Hans Rott — a symphonic stepping stone

Despite his many hardships, the Viennese composer’s work was a crucial bridge from the Romantic to the Modern.

Gavin Plumley May 27, 2022

portraits

Akinpelu Obisesan — a gentleman diarist in colonial Africa

Obisesan was a wealthy and well-known public figure who established himself in the higher echelons of late colonial Nigerian society. Through his eyes, and specifically through his..

Ruth Watson May 20, 2022

portraits

Klára Dán — esoteric intellect who wrote the first modern computer code

Every computer program running today is descended from the code Klára Dán penned more than seventy years ago. Her story deserves as much recognition as that of her husband — the p..

Ananyo Bhattacharya May 13, 2022