Portraits

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

portraits

Pamela Colman Smith — The queen of tarot

The Rider tarot deck is found in millions of homes worldwide but little is known of its creator and her involvement in occult Britain.

Jennifer Higgie April 25, 2022

portraits

Richard Aldington — the war poet who rejected moral certainties about conflict

Once a poet of considerable renown, Richard Aldington's work has been largely forgotten. Perhaps because he did not conform to the conventional image of the soldier-poet.

Lizzie Hibbert April 5, 2022

portraits

Sir Alexander Cadogan — Churchill’s indispensable man

Combining vision with pragmatism, Sir Alexander Cadogan sensed that Britain ought to be at the centre of a dense web of international connections if it was to help shape the post-w..

Peter Ricketts March 23, 2022