Deborah Sampson Gannett, aka Private Robert S...

The Pompey Stone was discovered in the early 1820s, and was believed to be hundreds of years old. It turned out to be a hoax, but a fairly benign one. Research: Barber, John Warner and Henry Howe. “Historical collections of the state of New York : containing a general collection ...  Show more

Émile Coué genuinely seems to have wanted to help people by teaching them how to plant helpful directives in their subconscious minds. Whether he was effective is something that's still debated. Research: Baldwin, J. Mark, et al. “A Disclaimer.” Science, vol. 12, no. 309, 1900, p ...  Show more

Pauline Hopkins (1859-1930) was a pioneering writer who published articles and serialized novels across genres. She’s known as the author of the first science fiction novel by a woman of color – written decades before the term sci-fi was widely used. Today, you can see her ideas ...  Show more

Margaret Cavendish has been largely forgotten and, when remembered, divides opinion. One of England’s first female philosophers, professional authors and scientists, the 17th-century writer challenged convention throughout her life with her proto-feminist writing and audacious be ...  Show more

How did an 18th century working class farm labourer climb the social ladder to become the most beloved poet Scotland has produced?

By the time he died aged just 37, he had taken the country by storm with his romantic verse and was welcomed into the bosom of Edinburgh ...

In in her 1843 essay The Great Lawsuit, the American journalist and early feminist Margaret Fuller forcefully argued for the rights of women to work, think and live on their own terms, not just as companions and foils for men. She was one of the first Americans to do so. Fuller w ...  Show more