Biography

The birds of the Galapagos Islands gave him the opportunity to think about the origin of species.

To combat inflation, he introduced a new gold coin, the solidus, which became the standard for Byzantine and European currencies for more than a thousand years.

According to some legends, Homer was blind.

Chopin's first public concert took place at the Radziwiłł Palace (now the Presidential Palace) in 1818.

In 1836 Frederic Chopin got engaged to Maria Wodzińska, but the wedding never happened.

Shakespeare’s father, John, was among the respected citizens of Stratford.

In 1476 he took part in an expedition of Genoese merchant ships to Lisbon and Flanders.

On his second expedition, Columbus chose a more southerly route.

Hemingway traveled to China with Martha, where both worked as reporters - Martha for Collier’s magazine and Ernest for the PM newspaper.

She was also a gambling enthusiast - in her late 40s she lost more than £3,000 on horse racing.