Dresden Triptych

Dresden Triptych.
The Dresden Triptych is a very small hinged-triptych altarpiece signed and dated 1437 by the Early Netherlandish painter Jan van Eyck. It consists of five paintings: one central and four on two double-sided wings. It may have been intended as a portable altarpiece, and is his only extant non-portrait painting signed with his personal motto ALC IXH XAN ("I Do as I Can"). The outer wings show the Virgin Mary and the Archangel Gabriel in an Annunciation scene in grisaille. The inner panels are set in an ecclesiastical interior. In the central inner panel Mary holds the Christ Child; in the left-hand outer wing the Archangel Michael presents a kneeling donor; on the right Saint Catherine of Alexandria reads a prayer book (depicted). The triptych's frames are the originals; richly decorated with Latin inscriptions, they indicate that the donor, whose identity is now lost, was highly educated. The coats of arms on the interior borders are associated with the Giustiniani of Genoa – an influential albergo active from 1362.

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Hannah Glasse

Hannah Glasse.
Hannah Glasse (1708–1770) was an English cookery writer. Her first book, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (page pictured), published in 1747, became a best-selling recipe book that century. It appeared in 20 editions in the 18th century, and continued to be published until well into the 19th century. She later wrote the less successful The Servants' Directory (1760) and The Compleat Confectioner, which was probably published in 1760. Around a third of the recipes in The Art of Cookery were copied from other publications. Among her original recipes are the first known curry recipe written in English, as well as three recipes for pilau, an early reference to vanilla in English cuisine, the first recorded use of jelly in trifle, and an early recipe for ice cream. She was also the first to use the term "Yorkshire pudding" in print. The Art of Cookery has been admired by many English cooks, including Elizabeth David, Fanny Cradock and Clarissa Dickson Wright.

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Manned Orbiting Laboratory

Manned Orbiting Laboratory.
The Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) was part of the human spaceflight program of the United States Air Force. The MOL evolved into a space station, for which crews would be launched on 30-day missions, and then return to Earth using a Gemini B spacecraft derived from NASA's Gemini spacecraft. The MOL program was officially announced in December 1963 as a platform to prove the utility of putting people in space for military missions; its use for satellite reconnaissance was a secret black project. Seventeen astronauts were selected for the program, including Major Robert H. Lawrence Jr., the first African American to be chosen as an astronaut. Budget cuts repeatedly caused postponement of the first operational flight, and improvements in technology reduced the benefits of a crewed space platform over an automated one. A single uncrewed test flight of the Gemini B spacecraft was conducted on 3 November 1966, but the MOL was canceled in June 1969 without any crewed missions being flown.

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Sennacherib

Sennacherib.
Sennacherib was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 705 BC to his death in 681 BC. He is one of the most famous Assyrian kings for his role in the Old Testament of the Bible, which describes his campaign in the Levant. The Levantine War of 701 BC broke out after several Assyrian vassals in the region rebelled, including the Kingdom of Judah under King Hezekiah. The Assyrians invaded Judea, and Hezekiah submitted. Sennacherib faced considerable difficulty in controlling Babylonia and destroyed the city of Babylon in 689 BC. He transferred the capital of Assyria to Nineveh, launching one of the most ambitious building projects in ancient history. He expanded the city, constructed great city walls, numerous temples and a royal garden. Sennacherib was murdered by his eldest son, who had been disinherited and hoped to seize power for himself. A younger son, Esarhaddon, raised an army, seized Nineveh, and installed himself as king as intended by Sennacherib.