James Cook: Did you mean...?

The electrical telegraph was invented in 1837 by William Fothergill Cook (1806-1879) and Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875) in England with parallel innovations being made by Samuel Morse (1791-1872) in the United States. The telegraph, once...

Charles II of England (r. 1660-1685) was the king of Scotland (1649-1685) before the Restoration in 1660 also made him king of England and Ireland. Charles was a charming and easygoing monarch who took a keen interest in sports, science...

Anne reigned as Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1702 and then, following the 1707 Act of Union, over a united kingdom as Queen of Great Britain until her death in 1714. The last of the Stuart monarchs, Anne's reign witnessed...

George III of Great Britain (r. 1760-1820) was the third of the Hanoverian monarchs, and he remains the longest-reigning king in British history. His six decades on the throne saw the creation of the United Kingdom, the loss of the 13 American...

A daguerrotype of US President James K. Polk and First Lady Sarah Childress Polk, probably taken by John Plumbe Jr., circa 1848-49. James K. Polk Presidential Museum.

A c. 1480 painted panel from an altarpiece by Hugo van der Goes showing Saint Andrew presenting James III of Scotland (r. 1460-1488). On the left is James' son, future James IV of Scotland (r. 1488-1513). National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh...

A portrait of James Stuart, son of James II of England. Known later as the Old Pretender because he claimed the throne abdicated by his father, James was born on 10 June 1688, and the arrival of a Catholic heir was one of the causes of the...

John Knox (l. c. 1514-1572) was a Scottish theologian and reformer famous for his work in advancing the Protestant Reformation in Scotland, his contentious relationship with Mary, Queen of Scots (l. 1542-1587), and establishing the Presbyterian...

Dolley Madison (1768-1849), born Dolley Payne, was a prominent American First Lady, a function she held both during the presidency of her husband, James Madison, and for his predecessor, the widower Thomas Jefferson. Known for her elegance...

US President James K. Polk (1795-1849) at the end of his term, February 1849. Reproduction of a daguerrotype by Mathew Brady. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.