Images

Maria Theresa in mourning dress, oil on canvas by Anton von Maron, 1773. For the last 15 years of her reign, Maria Theresa of Austria dressed only in mourning attire to grieve the death of her husband Francis I. Kunsthistorisches Museum...

This young girl in Bangladesh was infected with smallpox in 1973. Freedom from smallpox was declared in Bangladesh in December, 1977 when a WHO International Commission officially certified that smallpox had been eradicated from that country...

White marble door of the Hagia Sophia, photograph by Juan Ángel Piqueras, Istanbul, 25 February, 2026. The Marble Door (also known as “Gate of Heaven and Hell”) in Hagia Sophia’s south upper gallery marks the threshold between the western...

Frederick the Great Playing the Flute at Sanssouci, painting by Adolph von Menzel, Berlin, c. 1850. Frederick the Great was known for both his martial stratagem and his patronage of the arts. An avid flute player, he would often host concerts...

Battle of Prague, 6 May 1757, illustration by unknown artist, c. 1760. This illustration depicts Prussian troops, led by King Frederick II of Prussia, driving back the Austrian troops into Prague. The Battle of Prague was one of the largest...

The Akkadian Empire (c. 2334–2218 BCE), founded by Sargon of Akkad (reign c. 2334–2279 BCE), is widely regarded as the first territorial empire in recorded history. Emerging from the political landscape of Sumerian city-states, Sargon established...

Portrait of Frederick William II of Prussia, print by Johan Frederick Clemens, London, 1793. Nephew of Frederick the Great, King Frederick William II ruled Prussia from 1786 until his death in 1797. Often overlooked in favor of his uncle...

Idealized depiction of Frederick the Great of Prussia, painting by Wilhelm Camphausen, Germany, 1870. This painting is a dramatized version of Frederick the Great painted almost a century after his death. The idealized form of the portrait...

Flag of the World Health Organization, a specialized branch of the United Nations.

A c. 1910 painting by Ernest Board showing the English physician Edward Jenner (1749-1823), the vaccine pioneer, administering a vaccination against cowpox to James Phipps in 1796, which subsequently protected him from contracting smallpox...