Images Dated 5th August 2005

Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford, 1862

Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford, 1862. Founded in 1772, the observatory is named after the physician John Radcliffe (1652-1714), a graduate of Oxford University who went on to become Royal Physician to William and Mary. It was built with funds bequeathed by him. This representation of the observatory is from the reverse of the medal of the Johnson Memorial Prize for the advance of astronomy and meteorology founded in 1862 in memory of the astronomer Manuel John Johnson (1805-1859) who was keeper at the observatory from 1839-1859

© Oxford Science Archive / Heritage-Images

Coal mining accident, Tynewydd Colliery, South Wales, April 1877 (c1885). Artist: William Heysham Overend

Coal mining accident, Tynewydd Colliery, South Wales, April 1877 (c1885). Volunteers digging through an obstruction to rescue colleagues trapped in flooded workings in the Tynewydd Colliery in the Rhondda Valley. They are working by the light of Davy safety lamps. 9 trapped miners were saved, 5 of them after being underground for 9 days, in a difficult and dangerous rescue operation. The drama enthralled the nation, and 25 of the rescuers were awarded the Albert Medal for their efforts, the first time it had been awarded for a rescue operation on land. From Heroes of Britain by Edwin Hodder. (London c1885)

© Oxford Science Archive / Heritage-Images

Tamar giving birth to Pharez and Sarah, 16th century

Tamar giving birth to Pharez and Sarah, 16th century. Tamar had twins by her father-in-law Judah Pharez (Peres) whose descendants include King David and Jesus of Nazareth and Sarah (Zera). The midwife, an old woman, delivers Sarah while her brother is washed. Tamar is sitting on a birthing stool and is supported by her ladies. At centre front a basket of swaddling bands is ready to wind round the infants. An episode from the Old Testament (Leviticus 18.15), depicted as a lying-in scene in a high status 16th century house

© Oxford Science Archive / Heritage-Images