Images Dated 2005 December

'Buffon', 19th century. Artist: Hart

'Buffon', 19th century. George-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, French naturalist. Author of the encyclopedic 44-volume Histoire Naturelle, Buffon (1707-1778) proposed that the Earth existed before 4004 BC, the then generally accepted date of its creation. His work was a precursor of the theory of evolution

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'Cortez', 19th century. Artist: William Holl

'Cortez', 19th century. Hernan Cortes (1485-1547), Spanish conquistador who conquered Mexico. Cortes landed in Mexico in 1519. With a force of only some 600 men, he succeeded in overthrowing the empire of the Aztecs, a civilization numbering 5 million. He was able to achieve this partly due to the natives being terrified of the Europeans' horses and firearms, neither of which they had seen before. In addition, the Aztecs believed a prophecy that they would be visited by a light-skinned bearded god, the Quetzalcoatl, who had taught them agriculture and government in the past, and whose return they were to welcome with great ceremony. Cortes was able to exploit his resemblance to the Quetzalcoatl to great effect

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'Rembrandt', 19th century. Artist: Woodman

'Rembrandt', 19th century. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669) is generally considered one of the greatest painters in European art history and the most important in Dutch history. Rembrandt was also a proficient printmaker and made many drawings. His contributions to art came in a period that historians call the Dutch Golden Age (roughly equivalent to the 17th century), in which Dutch culture, science, commerce, world power and political influence reached their pinnacles

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