Interesting Picture: Albert Einstein Posing

I had to start a new segment when I saw this picture.

Albert Einstein Getting his Portrait PaintedFrom Sciencegeek100 at Imgur.com

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Einstein: His Life and Universe

by Walter Isaacson

How Dick Turpin was Found.

Yep, Dick is definitely a murderer.

Dick Turpin was the focal point of a legend. He was supposed to be handsome and the center of a story full of romance. But this was not how it happened. He acted as a fictional hero a popular William Ainsworth novel and other famous fictitious accounts, and soon fiction mingled with fact and 'eclipsed' his real life. He wasn't and isn't a murderer and robber anymore in the public eye, and this could act as the time of glory he never had. However, you have me to set you straight.
So here is the daunting account of his arrest and subsequent death.
Dick was a highwayman (a person who robbed people by force on roads) and a murderer of a man who threatened to turn him in. He was a wanted man by the police and disguised himself as John Palmer.  And there is where the fun part comes in.

The "letter being returned, unopened, to the Post-Office... because the brother would not pay the postage of it."(1) Then by sure coincidence Mr. Smith saw the letter, see Mr. Smith had taught Dick to write and knew in fact that John Palmer was actually Dick Turpin. He told the authorities and Palmer alias Turpin was hung.

Sources:
1. Richard Turpin: http://www.exclassics.com/newgate/ng193.htm
2.Dick Turpin: http://www.stand-and-deliver.org.uk/highwaymen/dick_turpin.htm

Portrait Lives: Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia

It's Portrait Lives Wednesday!
Every Wednesday features a Portrait Lives, which is a weekly post showing the age progression in specific historical figures through contemporary portraits of them. Way more fun than it sounds.

Her family:
In order from left to right: Olga, Maria, Czar Nicholas II,
Alix or Alexandra, Anastasia, Alexi, and Tatiana 

Anastasia along with her family was executed during the 1918 Revolution in Russia. She was part of the royal family, the youngest and fourth daughter of the Czar Nicholas II. Her brother was born about 4-5 years after her and he was killed when 13 years old.
For years after her execution, there were rumors that Anastasia was supposedly still alive. People even claimed that they were in fact the supposed Duchess, the most famous was Anna Anderson. Not until Anastasia's body was found did the rumors die down.
She was just a young woman aged 17 when she was killed violently. It is sad that her and her sisters and young brother had to die to surmount a revolution.

A Portrait Lives for Grand Duchess Anastasia:

1. about 1 year old

3. about 4

2. about 3 years old

4. about 5 years old with her siblings 

5. about 6 years old

6. about 8 years old with her brother

7. about 10

8. about 13 years old

9. about 14 years

10. about 14 years 

11. about 15 years

12. 15 years old, now in home arrest with her siblings. She is
the second most to the right with the dog.

13. aged about 16 years old 

14. about 17 still in captivity

15. forensic facial reconstruction at 17 years old

Maria and Anastasia making funny faces

Some Bonus Informal and Funny Photos:

her father letting her take a smoke

Anastasia with her brother, Alexi 

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Sources:
Livadia.org
Romanov Collection, General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

All the Shocking Secrets of the Mona Lisa.

Gone are the days where you are fooled by false colors!
This is the true Mona Lisa.

Not only is the Mona Lisa the most secretive painting, it is also the most famous.
Who knew paintings could keep secrets?

Somehow Mona Lisa's mysterious smile is her most attractive feature. The stare of this painted woman is never the less creepy, though, people
have said  Mona Lisa follows them with her eyes.

This is what happens when you become a
famous painting

Throughout the centuries, daunting facts have been discovered about the Mona Lisa.

I have listed all
the discoveries I know of below:

She has no eyebrows.
I always thought they were invisible. They were actually worn down by time.

There is an earlier version.

The Other Earlier Version

This version may or may not have been created by da Vinci. It is a younger and way less detailed Mona Lisa.

Her smile used to be wider.
But time made her unhappy.

There is a code of numbers and letters in her eyes.
I don't what that means Leonardo was doing, but it freaks me out. Leonardo is not and was not James Bond., so why? 
Can you see the letters and numbers in the left picture? Actually you can't, they're microscopic. 

Sources:

'Solved: Why Mona Lisa doesn't have eyebrows' by Richard Holt: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/3668700/Solved-Why-Mona-Lisa-doesnt-have-eyebrows.html
The real-life Da Vinci Code: Historians discover tiny numbers and letters in the eyes of the Mona Lisa: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1337976/Real-life-Da-Vinci-Code-Tiny-numbers-letters-discovered-Mona-Lisa.html

The Mona Lisa Foundation: http://monalisa.org
Contribute to them. I don't know them but I bet they would really appreciate it.

Digital scans reveal Mona Lisa secrets: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/oct/22/artnews.france

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Mona Lisa: A Life Discovered by Dianne Hales

She was really a man all along!

 Just kidding, click on the picture.

I couldn't resist putting this here

20th Century Mugshots Online

Random fun fact
The Justice Police Museum has a archive of 20th century police records that are beautiful centered on the Sydney Living Museum website and on the historic history trust collection.
There you can find police records specifically about the 1920's to 1940's. These are fascinating items of history they are also valuable items of vivid art.

Add caption

They are such stories as the true story of a woman who dressed as a man.  The story was this: Eugenia Falleni who dressed as a 'Harry Crawford' since 1899. As Harry she married a widow named Annie Birkett who had a son. After four years of marriage, Annie had told a relative that she had found out 'something amazing about Harry.' Shortly afterwards she disappeared. Later on a body was identified as hers. It was supposed that Harry was the murderer, and Harry's gender was found out, but when it was found Harry's second wife said she had always wondered why he was so shy.


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Prisoners: Murder, Mayhem, and Petit Larceny 

by Arne Svenson          

Bring justice to this link by clicking on the picture.

Sources:
Eugenia Falleni, alias Harry Crawford, special photograph number 234, Central Police Station Sydney, 1920: http://collection.hht.net.au/firsthhtpictures/fullRecordPicture.jsp?recnoListAttr=recnoList&recno=31246

Columbus Did Not Discover the America

The question of who exactly discovered the Americas is widely debated. What historians do when they ask this important question is actually misunderstand or in a single hyphened word mis-define the words in the question:

Who exactly discovered the Americas?

When people ask this question who discovered this place people ask who actually found the land and concieved the knowledge this place was a new land.

When we ask who discovered the Americas historians seek centuries before Columbus taking it as who saw the Americas. What people really want to know is who discovered the Americas and while doing actively causing the Americas to become as it is today, becoming widely known as as a continent.

Now knowing the definitive definition of what we are actually asking we can answer it correctly (finally!).

Way to go Amerigo!

Amerigo Vespucci actually knew and realized that this new place was actually a new place. So he discovered it.

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Explorers of North America by Christine Taylor-Butler

It got 5 stars. Yes, check it out!

Discover this great book.