Pocket Biographies
2 total works
Sir Christopher Wren was one of the greatest and most versatile Englishmen of his age. Most famous today for the redesign and rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral, he was also Professor of Astronomy at Oxford and a founding and active member of the Royal Society. Following a childhood in which he was continuously designing and building contraptions, his talents were so exceptional that he was recognized as a genius while still an Oxford undergraduate. While Professor of Astronomy, he designed some of Oxford's earliest Classical buildings, but it was the Great Fire of London that changed Wren's life. As "principal architect" among the commissioners appointed to rebuild the city, he led a team that included his old friend Professor of Geometry, Robert Hooke, and his brilliant young assistant, Nicholas Hawksmoor, who joined him in 1679. Together they enriched London with the cathedral and churches which 300 years later are still amongst its greatest architectural treasures.
This pocket biography examines the life of the 13th-century emperor, Genghis Khan, infamous for his bloodthirsty, ruthless campaigns, but also one of the great commanders of history. Khan sought to become the ruler of all Mongol peoples. He began the conquest of China in 1213 and invaded India, while his subordinates took land as far as Crimea. When he died in 1227, his empire ranged from the Caspian Sea to northern China.