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Crystal Palace Park, by George Baxter (1854), with sculptures by Waterhouse Hawkins and landscaping by Paxton. Baxter process print

George Baxter and the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

The famous 1854 print by George Baxter of Crystal Palace and Park at Sydenham is a favourite for those who explore the history of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs. The post investigates [...]

Close-up. Cartoon appearing in Punch 1855, volume 28, page 50, “The Effects of a Hearty Dinner After Visiting the Antediluvian Department at Crystal Palace,” featuring Crystal Palace Dinosaurs.

Punch 1855 Cartoon Dreaming of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

The cartoon depicting a man dreaming of monsters is one of two famous illustrations from Punch magazine referencing Crystal Palace Dinosaurs. In a previous post, I presented the other 1855 cartoon, [...]

Broadcast clock generator sample 30 minute episode

Broadcast Clock Generator App

I needed a quick and easy broadcast clock for creating podcast episodes. (There is a great episode of ‘99% Invisible’ on broadcast clocks that is well worth listening to.) While [...]

Sample Medical Card for Croydon Schoolboys 1920s-1930s

Medical Cards for Croydon Schoolchildren 1920s-1930s

Historians must make more – and more creative – use of AI technologies for data analysis as well as for routine task of data sorting and transcription. To create a [...]

HPSC0010 History of Modern Science

This page is in development. Please return in September 2026. Until then, please enjoy these cartoons. What are these?

HPSC0041 Dissertation

Undergraduates in UCL Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS) undertake final year projects resulting in dissertations or research reports. Students undertake a research project largely of their own design in the field of science […]

HPSC0009 Introduction to History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science

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William Jennings Bryan arrives in Dayton, Tennessee for the 1925 Scopes Trial

Last Message of William Jennings Bryan (Scopes Trial) | EGP

As the Scopes ‘Monkey’ Trial came to an end in July 1925, William Jennings Bryan expected to deliver the prosecution’s closing argument. Procedural tactics by the defence prevented this. The trial ended without the long-awaited […]

Richard the Lionheart statue outside UK Houses of Parliament

Nature of Gothic: A Chapter from The Stones of Venice (John Ruskin) | EGP

The famous essay by John Ruskin, The Nature of Gothic, first appeared as a chapter in his 1853 The Stones of Venice. This chapter proved immensely popular and took on a life of its own. […]

Eoörnis pterovelox gobiensis (Eoornis) | EGP

Meet Eoörnis (Eoornis), the woofen-poof. As the author explains, ‘Through countless ages and successive civilizations this remarkable bird has been the symbol of speed, stamina, grace of line, proportion of members, and beauty of motion.’ […]

Professor Joe Cain

UCL Professor of History and Philosophy of Biology

Synthesis Period in Evolutionary Studies

George Gaylord Simpson (1902-1984) bibliography

George Gaylord Simpson’s “Night Thoughts on Leaving the American Museum of Natural History”

Ernst Mayr and the Biology of Birds Exhibit at AMNH

Genetics: Sewall Wright Taught Me, volume 2 | EGP

Exploring the Borderlands of Evolutionary Synthesis

Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

George Baxter and the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

Punch 1855 Cartoon Dreaming of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs

LLMs and GenAI in Research

Broadcast Clock Generator App

Medical Cards for Croydon Schoolchildren 1920s-1930s

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Bernissart Iguanodons in the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels

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HPSC Modules 2026-27