ISRAEL DESTROYED

One of the magnificent relief sculptures of the Assyrian civilisation, about 721-705 B.C. The figure of a winged bull with human head in King Sargon's palace. Found at Khorsabad. It was Sargon II who destroyed the kingdom of the Israelites.

GALA AT SUEZ CANAL, 1869

Canal-builder Ferdinand de Lesseps, out for a drive with 7 of his 17 children.

A ship streams through the Suez Canal, the man-made waterway that crosses the Isthmus of Suez in northeastern Egypt. The canal, opened in 1869, connects the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

Official opening of the Suez Canal 17 Nov 1869

NEW YORK, 1628 AND 1750

View of New York in 1628, the earliest known representation of Manhattan Island from a copy of Van der Donck's Beschryvinghe van Niew-Nederlandt, 1655.

New York City in 1750, viewed from the Brooklyn side of the East River. Note the flat-bottomed sails and oars, starting its trip across the river, and the  ox-drawn cart in the foreground

ALCHEMIST JABIR HAYYAN (GEBER), 721-808

… Jabir b. Hayyan (circa 102-192/721-808) known by the Latin name Geber to European scholars. Jabir b. Hayyan was an alchemist, a discipline that combined science, numerology, philosophy, and esoteric aspects of religion. He developed several experimental techniques including distillation and other methods that continue to be used in modern chemistry. He was born in Tus but his family moved to Yaman. Later he went to Kufa, which was at the time under Abbasid. Here, he is known to have become the follower and student of Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq. He also practised his discipline at the court of Harun al-Rashid and dedicated several books to his patrons. A prolific writer, Jabir b. Hayyan produced a number of works including the Book of Venus on alchemy. His writings were translated into Latin and such were his fame that many other scientific works were attributed to him by medieval Europeans. He continued to be influential in Europe into the 17th century when his writings were translated into English, French, German, etc. and he became associated with …

GUTENBERG

WASHING MACHINE

An elderly American academician  who taught at UPM for a while said that her father invented the washing machine. She was rather amazed that the hostel she was staying had no washing machine and she had to wash linen by hand. This story was related to me some decades ago.

This is one of the earliest make of a washing machine. Not sure this is the one referred to by the academic.

THE ROSETTA STONE

EARLY POPULATIONS - STRAITS, MALAYA

CIRCUMCISION - 4000 YEARS AGO

Egyptian circumcision relief, tomb of Ankhmahor, Saqqarah, 6th dynasty (2345-2181 BC).

PENANG TRAM CARS

HARGREAVES AND FIRST CLASS OF MCKK

THE LAST QUEEN OF HAWAII

Queen Lili'uokalani, the last ruler of the Hawaiian Kingdom, overthrown by the United States Marine Corps.