Speed Gallery

Scotland for Ever'; the charge of the Scots Greys at Waterloo, 18 June 1815

Scotland for Ever'; the charge of the Scots Greys at Waterloo, 18 June 1815. The attack by the Royal Scots Greys cavalry regiment on the French 45th infantry was immortalised in this famous painting of 1881 by Lady Elizabeth Butler (1846-1933). The wife of a general as well as a popular Victorian painter, she persuaded the commander of the regiment to reconstruct the charge so she could make the painting. Some military historians doubt that the action actually took the form of the spectacular headlong charge depicted in the picture. What is known however is that the Scots Greys overpursued the French infantry, became split into disorganised small groups, and suffered heavy casualties at the hands of French cavalry formations before they were able to regain the British lines

© Ann Ronan Picture Library / Heritage-Images

J.M. W. Turner (1775-1851). British painter. Rain, Steam an

J.M. W. Turner (1775-1851). British Romantic landscape painter. His work is regarded as a Romantic preface to Impressionism. Rain, Steam and Speed The Great Western Railway (1844). National Gallery, London

© Thaliastock / Mary Evans

1775 1851, 1844, 19th, Art, Britain, British, Century, Gallery, Great, Historical, History, Joseph, Kingdom, Landscape, Light, London, Mallord, Mw, National, Painter, Painting, Period, Railway, Rain, Romantic, Romanticism, Speed, Steam, Style, The, Train, Transport, Turner, United, Westem, William

Howard Hughes, US aviation pioneer

Howard Hughes (1905-1976), American aviation pioneer. Hughes was 16 when his mother died. When his father died unexpectedly two years later, Hughes inherited the family estate and dropped out of university. In 1932, Hughes formed the Hughes Aircraft Company to indulge his passion for aircraft. Two years later, Hughes built and test- piloted the world's most advanced plane, the H-1, in which he set a new speed record of 352 miles per hour. Hughes went on to set two more transcontinental records. Hughes died in 1976, having lived as recluse for the last 20 years of his life

© SCIENCE, INDUSTRY & BUSINESS LIBRARY/NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY