2002 Gallery

2002

© SUTTON MOTORSPORT IMAGES

Coloured Engraving of a dodo

Engraving of a dodo, an extinct, flightless bird, related to the pigeon. The size of a swan, it was heavily-built and clumsy. Two species were known with certainty: the common dodo Raphus cucullatus from Mauritius, which became extinct between 1665 and 1670, and the Rodriguez solitaire Pezophaps solitaria from the neighbouring island of Rodriguez, which died out around 1761. The dodo's numbers quickly dwindled following the arrival of humans to these isolated habitats. All but defenceless, they were ill-equipped to cope with the new hunters & the competition from other introduced species. Copper engraving from Historia Naturalis Brasiliae, W. Piso & G. Marcgrave, 1658

© DR JEREMY BURGESS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Michael Collins 1890-1922) Irish Nationalist, Sinn Fein leader, founder and director

Michael Collins 1890-1922) Irish Nationalist, Sinn Fein leader, founder and director of intelligence of the Irish Republican Army 1919, minister for finance in the provisional government of the Irish Free State 1922, and for ten days Head of State before being killed. Born in County Cork, he became an active member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and in 1916 fought in the Easter Rising. In 1918 he was elected a Sinn Fein member to the Dail, and became a minister in the Republican Provisional government. In 1921 he and Arthur Griffith were mainly responsible for the treaty that established the Irish Free State. During the ensuing civil war, Collins took command and crushed the opposition in Dublin and the large towns within a few weeks. When Griffiths died Collins became head of the state and the army, but he was ambushed near Cork by fellow Irishmen on 22nd August and killed. Topfoto stills library picture library stock archive vintage Ireland Irish Rebellion 1916

© TopFoto.co.uk