Live Gallery

The Airpump by Joseph Wright

The Air Pump by Joseph Wright (1734-1797). This artwork was painted in 1768. Its full title is An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump and is the second of the series of candlelight compositions that established Wright's name. It depicts a public demonstration of the effects of a vacuum created by an air pump using a live bird (top centre). The vacuum suffocates the bird and leads to a painful death, and a distressed female spectator can be seen (right). The Air Pump was influenced by meetings between Wright and his friends, when they demonstrated experiments and discussed the latest scientific developments

© SHEILA TERRY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

LCC-LFB Change from brass to cork fire helmets

A significant landmark when on 14 July 1934 the LFB started to replace its traditional brass helmet with a new compressed cork design. It would be four years before the changeover was completed. The death of a firefighter, when his brass helmet touched a live cable during firefighting operations, brought about the policy change. Here the brass helmet, introduced by Captain Eyre Massey Shaw (Metropolitan Fire Brigade), a symbol of London's firemen for over seventy years, meets a modern, safer replacement

© London Fire Brigade / Mary Evans Picture Library

The Beatles meet the press at Abbey Road Studios in London before their appearance

The Beatles meet the press at Abbey Road Studios in London before
their appearance tomorrow on BBC1 "Our World" TV Show.
The programme will feature The Beatles performing a new song "All You Need Is Love" which has been especially written for the occasion. "Our World" will be broadcast live by satellite link up to 5 continents, 24 countries and seen my 400 millions people.
Left to right is Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon
Picture taken 24th June 1967

© Mirrorpix