Demimonde was a polite 19th century term that was often used the same way we use the term "mistress" today. In the 19th century it primarily referred to a class of women on the fringes of respectable society supported by wealthy lovers (usually each had several). The term is also used to refer to these [...]...

Jacob August Riis (May 3, 1849 - May 26, 1914), a Danish-American journalist, photographer, and social reformer, was born in Ribe, Denmark. He is known for his dedication to using his photographic and journalistic talents to help the less fortunate in New York City*, which was the subject of most of his prolific writings and [...]...

Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen in 1770 (according to some accounts, in 1768), the son of an Icelander who had settled in Denmark and there carried on the trade of a wood-carver. This account is disputed by some Icelanders, who claim Thorvaldsen was born in Iceland. Young Thorvaldsen attended Copenhagen's Royal Danish Academy of Art (Det [...]...

Recently I read the book Public Lives (Gordon, E., Nair, G. Public lives: Women, family and society in Victorian Britain. London, 2003) which was very interesting. The writers looked at letters and diaries to learn about women and family life in the Victorian era, mostly in Ireland. Here are some things that surprised me: There was [...]...

In the history of the world, little Pauline Musters is the smallest mature woman ever recorded. Pauline is currently listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as having stood only 1 foot 11.2 inches in height. Born on February 26, 1876 in Ossendrecht in the Netherlands Pauline Munster's was almost half of her final [...]...