Project Gutenberg

#OTD in 1869 writer Algernon Blackwood was born. He "was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algernon_Blackwood

Books by Blackwood at PG:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1370

#books #literature

The deaf blacksmith who married in 1576 – and the history of sign as a legal language

The medieval church’s acknowledgement that signs were equivalent to a spoken language was transformative for deaf people.

by Rosamund Oates

https://theconversation.com/the-deaf-blacksmith-who-married-in-1576-and-the-history-of-sign-as-a-legal-language-276686?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20March%209%202026%20-%203699037833&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20March%209%202026%20-%203699037833+CID_4dad2f3a225cc1558f32f04d20318006&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk&utm_term=The%20deaf%20blacksmith%20who%20married%20in%201576%20%20and%20the%20history%20of%20sign%20as%20a%20legal%20language

Sign language at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subjects/search/?query=sign+language

#books #literature #history

#OTD in 1892, Vita Sackville-West is born.

"Sackville-West was a successful novelist, poet and journalist, as well as a prolific letter writer and diarist. She published more than a dozen collections of poetry and 13 novels during her life.... She was the inspiration for the protagonist of Orlando: A Biography, by her friend and lover Virginia Woolf."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vita_Sackville-West

Books by Sackville-West at PG:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/34850

#books #literature

Happy International Women's Day! To celebrate it, Project Gutenberg created a new bookshelf titled Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/bookshelf/706

More information about these magnificent women can be foud in PG´s March Newsletter:
https://www.gutenberg.org/newsletter/

#books #literature #womeninstem #womenhistoryMonth

Rijksmuseum researchers discover new painting by Rembrandt van Rijn

They examined the work with the same advanced techniques used in Operation Night Watch, and closely compared it with other paintings by Rembrandt from the same period.

https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/press/press-releases/rijksmuseum-researchers-discover-new-painting-by-rembrandt-van-rijn

Rembrandt at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/7232

#art #culture

What Is the Dominant Emotion in 400 Years of Women’s Diaries?

A new anthology identifies frustration as a recurring theme in journals written between 1599 and 2015

by Sarah Gristwood

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-is-the-dominant-emotion-in-400-years-of-womens-diaries-180983834/?utm_source=smithsoniandaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=editorial&lctg=93133550

Women literature at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subjects/search/?query=women+literature

#books #literature #WomenHistoryMonth

Message from the Executive Director: Accessibility at Project Gutenberg

Please take a look at this important topic published in our latest newsletter.

https://www.gutenberg.org/newsletter/

If you use social media, please feel invited to respond with upvotes or comments or questions. Your shares and reposts help spread awareness of Project Gutenberg’s library.

#ebooks #publicdomain #accessibility

How Einstein revolutionized the meaning of “where” and “when”

Even space and time are relative in Einstein's universe. That means our old notions of "where" and "when" no longer apply on cosmic scales.

by Ethan Siegel

https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/einstein-revolutionized-where-when/?utm_source=nautilus.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=are-we-all-doomed-to-develop-ai-psychosis&_bhlid=c8e74783f471d1d0672424048a5359c94a883770

Einstein at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1630

#books #science #physics

The £7.5m book at centre of Small Prophets plot

Birds of America, published in the mid-19th Century by ornithologist artist John James Audubon, is one of the library's more valuable treasures.

by Marc Waddington

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c77edrr8jg2o

Audubon at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/41878

#books #literature #ornithology

17th-Century Painter Michaelina Wautier Was Almost Lost to History. Will Blockbuster Shows Juice Her Market?

Details of her life remain in doubt, but her canvases evince a trailblazer. Buying one is not easy.

by Eileen Kinsella

https://news.artnet.com/market/michaelina-wautier-market-appraisal-2742009

More about Wautier:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michaelina_Wautier

#art #culture

A Scholar Recognized the Inscriptions in the Margins of This Manuscript. The Scribbles Turned Out to Be Galileo’s Handwritten Notes

Found in a 16th-century copy of an ancient astronomy treatise, the annotations suggest that the trailblazing scientist studied Earth-centric models before lending his support to heliocentrism

by Christian Thorsberg

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scholar-recognized-the-inscriptions-in-the-margins-of-this-manuscript-the-scribbles-turned-out-to-be-galileos-handwritten-notes-180988269/?utm_source=smithsoniandaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=editorial&lctg=93133550

Galileo at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/6741

#books #astronomy

The Famous Battleship Potemkin Mutiny That Was Immortalized in Eisenstein’s Iconic Film

Immortalized in Sergei Eisenstein’s famous film, the mutiny aboard the Russian warship Potemkin was one of the most iconic moments of the 1905 Revolution.

https://www.thecollector.com/battleship-potemkin-mutiny/

#history #russianhistory

The scandal that engulfed the last Brontë sister's death

When Charlotte Brontë died—the last of her massively talented family to succumb to an early death—the press entered a feeding frenzy. A friend and equally famous writer aimed to set the record straight and nearly destroyed her career doing so.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/bronte-sisters-charlotte-bronte-elizabeth-gaskell

Books by Charlotte Bronte at PG:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/408

Books by Elizabeth Gaskell at PG:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/220

#books #literature

Lost 19th century film by Méliès discovered at the Library

https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2026/02/lost-19th-century-film-by-melies-discovered-at-the-library/

Books about motion pictures at PG:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subjects/search/?query=motion+pictures

#film

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgeson Burnett was an early work of climate fiction

by Davina Quinlivan (from the archives)

https://theconversation.com/the-secret-garden-by-frances-hodgeson-burnett-was-an-early-work-of-climate-fiction-250338

The Secret Garden at PG:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17396

#books #literature

The Man Who Stole Infinity

In an 1874 paper, Georg Cantor proved that there are different sizes of infinity and changed math forever. A trove of newly unearthed letters shows that it was also an act of plagiarism.

By Joseph Howlett

https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-man-who-stole-infinity-20260225/

Cantor at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/34168

Cantor in Principia Mathematica:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78050

#books #mathematics

How the Roman Empire Fell Step by Step

Spanning many decades, the fall of the Roman Empire was a long process, studded with tragedy and catastrophic failures.

https://www.thecollector.com/how-roman-empire-fell-step-by-step/

Books about the Roman Empire at PG:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=roman+empire

#history #romanhistory

Bird Grove review – George Eliot’s true story embellished in a tender drama

Elizabeth Dulau is terrific in Alexi Kaye Campbell’s new play as the young woman set to become a daring pioneer in fiction and real life

by Arifa Akbar

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/feb/25/bird-grove-review-hampstead-theatre-londong-eorge-eliot

George Eliot at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/90

#books #literature #theatre

See How Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’ Inspired Centuries of Artists—From Caravaggio to René Magritte

A show at the Rijksmuseum brings together paintings, sculptures, film and other artworks that reinterpret the ancient Roman poet’s tales of transformation

by Christian Thorsberg

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-how-ovids-metamorphoses-inspired-centuries-of-artists-from-caravaggio-to-rene-magritte-180988224/?utm_source=smithsoniandaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=editorial&lctg=93133550

Metamorphoses at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21765

#books #literature

#OTD in In 1830, Victor Hugo‘s play Hernani premieres in Paris, eliciting protests from the audience for its attack on Classicism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hernani_(drama)

"Hernani" (in French) at PG:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9976

#books #literature #drama

Guide to the classics: 18th century novel Fantomina has a sexually curious, identity-switching heroine

Eliza Haywood was a bestselling 18th century author closely associated with the then-emerging genre of the novel. Little is known of her life beyond her writing.

by Nicola Parsons

https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-18th-century-novel-fantomina-has-a-sexually-curious-identity-switching-heroine-253949

Elisa Haywood at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/3687

#books #literature

Michelangelo hated painting the Sistine Chapel – and never aspired to be a painter to begin with

by Anna Swartwood House

https://theconversation.com/michelangelo-hated-painting-the-sistine-chapel-and-never-aspired-to-be-a-painter-to-begin-with-275788

Michelangelo at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/3463

#books #art #history

Oslo, Norway

‘The Scream’ View

The hillside where Edvard Munch experienced the panic attack that inspired “The Scream” offers one of the most striking evening views in Oslo.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-scream-view

#art #travel

Rare 'planetary parade' will return to the evening sky this week — but you'll have to look at exactly the right time

By Jamie Carter

Six planets will shine together in the evening sky on Feb. 28. Here's how to get the best view before they disappear.

https://www.livescience.com/space/planets/rare-planetary-parade-will-return-to-the-evening-sky-this-week-but-youll-have-to-look-at-exactly-the-right-time

#astronomy #science

How reading books regulates your nervous system

Books don’t just stimulate the mind — they trigger physiological changes throughout the body.

by Anne-Laure Le Cunff

https://bigthink.com/mind-behavior/how-reading-books-regulates-your-nervous-system/

#books #literature

This Week in Literary History: Malcolm X was Assassinated in New York City

“Whatever hand pulled the trigger did not buy the bullet.”

https://lithub.com/this-week-in-literary-history-malcolm-x-was-assassinated-in-new-york-city/

#blackhistorymonth #ushistory #books

#OTD in 1975, humorist P. G. Wodehouse died.

Wodehouse "was an English writer and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeves; the immaculate and loquacious Psmith; Lord Emsworth and the Blandings Castle set; the Oldest Member, with stories about golf...."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._G._Wodehouse

Books by Wodehouse at PG:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/783

#books #literature

Why Do We Keep Telling the Same Stories? Archetypes in Pop Culture

"Archetypes aren't just storytelling tools—they're reflections of us. We keep retelling them because they help us feel understood."

https://www.thecollector.com/archetypes-pop-culture/

Books by Jung at PG:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/44679

Odysseus und Nausicaa

#books #literature #psychology

Gladys West, mathematician whose work paved the way for GPS, dies at 95

She navigated segregation to become an esteemed mathematician — and today, her work helps billions of people navigate the world.

By Bill Chappell

https://www.npr.org/2026/01/23/nx-s1-5685027/gladys-west-gps-mathematician

#science #technology #womeninstem

Ever watched a pet cow pick up a broom and scratch herself with it? You have now

By Chris Simms

"A pet cow in Austria started using a broom to scratch herself — the first ever documented case of bovine tool use."

https://www.livescience.com/animals/land-mammals/ever-seen-a-pet-cow-pick-up-a-broom-and-scratch-herself-with-it-you-have-now

#science #animals

Grains of sand prove people – not glaciers – transported Stonehenge rocks

Ask people how Stonehenge was built and you’ll hear stories of sledges, ropes, boats and sheer human determination to haul stones from across Britain to Salisbury Plain, in south-west England.

by Anthony Clarke and Chris Kirkland

https://theconversation.com/grains-of-sand-prove-people-not-glaciers-transported-stonehenge-rocks-271310

Stonehenge at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/12218

#books #literature #geology

Impressionism Beyond Painting: Sculpture, Literature, Film and More

Impressionists like Edgar Degas experimented with photography and inspired a photographic movement that aimed to convey the same effects as their groundbreaking paintings.

by Anastasiia Kirpalov

https://www.thecollector.com/impressionism-sculpture-literature-film-photography/

Impressionism at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/3050

#books #art #literature

How America’s First Nonbinary Minister Created True Equality in the Newly Born United States

"Nina Sankovitch on “Universal Friend,” the Genderless Messenger of God Who Aimed to Save Lost Souls and Preach Universal Salvation"

https://lithub.com/how-americas-first-nonbinary-minister-created-true-equality-in-the-newly-born-united-states/

#lgbtqia #religion #books

The shape of time

In the 19th century, the linear idea of time became dominant – with profound implications for how we experience the world

By Emily Thomas

https://aeon.co/essays/when-we-turned-time-into-a-line-we-reimagined-past-and-future?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=6edcc3967b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_01_10_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-4ef8a26106-72664972

Space and Time at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/subject/7601

#books #literature #historyofscience

8 Black Inventors Who Changed the World

"African American inventors and their revolutionary ideas have shaped technology and society throughout history."

https://www.thecollector.com/black-inventors-who-changed-the-world/

Elijah McCoy the inventor of the moveable ironing board.

#history #inventor

33 Of The Most Famous Newspaper Front Pages From History

By Kaleena Fraga

"These memorable headlines capture some of the most important historical events, from John F. Kennedy's assassination to the Titanic sinking to the fall of the Berlin Wall."

https://allthatsinteresting.com/famous-newspaper-front-pages

#history #journalism

Dictionary of the Oldest Written Language–It Took 90 Years to Complete, and It’s Now Free Online

https://www.openculture.com/2026/01/dictionary-of-the-oldest-written-language-free-online.html#google_vignette

#books #literature #language