An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump is a 1768 oil-on-canvas painting by Joseph Wright of Derby, part of a series of candlelit scenes that Wright painted during the 1760s. The Air Pump departed from previous painting conventions by depicting a scientific subject in the reverential manner formerly reserved for scenes of historical and religious significance. Wright was intimately involved in depicting the Industrial Revolution and the scientific advances of the Enlightenment, but while his paintings were recognized as something out of the ordinary by his contemporaries, his provincial status and choice of subjects meant the style was never widely imitated. The picture has been owned by the National Gallery since 1863 and is still regarded as a masterpiece of British art. The painting depicts a natural philosopher, a forerunner of the modern scientist, recreating one of Robert Boyle's air pump experiments, in which a bird is deprived of oxygen, before a varied group of onlookers. The group exhibit different reactions, but for most scientific curiosity overcomes concern for the bird. The central figure looks out of the picture as if inviting the viewer's participation in the outcome. Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Experiment_on_a_Bird_in_the_Air_Pump _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1831: In Brussels, Leopold I was inaugurated as the first King of the Belgians. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_I_of_Belgium) 1861: In the First Battle of Bull Run, the first major battle in the American Civil War, the Confederate Army under Joseph E. Johnston and P. G. T. Beauregard routed Union Army troops under Irvin McDowell. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Bull_Run) 1925: Creation-evolution controversy: High school biology teacher John T. Scopes was found guilty of violating Tennessee's Butler Act by teaching evolution in class. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scopes_Trial) 1954: First Indochina War: The Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone was established at the Geneva Conference, partitioning Vietnam along the 17th parallel into North Vietnam led by Ho Chi Minh and South Vietnam under Emperor Bao Dai. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnamese_Demilitarized_Zone) _____________________ Wiktionary's Word of the day: garrulous: Excessively or tiresomely talkative. (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/garrulous) _____________________ Wikiquote of the day: If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. -- J. K. Rowling in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._K._Rowling)