Sylvanus Urban

A live cannonball has been found dating from the siege of Quebec in 1759.

The fascinating history of the first building to house the British Museum's collection, Montagu House.

British artist Francis Towne (1739–1816) made a remarkable group of watercolours during a visit to Rome in 1780–1781. They include famous monuments such as the Colosseum, the Palatine Hill, ancient baths and temples, and the Forum. These watercolours were Towne’s way of delivering a moral warning to 18th-century Britain not to make the same mistakes – and suffer the same fate – as ancient Rome. 2016 marks the 200th anniversary of their bequest to the British Museum.

"The 1.25 million words in Samuel Pepys' diaries give us the richest record we have of Britain in the 1660s," says co-curator Robert Blyth. "It was a terrifically turbulent and exciting time. You get the end of the Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell, the restoration of Charles II, and then the plague and the Great Fire of London. Pepys was there for it all."

Based on plans made for the 4th Duke of Rutland in 1780, recently rediscovered in the Belvoir archives.

This day in 1819 - the Peterloo Massacre.

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One of a long tradition of works attempting to interpret historical and current events as fulfilments of biblical prophecy. Not surprisingly, Kett equates revolutionary France with the "Infidel Power" which, together with "Popery" and "Mahometanism", constitute the Antichrist whose reign is supposed to precede the final triumph of Christianity at the "end time".

The large covered coach named "Experiment" had a table, cushioned seats and carpets. The other waggons were ordinary coal waggons - most had seats specially fitted for the occasion, but some carried coal and people sat on that.

The lunar crater Russell commemorates both John Russell and his American namesake Henry Norris Russell (1877-1957).