Museum blog

A letter from Admiral Lord Nelson to his lover Emma Hamilton written soon after the birth of their daughter sheds light on early attitudes to vaccination.

While practitioner in residence at Royal Museums Greenwich during 2016-2017, Paddy Hartley created new artwork in response to the histories of ex-servicemen in and around the National Maritime Museum, with the help of curators, archivists, conservators and the visiting public. In this blog post written during his residency, he reveals how the stories of two World War I servicemen inspired his work.

As we mark International Day of the Seafarer on the 25 June 2021, it is important to remember the huge sacrifice seafarers are making. As the crew change crisis continues, hundreds of thousands of seaworkers cannot leave their ships and return to their families due to coronavirus.

In this blog we look at a practical astronomical work written by the husband and wife team of Walter and Annie Maunder. The Maunders worked in the Solar Department of the Royal Observatory Greenwich in the early 1890s.

Lying on its side within the historic Greenwich Park is Queen Elizabeth's Oak. Myths and legends surround the tree as thoroughly as the foliage which now covers it. We can only imagine what it has seen in its long past...

In this blog we take a look at a handwritten diary by the clergy of the St Andrew's Waterside Church Mission between 1887-1905. While seamen have faced many dangers and uncertainties at sea, mission societies such as St Andrew's have supported and cared for their welfare through religious services and the provision of books - both at sea and on land.

While Mars may be the planet that springs to mind when there are discussions of possible alien life in our Solar System, a publication on the discovery of a rare gas (phosphine) in Venus's atmosphere may mean that there is more than one planet that possesses the potential for life.