Florence Nightingale was born #onthisday in 1820. Mark her birthday and #InternationalNursesDay by exploring her 1855 letter to Sidney Herbert, the Secretary of State for War.

Amid growing public anger about the state of the military hospitals in the Crimea, in 1854 Nightingale was appointed by Herbert to lead a party of nurses to the hospital at Scutari (in modern Istanbul). In this letter she reports on her success in reducing the death-rate at Scutari – which at its height had reached a staggering 52 per cent. http://bit.ly/1WVAnOs

Punk 1976-78 opens in one week! Music, rare artefacts and fanzines tell the story of punk from the birth of the Sex Pistols at Malcolm McLaren to its impact on a generation of young people and beyond. http://bit.ly/1WeuZrp #punk40  

Image: Flyer from the Roxy Club Covent Garden London 1977, artwork by Barry Jones. From England's Dreaming: The Jon Savage Archive held at Liverpool John Moores University

Italian statesman and political philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli was born #onthisday in 1469.

His most famous work, ‘Il Principe’ (‘The Prince'), put forward the controversial idea that a successful ruler would sometimes have to commit immoral acts in order to maintain his rule and the stability of his kingdom. It circulated widely in England from the 1580s in Italian, French and Latin printed editions. http://bit.ly/1Nj80Iq

Have you seen our new #Shakespeare Shop range?
 
Pop in to see us or shop online to peruse our carefully curated collection of Shakespeare-inspired products – including items designed by Cha Com Letras and Rosa Pietsch http://bit.ly/1T1q7is

#Shakespeare in in Ten Acts is now open! To mark #Shakespeare400 , our exhibition shines new light on his journey to global icon through ten key performances.

Experience ground-breaking moments like the first stage appearance by a female actor in 1660 and the return of 'King Lear' to the stage after 150 years. See the only surviving play-script in Shakespeare's hand and the circus prop from Peter Brook's radical 1970s 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' among over 200 unique and rare items http://bit.ly/1qYidAh

The first modern Olympic Games began in Athens #onthisday
‬ in 1896, attracting athletes from 14 nations.

Falling on Easter Monday, the opening ceremony took place in the Panathenaic Stadium in front of a 60,000-person crowd. The competitors finishing in first place at these Games were awarded a silver medal, an olive branch and a diploma. These postage stamps were issued to mark this momentous sporting occasion.

Edward Lear was born #onthisday in 1812. Did you know his ‘Book of Nonsense’ was first published in 1846 under the pseudonym ‘Derry down Derry’, and the illustrations to the limericks were drawn by Lear himself? http://bit.ly/1rUdXBG #NationalLimerickDay  

"Play on the Stage, where all eyes are upon her." Who was the first Shakespearean actress? http://bit.ly/1UPXpGp #Shakespeare  

Mary Wollstonecraft was born #onthisday in 1759.

This is Wollstonecraft’s ‘Original Stories from Real Life’ which she wrote to provide a model for teachers and pupils which would ‘fix principles of truth and humanity on a solid and simple foundation’. Each chapter addresses a particular moral failing such as vanity and greed and this 1791 edition is illustrated with engravings by William Blake  http://bit.ly/1rwDG3B

William Shakespeare died #onthisday in 1616. Popularly known as Shakespeare’s First Folio, this book was put together after Shakespeare’s death by his friends and colleagues John Heminges and Henry Condell. Without it, 18 of Shakespeare’s plays (including The Tempest and Macbeth) might never have survived. 

On the title page you can see the famous portrait of Shakespeare by Martin Droeshout. Although the engraving was made after Shakespeare’s death, his friend Ben Jonson stated that it was a true likeness. http://bit.ly/1qHCfhC #shakespeare400  

This rare edition of the First Folio can also be seen in Shakespeare in Ten Acts: http://bit.ly/1NH7Ll7

Charlotte Brontë was born ‪#‎onthisday‬ in 1816.

Mark ‪#‎Bronte200‬ with us by exploring her earliest known writings. Created between 1826-28, this was a short story written for her younger sister Anne. It features Charlotte’s longhand writing, tiny watercolour illustrations and a hand-made cover from a piece of flowered wallpaper. http://bit.ly/23LuZmK 

Image © Brontë Parsonage Museum

How did Shakespeare become an icon? His story is not one of a steady rise to fame but a tale of sea-changes and struggles over 400 years.

‪Shakespeare‬ in Ten Acts shines the spotlight on ten defining moments like the first stage appearance by a female actor and the first British performance of Othello by a black actor. Be one of the first to see our #Shakespeare exhibition, opening on 15 April http://bit.ly/1YfoeT6