His groundbreaking work on clouds in 1802 led to scientists, artists and writers looking at clouds in a new light.

But it lacks the hard facts or a sense of historical context, to make it a groundbreaking work of social and political commentary.

He continued groundbreaking work on cathodochromic visual display systems, developing phosphors that allowed computer screens to be read in daylight, and devising a system for displaying text and pictures simultaneously.

Much loved and by now considered a groundbreaking work of art, it includes several segments in which cartoon characters dance and prance to famous works of classical music.

And this opening of the repertoire mirrored groundbreaking work happening across the world of opera in those years.