The Man in the Moone by Francis Godwin, 1638 In this remarkable story, written in the 1620s, Domingo Gonsales trains a flock of ganzas to transport him to the moon. First published in 1638, the story influenced other books. John Wilkins, the future brother-in-law of Oliver Cromwell and a keen promoter of scientific understanding, wrote The Discovery of a World in the Moone (1638, revised 1640) and Mathematicall Magick (1648), both of which considered whether the Moon might support life and how to reach it. Wilkins suggested three ways: a flying chariot, wings strapped to the body or conveyance by large birds

Photograph: British Library Board