Anderson Ruffin Abbott, born in Ontario in 1837 to parents who had fled slavery, became one of only fourteen Black men to serve as a surgeon in the Union Army. In February 1864 he and Major Alexander T. Augusta attended a White House reception, where President Lincoln welcomed them warmly while his son Robert objected. Abbott treated Black soldiers and civilians in Washington, later became the first Black coroner of Kent County, Ontario, and died in 1913.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.