In the late nineteenth century John Murray publishers experimented with new areas of publishing, including educational titles, biographies, adventure stories and books about eastern culture. Education titles began appearing as early as 1898, as evidenced in the series of catalogues "Mr. Murray's Catalogues of Educational Works". Subject areas included history, geography, literature and language, archaeology and art, and science. It would be in the latter half of the 20th century (beginning in 1960 and accelerating in the 1980s-1990s) that the educational publishing component of the company would become a driving force in the wider business and "crucial to the finances of the firm" (Carpenter, 2008). Two notable educational authors in the company's history included Don (D.G.) Mackean and Tom Duncan, both of whom wrote popular science textbooks. Many of Murray's textbooks became staple texts in school bibliographies at GCSE and A level ."In the decade from 1987 more of Murray's educational books won the prestigious Times Educational Supplement Secondary Schoolbook Award than any of its competitors - an unprecedented three times" (Carpenter, 2008, p.305).