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These are featured articles about people related to the United Kingdom which appear on Portal:United Kingdom.
For a full list of UK related FAs sorted by topic see Portal:United Kingdom/Featured article/List.
Matthew Brettingham (1699–1769), sometimes called
Matthew Brettingham the Elder, was an 18th-century
Englishman who rose from humble origins to supervise the construction of
Holkham Hall, eventually becoming one of the country's better known
architects of his generation. Much of his principal work is now demolished, especially his work in London, where he revolutionised the design of the grand
townhouse. As a result he is often overlooked today, remembered only for his
Palladian remodelling of numerous country houses, many of which are situated in the
East Anglian area of
Britain. As the pinnacle of Brettingham's career came into sight, Palladianism began to fall out of fashion and
neoclassicism was introduced, championed by a young
Robert Adam. (
more...)
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA, (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was a British artist and sculptor. The son of a mining engineer, born in the Yorkshire town of Castleford, Moore became well known for his larger-scale abstract cast bronze and carved marble sculptures. Substantially supported by the British art establishment, Moore helped to introduce a particular form of modernism into the United Kingdom.
His ability to satisfy large-scale commissions made him exceptionally wealthy towards the end of his life. However, he lived frugally and most of his wealth went to endow the
Henry Moore Foundation, which continues to support education and promotion of the arts. (
more...)
Sir John Vanbrugh (pronounced "Van'-bru") (January 24, 1664?–March 26, 1726) was an English architect and dramatist, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restoration comedies, The Relapse (1696) and The Provoked Wife (1697), which have become enduring stage favourites but originally occasioned much controversy.
Vanbrugh was in many senses a radical throughout his life. As a young man and a committed
Whig, he was part of the scheme to overthrow
James II, put
William III on the throne and protect English
parliamentary democracy, dangerous undertakings which landed him in the dreaded
Bastille of
Paris as a
political prisoner. In his career as a
playwright, he offended many sections of
Restoration and 18th-century society, not only by the sexual explicitness of his plays, but also by their messages in defence of
women's rights in marriage. He was attacked on both counts, and was one of the prime targets of
Jeremy Collier's
Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage. In his
architectural career, he created what came to be known as
English Baroque. His architectural work was as bold and daring as his early political activism and marriage-themed plays, and jarred
conservative opinions on the subject. (
more...)
Elias Ashmole (
23 May 1617–
18 May 1692), the celebrated English
antiquary, was a
politician,
officer of arms, student of
astrology and
alchemy, and an early speculative
Freemason. He supported the
royalist side during the
English Civil War, and at the
restoration of
Charles II he was rewarded with several lucrative offices. Throughout his life he was an avid collector of curiosities and other artifacts. Many of these he acquired from the traveller, botanist, and collector
John Tradescant the younger, and most he donated to
Oxford University to create the
Ashmolean Museum. He also donated his library and priceless
manuscript collection to Oxford. (
more...)
John Dee (July 13, 1527-1608) was a noted Welsh mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, occultist, and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I. He also devoted much of his life to alchemy, divination, and Hermetic philosophy.
Dee straddled the worlds of
science and
magic just as they were becoming distinguishable. One of the most learned men of his time, he had lectured to crowded halls at the
University of Paris when still in his early twenties. He was an ardent promoter of mathematics, a respected astronomer and a leading expert in
navigation, having trained many of those who would conduct
England's
voyages of discovery (he coined the term "
British Empire"). At the same time, he immersed himself deeply in magic and
Hermetic philosophy, devoting the last third of his life almost exclusively to these pursuits. For Dee, as with many of his contemporaries, these activities were not contradictory, but particular aspects of a consistent world-view. (
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Penda (died
November 15,
655) was a
7th-century King of
Mercia, a
kingdom in what is today the
English Midlands. A
pagan at a time when
Christianity was taking hold in many of the
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Penda participated in the defeat of the powerful
Northumbrian king Edwin at the
Battle of Hatfield Chase in
633. Nine years later, he defeated and killed Edwin's eventual successor,
Oswald, at the
Battle of Maserfield; from this point he was probably the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon rulers of the time. He defeated the
East Angles, drove the king of
Wessex into exile for three years, and continued to wage war against the
Bernicians of Northumbria. Thirteen years after Maserfield, he suffered a crushing defeat and was killed at the
Battle of the Winwaed in the course of a final campaign against the Bernicians. (
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Jonathan Wild (
baptised 6 May 1683–
24 May 1725) was perhaps the most famous
criminal of
London — and possibly
Great Britain — during the 18th century, both because of his own actions and the uses
novelists,
playwrights, and political
satirists made of them. He invented a scheme which allowed him to run one of the most successful
gangs of
thieves of the era, all the while appearing to be the nation's leading
policeman. He manipulated the
press and the nation's fears to become the most loved public figure of the 1720s; this love turned to hatred when his
villainy was exposed. After his death, he became a symbol of
corruption and
hypocrisy. (
more...)
Isaac Newton was an
English physicist,
mathematician,
astronomer,
inventor,
philosopher and
alchemist. A man of profound
genius, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential scientists in history. He is associated with the
scientific revolution and the advancement of
heliocentrism. Among his scientific accomplishments, Newton wrote the
Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, wherein he described
universal gravitation and, via his
laws of motion, laid the groundwork for
classical mechanics. With
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz he shares credit for the development of differential
calculus. Newton was the first to promulgate a set of natural laws that could govern both
terrestrial motion and
celestial motion, and is credited with providing mathematical substantiation for
Kepler's laws of planetary motion, which he expanded by arguing that
orbits (such as those of
comets) could include all conic sections (such as the
ellipse,
hyperbola, and
parabola). (
more...)
Paul David Collingwood MBE (born 26 May 1976, Shotley Bridge, Durham), is an English cricketer. He is vice-captain of Durham County Cricket Club and plays Test and One-day International cricket for England.
Collingwood is an all-rounder, combining natural strokeplay with reliable medium-pace bowling. Described as a "natural athlete", he is also a highly skilled fielder and is regarded as one of the finest of his contemporaries.
He made his
first class debut in 1995, and went on to debut for England in
One-day International cricket in 2001 and in
Test cricket in 2003. A series of three consecutive match-winning performances by Collingwood at the end of the
2006–07 Commonwealth Bank Series in
Australia brought him
plaudits in the British media. His "allround
[sic] display of incredible nerve and tenacity" helped to secure the trophy for England. (
more...)
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS (9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) (IPA: [ˈɪzəmbɑ(ɹ)d ˈkɪŋdəm brʊˈnɛl]), was a British engineer. He is best known for the creation of the Great Western Railway, a series of famous steamships, and numerous important bridges.
Though Brunel's projects were not always successful, they often contained innovative solutions to long-standing engineering problems. During his short career, Brunel achieved many engineering "firsts," including assisting in the building of the first
tunnel under a
navigable river and development of
SS Great Britain, the first
propeller-driven ocean-going iron ship, which was at the time also the largest ship ever built. (
more...)
Thomas Maldwyn Pryce (June 11, 1949 – March 5, 1977) was a British Formula One racing driver from Wales. He was famous for winning the Brands Hatch Race of Champions in 1975 and for the circumstances surrounding his death. Pryce is also the only Welshman to lead a Formula One Grand Prix: two laps of the 1975 British Grand Prix.
Pryce started his career in Formula One with the small
Token team, making his only start for the them at the
1974 Belgian Grand Prix. Shortly after an impressive performance at the
Formula Three support race for the
1974 Monaco Grand Prix, Pryce joined the
Shadow team and scored his first points in
Germany in only his fourth race. Pryce later claimed two podium finishes, his first in
Austria in 1975 and the second in
Brazil a year later. Pryce was considered by his team as a great wet weather driver. During the practice session for the 1977 South African GP, run in wet conditions, Pryce was faster than everyone, including world champion drivers
Niki Lauda and
James Hunt. Pryce's third full season at Shadow was cut short by his fatal accident at the
1977 South African Grand Prix, where he collided at high speed with track marshal Jansen Van Vuuren. (
more...)
Robert Baden-Powell was a
lieutenant-general in the
British Army, writer, and founder of the
Scout Movement. After having been educated at
Charterhouse School, Baden-Powell served in the
British Army from 1876 until 1910 in India and Africa. In 1899, during the
Second Boer War in
South Africa, Baden-Powell successfully defended the city in the
Siege of Mafeking. Several of his military books, written for
military reconnaissance and scout training in his African years, were also read by boys. Based on those earlier books, he wrote
Scouting for Boys, published in 1908 by
Pearson, for youth readership. During writing, he tested his ideas through a
camping trip on Brownsea Island that began on
August 1,
1907, which is now seen as the beginning of Scouting. After his marriage with
Olave St Clair Soames, Baden-Powell, his sister
Agnes Baden-Powell and notably his wife actively gave guidance to the Scouting Movement and the
Girl Guides Movement. Baden-Powell lived his last years in
Nyeri,
Kenya, where he died in 1941. (
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George Fox (July 1624 –
January 13,
1691) was an
English Dissenter and a major early figure — usually considered the founder — of the
Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers. Living in a time of great social upheaval, he rebelled against the religious and political consensus by proposing an unusual and uncompromising approach to the
Christian faith. His journal is a text known even among non-Quakers for its vivid account of his personal journey. (
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Áedán mac Gabráin (Old Irish pronunciation [ˈaiðaːn mak ˈgavraːnʲ]) was king of Dál Riata from circa 574 onwards. The kingdom of Dál Riata was situated in modern Argyll and Bute, Scotland, and parts of County Antrim, Ireland. Genealogies record that Áedán was a son of Gabrán mac Domangairt.
He was a contemporary of Saint Columba, and much that is recorded of his life and career comes from hagiography such as Adomnán of Iona's Life of Saint Columba. Áedán appears as a character in many Old Irish and Middle Irish language works of prose and verse, some now lost.
The
Irish annals record Áedán's campaigns against his neighbours, in
Ireland, and in northern
Britain, including expeditions to the
Orkney Islands, the
Isle of Man, and the east coast of Scotland. As recorded by
Bede, Áedán was decisively defeated by
Æthelfrith of Bernicia at the
Battle of Degsastan. Áedán may have been deposed, or have abdicated, following this defeat. He died c. 608. (
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George I (George Louis;
28 May 1660 –
11 June 1727) was the first
Hanoverian King of Great Britain and
King of Ireland, from
1 August 1714 until his death. He was also the Archbannerbearer (afterwards Archtreasurer) and a
Prince Elector of the
Holy Roman Empire. (
more...)
George IV (George Augustus Frederick;
12 August 1762 –
26 June 1830) was
king of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and
Hanover from
29 January 1820 until his death. He had earlier served as
Prince Regent when his father,
George III, suffered from a relapse into insanity from an illness that is now suspected to have been
porphyria. The
Regency, George's nine-year tenure as Prince Regent, which commenced in 1811 and ended with George III's death in 1820, was marked by victory in the
Napoleonic Wars in Europe. George was a stubborn monarch, often interfering in politics, especially in the matter of
Catholic emancipation, though not as much as his father. For most of George's regency and reign,
Lord Liverpool controlled the government as
Prime Minister. (
more...)
James VI and I (James Stuart) (
June 19,
1566 –
March 27,
1625) was
King of Scots,
King of England, and
King of Ireland. He was the first to
style himself
King of Great Britain. He ruled in
Scotland as
James VI from
24 July 1567; from the '
Union of the Crowns', he ruled in
England and
Ireland as
James I, from
24 March 1603 until his death. He was the first
monarch of England from the
House of Stuart, succeeding the last
Tudor monarch,
Elizabeth I, who died without issue. (
more...)
Mary II (
30 April 1662–
28 December 1694) reigned as Queen of
England and
Ireland from
13 February 1689, and as
Queen of Scots (as Mary II of Scotland) from
11 April 1689 until her death. Mary, a
Protestant, came to the thrones following the
Glorious Revolution, which resulted in the deposition of her
Roman Catholic father,
James II. Mary reigned jointly with her husband and first cousin,
William III, who became the sole ruler of both countries upon her death in 1694. Popular histories usually refer to the joint reigns as those of "
William and Mary". Mary, although a sovereign in her own right, did not wield power during most of her reign, instead ceding it to her husband. She did, however, govern the realms when William was engaged in military campaigns abroad. (
more...)
Óengus, son of Fergus (Hypothetical Pictish form: Onuist map Urguist; Old Irish: Óengus mac Fergusso, Anglicisation: Angus mac Fergus), was king of the Picts from 732 until his death in 761. His reign can be reconstructed in some detail from a variety of sources.
Óengus became the chief king in Pictland following a period of civil war in the late 720s. During his reign, the neighbouring kingdom of
Dál Riata was subjugated and the
kingdom of Strathclyde was attacked with less success. The most powerful ruler in
Scotland for over two decades, he was involved in wars in
Ireland and
England. Kings from Óengus's family dominated Pictland until 839 when a disastrous defeat at the hands of
Vikings began a new period of instability, which ended with the coming to power of
Cináed mac Ailpín. (
more...)
Arthur Edward Jeune (James) Collins (18 August 1885–11 November 1914), typically known by his initials AEJ Collins, was an English cricketer and soldier. He is most famous for achieving the highest-ever recorded score in cricket: as a 13-year-old schoolboy, he scored 628 not out over four afternoons in June 1899. Collins' record-making innings drew a large crowd and increasing media interest; spectators at the Old Cliftonian match being played nearby were drawn away to watch the junior school house cricket match in which Collins was playing.
Collins joined the
British Army in 1902. He studied at the
Royal Military Academy,
Woolwich, before becoming an
officer in the
Royal Engineers. He served in
France during
World War I, where he was
killed in action in 1914. (
more...)
Rebecca Clarke (Friskin) (August 27, 1886 – October 13, 1979) was an English classical composer and violist best known for her chamber music featuring the viola. She is considered one of the most important British composers in the interwar period between World War I and World War II; she has also been described as the most distinguished British female composer of her generation.
Though she wrote little, due in part to her ideas about the
role of a female composer (see
below), her work was recognized for its compositional skill. Most of Clarke's works have yet to be published (or have only recently been published), and her work was largely forgotten after she stopped composing. Scholarship and interest in her work revived when she reached her ninetieth birthday in 1976. (
more...)
Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (
18 November 1836 –
29 May 1911) was an
English dramatist,
librettist and illustrator best known for his fourteen
comic operas produced in
collaboration with the
composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include
H.M.S. Pinafore,
The Pirates of Penzance, and one of the most frequently performed works in the history of musical theatre,
The Mikado. These, as well as most of their other
Savoy operas, continue to be performed regularly throughout the
English-speaking world and beyond by opera companies, repertory companies, schools and community theatre groups. Lines from these works have become part of the English language, such as "
short, sharp shock", "What never? Well, hardly ever!", and "Let the punishment fit the crime". (
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John Philip Rudolph Dominic Aloysius Mary Brooke-Little CVO,
KStJ,
FSA,
FSG,
FHS,
FHG (Hon),
FRHSC (Hon),
FHSNZ,
KM,
GCGCO, (
6 April 1927–
13 February 2006) was an influential and popular
British writer on
heraldic subjects and a long-serving
officer of arms at the
College of Arms in
London. In 1947, while still a student, Brooke-Little founded the "Society of Heraldic Antiquaries," now known as
The Heraldry Society and recognized as one of the leading learned societies in its field. He served as the society's chairman for 50 years and then as its President from 1997 until his death in 2006. In addition to the foundation of this group, Brooke-Little was involved in other heraldic groups and societies and worked for many years as an officer of arms. Having started his career as
Bluemantle Pursuivant, Brooke-Little worked his way up to the second highest heraldic office in England–
Clarenceux King of Arms. (
more...)
Sasha (born Alexander Coe on 4 September 1969), is a Welsh DJ and record producer. Sasha began his career playing acid house dance music in the late 1980s, and became a central figure in the development and popularisation of electronic dance music. He partnered with fellow DJ John Digweed in 1993, touring internationally and producing a series of mixes (compilations of other artists work played in a continuous fashion). Through their track selection and mixing techniques, Sasha and Digweed were instrumental in the evolution of progressive trance and house music.
Sasha has produced multiple
UK-charting singles and has
remixed tracks for artists such as
Madonna and
The Chemical Brothers. His remix of
Felix da Housecat's "Watching Cars Go By" earned him a 2004
Grammy nomination. Sasha's remixing and production often combine electronic music genres, making it difficult for critics to pinpoint his musical style, including on his debut album of original work,
Airdrawndagger. (
more...)
Harry McNish (real name Henry McNish, often referred to as Harry McNeish or by the nickname Chippy) (11 September 1874 – 24 September 1930) was the carpenter on Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917. He was responsible for much of the work that ensured the crew's survival after their ship, the Endurance, was destroyed when it became trapped in pack ice in the Weddell Sea. He modified the small boat, James Caird, that allowed Shackleton and five men (including McNish) to make a voyage of hundreds of miles to fetch help for the rest of the crew. He briefly refused to follow orders on the crew's long trek pulling the boats across the pack ice, and, despite his efforts during the journey, was one of only four of the crew not to receive the Polar Medal.
After the expedition he returned to work in the
Merchant Navy and eventually immigrated to
New Zealand, where he worked on the docks in
Wellington until ill-health forced his retirement. He died destitute in the Ohiro Benevolent Home in Wellington. (
more...)
Rhys ap Gruffydd (1132–
28 April 1197) was the ruler of the kingdom of
Deheubarth in south
Wales. He is commonly known as
The Lord Rhys, in
Welsh Yr Arglwydd Rhys, but this title may not have been used in his lifetime. He usually used the title "Prince of Deheubarth" or "Prince of South Wales", but two documents have been preserved in which he uses the title "
Prince of Wales" or "
Prince of the Welsh". Rhys was one of the most successful and powerful
Welsh princes, and after the death of
Owain Gwynedd of
Gwynedd in 1170 was the dominant power in Wales. (
more...)
Skipper Thomas Crisp VC, DSC, RNR (April 28, 1876 - August 15, 1917) was a posthumous English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British military service personnel. He earned his award during the defence of his vessel, the armed naval smack HMS Nelson, in the North Sea against an attack by the German submarine Unterseeboot C-41 in 1917.
Thomas Crisp's self-sacrifice in the face of this "unequal struggle" was used by the government to bolster morale during some of the toughest days of the
First World War for Britain, the summer and autumn of 1917, during which Britain was the most active Allied participant and was suffering
consequent losses. His exploit was read aloud by
David Lloyd George in the
Houses of Parliament and made headline news for nearly a week. (
more...)
Karen Dotrice (born
9 November 1955) is a
British actress known primarily for her role as the daughter in
Walt Disney's
feature film adaptation of the
Mary Poppins book series. Dotrice (
pronounced /dəˈtriːs/) was born in
Guernsey (one of the
Channel Islands), to two accomplished
stage actors. Her career began on stage, expanded into film and
television roles, and concluded with a short run as
Desdemona in the 1981 pre-
Broadway production of
Othello. In 1984, Dotrice retired from show business to focus on motherhood; she has three children from two marriages. She was named a
Disney Legend in 2004. (
more...)
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien CBE (January 3, 1892 – September 2, 1973) was an English philologist, writer and university professor who is best known as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. He was an Oxford professor of Anglo-Saxon language (1925 to 1945) and Merton Professor of English language and literature (1945 to 1959). He was a devout Roman Catholic. Tolkien was a close friend of C. S. Lewis; they were both members of the informal literary discussion group known as the Inklings.
While fantasy authors such as
William Morris,
Robert E. Howard and
E. R. Eddison preceded Tolkien, the great success and enduring influence of his works have led to him being popularly identified as the "
father of modern
fantasy literature". In any case, Tolkien has had an indisputable and lasting effect on
later works, as well as the genre as a whole. (
more...)
John Day was an
English Protestant printer. He specialised in printing and distributing Protestant literature and pamphlets and produced many small-format religious books, such as ABCs, sermons, and translations of
psalms. He found fame, however, as the publisher of
John Foxe's
Actes and Monuments, also known as the
Book of Martyrs, the largest and most technologically accomplished book printed in sixteenth-century England. Day rose to the top of his profession during the reign of
Edward VI (1547–1553). At this time, restrictions on publishers were relaxed, and a wave of propaganda on behalf of the
English Reformation was encouraged by the government of the
Lord Protector,
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset. During the reign of the Catholic
Queen Mary I, many Protestant printers fled to the continent, but Day stayed in England and continued to print Protestant literature, which led to his arrest and imprisonment in 1554. Under
Queen Elizabeth I, Day returned to his premises at
Aldersgate in London, where he enjoyed the patronage of high-ranking officials and nobles. With their support, he published the
Book of Martyrs and was awarded
monopolies for some of the most popular English books. Day, whose technical skill matched his business acumen, has been called "the master printer of the
English Reformation". (
more...)
Sir Robert William Robson CBE (born
18 February 1933, in
Sacriston,
County Durham,
England), commonly known as
Bobby Robson, is an
English football manager and former international football player. As an
inside-forward, his professional playing career spanned nearly 20 years during which he played for just three clubs,
Fulham,
West Bromwich Albion and
Vancouver Royals. He also made 20 appearances for
England, scoring four goals. He is currently a mentor to the manager of the
Irish national football team. He achieved success as both a club and international manager, having won league championships in both the
Netherlands and
Portugal, earning trophies in
England and
Spain, and taking England to the semi-final of the
1990 World Cup. (
more...)
Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery was the daughter of Baron
Mayer de Rothschild and his wife Juliana, née Cohen. On the death of her father in 1874 she became the richest woman in Britain. Her husband, the
5th Earl of Rosebery, was, during the final quarter of the nineteenth century, one of the most celebrated figures in Britain, an influential millionaire and politician, whose charm, wit, charisma and public popularity gave him such standing that he "almost eclipsed royalty". Her marriage into the aristocracy, while controversial at the time, gave her the social cachet in an
anti-Semitic society that her vast fortune could not. She subsequently became a political hostess and philanthropist. Her charitable work was principally in the sphere of public health and causes associated with the welfare of working class Jewish women living in the poorer districts of London. Having firmly assisted and supported her husband on his path to political greatness, she suddenly died in 1890, aged 39, leaving him to achieve, bewildered and without her support, the political destiny which she had plotted alone. His premiership of the United Kingdom was
shambolic, and lasted barely a year. (
more...)
Cædwalla (c. 659 – April 20, 689) was the King of Wessex from about 685 until 688, when he abdicated. His name is derived from the British Cadwallon. He was exiled as a youth, and during this time attacked the South Saxons, in what is now Sussex, killing their king, Æthelwealh, but he was unable to hold the territory and was driven out by Æthelwealh's ealdormen. In either 685 or 686 he became king of Wessex. He may have been involved in suppressing rival dynasties at this time, as an early source records that Wessex was ruled by underkings until Cædwalla.
After his accession Cædwalla returned to Sussex and won the territory again, and also conquered the
Isle of Wight, extinguishing the ruling dynasty there. He gained control of Surrey and the
kingdom of Kent, and in 686 he installed his brother,
Mul, as king of Kent. Mul was burned in a Kentish revolt a year later, and Cædwalla returned, possibly ruling Kent directly for a period. Cædwalla was wounded during the conquest of the Isle of Wight, and perhaps for this reason he abdicated in 688 to travel to Rome for baptism. He reached Rome in April of 689, and was baptised on the Saturday before Easter, dying ten days later on
20 April 689. He was succeeded by
Ine. (
more...)
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was the
Queen Consort of
George VI from 1936 until his death in 1952. After her husband's death, she was known as
Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her elder daughter,
Elizabeth II. In 1936, she unexpectedly became Queen when her brother-in-law,
Edward VIII, suddenly abdicated in order to marry his mistress, the twice-divorced American
Wallis Simpson. During
World War II, her seemingly indomitable spirit provided moral support to the British public, so much so that, in recognition of her role as a propaganda tool,
Adolf Hitler described her as "the most dangerous woman in
Europe." After the war, her husband's health deteriorated and she was widowed at the age of 51. With her brother-in-law living abroad and her elder daughter now Queen at the age of 26, when
Queen Mary died in 1953, Elizabeth became the senior royal and assumed a position as family matriarch. In her later years, she was a consistently popular member of the
British Royal Family, when other members were suffering from low levels of public approval. Only after the illness and death of her own younger daughter,
Princess Margaret, did she appear to grow frail. She died six weeks after Margaret, at the age of 101. (
more...)
Arthur Ernest Percival was a
British Army officer and
World War I hero. He built a successful military career during the
interwar period but is most noted for his involvement in
World War II, when he commanded the forces of the
British Commonwealth during the
Battle of Malaya and the subsequent
Battle of Singapore. Percival's surrender to a smaller invading
Imperial Japanese Army force was and remains the largest capitulation in
British military history, and it fatally undermined Britain's prestige as an imperial power in the Far East. However, years of under-funding of
Malaya's defences combined with the inexperienced, under-equipped nature of the Commonwealth army make it possible to hold a more sympathetic view of his command. (
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William Shakespeare was an
English poet and
playwright, now widely regarded as the greatest writer of the
English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "
Bard of Avon". His surviving works consist of 38
plays, 154
sonnets, two long
narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1590 and 1613. His early plays were mainly
comedies and
histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. Next he wrote mainly
tragedies until 1608, producing plays, such as
Hamlet,
King Lear, and
Macbeth, considered some of the finest in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote
tragicomedies and collaborated with other playwrights. Many of his plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime; and in 1623, two of his former theatrical colleagues published the
First Folio, a collected edition of his dramatic works that included all but two of the plays now recognised as Shakespeare's. Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day; but his reputation would not rise to its present heights until the nineteenth century. (
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Mary Wollstonecraft was a
British writer,
philosopher, and early
feminist. During her brief career, she wrote novels, treatises, a travel narrative, a history of the
French Revolution, a conduct book, and a children's book. Wollstonecraft is best known for
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in which she argued that women are not naturally inferior to men, but only appeared to be because they lacked education. She suggested that both men and women should be treated as rational beings and imagined a social order founded on
reason. Among both the general public and feminists, Wollstonecraft's life has often received as much, if not more, interest than her writing because of her unconventional, and often tumultuous, relationships. After two unsuccessful affairs with
Henry Fuseli and
Gilbert Imlay, Wollstonecraft married the philosopher
William Godwin, one of the forefathers of the
anarchist movement. She was also the mother of
Mary Shelley, the author of
Frankenstein. Wollstonecraft died at the age of thirty-eight due to complications from childbirth, leaving behind several unfinished manuscripts. Today, Wollstonecraft is considered a foundational thinker in
feminist philosophy. Her early advocacy of women's equality and her attacks on conventional femininity and the degradation of women presaged the later emergence of the
feminist political movement. (
more...)
Jocelin was a
12th-century Cistercian monk and cleric, who became the fourth
Abbot of Melrose before becoming
Bishop of Glasgow. He was probably born in the 1130s, and in his teenage years became a monk of
Melrose Abbey. He rose in the service of
Abbot Waltheof, and, by the time of the short abbacy of Waltheof's successor Abbot William, Jocelin had become
prior. Then in 1170 Jocelin himself became abbot, a position he held for four years. Jocelin was responsible for promoting the cult of the emerging Saint Waltheof, and in this had the support of
Enguerrand,
Bishop of Glasgow. As Bishop of Glasgow, he was a royal official. In this capacity he traveled abroad on several occasions, and performed the marriage ceremony between King
William the Lion and
Ermengarde de Beaumont, later baptizing their son, the future King
Alexander II. Among other things, he has been credited by modern historians as "the founder of the
burgh of
Glasgow and initiator of the
Glasgow fair", as well as being one of the greatest literary patrons in
medieval Scotland, commissioning the
Life of St Waltheof and the
Life of St Kentigen and the
Chronicle of Melrose. (
more...)
Clement of Dunblane was a 13th-century
Dominican friar who was the first member of the Dominican Order in the
British Isles to become a
bishop. In 1233, he was selected to lead the ailing
diocese of Dunblane, and faced a struggle to bring the
bishopric of Dunblane to financial viability. While not achieving all of his aims, Clement succeeded in saving the bishopric from relocation to
Inchaffray Abbey. He also regained enough revenue to begin work on the new
Dunblane Cathedral. He faced a similar challenge with the impoverished
bishopric of Argyll in the 1240s. Clement was with the king during his campaign in
Argyll in 1249 and was at his side when he died during this campaign. By 1250 he had established a reputation as one of the most active Dominican reformers in Britain. Clement helped to elevate
Edmund of Abingdon and
Queen Margaret to sainthood. After his death, he received
veneration as a
saint himself, although he was never formally
canonised. (
more...)
George VI was the
King of the United Kingdom and each of the British
Dominions from
11 December 1936 until his death on
6 February 1952. He was the last
Emperor of India (until 1947) and the last
King of Ireland (until 1949). As the second son of his father,
King George V, he was not expected to
inherit the throne, and he spent his early life in the shadow of his elder brother,
Edward. After the death of his father in 1936, his brother ascended the throne as Edward VIII. Less than a year later, Edward VIII unexpectedly
abdicated in order to marry the twice-divorced American
socialite Wallis Simpson. By reason of this unforeseen abdication, unique in British history, George VI ascended the throne. In the first 24 hours of the accession, the
Irish parliament passed the
External Relations Act, which essentially removed the power of the monarch in
Ireland. Within three years of his accession, the
British Empire was at
war with
Nazi Germany, within four years with
Italy and within five years with the
Empire of Japan. With the independence of
India and
Pakistan, and the
foundation of the Republic of Ireland, his later reign saw the acceleration of the break-up of the Empire, and foreshadowed its eventual transformation from Empire to
Commonwealth. (
more...)
James II became
King of England,
King of Scots, and
King of Ireland on
6 February 1685. He was the last
Roman Catholic monarch to reign over the
Kingdom of England,
Kingdom of Scotland, and
Kingdom of Ireland. Some of his subjects distrusted his religious policies and alleged despotism, leading a group of them to depose him in the
Revolution of 1688 (the "Glorious Revolution"). He was replaced not by his Roman Catholic son,
James Francis Edward, but by his Protestant daughter and son-in-law,
Mary II and
William III, who became joint rulers in 1689. The belief that James—not William III or Mary II—was the legitimate ruler became known as
Jacobitism. James did not himself attempt to return to the Throne, instead living the rest of his life under the protection of
King Louis XIV of
France. His son James Francis Edward Stuart and his grandson
Charles Edward Stuart (
Bonnie Prince Charlie) attempted to restore the Jacobite line after James's death, but failed. (
more...)
Wallis, Duchess of Windsor was the
American wife of
Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor. After two unsuccessful marriages, she allegedly became the mistress of Edward, Prince of Wales in 1934. Two years later, after the prince's accession as King-Emperor of the
British Empire, he proposed marriage. The monarch's desire to wed a twice-divorced American, with two living ex-husbands and a reputation as an opportunist, caused a
constitutional crisis in the
United Kingdom and the
Dominions, which ultimately led to the king's
abdication in order to marry "the woman I love". After the abdication, the former king was created Duke of Windsor by his brother,
George VI; Edward married Wallis six months later. Following her marriage, she was formally known as the Duchess of Windsor, without the
style "
Her Royal Highness". Before, during and after
World War II, the Windsors were suspected by many in government and society of being
Nazi sympathisers. In the 1950s and 1960s, she and the duke shuttled between Europe and the United States, living a life of leisure as society celebrities. After his death in 1972, the duchess lived in seclusion and was rarely seen in public. Her private life has been a source of much speculation, and she remains a controversial figure in British history. (
more...)
Kate Bush is a
British singer, songwriter, musician and
record producer. Her eclectic musical style and
idiosyncratic lyrics have made her one of the
United Kingdom's most successful and original solo female performers of the past 30 years. Bush was signed up by
EMI at the age of 16 after being recommended by
Pink Floyd's
David Gilmour. In 1978 at age 19, she debuted with the surprise hit "
Wuthering Heights", topping the UK charts for four weeks and becoming the first woman to have a UK number one with a self-written song. She has since gone on to release eight albums, three of which topped the UK album charts, and have UK top ten hit singles with "
Running Up That Hill", "
King of the Mountain", "
Babooshka", "
The Man with the Child in His Eyes", and "
Don't Give Up". During her tour of 1979, the only tour of her career, she became the first ever singer to use a wireless headset radio microphone on stage. With her 1980 album
Never for Ever, she became the first solo female British singer to top the UK album charts. Her songwriting ability was recognised in 2002 with an
Ivor Novello Award for "Outstanding Contribution to British Music". In 2005, she released
Aerial, her first album in 12 years. The album was a UK success and earned her BRIT Award nominations for "Best Album" and "Best Solo Female Artist". (
more...)
Wihtred (
c. 670 –
23 April 725) was king of
Kent from about 690 or 691 until his death. He was a son of
Ecgberht I and a brother of
Eadric. Wihtred acceded to the throne after a confused period in the 680s, which included a brief conquest of Kent by
Cædwalla of Wessex and subsequent dynastic conflicts. His immediate predecessor was
Oswine of Kent, who was probably descended from
Eadbald of Kent, though not through the same line as Wihtred. Shortly after the start of his reign, Wihtred issued a code of laws that has been preserved in a manuscript known as the
Textus Roffensis. The laws pay a great deal of attention to the rights of the Church, including punishment for irregular marriages and for pagan worship. Wihtred's long reign had few incidents recorded in the annals of the day. He was succeeded in 725 by his sons,
Æthelberht II,
Eadberht I, and
Ælfric. (
more...)
Phil Collins is a
British rock/
pop musician. He is best known as the lead singer and drummer of
progressive rock group
Genesis and as a
Grammy winning artist. In total, Collins sang the lead vocals on eight
American chart-toppers between 1984 and 1989, seven as a solo artist and one with Genesis. His singles, often dealing with lost love, ranged from the drum-heavy "
In the Air Tonight", the dance pop of "
Sussudio", and the political statements of his most successful song, "
Another Day in Paradise". His international popularity transformed Genesis from a progressive rock group to a regular on the pop charts and an early
MTV mainstay. Although Collins supplied backing vocals for original front man
Peter Gabriel, it would not be until 1975 that he became the group’s lead singer. As the decade closed, Genesis' first international hit, "
Follow You, Follow Me", demonstrated a drastic change from the band’s early years. His concurrent solo career, heavily influenced by his personal life, brought both him and Genesis commercial success. According to
Atlantic Records, Collins' total worldwide sales as a solo artist, as of 2002, were over 100 million. (
more...)
A kidney transplant
of the type that
Woodruff pioneered.
Michael Woodruff was a British
surgeon and
scientist principally remembered for his research into
organ transplantation. Though born in
London, Woodruff spent his youth in
Australia, where he earned degrees in
electrical engineering and
medicine. Having completed his studies shortly after the outbreak of
World War II, he joined the
Australian Army Medical Corps, but was soon captured by
Japanese forces and imprisoned in the
Changi Prison Camp. While there, he devised an ingenious method of extracting
nutrients from agricultural wastes to prevent
malnutrition among his fellow
POWs. At the conclusion of the war, Woodruff returned to Britain and began a long career as an academic surgeon, mixing
clinical work and
research. By the end of the 1950s, his study of aspects of transplantation biology such as
rejection and
immunosuppression led to his making the first
kidney transplant in the
United Kingdom, on
October 30,
1960. For this and his other scientific work, Woodruff was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society in 1968 and
knighted in 1969. Although retiring from surgical work in 1976, he remained an active figure in the scientific community, researching
cancer and serving on the boards of various medical and scientific organizations. (
more...)
Charles Darwin was an
English naturalist who proposed and provided evidence for the
theory that all
species have
evolved over time from a
common ancestor through the process of
natural selection. This theory came to be accepted by the
scientific community in modified form, forming much of the basis of
modern evolutionary theory, a cornerstone of
biology. His
five-year voyage on the
Beagle established him as a prominent
geologist whose observations and theories supported
uniformitarianism. Puzzled by the geographical distribution of wildlife and
fossils he collected on the voyage, Darwin investigated the
transmutation of species and conceived his theory of natural selection in 1838. In 1858,
Alfred Russel Wallace sent him an essay describing a similar theory, causing the two to publish their theories in a joint publication. His 1859 book
On the Origin of Species established evolution by
common descent as the dominant scientific explanation of the
diversity of life in nature. (
more...)
Ælle is recorded in early sources as the first king of the
South Saxons, reigning in what is now
Sussex,
England from
477 to perhaps as late as
514. The information about him is so limited that it cannot be said with certainty that Ælle even existed. Ælle and three of his sons are reported to have landed near what is now
Selsey Bill—the exact location is under the sea, and is probably what is now a sandbank known as the Owers—and fought with the
British. A victory in 491 at what is now
Pevensey is reported to have ended with the Saxons slaughtering their opponents to the last man. Although the details of these traditions cannot be verified, evidence from the place names of
Sussex does make it clear that it was an area with extensive and early settlement by the Saxons, supporting the idea that this was one of their early conquests. Ælle was the first king recorded by the eighth-century chronicler
Bede to have held "imperium", or overlordship, over other
Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. In the late-ninth-century
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (around four hundred years after his time) Ælle is recorded as being the first
bretwalda, or "Britain-ruler", though there is no evidence that this was a contemporary title. Ælle's death is not recorded, and it is not known who succeeded him as king of the South Saxons. (
more...)
William Bruce was a
Scottish gentleman-
architect, "the effective founder of
classical architecture in Scotland", as
Howard Colvin observes. A key figure in introducing the
Palladian style into Scotland, he has been compared to the pioneering
English architects
Inigo Jones and
Christopher Wren, and to the contemporaneous English introducers of French style in domestic architecture
Hugh May and
Roger Pratt. Bruce played a role in the
Restoration of
Charles II, carrying messages between the exiled king and
General Monck, and was rewarded with lucrative official appointments, including that of
Surveyor General of the King's Works in Scotland, effectively the "king's architect". His patrons included the
Duke of Lauderdale, the most powerful man in Scotland at the time. Despite his lack of technical expertise, he worked with competent
masons and professional builders, to whom he imparted a classical vocabulary; thus his influence was carried far beyond his own aristocratic circle. Beginning in the 1660s he built and remodelled a number of country houses, including
Thirlestane Castle for the Duke of Lauderdale, and
Hopetoun House. Among his most significant work was his own Palladian mansion at
Kinross, built on the Loch Leven estate which he had purchased in 1675. (
more...)
Andrew Cunningham was a
British admiral of the
Second World War. He attended several schools and colleges before he was enrolled at a Naval Academy, at the age of 10, where his association with the Navy started. After passing out of
Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, in 1898, he progressed rapidly in rank. He commanded a destroyer during the
First World War and through most of the interwar period. For his performance during this time he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order and two
Bars, specifically for his actions in the
Dardanelles and in the
Baltics. In the
Second World War, as
Commander-in-Chief,
Mediterranean Fleet, Cunningham led British naval forces in several critical
Mediterranean naval battles. These included the
attack on Taranto in 1940, the first all-aircraft naval attack in history, and the
Battle of Cape Matapan in 1941. Cunningham was also responsible for the on-going struggle to
supply Malta and oversight of the naval support for the various major Allied landings in the Mediterranean
littoral. In 1943, Cunningham was promoted to
First Sea Lord, a position he held until his retirement in 1946. (
more...)
Harriet Arbuthnot was an early-19th-century
English diarist, social observer and political hostess on behalf of the
Tory party. During the 1820s she was the "closest woman friend" of the hero of
Waterloo and
British Prime Minister, the
1st Duke of Wellington. She maintained a long correspondence and association with the Duke, all of which she recorded in her diaries, which are consequently extensively used in all authoritative biographies of the Duke of Wellington. Born into the periphery of the British aristocracy and married to a politician and member of
the establishment, she was perfectly placed to meet all the key figures of the
Regency and late
Napoleonic eras. Recording meetings and conversations often
verbatim, she has today become the "Mrs Arbuthnot" quoted in many biographies and histories of the era. Her observations and memories of life within the British establishment are not confined to individuals but document politics, great events and daily life with an equal attention to detail, providing historians with a clear picture of the events described. Her diaries were themselves finally published in 1950 as
The Journal of Mrs Arbuthnot. (
more...)
Jack Sheppard was a notorious
English robber,
burglar and
thief of early
18th-century London. Born into a poor family, he was
apprenticed as a carpenter but took to theft and burglary in 1723, with little more than a year of his training to complete. He was arrested and imprisoned five times in 1724 but escaped four times, making him a notorious public figure, and wildly popular with the poorer classes. Ultimately, he was caught, convicted, and
hanged at
Tyburn, ending his brief criminal career after less than two years. The inability of the noted "Thief-Taker General" (and thief)
Jonathan Wild to control Sheppard, and injuries suffered by Wild at the hands of Sheppard's colleague,
Joseph "Blueskin" Blake, led to Wild's downfall. Sheppard was as renowned for his attempts to escape justice as for his crimes. He returned to the public consciousness in around 1840, when
William Harrison Ainsworth wrote a novel entitled
Jack Sheppard, with illustrations by
George Cruikshank. The popularity of his tale, and the fear that others would be drawn to emulate his behaviour, led the authorities to refuse to
license any plays in London with "Jack Sheppard" in the title for forty years. (
more...)
Joseph Priestley was an
18th-century British
theologian,
Dissenting clergyman,
natural philosopher, educator, and
political theorist who published over 150 works. He is usually credited with the discovery of
oxygen gas, although
Carl Wilhelm Scheele and
Antoine Lavoisier also have such a claim. During his lifetime, Priestley's considerable scientific reputation rested on his invention of
soda water, his writings on
electricity, and his discovery of several "airs" (gases), the most famous being what Priestley dubbed "dephlogisticated air" (oxygen). However, Priestley's determination to reject what would become the
chemical revolution and to cling to
phlogiston theory eventually left him isolated within the scientific community. Priestley's science was integral to his theology, and he consistently tried to fuse
Enlightenment rationalism with Christian theism. In his metaphysical texts, Priestley attempted to combine
theism,
materialism, and
determinism, a project that has been called "audacious and original". The controversial nature of Priestley's publications combined with his outspoken support of the
French Revolution aroused public and governmental suspicion; he was eventually forced to flee to the United States after
a mob burned down his home and church in 1791. (
more...)
John Knox was a
Scottish clergyman, a leader of the
Protestant Reformation, and is considered the founder of the
Presbyterian denomination. Influenced by early church reformers such as
George Wishart, he joined the movement to reform the Scottish church. He was caught up in the ecclesiastical and political events that involved the murder of
Cardinal Beaton in 1546 and the intervention of the
regent of Scotland. He was taken prisoner by French forces the following year and exiled to England on his release in 1549. While in exile, Knox was licensed to work in the
Church of England, where he quickly rose in the ranks to serve the King of England,
Edward VI, as a royal chaplain. In this position, he exerted a reforming influence on the text of the
Book of Common Prayer. In England he met and married his first wife, Marjorie. When
Mary Tudor ascended the throne and reestablished
Roman Catholicism, Knox was forced to resign his position and leave the country. On his return to Scotland, he led the
Protestant Reformation in Scotland, in partnership with the Scottish Protestant nobility. (
more...)
Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll was a member of the
British Royal Family, the fourth daughter and sixth child of
Queen Victoria and
Prince Albert. Louise spent her early life under the roof of her parents, and when her father died in 1861, she took on the role as a companion to her mother. In 1871, Louise married
John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, and became the first daughter of a sovereign to marry a British subject since 1515. Although the marriage was initially happy, the couple drifted apart as a result of their childlessness and the Queen's constraints on their activities. In 1878, Louise's husband was appointed
Governor General of Canada, and Louise spent five years as his consort. When Louise returned to Britain, she remained close to the Queen and undertook a number of public duties on her behalf. Following the Queen's death in 1901, she remained close to younger generations of the
British royal family, and died in 1939 at the age of 91. Louise was a talented
sculptress and an artist, and several of her sculptures remain today. (
more...)
J. K. Rowling is a
British writer and author of the
Harry Potter fantasy series. The
Potter books have gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards, and sold nearly 400 million copies. The 2007
Sunday Times Rich List estimated Rowling's fortune at £545 million, ranking her as the 136th richest person and the 13th richest woman in Britain.
Forbes has named Rowling the second-richest female entertainer in the world, and ranked her as the 48th most powerful celebrity of 2007.
Time named Rowling as a runner-up for their 2007
Person of the Year, noting the social, moral, and
political inspiration she has given
her fandom. She has become a notable
philanthropist, supporting such charities as
Comic Relief, the
Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain and
One Parent Families.
Harry Potter is now a global brand worth an estimated $15 billion (£7 billion), and the last four
Harry Potter books have consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history. The series, totalling 4,195 pages, has been translated, in whole or in part, into 65 languages. (
more...)
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