U.K. (&Eire) Historical figures

BROWNING: (Elizabeth Barrett) (6 March 1806 -29 June 1861) (Kelloe, Duhram) = English Poet and advocate for the abolishment of Slavery. First published in 1838 she was at her most prolific between 1841 and 1844 producing poetry, translation and prose.

Home schooled, from the age of four she began writing verses and claimed to read novels at six. Studious and creative, she began to suffer from ill-health from the age of fourteen. She began to take opiates, - laudanum and then morphine, then commonly prescribed. She would become dependent on them for much of her adulthood.
She opposed slavery and published poems highlighting the barbarity of slavers and her support for the abolitionist cause, -a radical and unpopular stance within the hierarchy of Victorian era.
Inspired by her poem “Lady Geraldine's Courtship” Edgar Allan Poe specifically borrowed the poem's tempo for his work ‘The Raven’. Saying of her work "her poetic inspiration is the highest – we can conceive of nothing more august. Her sense of Art is pure in itself’. He then dedicated his 1845 collection The Raven and Other Poems to her, referring to her as "the noblest of her sex"
Her poetry also greatly influenced fellow poet Emily Dickinson, admiring her as a woman of achievement.
Her popularity was further advanced by her stands against social injustice, including slavery in the United States, injustice toward Italian citizens by foreign rulers, and child labour
She became passionate in religious intensity, stating she believed that "Christ's religion is essentially poetry – poetry glorified".,. Although later remarked that it was "not the deep persuasion of the mild Christian but with the wild visions of an enthusiast”

 

Are we still on B or is it not Alphabetical ?
OK James Brindley
James Brindley, canal pioneer | Canal & River Trust

 

OMG I never realized it was alphabetical. I did the same thing in the name game.

 

Aneurin Bevan - architect of and Health Minister in Clem Attlee's Government that saw the establishment of the National Health Service.

Aneurin Bevan - Wikipedia

 

No - that is the other thread I started, though I realised it may become somewhat problematic (see my 1st Post)
This one is for the recognition of those born in UK (& Eire) (*and consider her age Nightingale) that have made a historical impact on either/or local/Worldwide history.

 

As above Doctor, - The other thread I realised it may become somewhat problematic (see my 1st Post)

This one is for the recognition of those born in UK (& Eire) (*and consider her age Nightingale) that have made a historical impact on either/or local/Worldwide history.
No A-Z order = required ​

 

That's a good call Vlad - but it'd be much better to give a brief synopsis than a link for to enlighten others than wiki

 

For instance, as I said in ref to the other two posts you commented on (Battle of Cable Street /Sylvia Pankhurst) what personal insights/tales do you have on the two?
That would I'm sure be of interest to readers/likers of history??? IMO

 

My Grandmother died over forty years ago, and apart from telling me she knew both Sylvia Pankhurst and had met Annie Bessant, there's not a lot to tell.

 

That's a shame. I guess time sees factual memories fewer tales told

 

LLOYD GEORGE: (David) The Right Honourable / OM PC (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) ) (Chorlton-on-Medlock Manchester) British statesman, politician UK Prime Minister Dec 1916– Oct 1922.

Lloyd George’s now largely forgotten role of turning things round during the first Worldwide conflict. In 1916, with Russia tottering on the brink of revolution, industrial relations in Britain at a low, and Allied forces on the Western Front under immense pressure, he hugely improved that industry in his role of Minister of munitions, becoming a great wartime prime minister with his charismatic and morale-raising leadership and successful unifying war leader.
In his time as Chancellor, he was one of most radical chancellors in history, laying many of the foundations of the Welfare state.
He was a commoner, brought up in a Welsh-speaking shoe-maker’s cottage in north Wales who became prime minister of the world’s largest empire. And on the way up, in doing so he was a radical politician. He did a huge amount for social justice and broke the power of the House of Lords by establishing the absolute supremacy of the House of Commons. When the ‘upper house’ threatened not to pass his budget, he had a stand-off with them and made them admit that the House of Commons was in fact superior by causing them to admit that people were sovereign, that Britain was a democratic country, not an aristocratic one.
Leader of the Liberal Party (14 Oct 1926 – 4 Nov 1931) He held many key Government positions
Member of Parliament for Carnarvon Boroughs (10 April 1890 – 13 February 1945)
Secretary of State for War (6 July 1916 – 5 December 1916)
Minister of Munitions (25 May 1915 – 9 July 1916)
Chancellor of the Exchequer (12 April 1908 – 25 May 1915)
President of the Board of Trade (10 December 1905 – 12 April 1908)
Father of the House (31 May 1929 – 13 February 1945)
Member of the House of Lords / Lord Temporal (1 January 1945 – 26 March 1945)

 

BELL: (Alexander Graham) (March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) (Edinburgh) British born, American inventor Engineer and Scientist, widely credited with the invention of the first practical telephone.
From an early age he showed a prowess for speech and elocution; perhaps related to the challenges that saw his Mother deal with through her deafness
The family moved to London in 1865, before in 1870, 23-year-old Bell travelled with his parents and his brother's widow to Paris Ontario before in 1871, he accompanied his father to Montreal, where his brother Melville was offered a position to teach his System of Visible Speech.
Bell travelled to Boston in the same year and was successful in the training and school instructors in the techniques and continual experimentation in the subject
His research on hearing and speech further led him to develop hearing devices which eventually culminated in Bell being awarded the first US patent for the telephone in 1876.
He discovered that sound vibrations could travel telegraphically and was first presented at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia.
Rather than celebrating this feat, he considered his invention an intrusion on his real work as a scientist and refused to have a telephone in his study. Regardless, he co-founded the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) in 1885.
.Bell at the opening of long-distance line from New York to Chicago in 1892
Many other inventions marked Bell's later life, including groundbreaking work in optical telecommunications, hydrofoils and aeronautics.
He had a strong influence on the National Geographical magazine while serving as the second president from January 7, 1898, until 1903

 

WATT: (James) FRS FRSE (19 January 1736– 25 August 1819) Scottish Inventor, Mechanical engineer and Chemist. His work on improving upon Thomas Newcomen’s steam Engine saw advances that culminated in his designs being used Worldwide and was fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution, paving the way for large machinery and mechanical equipment used in manufacturing industries.

There is a popular story that Watt was inspired to invent the steam engine by seeing a kettle boiling, the steam forcing the lid to rise and thus showing Watt the power of steam.
This story is told in many forms; in some Watt is a young lad, in others he is older, sometimes it's his mother's kettle, sometimes his aunt's. James Watt of course did not actually invent the steam engine, as the story implies, but dramatically improved the efficiency of the existing Newcomen engine by adding a separate condenser. This is difficult to explain to someone not familiar with concepts of heat and thermal efficiency. It appears that the story of Watt and the kettle was created, possibly by Watt's son James Watt Jr., and persists because it is easy for children to understand and remember. In this light it can be seen as akin to the story of Newton, the falling apple and his discovery of gravity.
Although it is often dismissed as a myth, like most good stories the story of James Watt and the kettle has a basis in fact. In trying to understand the thermodynamics of heat and steam James Watt carried out many laboratory experiments and his diaries record that in conducting these he used a kettle as a boiler to generate steam

 

DRAKE: (Sir Francis) (c. 1540, Tavistock, Devon) Sea Captain, Pirate, Naval officer ‘Buccaneer’, Explorer of the Elizabethan era.
Carried out the second circumvention navigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 1580, - the first to complete the voyage as captain while leading the expedition throughout the entire circumnavigation.
With his incursion into the Pacific Ocean, he claimed what is now California for the English and inaugurated an era of conflict with the Spanish on the western coast of the Americas, - an area that had previously been largely unexplored by western shipping.
Awarded a knighthood in 1581 by QE I; received on this ship the Golden Hind in Deptford.

As Vice-Admiral, he was second-in-command of the English fleet in the battle against the Spanish Armada in 1588. (despite interrupting his game of Bowls)

He died of dysentery January 1596, after unsuccessfully attacking San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Drake's exploits made him a hero to the English, but his privateering led the Spanish to brand him a Pirate, known to them as El Draque.( (Spanish), Draco (Latin), "The Dragon"
King Phillip II allegedly offered a reward for his capture or death of 20,000 ducats] about £6 million (US$8 million) in modern currency., but they never got him

 

LAWRENCE: (Thomas Edward) CB DSO (16 August 1888 19 May 1935-) (North Wales) = British scholar, writer archaeologist, army officer, military theorist, and diplomat

In 1910, he joined an archaeological dig in Syria, where he stayed from 1911 to 1914, learning Arabic.
He developed a deep sympathy for the Arabs who had lived under Turkish rule for centuries and mobilised the Arab Revolt in World War One and became famous as 'Lawrence of Arabia

In 1921, Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill appointed Lawrence as an adviser, After the war, Lawrence joined the Foreign Office, working with the British government and with Faisal. He was offered both the Victoria Cross and a knighthood but declined both.
In 1922 he resigned and joined the Royal Air Force in an attempt to find anonymity. He left the RAF in February 1935 and died on 19 May following a motorcycle accident in Dorset.