Famous British Characters from History and Literature

Started by magirob, January 21, 2020, 03:55:47 PM

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magirob

Hello all, I have started yet another new Project, the theme for 2020 is Famous British Characters from History and Literature

First up is this chap, just like me he was born in the city of Portsmouth, he once got a coin stuck up his nose and he had to invent a machine to dislodge it.
Brunel built tunnels, railways, ships and many other things during his lifetime changing the landscape of Britain forever. He was one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history.

magirob

Week 2

Alfred the Great is one of only 2 kings to have the word great in his name, it was added to his name in the sixteenth century, why? well basically because he did great things for Britain.
For starters he defended Britain against many viking attacks, most notably the Battle of Edington in 878 where he made an agreement with the Vikings eventually converting the Viking leader to Christianity.

Alfred was a well educated and level headed man, he pushed education across his kingdom and moved the teachings from Latin to Anglo Saxon, without Alfred the great there would be no England as we see it today, and there would be no English language.
There is no evidence to suggest that the legend of King Alfred burning the cakes is true, in actual fact the story is thought to be based upon an older Norse tale.

King Alfred died in 899 and was eventually buried in Winchester.

magirob

Week 3

Emmeline Pankhurst was born in Manchester to politically active parents, from the age of 14 she was made aware of the women's suffrage movement and spent her life fighting for the cause. Emmeline Pankhurst's campaigns were often seen as militant however the work she did eventually allowed women to have the vote and in 1999 she was named as one of the top 100 most important people of the 20th century, She is now commemorated with a statue in Victoria Tower Gardens, next to the Houses of Parliament.

magirob

Week 4
Hello all, this week I am taking a departure from my usual factual historical figure and I am featuring my first fictional British person, John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke also known as Tarzan is a fictional man raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he makes a trip back to Britain in his adult life only to reject civilisation and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Tarzan was created by Edgar Rice Burroughs and he first appeared in the novel Tarzan of the Apes in 1912, since then he has appeared in 25 sequels, and countless other books, films, shows and even a musical.

magirob

ROBERT BADEN-POWELL

Lieutenant General Robert Baden-Powell, was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the world-wide Boy Scout Movement. Baden-Powell authored the book Scouting for Boys, the inspiration for the Scout Movement.

In 1907 Baden-Powell held a demonstration camp, the Brownsea Island Scout camp, which is now seen as the beginning of Scouting. In 1910 Baden-Powell retired from the army and formed The Boy Scouts Association. The first Scout Rally was held at The Crystal Palace in 1909, at which appeared a number of girls in Scout uniform, who told Baden-Powell that they were the "Girl Scouts", following which, in 1910, Baden-Powell and his sister Agnes Baden-Powell started the Girl Guides Movement. He gave guidance to the Scouting and Girl Guiding Movements until retiring in 1937.

magirob

CHARLES DICKENS

This week I thought it would be a good idea to feature Charles Dickens as it is his Birthday on 7 February. Charles Dickens was born in 1812 in Portsmouth, England (just 3 miles from where I now live), he was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era.  Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed readings extensively, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.

magirob

Helen Sharman

This week I am featuring someone who is a bit of a hero of mine. In 1991 Helen Sharman became the first British Citizen to travel into space. One of her first jobs after gaining a Chemistry degree at university was for the Mars confectionery company, she applied for a position to travel into space after hearing an advert on the radio and she then went on to best 13,000 other applicants to join Project Juno. The mission was nearly called off due to lack of funds however it went ahead with society money and history was made.
Helen Sharman now works as operations manager for the Department of chemistry at the Imperial College London.


magirob

Susan B Anthony

I am featuring an extra bonus international balloon figure here. I recently had a request from @suffragettecity100 to feature Susan B Anthony, February the 15th 2020 marks 200 years since her birth. Her hard work and determination eventually helped bring the right to vote to women in the USA. I was delighted to be asked to include such an important and influential person in my series of famous characters so thanks for the suggestion.


magirob

David Bowie

David Bowie was an English singer-songwriter and actor. He is considered to be one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, particularly for his innovative work during the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, with his music and stagecraft having a significant impact on popular music. During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at over 100 million records worldwide, made him one of the world's best-selling music artists. In the UK, he was awarded ten platinum album certifications, eleven gold and eight silver, and released eleven number-one albums. In the US, he received five platinum and nine gold certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.


magirob

Henry VIII

Henry VIII was born in 1491 and was the king of England from 1509 until 1547. The son of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth York, Henry became king of England following the death of his father. He married six times, beheading two of his wives, and was the main instigator of the English Reformation.

He was a regular visitor to my home town of Portsmouth where he based his grand new Royal Navy. It was during a visit to Portsmouth in 1545 he witnessed the sinking of one of his great warships The Mary Rose, which lay on the seabed just off Portsmouth for 437 years until it was raised and put on display in the nearby Historic Dockyard.

Henry VIII eventually died in 1547 and was succeeded by his son Edward VI.

magirob

Alexander Graham Bell

Today (3rd March) is the birthday of Scottish-born scientist and inventor Alexander Graham Bell. He is best known for inventing the first working telephone in 1876 and founding the first telephone company in 1877.

Bell's success came through his experiments in sound and the furthering of his family's interest in assisting the deaf with communication. Bell worked with his colleague Thomas Watson on the telephone, though his prodigious intellect would allow him to work on numerous other inventions, including flying machines and hydrofoils.

Happy 173rd birthday Alexander Graham Bell

magirob

Boudica - 1st Century AD

Boudica was married to Prasutagus, ruler of the Iceni people of East Anglia. Prasutagus eventually died and the Romans decided to rule the Iceni directly,confiscating the property of the leading tribesmen. They are also said to have flogged Boudica and raped her daughters.

In 60 or 61 AD, the Iceni led by Boudicca joined several other tribes and rebelled against Roman rule. Boudica's warriors successfully defeated the Roman Ninth Legion and destroyed the capital of Roman Britain at Colchester. Boudica was eventually defeated and it is said she poisoned herself to evade capture.


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Charlie Chaplin was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the silent era. He is mostly famous for his screen persona "the tramp". Chaplin is considered one of the most important figures in the history of the film industry. In 1919, Chaplin co-founded the distribution company United Artists, which gave him complete control over his films. He had been a productive and creative film maker for about 75 years before he died in 1977.