Category: Brief histories of famous people across the world and ages

By Tim Lambert Catherine of Aragon was born on 16 December 1485. She was the daughter of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. Like most upper-class girls at that time, Catherine was highly educated. As an adult, she was very erudite. Because of her learning, she was admired by scholars like Erasmus and Juan… Continue reading A Brief Biography of Catherine of Aragon

By Tim Lambert Her Early Life Catherine Parr is famous for being the sixth wife of Henry VIII. Catherine was born in 1512 (the exact date is not known). Her father was Sir Thomas Parr and her mother was called Maud. Her father died in 1517. As was normal for an upper-class girl in the… Continue reading A Brief Biography of Catherine Parr

By Tim Lambert Her Early Life Catherine the Great was born Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst in Stettin, Prussia on 2 May 1729. Her father was a German prince. It was decided she should marry Peter, the heir to the throne of Russia. She moved to Russia in 1744 and changed her name to Catherine.… Continue reading A Brief Biography of Catherine the Great

By Tim Lambert His Early Life Charles Darwin was one of the great scientists of the 19th century. He was born on 12 February 1809 at the Mount House, Shrewsbury. His father was a doctor. His mother died when he was 8 years old. Charles had one brother and four sisters. Up to the age… Continue reading A Brief Biography of Charles Darwin

By Tim Lambert His Early Life Charles Dickens was born in a house in Mile End Terrace on the edge of Portsmouth on 7 February 1812. (It was given the name Mile End because it was about a mile from the gate in the wall around Portsmouth). At that time Portsmouth was dominated by the… Continue reading A Brief Biography of Charles Dickens

By Tim Lambert Her Early Life Charlotte Bronte was a great writer of the early 19th century. Charlotte was born on 21 April 1816 at the parsonage in Market Street in Thornton near the rapidly growing town of Bradford. Her father was Reverend Patrick Bronte. Her mother was Maria. They had 6 children. However, two… Continue reading A Brief Biography of Charlotte Bronte

By Tim Lambert Christine de Pizan was a great woman writer of the Middle Ages. Her father Tommaso was a famous academic and she was born in Italy in about 1363. When she was an infant Christine and her family moved to France, where her father was employed by the French king. In 1379 Christine… Continue reading A Brief Biography of Christine de Pizan

By Tim Lambert The early life of Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe was a great Elizabethan playwright. He was baptised in Canterbury, Kent on 26 February 1564. The exact date of his birth is not certain but he was born the same year as William Shakespeare during the reign of Elizabeth I. His father John Marlowe… Continue reading A Brief Biography of Christopher Marlowe

By Tim Lambert Christopher Wren was one of the greatest architects of the 17th century. He is, of course, famous for St Paul’s Cathedral in London. Wren was born on 20 October 1632 in East Knoyle, Wiltshire, England. His father was a clergyman. Christopher was educated at Westminster School and in 1650 he went to… Continue reading A Brief Biography of Christopher Wren

By Tim Lambert Edmund Halley was a great astronomer of the late 17th century and early 18th century. Edmund was born in London on 8 November 1656. His father was a wealthy soap-maker. Edmund went to St Paul’s School. In 1673 he went to Oxford University. He left there in 1676 and sailed to the… Continue reading A Brief Biography of Edmund Halley