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

By Tim Lambert Gertrude Bell was a great writer and archaeologist of the early 20th century. She was born in Washington, County Durham on 14 July 1868. Her father was the wealthy owner of an ironworks. Sadly her mother died when Gertrude was only 3 but her father remarried. Gertrude was a very intelligent woman… Continue reading A Brief Biography of Gertrude Bell

By Tim Lambert His Early Life Henry Cavendish was one of the great scientists of the 18th century. Cavendish was born on 10 October 1731 in Nice in France. He was born into a rich family. His father was Lord Charles Cavendish, who was himself a noted scientist. Henry’s family moved to London in 1738… Continue reading A Brief Biography of Henry Cavendish

By Tim Lambert Henry Fawcett was a reformer of the 19th century. He campaigned for women’s suffrage (women’s right to vote). Henry was born in Salisbury on 26 August 1833. He was one of 4 children. Henry was educated at Cambridge University. Unfortunately, Henry was blinded in an accident in 1858. His father shot at… Continue reading A Brief Biography of Henry Fawcett

By Tim Lambert His Early Life Henry VIII was born at Greenwich Palace on 28 June 1491 the second son of Henry Tudor (Henry VII). However, Henry’s older brother Arthur died in 1502. So Henry came to the throne in 1509. (Henry also had an older sister called Margaret and a younger sister called Mary).… Continue reading A Brief Biography of Henry VIII

By Tim Lambert Hilda of Whitby was an influential woman in the Anglo-Saxon Church. Christianity was first brought to Britain during the Roman occupation. However, in 407 the last Roman soldiers left Britain. In the 5th and 6th centuries Pagan peoples, the Saxons, Angles, and Jutes from Germany and Denmark invaded what is now England… Continue reading A Brief Biography of Hilda of Whitby

By Tim Lambert The early life of Newton Isaac Newton was born at Woolsthorpe near Grantham in Lincolnshire, England on 4 January 1643. His father died before he was born and in 1645 his mother married a clergyman from North Welham in Leicestershire. She went to live with him while Isaac Newton lived with his… Continue reading A Brief Biography of Isaac Newton

By Tim Lambert Isambard Kingdom Brunel was born in Portsea, Portsmouth on 9 April 1806. His father Isambard Marc Brunel was also an engineer. He was born in France in 1769 but he fled abroad in 1793 during the French Revolution. In 1799 he married Sophia Kingdom and they had 3 children, Sophia, Isambard, and Emma. Isambard… Continue reading A Brief Biography of Isambard Kingdom Brunel

By Tim Lambert His Early Life James Clerk Maxwell was one of the great scientists of the 19th century. James was born on 13 June 1831 at 14 India Street, Edinburgh. His father John Clerk Maxwell was a wealthy landowner. His mother was Frances Maxwell. James had a sister but she died in infancy. In… Continue reading A Brief Biography of James Clerk Maxwell

By Tim Lambert James Simpson was born on 7 June 1811 in the village of Bathgate in Linlithgowshire, Scotland. His parents were the village bakers and he was one of 7 children. However, his mother died when he was 9 years old. James Simpson attended the parish school then when he was 14 he went… Continue reading A Brief Biography of James Simpson