Jack Sheppard
Jack Sheppard was an English criminal. He was born in 1702 and hanged in 1724 at Tyburn. He was a workhouse child who abandoned his apprenticeship and took up robbery. He escaped from prison many times, most notably escaping from the condemned cell in Newgate in 1724.
Jacob Jordaens
Jacob Jordaens was a Dutch artist. He was born in 1593 at Antwerp and died in 1678.
Jacob Ruisdael
Jacob van Ruisdael was a Dutch painter. He was born in 1628 in Haarlem and died in 1682.
Jacobites
The Jacobites were people who wanted the return of the Stuart monarchy after the expulsion of James II by William III.
Jacobus Van't Hoff
Jacobus Hendricus Van't Hoff was a Dutch chemist. He was born in 1852 and died in 1911. He investigated oceanic salt deposits, stereoisomerism, mass action and contributed to the theory of solution.
Jacopo Robusti
see "Tintoretto"
Jacqueline du Pre
Jacqueline du Pre was an English cellist. She was born in 1945 and died in 1987.
Jacques Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau is a French underwater explorer. He was born in 1910. He has pioneered aqualung diving and made numerous television documentaries.
Jacques Louis David
Jacques Louis David was a French historical painter. He was born in 1748 and died in 1825.
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a German composer. He was born in 1819, dying in 1880. He wrote the opera tales of hoffmann.
Jacques Thibaud
Jacques Thibaud was a French violinist. He was born in 1880, dying in an air crash in 1953.
Jakob Grimm
Jakob Ludwig Karl Grimm was a German philologist. He was born in 1785 and died in 1863. Wilhelm Karl Grimm was a German philologist. He was born in 1786 and died in 1859. Together with his brother Jakob they wrote a book of fairy tales.
James Boswell
James Boswell was a British biographer. He was born in 1740 and died in 1795. He wrote ''The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.''.
James Bowdoin
James Bowdoin was an American statesman. He was born in 1727 at Boston and died in 1790. In 1785 he was appointed governor of Massachusetts.
James Brindley
James Brindley was an English engineer. He was born in 1716 and died in 1772. He built the Bridgewater Canal in 1758 and the Grand Trunk Canal.
James Clark Ross
James Clark Ross was an English admiral and Antarctic explorer. He was born in 1800, dying in 1862.
James Connolly
James Connolly was an Irish Socialist. He was born in 1870 and died in 1916. With James Larkin he directed the great Dublin strike in 1913 which resulted in the formation of the Citizen Army. Connolly joined Sinn Fein and was Commander-in-Chief in the Easter rising of 1916, where upon he was executed by the British.
James Corbett
James Corbett (Gentleman Jim) was an American boxer. He was born in 1866 and died in 1933. He won the Heavyweight Championship of the World in 1892 beating John Sullivan.
James Destri
James Fenimore Cooper
James Ferrier
James Flecker
James Gillray
James Hilton
James I
James II
James III
James IV
James Joule
James Joyce
James Macdonald
James Maxwell
James Monroe
James Sant
James V
James VI
James Watt
James Whistler
James Wolfe
Jan Sibelius
Jan Smuts
Jan Steen
Jan Van Eyck
Jan Vermeer
Jane Austen
Jane Barlow
Jane Shore
Jat
Javanese
Jawaharial Nehru
Jean Alibert
Jean Anouilh
Jean Baptiste Lully
Jean Champollion
Jean Chardin
Jean Cocteau
Jean Corot
Jean Darlan
Jean Delambre
Jean Delavigne
Jean Falguiere
Jean Foucault
Jean Fouquet
Jean Fragonard
Jean Froissart
Jean Giraudoux
Jean Ingres
Jean La Fontaine
Jean Lamarck
Jean Marat
Jean Millet
Jean Nicot
Jean Racine
Jean Rousseau
Jean-Antoine Houdon
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Jeanne D'Albret
Jefferson Davis
Jehan Vibert
Jeppe Aakjaer
Jeremy Taylor
Jerome Adolphe Blanqui
Jew
Jingo Party
Jivaro
Johan Jongkind
Johann Albrechtsberger
Johann Bach
Johann Comenius
Johann Fichte
Johann Goethe
Johann Kepler
Johann Strauss
Johann Uhland
Johann Von Schiller
John
John Acton
John Barbour
John Biddle
John Bunyan
John Cabot
John Calvin
John Churchill
John Clare
John Clifford
John Cobb
John Conington
John Conolly
John Constable
John Cotman
John Cozens
John Crome
John Dalton
John Davis
John Delane
John Dennis
John Donne
John Dowland
John Dryden
John Duns Scotus
John Ericsson
John Evelyn
John Fell
John Field
John Flamsteed
John Flaxman
John Fletcher
John Ford
John Galsworthy
John Galt
John Gay
John Huss
John I
John Ireland
John Jefferies
John Keats
John Knox
John Le Carre
John Locke
John Logie Baird
John Lydgate
John Lydon
John Lyly
John Masefield
John McGeoch
John Mill
John Milton
John Morley
John Napier
John Newman
John Opie
John Osborne
John Oxenham
John Piper
John Powys
John Pym
John Ray
John Rochester
John Rockefeller
John Ruskin
John Skelton
John Sousa
John Steinbeck
John Synge
John Varley
John Walter
John Wanamaker
John Wayne
John Webster
John Wesley
Johnny Rotten
John Baliol
Jonathan Swift
Jons Jakob Berzelius
Jose Orozco
Joseph Addison
Joseph Bosworth
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Gay-Lussac
Joseph Le Fanu
Joseph Nollekens
Joseph Priestley
Joseph Pulitzer
Joseph Turner
Joseph von Fraunhofer
Josiah Wedgwood
Josip Tito
Ju
Juan Boscan-Almogaver
Juan Fernandez
Juan Peron
Jules Bastien-Lepage
Jules Laforgue
Jules Mazarin
Jules Verne
Julius von Sachs
Junto
Justice Of The Peace
Justinian
Jutes
Jutes
Juvenal
Kabyle
Kaiser William II
Karen
Karl Bottiger
Karl Gauss
Karl Marx
Karl von Clausewitz
Kashmiri
Kate Greenaway
Kazakh
Kekule
Kenelm
Kenneth Grahame
Kenneth I
Kenneth II
Kenneth III
Khmer
Khoikhoi
Kierkegaard
Kikuyu
Kim Philby
King
Kipchack
Kirghiz
Kit-Kat Club
Knud Rasmussen
Komi
Konrad Rontgen
Kuli
Kung
Kurd
Kurt Eisner
Labourite
Lanista
Lao
Lao Tsze
Laotian
Latins
Lauren Bacall
Laurence Binyon
Laurence Sterne
Lawrence Durrell
Lawrence Oates
Layamon
Le Corbusier
Le Duc Tho
Lee De Forest
Lee Yuen Kam
Leif Ericson
Lenni Lenape
Leo Delibes
Leo Tolstoy
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonhard Euler
Leonidas
Leper
Leucippus
Lev Trotsky
Levellers
Lewis
Lewis Carroll
Lewis Mumford
Lewis Waller
Li Po
Lilienthal
Lincoln
Lindbergh
Linnaeus
Lippi
Lister
Liszt
Lithuanian
Livingstone
Livy
Lloyd-George
Lobachevski
Locke
London
Longfellow
Lope Felix De Vega Carpio
Lorca
Lord Byron
Lord Darnley
Lord Louis Mountbatten
Lorentz
Lorenzo Ghiberti
Lothar
Louis Bleriot
Louis Daguerre
Louis de Baude Frontenac
Louis Elzevir
Louis I
Louis II
Louis III
Louis IX
Louis Pasteur
Louis the Stammerer
Louis XIII
Louis XIV
Louis XV
Louis XVI
Louis XVIII
Louise De la Remee
Lovelace
Lucas Cranach
Lucius Apuleius
Lucretia Borgia
Lucretius
Ludecan
Ludwig Mond
Luigi Alamanni
Luigi Galvani
Luigi Pirandello
Luo
James Destri played keyboards with the 70's punk rock band Blondie.
James Fenimore Cooper was an American novelist. He was born in 1789, dying in 1851. He wrote the last of the Mohicans and the Deerslayer.
James Frederick Ferrier was a Scottish philosopher. He was born in 1808 in Edinburgh and died in 1864.
James Elroy Flecker was an English poet. He was born in 1884 at London and died in 1915.
James Gillray was an English artist and caricaturist. He was born in 1757 and died in 1815.
James Hilton was an English writer. He was born in 1900. He wrote goodbye Mr Chips.
James I was King of Scotland from 1424 to 1437. James I was King of England from 1603 to 1625.
James II was King of Scotland from 1437 to 1460. James II was King of England from 1685 to 1688.
James III was King of Scotland from 1460 to 1488.
James IV was King of Scotland from 1488 to 1513.
James Prescott Joule was an English scientist. He was born in 1818 at Salford and died in 1889. He studied the relationship between heat and mechanical work.
James Joyce was an Irish writer. He was born in 1882 at Dublin and died in 1941. He wrote Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake.
James Ramsay Macdonald was a British politician. He was born in 1866 at Lossiemouth and died in 1937. In 1911 he became leader of the Labour party.
James Clerk Maxwell was a Scottish mathematician. He was born in 1831 at Edinburgh and died in 1879. He created an electro-magnetic theory of light.
James Monroe was the 5th president of the USA. He was born in Virginia in 1758 and died in 1831.
James Sant was an English portrait painter. He was born in 1820 and died in 1916. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1870 but resigned in 1914.
James V was King of Scotland from 1513 to 1542.
James VI was King of Scotland from 1567 to 1625.
James Watt was a Scottish inventor. He was born in 1736 at Greenock and died in 1819. He invented the modern steam-engine.
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American artist. He was born in 1834 at Lowell and died in 1903.
James Wolfe was an English soldier. He was born in 1727 at Westerham and died in 1759 at the battle of Abraham which his forces none-the-less won and thus secured Canada for the British from the French.
Jan Sibelius was a Finnish composer. He was born in 1865 at Tavastehus and died in 1958.
Jan Christiaan Smuts was a South African statesman. H was born in 1870 and died in 1950. He was South African Prime Minister from 1919 until 1924.
Jan Havicksz Steen was a Dutch artist. He was born in 1626 the son of a Leyden brewer and died in 1679. He is renowned for his renderings of tavern scenes and working class festivals.
Jan Van Eyck was born in 1390 and died in 1441.
Jan Vermeer was a Dutch painter. He was born in 1632 at Delft and died in 1675.
Jane Austen was an English author. She was born in Hampshire in 1775. She died in 1817.
Jane Barlow was an Irish novelist. She was born in 1860 and died in 1917. Her works are renowned for their depiction of the Irish peasantry.
Jane Shore was a mistress of Edward IV. She left her husband, William Shore a goldsmith by trade, for the English court in 1470. She was popular at court and amongst the people and gained considerable influence over the King and, after his death, the Marquess of Dorset and William Hastings. The Duke of Gloucester (later Richard III) had her accused of sorcery and publicly punished. She died in poverty in 1527.
The Jat are an ethnic group living in Pakistan and north India, and numbering about 11 million; they are the largest group in north India. The Jat are predominantly farmers. They speak Punjabi, a language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European family. They are thought to be related to the Romany people.
The Javanese are the largest ethnic group in the Republic of Indonesia. There are more than 50 million speakers of Javanese, which belongs to the western branch of the Austronesian family. Although the Javanese have a Hindu-Buddhist heritage, they are today predominantly Muslim, practising a branch of Islam known as Islam Jawa, which contains many Sufi features
In pre-independence Indonesia, Javanese society was divided into hierarchical classes ruled by sultans, and differences in status were reflected by strict codes of dress. Arts and crafts flourished at the court. Although the majority of Javanese depend on the cultivation of rice in irrigated fields, there are many large urban centres with developing industries.
Jawaharial Nehru was an Indian politician. He was born in 1889 and died in 1964. He dedicated himself to liberating India from British rule and then addressing the problem of poverty in India.
Jean Louis Baron Alibert was a French physician. He was born in 1766 and died in 1837. He was chief physician at the Hospital St. Louis.
Jean Anouilh was a French dramatist. He was born in 1910 and died in 1987.
Jean Baptiste Lully was a French composer. He was born in 1632 at Florence and died in 1687.
Jean Francis Champollion was a French scholar. He was born in 1790 and died in 1832. He deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphic writing from studying the Rosetta Stone.
Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin was a French painter. He was born in 1699 and died in 1779. He painted still lives and interior scenes.
Jean Cocteau was a French actor, poet, film director and play write. He wrote the book Les Enfants Terribles. He was born in 1891 and died in 1963.
Jean Baptiste Corot was a French landscape painter. He was born in 1796, dying in 1875.
Jean Darlan was a French admiral. He was c-in-c of the French navy from 1939 until 1940. He took part in the evacuation of Dunkirk. He later became pro-German and was assassinated by a fellow Frenchman in 1942.
Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre was a French astronomer. He was born in 1749 in Amiens and died in 1822.
Jean Francois Casimir Delavigne was a French poet and dramatist. He was born in 1793 at Havre and died in 1843.
Jean Alexandre Joseph Falguiere was a French sculptor and painter. He was born in 1831 at Toulouse and died in 1900.
Jean Bernard Leon Foucault was a French physicist. He was born in 1819, dying in 1868. He invented a pendulum to demonstrate the rotation of the earth by the rotation of its plane of oscillation.
Jean Fouquet was a French painter. He was born in 1420 at Tours and died in 1482. He was court painter to Charles VIII from 1475.
Jean Honore Fragonard was a French painter. He was born in 1732 and died in 1806.
Jean Froissart was a French chronicler. He was born in 1333 at Valenciennes and died in 1405.
Jean Giraudoux was a French poet, novelist and playwright. He was born in 1882 and died in 1944.
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres was a French painter. He was born in 1780 at Montauban and died in 1867. He drew fine pencil portraits.
Jean de La Fontaine was a French poet. He was born in 1621 and died in 1695. He wrote a number of popular fables.
Jean Baptiste Lamarck was a French naturalist. He was born in 1744 at Picardy and died in 1829. He catalogued invertebrates.
Jean Paul Marat was a French revolutionary and scientist. He was born in 1743 at Boudry and died in 1793 when he was murdered in his bath by Charlotte Corday.
Jean Francois Millet was a French painter. He was born in 1814 near Greville and died in 1875.
Jean Nicot was French ambassador at the Portuguese court. He was born in 1530 and died in 1600. He was presented, in Portugal with some tobacco plant seeds. He introduced tobacco into France in 1560. The botanical name Nicotiana is derived from his name.
Jean Racine was a French dramatist and poet. He was born in 1639 at La Ferte-Milon and died in 1699.
Jean Jacques Rousseau was a French philosopher and writer. He was the pioneer of the Romantic Movement. He was born in 1712 and died in 1778. Henri Rousseau was a French painter. He was born in 1844 and died in 1910.
Jean-Antoine Houdon was a French sculptor. He was born in 1741 at Versailles and died in 1828.
Jean-Paul Sartre is a French philosopher, playwright and novelist. He was born in 1905.
Jean-Philippe Rameau was a French composer. He was born in 1683 and died in 1764.
Jeanne D'Albret was Queen of Navarre and wife of Antoine de Bourbon. She was born in 1528 and died due to poisoning in 1572.
Jefferson Davis was President of the Confederate States of America. He was born in 1808 at Kentucky and died in 1889. In 1857 he assumed the leadership of the South Democrats. He was elected President in 1860 and organised an Army and Navy against the Union. In May 1865 he was captured by Union forces and imprisoned. Two years later he was released on bail and went to Canada. He was included in the 1868 amnesty and settled on his estate in Mississippi and wrote the book "The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government" which was published in 1881.
Jehan Georges Vibert was a French artist and dramatist. He was born in 1840 and died in 1903. He was most successful as a genre painter but also executed fine decorative work for the Luxembourg. As a dramatist he wrote comedies.
Aaklaer Jeppe was a Danish poet and novelist. He was born in 1866 at Aakjaer and died in 1930.
He was a leading exponent of Danish regional literature best known for his poems, especially those collected in 'Free Fields' published in 1905 and 'Songs of the Rye' published in 1906. His early novels dealt with the harsh conditions endured by farm laborers.
Jeremy Taylor was a British theological writer. He was born in 1613 and died in 1667. He wrote ''Holy Living'; `Holy Dying''.
Jerome Adolphe Blanqui was a French economist. He was born in 1798 at Nice and died in 1854 in Paris. He was introduced to economics while studying medicine at Paris. He favoured a free-trade policy and wrote a number of works including ''Precis Elementaire d'Economie Politique''.
The Jews are a Semitic race of people also known as the Hebrews and Israelites. Their early history is identified with Palestine, now Israel. The Jewish history is recorded in the Old Testament.
Jingo Party was a name given in 1878 to persons who preferred war with Russia to submission to her agressive policy.
The Jivaro are a tribe of east Ecuador and north Peru.
Johan Barthold Jongkind was a Dutch artist. He was born in 1819 at Latrop and died in 1891.
Johann Georg Albrechtsberger was a German composer. He was born in 1736 and died in 1809. he taught Beethoven and Moscheles amongst others.
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer. He was born at Eisenach in 1685. He died in 1750.
Johann Amos Comenius was a Czech educational reformer. He was born in 1592 at Moravia and died in 1671. He advised throughout Europe on the teaching of languages, suggesting that they should be taught by conversation and that pictures helped.
Johann Gottlieb Fichte was a German philosopher. He was born in 1762 at Rommenau and died in 1814. He was educated at Jena University and in 1794 became professor of philosophy at Jena.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe was a German poet. He was born in 1749 and died in 1832.
Johann Kepler was a German astronomer. He was born in 1571 near Stuttgart and died in 1630. He studied the motion of planets and proved that planets move in an elliptical path with the sun at one focus.
Johann Strauss was a 19th century Austrian composer.
Johann Ludwig Uhland was a German poet and ballad writer. He was born in 1787 and died 1862.
Johann Christoph Friedrich Von Schiller was a German dramatist and poet. He was born in 1759 in Wurttemberg and died in 1805.
John was a son of Christian I and king of Denmark in 1481.
John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton was a British historian. He was born at Naples in 1834 and died in 1902.
John Barbour was the father of Scottish poetry. He was born in 1316 and died in 1395.
John Biddle was an English Unitarian. He was born in 1615, dying in prison in 1662. He was imprisoned for his controversial writings.
John Bunyan was a British prose writer. He was born in 1628 and died in 1688. He wrote ''The Pilgrim's Progress''.
John Cabot was an Italian navigator. He was born in Genoa in 1450 and died in 1498. He discovered Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.
John Calvin was a Swiss religious reformer. He was born in 1509 and died in 1564. He was influenced by Martin Luther and was instrumental in burning Servetus for denying the Trinity in 1553.
see "Duke of Marlborough"
John Clare was an English poet known as the "Northamptonshire Ploughboy Poet". He was born in 1793 in a gypsy camp and died in 1864. He started writing poetry in 1818, his first volume being issued in 1820. He reportedly went insane, and died in Northants County Asylum.
John Clifford was an English Baptist minister. He was born in 1836 at Sawley and was educated for the ministry in Nottingham. He is famous for his opposition to the Education Act of 1902 and his advocacy of passive resistance in nonpayment of school rates by the Nonconformists. He died in 1923.
John Rhodes Cobb was a British racing motorist. He established the world record of 394.2 mph at Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah in September 1947.
John Conington was an English classical scholar. He was born in 1825 and died in 1869. He was professor of Latin at Oxford from 1854 until 1869, and published translations of the Aeneid in octosyllabic verse, part of the Iliad in the Spenserian stanza, and the Odes, Satires, and Epistles of Horace.
John Conolly was an English physician. He was born in 1794 in Lincolnshire and died in 1866. He introduced a new form of treatment for the mentally ill, whereby mechanical restraints were no longer used.
John Constable was an English landscape painter. He was born in 1776 at Suffolk and died in 1837.
John Sell Cotman was an English painter and etcher. He was born in 1782 in Norwich and died in 1842. He is renowned for his water colour and oil landscapes and his etchings of architectural objects.
John Robert Cozens was an English water-colour artist. He was born in 1751 and died in 1799. He produced a number of unconventional impressionist landscapes.
John Crome was an English landscape painter. He was born in 1599 at Norwich and died in 1821.
John Dalton was an English scientist. He was born in 1766, dying in 1844. He is famous for discovering atomic theory.
John Davis was an English navigator. He was born in 1550 and died in 1605. He searched for a north-west passage, and discovered the Falkland Islands in 1592. He was killed by Pirates near Singapore in 1605.
John Thaddeus Delane was editor of the Times newspaper. He was born in 1817 and died in 1879. He became editor in 1841 and remained until 1877. During his editorship the newspaper gained in influence and circulation.
John Dennis was an English critic. He was born in 1657 and died in 1734. He was best known for his quarrels with Alexander Pope. He wrote a stage tragedy for which he devised a form of stage thunder which was later used in a production of Macbeth, in response to which Dennis complained that they had stolen his thunder. Hence the origin of the term to steal one's thunder.
John Donne was an English poet. He was born in 1573 at London and died in 1631.
John Dowland was an English lutanist and song writer. He was born in 1563 and died in 1626.
John Dryden was a British poet. He was born in 1631 and died in 1700.
John Duns Scotus was a Scottish philosopher. He was born in 1265 at Roxburghshire and died in 1308.
John Ericsson was a Swedish-American engineer. He was born in 1803 and died in 1889. In 1836 he invented the screw-propeller.
John Evelyn was an English diarist and friend of Pepys. He was born in 1620 and died in 1706.
John Fell was an English Bishop. He was born in 1625 and died in 1686. He fought with the King during the Civil War.
John Field was an Irish composer. He was born in 1782 at Dublin and died in 1837. He gave his first public piano recital when he was nine.
John Flamsteed was an English astronomer. He was born in 1646 and died in 1719. He is remembered for cataloguing the stars.
John Flaxman was an English draughtsman, designer and sculptor. He was born in 1755 at York, and died in 1826. From 1775 he worked for 12 years as a designer to the pottery firm of Wedgwood.
John Fletcher was a British dramatist. He was born in 1579 and died in 1625. With Francis Beaumont he wrote ''The Maid's Tragedy''.
John Ford was a British dramatist. He was born in 1586 and died in 1640. He wrote ''The Broken Heart''.
John Galsworthy was a novelist. He was born in 1869, dying in 1933. He is famous for writing the Forsyte saga.
John Galt was a Scottish author of stories dealing with Scottish life. He was born in 1779 and died in 1839.
John Gay was an English dramatist. He was born in 1685 at Barnstaple and died in 1732.
John Huss was a Bohemian religious reformer. He was born in 1369 and died in 1415.
John I was King of England from 1199 to 1216. Augustus Edwin John was a British portrait painter. He was born in 1878 at Tenby and died in 1961.
John Ireland was an English composer. He was born in 1879 at Bowden and died in 1962. He wrote a lot of music for the piano.
John Richard Jefferies was an English essayist and naturalist. He was born in 1848 near Swindon and died in 1883.
John Keats was an English poet. He was born in London in 1795 and died in 1821.
John Knox was a Scottish reformer and preacher. He was born in 1505 at Giffordgate and died in 1572.
John Le Carre is the pen name of David John Cornwell, a British author of spy novels which include ''The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'' and ''Smiley's People''. He was born in 1931.
John Locke was a British philosopher. He was born in 1632 and died in 1704. He wrote ''An Essay Concerning Human Understanding''.
John Logie Baird was a Scottish scientist. He pioneered television. He was born in 1888, dying in 1946.
John Lydgate was a British poet. He was born in 1370 and died in 1451. He wrote ''Troy Book''.
John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) was lead singer with the punk rock group the Sex Pistols, and then after they split up with Public Image Ltd.
John Lyly was a British novelist and dramatist. He was born in 1554 and died in 1606.
He wrote ''Euphues: the Anatomy of Wit'' and also ''Euphues and His England''.
John Masefield was an English writer. He was born in 1878 at Ledbury and died in 1967.
John McGeoch is guitar player with the rock group Public Image Ltd
John Stuart Mill was an English economist. He was born in 1806 at London and died in 1873. He defended the rights of the working class and supported the right of women to vote.
John Milton was an English writer. He was born in 1608 at London and died in 1674. He wrote Paradise Lost.
John Morley was the 1st viscount Morley. He was an English biographer and liberal politician. He was born in 1838, dying in 1923.
John Napier was a Scottish mathematician. He was born in 1550 and died in 1617. He invented logarithms.
John Henry Newman was a British theologian. He was born in 1801 at London and died in 1890.
John Opie was an English painter. He was born in Cornwall in 1761 and died in 1807.
John James Osborne is a British playwright and actor. He was born in 1929. He wrote Look Back In Anger.
John Oxenham was an English author of romantic novels and adventure stories. His works include ''John of Gerisau'' and ''The Man Who Would Save The World''.
John Piper is an English painter born at Epsom in 1903.
John Cowper Powys was an English writer. He was born in 1872, dying in 1964.
John Pym was an English parliamentary leader. He was born in 1584, dying in 1643. He opposed Charles I.
John Ray was an English naturalist. He was born in 1627, dying in 1705. He produced a classification of plants.
John Wilmot Rochester was an English poet and wit. He was born in 1648, dying in 1680. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American who made a fortune from petroleum.
John Ruskin was a British writer and art critic. He was born in 1819 in London and died in 1900.
John Skelton was an English poet. He was born in 1460 at Diss and died in 1529.
John Philip Sousa was an American composer. He was born in 1854 at Washington and died in 1932. he is famous for his military marches.
John Ernest Steinbeck was an American novelist. He was born in 1902 and died in 1968.
John Millington Synge was an Irish dramatist. He was born in 1871 at Rathfarnham and died in 1909.
John Varley was an English water-colour painter. He was born in 1778 and died in 1842. He was a founder member of the Water-colour Society, formed in 1804 and a successful teacher. His paintings are mainly landscapes.
John Walter was an English publisher. He was born in 1738 and died in 1812. He founded the Daily Universal register in 1785 which he renamed the Times in 1788 and firmly established.
John Wanamaker was an American merchant. He was born in 1838 and died in 1922. He founded a famous department store in Philadelphia and New York and was postmaster-general from 1889 to 1893.
John Wayne (real name Marion Michael Morrison) was an American actor. He was born in 1907 and died of cancer in 1979. He is famous for his role in many classic westerns.
John Webster was an English dramatist. He was born in 1580 and died in 1625. he wrote ''The White Devil'' and ''The Duchess of Malfi''.
John Wesley was an English preacher and the founder of the Methodist church. He was born in 1703 at Epworth and died in 1791.
see "John Lydon"
John Baliol was King of Scotland from 1292 to 1296.
Jonathan Swift was an Irish writer. He was born in 1667 in Dublin and died in 1745. He wrote Gulliver's Travels which was an attack on the English society of the time.
Jons Jakob Berzelius was a Swedish chemist. He was born in 1779, dying in 1848. He was the founder of electrochemical theory and designed the system of chemical symbols still in use.
Jose Clemente Orozco was a Mexican painter. He was born in 1883 and died in 1949.
Joseph Addison was an English essayist and poet. He was born in 1672, dying in 1719. He was co-author of the spectator.
Joseph Bosworth was an English philologist. He was born in 1790 in Derbyshire and died in 1876. He studied the Anglo-Saxon language and wrote several works on it including ''Anglo-Saxon Grammar'' and ''Dictionary of the Anglo-Saxon Language''.
Joseph Conrad was a British novelist. He was born in 1857 in the Ukraine and died in 1924. He spent twenty years at sea and then settled in Kent to work as a writer.
Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac was a French scientist. He was born in 1778 at St. Leonard and died in 1850. He worked in the field of gases.
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu was an Irish writer of novels and short stories. He was born in 1814 and died in 1873.
Joseph Nollekens was an English sculptor. He was born in 1737 and died in 1823.
Joseph Priestley was an English chemist. He was born in 1733, dying in 1804. He worked on gasses and discovered oxygen as did Scheele. He moved to America in 1794.
Joseph Pulitzer was an American newspaper proprietor and philanthropist. He was born in 1847 in Hungary and died in 1911.
Joseph Mallord William Turner was an English painter. He was born in 1775 in London and died in 1851.
Joseph von Fraunhofer was a German physicist. He was born in 1787 at Strasbourg and died in 1826.
Josiah Wedgwood was an English potter. He was born in 1730 at Burslem and died in 1795. He founded the Wedgwood potteries.
Josip Tito was a Yugoslav revolutionary and military leader. He was born in 1892 in Croatia. He liberated Yugoslavia from the invading German armies during the Second World War.
The Ju are the Bushmen people of Botswana.
Juan Boscan-Almogaver was a Spanish poet. He was born in the late 15th century and died in 1540. He introduced Italian forms into Spanish poetry.
Juan Fernandez was a Spanish navigator. He landed in Peru in 1570 and 30 days later Chile. He discovered the islands now named after him and made an unsuccessful attempt to found a colony.
Juan Peron is an Argentine army officer. He was president of Argentina from 1946 until 1955.
Jules Bastien-Lepage was a French painter. He was born in 1848 and died in 1884. His works include Sarah Bernhardt and Joan of Arc listening to the voices.
Jules Laforgue was a French poet. He was born in 1860 and died in 1887. He was a pioneer of free verse.
Jules Mazarin was a cardinal and French minister. He was born in Italy in 1602, dying in 1661.
Jules Verne was a French writer. He was born in 1828 at Nantes and died in 1905. He wrote ''Around the World in Eighty Days'', and ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea''.
Julius von Sachs was a German botanist. He was born in 1832, dying in 1897. He demonstrated that chlorophyll is formed in chloroplasts only in light.
Junto was a name given to the leaders of the whig party in the reigns of William III and Anne, 1689 to 1714.
A Justice Of The Peace or JP is an unpaid magistrate who is not a lawyer. The office dates back to Edward I.
Justinian was Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, Byzantium. He was born in 483 and died in 565.
The Jutes were a Teutonic race which invaded Britain between the 5th and 7th centuries.
The Jutes were a Germanic tribe which settled in Kent and the Isle of Wight, England in AD 449.
Juvenal was a Roman satirist. He was born in 60 and died in 140.
The Kabyle are a group of Berber peoples of Algeria and Tunisia. They served as Zouave in the colonial French forces. Many Kabyles were notable in the fight for Algerian independence 1954-62. Their language belongs to the Afro-Asiatic family.
Kaiser William II was the 3rd German Emperor. He was born in 1859 and died in 1941. He ascended to the throne in 1888.
The Karen are a group of south east Asian peoples, numbering 1.9 million. They live in east Myanmar (formerly Burma), Thailand, and the Irrawaddy delta. Their language belongs to the Thai division of the Sino-Tibetan family.
Karl August Bottiger was a German archaeologist. He was born in 1760 and died in 1835. In 1814 he was appointed chief inspector of the museum of Antiquities in Dresden.
Karl Friedrich Gauss was a German mathematician. He was born in 1777 at Brunswick and died in 1855. He demonstrated that a circle can be divided into 17 equal arcs by elementary geometry.
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher and economist. He was born in 1818 at the Rhineland and died in 1883. Together with Engels he wrote the manifesto of the communist party in 1847.
Karl von Clausewitz was a Prussian general and military writer. He was born in 1780 and died in 1831. In 1832 his work Vom Krieg was published which deals with military strategy and greatly influenced subsequent warfare.
The Kashmiri are native to the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Kate Greenaway was an English artist and book-illustrator. She was born in 1846 and died in 1901.
The Kazakh are a pastoral Kyrgyz people of Kazakhstan. Kazakhs also live in China (Xinjiang, Gansu, and Qinghai), Mongolia, and Afghanistan. There are 5-7 million speakers of Kazakh, a Turkic language belonging to the Altaic family. They are predominantly Sunni Muslim, although pre-Islamic customs have survived.
Kazakhs herd horses and make use of camels; they also keep cattle. Traditionally the Kazakhs lived in tents and embarked on seasonal migrations in search of fresh pastures. Collectivised herds were established in the 1920s and 1930s.
Kekule was a German scientist. He was born in 1829 at Darmstadt and died in 1896. He worked on the structure of carbon compounds.
Kenelm was king of Mercia for five months in 819 until he was murdered by his sister Quendreda.
Kenneth Grahame was a Scottish author. He was born in 1859 and died in 1922. He wrote The Wind In The Willows.
Kenneth I was King of Scotland from 843 to 860.
Kenneth II was King of Scotland from 971 to 995.
Kenneth III was King of Scotland from 997 to 1005.
The Khmer are the largest ethnic group in Cambodia, numbering about 7 million. Khmer minorities also live in east Thailand and south Vietnam. The Khmer language belongs to the Mon-Khmer family of Austro-Asiatic languages.
The Khmers live mainly in agricultural and fishing villages under a chief. They practise Theravada Buddhism and trace descent through both male and female lines. Traditionally, Khmer society was divided into six groups: the royal family, the Brahmans (who officiated at royal festivals), Buddhist monks, officials, commoners, and slaves.
The Khoikhoi (formerly Hottentot) are a people living in Namibia and the Cape Province of South Africa, and numbering about 30,000. Their language is related to San (spoken by the Kung) and belongs to the Khoisan family. Like the Kung, the Khoikhoi once inhabited a wider area, but were driven into the Kalahari Desert by invading Bantu peoples and Dutch colonists in the 18th century. They live as nomadic hunter-gatherers, in family groups, and have animist beliefs.
Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher. He was born in 1813 at Copenhagen and died in 1855.
The Kikuyu are an aboriginal people of central Kenya.
Harold ''Kim'' Philby was a high-level British diplomat and a senior intelligence officer. He defected to the Russians in 1963.
A King is a male sovereign ruler of an independent state.
The Kipchack are an Uzbeg tribe.
The Kirghiz are a pastoral people numbering approximately 1.5 million. They inhabit the central Asian region bounded by the Hindu Kush, the Himalayas, and the Tian Shan mountains. The Kirghiz are Sunni Muslims, and their Turkic language belongs to the Altaic family.
The Kirghiz live in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China (Xinjiang), and Afghanistan (Wakhan corridor).
The highest political authority is traditionally entitled khan. During the winter the Kirghiz live in individual family yurts. In summer they come together in larger settlements of up to 20 yurts. They herd sheep, goats, and yaks, and use Bactrian camels for transporting their possessions.
The Kit-Kat Club was instituted in 1703 to promote the Protestant succession. It took its name from its dining at the house of Christopher Kat, a pastry-cook, in King-street, Westminster. Among the members were the duke of Marlborough, Addison and Steele.
Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen was a Danish arctic explorer. He was born in 1879 at Jakobshavn and died in 1933. He made a number of journeys into the arctic circle to study the lives of the Eskimos.
The Komi are a Finnish people living mainly in the tundra and coniferous forests of the autonomous republic of Komi in the north west Urals, Russia. They raise livestock, grow timber, and mine coal and oil. Their language, Zyryan, belongs to the Finno-Ugric branch of the Uralic family.
Konrad Wilhelm Rontgen was a German physicist who discovered x-rays. He was born in 1845, dying in 1923.
The Kuli are an aboriginal Indian tribe. Their name led to the term Coolie which describes the class of unskilled labour in India and the Far East.
The Kung (formerly Bushman) are a small group of hunter-gatherer peoples of the north east Kalahari, southern Africa, still living to some extent nomadically. Their language belongs to the Khoisan family.
The Kurds are the Kurdish culture, living mostly in the Taurus and Sagros mountains of west Iran and north Iraq in the region called Kurdistan.
The Kurdish languages (Kurmanji, Sorani Kurdish, Gurano, and Zaza) are members of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family, and the Kurds are a non-Arab, non-Turkic ethnic group. The Kurds are predominantly Sunni Muslims, although there are some Shiites in Iran.
Kurds traditionally owe allegiance to their families, and larger groups are brought together under an agha, or lord. They are predominantly shepherds and farmers, cultivating a wide range of crops and fruit. National dress is still worn in the more mountainous regions and there is a strong tradition of poetry and music. Kurdish professionals are found in many Middle Eastern cities.
Kurt Eisner was a Bavarian journalist and revolutionary. He was born in 1867 and died in 1919. After the revolution of 1918 be became head of a Communist Government in Bavaria, but was murdered in 1919.
A Labourite is a member of the British Labour Party.
A lanista was a man who purchased and looked after gladiators.
The Lao are a people who live along the Mekong river system in Laos (2 million) and north Thailand (9 million). The Lao language is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family. The majority of Lao live in rural villages. During the wet season, May-Oct, they grow rice in irrigated fields, though some shifting or swidden cultivation is practised on hillsides. Vegetables and other crops are grown during drier weather. The Lao are predominantly Buddhist though a belief in spirits, phi, is included in Lao devotions. There are some Christians among the minority groups.
Lao Tsze was a Chinese philosopher who wrote the Tao Te Ching. He lived around 590 BC.
The Laotian are an Indo-Chinese people who live along the Mekong river system. There are approximately 9 million Laotians in Thailand and 2 million in Laos. The Laotian language is a Thai member of the Sino-Tibetan family.
The Latins were an ancient people of Latium. In very early times the Latins formed a league of thirty cities of which the town of Alba Longa became the head. As Rome was a colony of Alba Longa, the Romans spoke the language of the Latins, which was Latin.
Lauren Bacall (real name Betty Joan Perske) is an American actress. She was born in 1924 and was the fourth wife of Humphrey Bogart.
Laurence Binyon was a poet, art critic and Orientalist. He was born in 1869, dying in 1943. He worked at the British museum from 1893 to 1933.
Laurence Sterne was a British novelist. He was born in 1713 and died in 1768.
Lawrence Durrell was an English poet, novelist and travel writer. He was born in 1912 and died in 1990.
Lawrence Edward oates was an English antarctic explorer. He was born in 1880. He died by commiting suicide in a blizzard on the return journey from the south pole with scott so that the others would not be hampered by his frost-bite.
Layamon was a British metrical historian. He lived around 1200 and wrote ''Brut''.
Charles Jeanneret (Le Corbusier) was a Swiss architect and artist. He was born in 1887 and died in 1965.
Le Duc Tho is a Vietnamese diplomat. He was born in 1911. He was joint winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in negotiating an end to the Vietnam War in 1973.
Lee De Forest was an American inventor. He was born in 1873, dying in 1961. He was the first person to use alternating-current transmission. He improved the thermionic valve detector enabling wireless and sound films to be made.
Lee Yuen Kam was the real name of Bruce Lee, the actor.
Leif Ericson was a Viking explorer. He lived around 1000 and continued the explorations of his father, Eric the Red, from Greenland. He is credited with discovering Labrador, Nova Scotia and the East coast of America.
see "Delaware Indians"
Leo Delibes was a French composer. He was born in 1836 and died in 1891.
Leo Nikolaievich Tolstoy was a Russian novelist. He was born in 1828 at Tula and died in 1910. He wrote ''War and Peace''.
Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian artist and scientist. He was born in 1452, dying in 1519. He recorded scientific studies in unpublished note books. He designed the first helicopter (on paper) and recorded anatomical details after carrying out dissections.
Leonhard Euler was a Swiss mathematician. He was born in 1707 and died in 1783. He was a founder of modern mathematics, doing important work in algebra, astronomy, hydrodynamics and optics.
Leonidas was the King of Sparta when Greece was invaded by Xerxes in 480bc. He was killed in battle at thermopylae.
Leper is a term given to a person suffering from the disease leprosy.
Leucippus was a Greek philosopher. He lived around 430BC.
Lev Davidovich Trotsky was a Russian Soviet leader. He was born in 1877. He was assasinated in South America under orders from Stalin.
The Levellers were a Puritan group led by John Lilburne who fought for equality in social and religious matters.
Sinclair Lewis was an American novelist. He was born in 1885 and died in 1951.
Lewis Carroll was the pen-name of Charles Dodgson. He was a writer of poetry and children's books. He was born in 1832 and died in 1898.
Lewis Mumford is an American writer on town-planning and social problems. He was born in 1895.
Lewis Waller was an English actor. He was born in 1860 in Spain and died in 1915.
Li Po was a Chinese poet born in 700bc. He died by drowning.
Otto Lilienthal was a German inventor. He was born in 1848 at Auklam and died in 1896. He was one of the founders of the science of flight and conducted important work into gliding.
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the USA. He was born in 1809 at Kentucky and died in 1865 when he was assassinated at a theatre by John Wilkes Booth.
Charles A. Lindbergh is an American airman. He was born in 1902 at Minnesota. He made the first non-stop flight between New York and Paris in 1927.
Carl von Linne Linnaeus was a Swedish naturalist. He was born in 1707 at Rashut and died in 1778. He invented the modern system of naming plants with two words, rather than long descriptive latin phrases which was previously used.
Fra Filippo Lippi was an Italian painter. He was born at Florence in 1406. He died in 1469. He painted the frescoes in the prato cathedral.
Joseph Lister was an English doctor. He was born at Upton (Essex) in 1827. He died in 1912. He introduced carbolic acid to prevent infection.
Franz Liszt was a Hungarian composer born at Dobr'jan in 1811. He died in 1886. He was also a pianist.
A Lithuanian is a member of the majority ethnic group living in Lithuania, comprising 80% of the population.
David Livingstone was a Scottish explorer. Between 1852 and 1873 he discovered the course of the zambesi, victoria falls and lake nyasa.
Livy was a Roman historian. He was born in 59BC at Padua and died in 17.
David Lloyd-George was an English MP. He was born in 1863 at Manchester and died in 1945. He was elected to Parliament in 1890. He was Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1908.
Lobachevski was a Russian mathematician. He was born in 1793 and died in 1856. He pioneered the study of non-Euclidean geometry.
John Locke was an English political author. He was born in 1632 at Wrington and died in 1704.
Jack London was an American writer. He was born in 1876 at San Francisco and died in 1916. He wrote The Call of the Wild and White Fang.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet. He was born in 1807 at Portland and died in 1882.
Lope Felix de Vega Carpio was a Spanish dramatist and poet. He was born in 1562 and died in 1635. He served in the Spanish Armada against England.
Federico Garcia Lorca was a Spanish poet and dramatist. He was born in 1899 and died in 1936 when he was shot for supporting the Republican Government by Franco's troops.
Lord George Gordon Byron was an English poet. He was born in 1788 and died in 1824.
Lord Darnley, Henry Stuart, was the second husband of Mary Queen of Scots and the father of James I. He was born in 1545 and died in 1567. He was persuaded to murder David Rizzio and helped Mary to escape to Dunbar. In 1567 he was killed in the house where he had been staying with Mary.
Lord Louis Mountbatten was a British admiral and statesman. He was born in 1900, dying in 1979 when he was assasinated by the ira. He was chief of combined operations in 1942 and the last viceroy of India.
Hendrick Antoon Lorentz was a Dutch scientist. He was born in 1853 and died in 1928. He shared the Nobel prize for physics in 1902.
Lorenzo Ghiberti was a Florentine sculptor. He was born in 1378 and died in 1455.
Lothar, brother of Ecbert, was king of the Heptarchy in 673.
Louis Bleriot made the first crossing of the English channel in an aircraft. The aircraft was his monoplane. The crossing took place on july 25th 1909.
Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre was a French scientist. He was born in 1789 and died in 1851. He discovered the process of photography and invented the diorama.
Louis de Baude Frontenac was a French colonial administrator. He was governor of Canada and conducted a campaign against the Iroquois in 1695. He was born in 1620 and died in 1698.
Louis Elzevir was a Dutch printer. He was born in 1540 and died in 1617. He founded the Elzevir family printing business in Leyden around 1580, which became famous for producing fine pocket editions of the classics.
Louis I was Emperor of France in 814.
Louis II was king of Bavaria. He was born in 1845 and died in 1886, commiting suicide. He was an amiable and eccentric ruler who was a great Patron of Wagner. Louis II (Louis the Stammerer) was king of France in 877.
Louis III was joint ruler of France in 879 together with Carloman II.
Louis IX was King of France. He was born in 1214, dying in 1270 whilst on crusade.
Louis Pasteur was a French scientist. He was born in 1822 at Dole and died in 1895. He founded the modern theory of bacteria.
see "Louis II"
Louis XIII (Louis the Just) was king of France in 1610.
Louis XIV was King of France. He was born in 1638, dying in 1715.
Louis XV was King of France. He was born in 1710, dying in 1774.
Louis XVI was King of France. He was born in 1754, dying in 1793 when he was executed during the French revolution.
Louis XVIII was King of France. He was born in 1755 and died in 1824. He entered Paris and took possession of the throne in 1814 and was forced to flee in 1815, returning a few months later.
Louise De la Remee was an English novelist. She was born in 1839 and died in 1908. She wrote under the name of Ouida and achieved enormous success with "Strathmore" written in 1865, "Under Two Flags" written in 1867 and "Moths" written in 1880.
Richard Lovelace was an Englsh poet and lyricist. He was born in 1618 and died in 1657.
Lucas Cranach was a German painter. He was born in 1472 at Kronach and died in 1553.
Lucius Apuleius was a Roman lawyer, philosopher and author. He lived around 160.
Lucretia Borgia was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI. She was born in 1480 and died in 1523.
Lucretius was a Roman poet. He was born in 99BC and died in 55BC.
Ludecan was king of Mercia in 823. He was slain.
Ludwig Mond was a German chemist who partnered John Brunner to invent a process for creating soda. He was born in 1838, dying in 1909.
Luigi Alamanni was an Italian poet. He was born in 1495 at Florence and died in 1556.
Luigi Galvani was an Italian physiologist. He was born in 1737 and died in 1798. He made the first investigations into the action of electrical activity in the muscles of animals.
Luigi Pirandello was an Italian writer. He was born in 1867 at Girgenti and died in 1936. He won the Nobel prize for literature in 1934.
The Luo are the second-largest ethnic group of Kenya, living in the Lake Victoria region and in 1987 numbering some 2,650,000.
The Luo traditionally live by farming livestock. The Luo language is of the Nilo-Saharan family.