People and Peoples (D-G)


Daci
see "
Getae"

Dacoit
The Dacoits were Burmese guerrillas who fled to the
hills and jungle after the overthrow of Burma in 1886, and waged a desultory campaign against the British for several years.

Daimios
The Daimios were a class of feudal Lords in
Japan. In 1871 they were deprived of their privileges and jurisdiction and made official governors for the state in districts they had previously held as feudal rulers.

Dakait
Dakait is a Hindustani word for a robber.

Dame Ellen Terry
Dame Ellen Terry was a British actress. She was born in 1848 and died in 1928. She first appeared in
London at the age of 8 in 'A Winter's Tale'.

Damocles
Damocles was a sycophant of the
court of Dionysius. He continually flattered the monarch, calling him the happiest man in the world. In order to show him the cares of a sovereign, Dionysius caused him to sit upon a throne at a feast of unparalleled splendour. Damocles gazed in delight on the scene until, looking up he saw a sword hanging point-downwards directly over his head, suspended by only a hair. This symbol convinced him of the dangers of kingship.

Danebrog
Danebrog were an order of Danish knights instituted in 1219, and revived in 1693.

Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe was an
English political writer. He was born in 1660, dying in 1731. He is perhaps most famous for writing the novel Robinson Crusoe. He was imprisoned for writing the work the shortest way with dissenters.

Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster was an American politician and lawyer. He was born in 1782 and died in 1852.

Dankali
see "
Dankalil"

Dankalil
The Dankalil (singular Dankali) are (were?) a number of tribes that inhabited East
Africa near the Red Sea. They were generally fishermen or cattle rearers and practised Islam.

Dante Rossetti
Dante Gabriel Rossetti was an
English painter and poet. He was born at London in 1828 and died in 1882.

Daphne Du Maurier
Daphne Du Maurier was an
English novelist. She was born in 1907 and died in 1989. Several of her books have been made into successful films, including ''Rebecca'' and ''Jamaica Inn''.

Darius
Darius was the name of three Persian kings. Darius the Great reigned from 521
BC until 486 BC. He was defeated by the Greeks at Marathon.

Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud was a
French composer. He was born in 1892 and died in 1974.

Dauphin
From 1370 until 1830, Dauphin was the title of the eldest son of the
King of France.

David Cox
David Cox was an
English landscape painter. He was born in 1783, dying in 1859.

David Garrick
David Garrick was an
English actor. He was born in 1717 at Hereford and died in 1779.

David Hume
David Hume was a British philosopher. He was born in 1711 at
Edinburgh and died in 1776.

David I
David I was
King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153.

David II
David II was
King of Scotland from 1329 to 1371.

David Lawrence
David Herbert
Lawrence was an English poet and novelist. He was born in 1885 at Nottinghamshire and died in 1930. Thomas Edward Lawrence was a British soldier and author. He was born in 1888 near Snowdon and died in 1935. He was known as ''Lawrence of Arabia'' for his exploits encouraging the Arabs to fight against the Turks during the Great War.

David Roberts
David Roberts was a Scottish
landscape and architectural painter. He was born in 1796 and died in 1864. John Roberts was an English billiard player. He was born in 1847 and died in 1919. He first won the world championship in 1875. He was one of the greatest billiard players of the time, setting a record of a break of 597 in 1900 with bonzoline balls. He stopped competing after the rules were changed in 1898.

Dayak
The Dayak are aboriginal people of
Indonesian Borneo and Sarawak.

De Witt Clinton
De Witt Clinton was an American politician. He was born in 1769 and died in 1828. He was three times Mayor of
New York and inaugurated the "spoils system" in New York. He worked for the completion of the Erie Canal scheme, the extension of education and the abolition of slavery and of imprisonment for debt.

Dean
A Dean is the head of a Cathedral Chapter in the Church of
England. He is responsible for the upkeep of the fabric, for the services, and generally for the management of business connected with the cathedral.

Deborah Harry
Deborah (Debbie) Harry was
lead singer with the 70's punk band Blondie. An ex-prostitute she excited young male audiences with her silky voice and short skirts.

Decemvirs
The Decemvirs were the 10 magistrates who had absolute authority in Ancient
Rome.

Deemster
A Deemster is a Judge in the
Isle of Man, who, without process or any charge to the parties, decides controversies in the island.

Defender of the Faith
Defender of the Faith was a title bestowed upon
Henry VIII by Pope Leo X in 1521 as a reward for Henry's treatise against Luther. He was deprived of it by Paul III on his breach with the Papacy, but re-awarded the title by Parliament in 1544 and since then it has been adopted by all English monarchs.

Del Credere Agent
A Del Credere Agent is an agent for the sale of goods who guarantees, for an additional commission, that the purchaser is solvent and will perform his
contract.

Delaware Indians
The
Delaware Indians were a North American tribe of Indians of the Algonquin family. They were so called Delaware because they lived on the Delaware river, although they called themselves Lenni Lenape.

Dene
The Dene are a North American Indian tribe found in the
Northwest Territories, Canada.

Denis Compton
Denis Chales Scott Compton is an
English cricketer. He was born in 1918. He played for Middlesex and England from 1937 to 1957 and is regarded as the best all-round cricketer of all time.

Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot was a
French philosopher, novelist, playwright and critic. He was born in 1713 and died in 1784.

Desiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus was a Dutch scholar. He was born in 1466 at
Rotterdam and died in 1536. He wrote much about the Greek and Latin classics.

Dhuleep Singh
Dhuleep Singh was a Maharajah of
Lahore who led his Sikh forces in several attacks against the British. He was born in 1837 and died in 1893.

Di Buoninsegna Duccio
Di Buoninsegna Duccio was an Italian painter. He was born in 1255 and died in 1319. He founded the Sienese school.

Dick Turpin
Richard (Dick) Turpin was a notorious English highwayman. he was born in 1706 and died in 1739 when he was hanged.

Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera was a Mexican painter. He was born in 1886 at
Guanajuato and died in 1957.

Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez
Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez was
Spain's most celebrated painter. He was born in 1599 at Seville and died in 1660.

Diego Velazquez
Diego Rodriguez De Silva Y Velazquez was a Spanish painter. He was born in 1599 and died in 1660. He studied under Herrera and then under Pacheco whose daughter he later married. He was commissioned to paint Philip IV's portrait and became court painter and favourite of the king.

Diggers
The diggers were a pacifist and radical sect of 17th century
England.

Dingaan
Dingaan was
King of the Zulus. he granted the Boers, led by Pieter Retief, permission to enter Natal, but later massacred the whole community in 1838.

Dinka
The Dinka are a branch of the Nilotes, race of mixed Negro and Hamitic
blood, inhabiting part of the Sudan. They are exceptionally tall, often reaching 7 ft, athletic and very proud.

Diocletian
Diocletian was a
Roman Emperor. He was born in 243 and died in 313. He was proclaimed Emperor by the troops at Chalcedon in 284.

Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus was a
Greek historian of the 1st century BC. He documented Greek history from its mythical beginnings to the Gallic War.

Diogenes
Diogenes was a
Greek philosopher. He was born in 412 BC and died in 323 BC.

Dion Boucicault
Dion Boucicault was an
Irish author and actor. He was born in 1822 at Dublin and died in 1890.

Dion Cassius
Dion Cassius was a
Roman historian and administrator. He was born in 155 at Nicaea and died in 230. He wrote a history of Rome from the earliest times to the first century empire in a book entitled Romaika.

Dionysius
Dionysius was a tyrant of
Syracuse. He was born around 430 BC and died around 367 BC. He gained control of the city during the war with Carthage, in 405 BC and extended his power by defeating the Carthaginians in 397 BC. His successful campaign against Rhegium and other Greek cities in Italy between 391 BC and 386 BC further extended his power, but he was defeated by the Carthaginians soon after. Dionysius raised Syracuse to the position of a leading city and was a patron of literature.

Diplomat
A Diplomat is a person sent to a foreign country as one of the representatives of his country. Traditionally diplomats have spied on their host country.

Dmitri Mendeleyev
Dmitri Ivanovitch Mendeleyev was a
Russian scientist. He was born in 1834 at Tobolsk and died in 1907. He discovered that characteristic properties of chemical elements recur in regular cycles in a table starting with the element of lowest atomic weight and progressing consecutively in order of weight.

Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich is a
Russian composer. He was born in 1906 at Leningrad. He wrote his 7th symphony in Leningrad whilst helping with the defence of the city against the Germans during the Second World War.

Doge
Doge was the title formerly given to the chief
magistrate in the republics of Venice and Genoa.

Domenico Cimarosa
Domenico Cimarosa was one of the earlier Italian operatic composers. He was born in 1749 and died in 1801 at
Venice.

Domenico Ghirlandaio
Domenico Ghirlandaio was a Florentine sculptor. He was born in 1449 and died in 1494.

Domenico Scarlatti
Domenico Scarlatti was an Italian composer. He was born in 1685 at
Naples and died in 1757.

Domenico Theotocopouli
see "
El Grecco"

Donald Bane
Donald Bane was
King of Scotland during 1093.

Donald I
Donald was King of Scotland from 860 to 863.

Donald II
Donald II was
King of Scotland from 878 to 889.

Donald Maclean
Donald Maclean was a British
diplomat. He defected to the Russians with Guy Burgess in 1951.

Donatello
Donatello was an Italian
opera composer. He was born in 1797 and died in 1848.

Dost Mohammed Khan
Dost Mohammed Khan was amir of
Afghanistan. He was born in 1793 and died in 1863. He established himself as amir in 1834, but his alliance with Russia led to the invasion of his territory by British troops in 1839.

Douglas Freshfield
Douglas William Freshfield was an
English explorer and mountaineer. He was born in 1845. He was the first person to climb mount Kazbek.

Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur was an American general. He was born in 1880, dying in 1964. He defended the
Philippines against the Japanese during the second world war. In 1951 he was relieved of command during the Korean war.

Druid
The druids were ancient Celtic priests. Their group still exists today in secret, despite the existence of charlatan groups claiming to be druids.

Duff
Duff was
King of Scotland from 962 to 967.

Duke
Duke is the highest title in
English peerage. It was a European title before its introduction into England in the 14th century.

Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill (Duke of Marlborough) was an English soldier. He was born in 1650 at Musbury and died in 1722. He commanded the British and Dutch forces against France in 1702.

Duncan I
Duncan I was
King of Scotland from 1034 to 1040.

Duncan II
Duncan II was
King of Scotland during 1093.

Dunstan
Archbishop Dunstan was advisor to
King Edgar of England.

Dwight Eisenhower
Dwight David Eisenhower was an American President and military leader. He was born in 1890 at Texas and died in 1969.

Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas was a
Welsh poet. he was born in 1914 in Swansea and died in 1953. He wrote Under Milk Wood.

Eadbald
Eadbald was
king of the Heptarchy in 616 and a son of St. Ethelbert.

Eadbert
Eadbert was
king of the Heptarchy in 725. He was a son of Wihtred.
Eadbert was king of Northumberland in 737 until he retired to a monastery.

Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard Muybridge (born
Edward James Muggeridge) was a British photographer of animal locomotion. His photographs proved for the first time that when a horse trots there are times when all its feet are off the ground. He was born in 1830 and died in 1904.

Ealdorman
see "
Alderman"

Eamon De Valera
Eamon De Valera is an
Irish national leader. He commanded an insurgent battalion during the uprising of Easter 1916. He established the independent state of Eire in 1937.

Eanfrid
Eanfrid was
king of Bernicia in 634.

Eanred
Eanred was
king of Northumberland in 809.

Earl
Earl is a British title of nobility, corresponding with the
Continental title of count. In order of precedence earls come third after dukes and marquesses. An earl's wife is a countess.

Earl Godwin
Earl Godwin was Earl of the west Saxons. He died in 1053.

Earl Marshal
Earl Marshal is one of the chief British officers of
State. The earl marshal is head of the Herald's College, and controls the ceremonial arrangements for coronations, royal marriages, the opening of Parliament and other State occasions. In feudal times he was judge at the Courts of Chivalry.

Earl of Leicester
Robert
Dudley, Earl of Leicester, was an Elizabethan courtier and English soldier. He was born in 1532 and died in 1588.

Earl of Orford
Robert
Walpole, Earl of Orford was one of Britain's greatest statesmen. He was born in 1676 in Norfolk and died in 1745. He was a Whig politician who sought to bring the court and the House of Commons into working alliance.

Earl of Warwick
see "
Richard Neville"

Ebenezer Elliott
Ebenezer Elliott was an
English poet and Chartist agitator. He was born in 1781 and died in 1849. He was known for his Corn-Law Rhymes.

Ecbert
Ecbert was
king of the Heptarchy in 664.

Ecfrid
Ecfrid was
king of Northumberland in 670.

Edbert
Edbert was
king of the Heptarchy in 794.

Edgar
Edgar was
King of England from 959 to 975. Edgar was King of Scotland from 1097 to 1107.

Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer. He was born in 1809 at
Boston and died in 1849. He wrote a number of horror and crime novels.

Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas was a
French painter. He was born in 1834 at Paris and died in 1917.

Edgar Wallace
Edgar Wallace was a British novelist. He was born in 1875 and died in 1932.

Edilwald
Edilwald was
king of Northumberland in 759 until he was killed by Alred.

Edith Cavell
Edith Louisa Cavell was an
English nurse who helped allied soldiers to escape from occupied territory during the Great War. She was caught and shot by the Germans. She was born in 1865 in Norfolk and died in 1915.

Edmond Rostand
Edmond Rostand was a
French poet and dramatist. He was born in 1868 and died in 1918.

Edmond Warre
Edmond Warre was an
English scholar and educationist. He was born in 1837 and died in 1920. He held various posts at Eton, including assistant master from 1850 to 1884, headmaster from 1884 to 1905 and provost from 1909 to 1918. He was also honorary chaplain to the royalty from 1885 to 1920.

Edmund
Edmund (the
Elder) succeeded Athelstan as King of England from 940 to 946. Edmund (ironside) was a son of Ethelred and King of England in 1016.

Edmund Cartwright
Edmund Cartwright was an
English cleric and inventor. He was born in 1743 at Marnham and died in 1823. He invented a mechanical weaving machine.

Edmund Kean
Edmund Kean was an
English actor. He was born in 1789 at London and died in 1833.

Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser was an
English poet. He was born in 1552 in London and died in 1599.

Edmund Waller
Edmund Waller was an
English poet and Royalist politician. He was born in 1606 and died in 1687.

Edouard Manet
Edouard Manet was a
French painter. He was born in 1832 at Paris and died in 1883.

Edouard Rod
Edouard Rod was a
Swiss psychological novelist. He was born in 1857 and died in 1910.

Edred
Edred succeeded
Edmund as King of England from 946 to 955.

Edric
Edric was
king of the Heptarchy in 685. He was slain in 687.

Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch was a
Norwegian painter. He was born in 1863 and died in 1944.

Edward Acheson
Edward Goodrich Acheson was an American Inventor. He was born in 1856, dying in 1931. He invented carborundrum and artificially prepared
graphite.

Edward Clodd
Edward Clodd was an
English banker, anthropologist and agnostic. He was born in 1840 and died in 1930. He was the author of "The story of creation" published in 1888 and many other works.

Edward Cummings
Edward Estlin Cummings was an American writer and painter. He was born in 1894 and died in 1962.

Edward Eyre
Edward John Eyre was a British colonial governor. He was born in 1815 and died in 1901. He explored the north part of the newly colonised South Australia and his report resulted in the opening up of the land route between Adelaide and Western Australia. Lake Eyre in South Australia was named after him. He was Governor of St. Vincent from 1854 to 1860 and was made Governor of Jamaica in 1864. He vigorously suppressed a negro revolt in Jamaica in 1845 and was as a result suspended and retired.

Edward Fitzgerald
Edward Fitzgerald was an
Irish soldier and patriot. He was born in 1763 and died in 1798. He served in America and explored part of Canada in 1789. He was arrested for conspiring with the French for a Dublin uprising and following being wounded during his arrest died in Newgate prison.

Edward Forster
Edward Morgan Forster was an English novelist. He was born in 1879 and died in 1970. He wrote Howard's End and A Passage To India.

Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon was an
English writer. He was born in 1737 at Putney and died in 1794. He wrote the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

Edward Grey
Edward Grey was a British statesman. He was born in 1862 and died in 1933. He was Foreign Secretary in 1905.

Edward Grieg
Edward Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer. He was born in 1843 at Bergen and died in 1907.

Edward Halifax
Edward Halifax was a British statesman. He was born in 1881 and died in 1959. He was British Ambassador to the
USA from 1940 until 1944.

Edward I
Edward I was
King of England from 1272 to 1307.

Edward II
Edward II was
King of England from 1307 to 1327.

Edward III
Edward III was son of
Edward II and King of England from 1327 to 1377.

Edward IV
Edward IV was
King of England from 1461 to 1483.

Edward James Muggeridge
see "
Eadweard Muybridge"

Edward Law
Edward Law was an
English politician, and the Earl of Ellenborough. He was born in 1790 and died in 1871. In 1841 he became Governor General of India but was recalled in 1844 by the East India Company.

Edward Lear
Edward Lear was an
English painter and writer of verse. He was born in 1812 at London and died in 1888. He taught drawing to Queen Victoria, but he is remembered for his work A Book of Nonsense, published in 1846.

Edward Lytton
Edward George Bulwer Lytton was an English writer and statesman. He was born in 1803 at London and died in 1873. He wrote The Last Days Of Pompeii.

Edward Palmer
Edward Henry Palmer was a British Orientalist. He was born in 1840 and died in 1882. His works include ''
Oriental Mysticism'' published in 1867.

Edward the confessor
Edward the confessor was a son of
Ethelred and King of England from 1042 to 1066.

Edward the Elder
Edward the Elder was
King of England from 901 to 924.

Edward the martyr
Edward the martyr was son of
Edgar and succeeded him as King of England from 975 to 978.

Edward V
Edward V was
King of England in 1483.

Edward Vernon
Edward Vernon was an
English admiral. He was born in 1684 and died in 1757. He obtained command of the expedition against Spanish South American possessions and took Porto Bello with a squadron of six ships. In 1740 he attacked Cartagena without success and in 1746 he was dismissed from service.

Edward VI
Edward VI was
King of England from 1547 to 1553.

Edward VII
Edward VII was
King of England from 1901 to 1910.

Edward VIII
Edward VIII was
King of England in 1936.

Edward Wakefield
Edward Gibbon Wakefield was a British colonial statesman. He was born in 1796 and died in 1862. He was imprisoned for abducting an heiress from 1826 to 1829 and emigrated to
Australia in 1831 where he developed a plan of systematic colonization. In 1853 he settled in New Zealand.

Edward Ward
Edward Matthew Ward was an
English painter. He was born in 1816 at LOndon and died in 1879. He studied at the Royal Academy and at Rome and Munich. His cgief works are eight frescoes in the House of Commons.

Edwin
Edwin was a son of
Ella, king of Deira in 590 and king of Northumberland in 617. He was killed in a battle with Penda of Mercia.

Edwin Muir
Edwin Muir was a Scottish poet. He was born in 1887 on
Orkney and died in 1959.

Edwy
Edwy (son of Edmund the Elder) succeeded
Edred as King of England from 955 to 959.

Egbert
Egbert was
king of the West Saxons in 800 and later the sole monarch of England and Bretwalda.

Egfrid
Egfrid was
king of the East Angles in 632.
Egfrid was king of Mercia in 794.
Egfrid was king of Northumberland around 673.

Egyptian
An Egyptian is an inhabitant of
Egypt.

El Grecco
El Grecco (Domenico Theotocopouli) was a Spanish painter. He was born in 1541 and died in 1614.

Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine was the wife of Louis VII and then, following her divorce, wife of
Henry II. She was born in 1122 and died in 1204. Through her marriage to Henry II, England acquired Aquitane which remained in England's posession for 300 years. When Henry II deserted her, she encouraged her sons in their revolt against Henry II in France in 1173. She went on to exert great influence during the reign of Richard I.

Eleanor of Castile
Eleanor of Castile was the wife of
Edward I whom she married in 1254, thereby giving Edward I control of Ponthieu, Montreuil and Gascony.

Eleanor Ormerod
Eleanor Anne Ormerod was an
English entomologist and the author of ''Textbook of Agricultural Entomology'' published in 1892. She was born in 1828 and died in 1901.

Elizabeth Blackwell
Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman to obtain an
MD degree. She was born in 1821 in England. She graduated from the College of Geneva in New York in 1849.

Elizabeth Gaskell
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell was an
English novelist. She was born in 1810 and died in 1865.

Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I was queen of
England. Born 1533, and died 1603 she was queen from 1558 to 1603.

Elizabeth Ward
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward was an American novelist. She was born in 1844 and died in 1911.

Elizabeth Wetherell
see "
Susan Warner"

Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II is the queen of
England. She ascended the throne in 1952.

Ella
Ella was
king of Deira in 560 and afterwards sole king of Northumbria.
Ella was the founder of the kingdom of Sussex. He led the Saxon invasion of Sussex from 477 to 491, repelling the Britons, and capturing the Roman city of Anderida.

Elwald
Elwald was
king of Northumberland in 778.

Emanuel Swedenborg
Emanuel Swedenborg was a Swedish religious thinker. He was in 1688 and died in 1772.

Emeric De Vattel
Emeric De Vattel was a
Swiss jurist. He was born in 1714 and died in 1767. He entered the state service of Saxony and was appointed minister of the elector at Bern.

Emigres
The emigres were monarchist fugitives from
France who fled at the time of the Revolution in 1798, settling in Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Germany and the USA. Their estates were confiscated though an amnesty was granted in 1800.

Emil Fischer
Emil Fischer was a
German chemist. He was born in 1852 and died in 1919. He was an authority on organic chemistry and won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1902.

Emile Coue
Emile Coue was a
French psychotherapist. He was born in 1857 and died in 1926. A study of hypnotism led him to the belief that auto-suggestion was able to effect cures in all cases and in 1910 he opened a clinic in Nancy to put his theories to the test.

Emile Verhaeren
Emile Verhaeren was a Belgian poet and dramatist. He was born in 1855 and died in 1916.

Emmanuel Fremiet
Emmanuel Fremiet was a
French sculptor. He was born in 1824 and died in 1910. His works include the statue of Ferdinand de Lesseps at the entrance to the Suez Canal.

Empedocles
Empedocles was a
Greek philosopher. He was born in 495 BC at Sicily and died in 435 BC. He advocated the experimental method in science.

Emperor
Emperor is a title originally borne by the heads of the
Roman State and now borrowed by many other monarchs.

Encyclopaedist
The name Encyclopaedist was first given to those people who took part or assisted in the compilation of the
French Encyclopedie. The term now applies generally to any person involved with the creation of an encyclopaedia.

Enrico Fermi
Enrico Fermi was an Italian physicist. He was born in 1901 at
Rome and died in 1954. He worked primarily in nuclear energy.

Enver Pasha
Enver Pasha was a Turkish politician. He was born in 1881 and died in 1922 in Bukhara during a campaign against the
Soviet. He joined the Young Turk party in the revolution of 1908. As war minister he promoted the alliance between Turkey and Germany during the Great War, fleeing to Russia when Turkey surrendered.

Envoy
An envoy is a diplomatic agent ranking next after an ambassador. The term is also applied to a person sent on a
mission.

Ephor
The Ephor were five annually elected magistrates of
Sparta. Originally they were judges, but they finally controlled the government, controlling foreign affairs and acting as mediators between the king and the people.

Epictetus
Epictetus was a
Greek philosopher. He lived around 100BC. In his youth he was taken as a slave to Rome where he became an adherent to Stoicism. Expelled from Rome by Domitian he spent the rest of his life in Epirus.

Epicurus
Epicurus was a
Greek philosopher. He was born in 341 BC on the island of Samos and died in 270 BC. He opposed the teachings of Plato as mystical, stating that knowledge of the world could only come from the study of the behaviour of matter.

Equerry
An equerry is an officer in the royal household who acts as personal attendant of the
King, Queen or other member of the Royal Family, especially when riding in State.

Eratosthenes
Eratosthenes was an ancient
Greek geographer and mathematician.

Ercenbert
Ercenbert was
king of the Heptarchy in 640.

Erdulf
Erdulf was
king of Northumberland in 794 and again in 808.

Eric Harefoot
Eric Harefoot was
king of Denmark in 1135.

Eric I
Eric I was
king of Denmark in 850.

Eric II
Eric II was
king of denmark in 854.

Eric IV
Eric IV was
king of Denmark in 1241.

Eric the Good
Eric the Good was
king of Denmark in 1095.

Eric the Lamb
Eric the Lamb was
king of Denmark in 1137.

Eric V
Eric V was
king of Denmark in 1259.

Eric VI
Eric VI was
king of Denmark in 1286.

Eric VII
Eric VII (Eric XIII of
Sweden) was king of Denmark and Sweden in 1397, reigning jointly with Margaret until 1412, and then on his own until 1438 when he was obliged to resign both crowns.

Erich von Falkenhayn
Erich von Falkenhayn was a Prussian general. He was born in 1861 and died in 1922. After serving in
China, he became general and Prussian War Minister. He hastened Germany's declaration of war in 1914 and superseded von Moltke as Chief of Staff. He precipitated the first battle of Ypres, and planned the offensives on Russia and Serbia in 1915.

Erinna
Erinna was a
Greek poet. She lived around 600 BC.

Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari was a German-Italian composer. He was born in 1876 in
Venice and died in 1948.

Ernest Augustus
Ernest Augustus was
King of Hanover and Duke of Cumberland. He was born in 1771 and died in 1851. He was the fifth son of George III of England, and commanded the Hanoverian army against the French in 1793 - 1795 and again in 1810 - 1814. He became King of Hanover in 1837.

Ernest Bevin
Ernest Bevin was an British
trade unionist. He was born in 1881, dying in 1951. He was foreign secretary from 1945 to 1951.

Ernest Dowson
Ernest Dowson was an
English poet. He was born in 1867 and died in 1900.

Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway was an American novelist. He was born in 1898 at
Oak Park and died in 1961.

Ernest Rutherford
Ernest Rutherford was a British scientist. He was born in 1871 in
New Zealand and died in 1937. He won the Nobel prize for chemistry in 1908 for his work with radium.

Ernst Hoffmann
Ernst Theodor Hoffmann was a
German writer and composer. He was born in 1776 and died in 1822.

Erpwald
Erpwald was
king of the East Angles in 624.

Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel was a
German Field Marshal of the Second World War.

Escwine
Escwine was
king of the West Saxons in 674.

Eskimo
The Eskimo are an aboriginal people living in North America, and chiefly in
Greenland. They are short of stature, averaging around 1.6 meters tall, with broad, fat faces, black eyes, brownish yellow skin and coarse black hair. They live by hunting and fishing. Hunting is done with dog drawn sledges, fishing from a canoe. During the summer they live in tents and in winter huts made from turf and snow heated by oil lamps. They tend to live in small groups of twenty to thirty families and practise a shamanistic religion. In 1912 an expedition discovered white Eskimos with red hair and blue eyes and implements which led to the belief that they may be descendants of old Norse vikings who visited North America from 1000 onwards.

Esquimaux
see "
Eskimo"

Esquire
Originally an Esquire was a man who served an apprenticeship to
knighthood as attendant on a knight, and bore his shield and armour. Today the term is used to describe and ordinary man.

Essad Pasha
Essad Pasha was an Albanian leader. He was born in 1863 and died in 1920. He fought for the Turks against the Serbians in 1912 and was made ruler of an
independant Albania in 1914.

Essenes
The Essenes were a
Jewish religious body of monastic habits of life arising in the 2nd century BC. They combined strict Hebraism with asceticism and were thus marked off from the rest of the Jews.

Ethel Smyth
Ethel Mary Smyth was an
English composer and suffragette. She was born in 1858, dying in 1944. She wrote the opera the wreckers.

Ethelard
Ethelard was
king of the West Saxons in 728.

Ethelbald
Ethelbald was
king of Mercia in 716. He was slain by his successor Beornred.

Ethelbert
Ethelbert was
king of the East Angles in 790. He was treacherously put to death in Mercia in 792, when Offa, king of Mercia, overran the country, which was finally subdued by Egbert.

Ethelbert II
Ethelbert II was a son of
Wihtred and king of the Heptarchy in 748.

Etheldreda
Etheldreda was the queen of
Egfrid, king of Northumberland. She built a church on Ely island, Cambridgeshire in 673 and founded a religious house which she filled with virgins and became the first abbess herself.

Ethelfrith
Ethelfrith (the Fierce) was
king of Bernicia in 593.

Ethelred
Ethelred was a son of
Edgar and succeeded Edward the martyr as King of England from 978 to 1016.
Ethelred, son of Mollo, was king of Northumberland in 774 and again in 790.
Ethelred was king of the East Angles in 749, ruling jointly with Beorna.
Ethelred was king of the East Angles in 761.
Ethelred was king of Mercia in 675.

Ethelric
Ethelric was
king of Bernicia in 588.
Ethelric was king of the East Angles in 654.

Ethelwald
Ethelwald was
king of the East Angles in 655.

Etruscans
The Etruscans were a race inhabiting
Etruria, in ancient Italy. They were a powerful race, but internal rivalry of their loosely federated cities gave Rome an opportunity of destroying their power, although this took several centuries of spasmodic warfare, finally coming to a conclusion in the 4th century BC.

Euclid
Euclid was a
Greek mathematician. His book the Elements of Geometry set down how geometry was to be taught for the next 2000 years. He was born in 365 BC and died in 275 BC.

Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American dramatist. He was born in 1888 at New York and died in 1954.

Eugenie
Eugenie was wife of
Napoleon III. She was born in 1826 and died in 1920. She was the daughter of the Spanish Count of Montijo and married Louis Napoleon in 1853.

Eumenes II
Eumenes II was
King of Pergamum. He was born in 197 BC and died in 159 BC. He assisted the Romans against Antiochus of Syria at Magnesia, and against Perseus of Macedonia. He made Pergamum a centre of great wealth and culture.

Euripides
Euripides was a
Greek dramatist. He was born in 480 BC at Phyla on the island of Salamis and died in 406 BC.

Eutropius
Eutropius was a
Roman historian. He lived around the 4th century and was also secretary to the emperor Julian.

Evangelista Torricelli
Evangelista Torricelli was an Italian physicist. He was born in 1608 and died in 1647. He discovered atmospheric pressure.

Evelyn Baring
Evelyn Baring was a British statesman and the 1st Earl of
Cromer. He was born in 1841 and died in 1917. He was secretary to the Viceroy of India from 1872 until 1876 and commissioner of the Egyptian Public debt from 1877 until 1879.

Evelyn Waugh
Evelyn
Arthur Saint-John Waugh was a British author. He was born in 1903 and died in 1965.

Evzone
An evzone is a member of a select
Greek infantry regiment.

Ezekiel
Ezekiel was a Hebrew
prophet who began to prophesy during the babylonian captivity. His sayings were recorded in the book of Ezekiel.

Ezra
Ezra was a Hebrew scribe. He was exiled in
Babylon, and led a party of fellow exiles back to Palestine around 488 BC.

F.W. Woolworth
Frank
Winfield Woolworth was an American trader who started the ''five and ten cent stores'' which grew into the world famous ''F.W. Woolworth'' chain of stores.

Fa-hsien
Fa-hsien was a Chinese
monk and writer. He lived around 400, and travelled from China via the Gobi Desert to Turkestan, Afghanistan, India and Ceylon documenting Buddhist festivals, customs and beliefs.

Fabian Society
The
Fabian Society are an intellectual Socialist society which was founded in 1883 by Sidney Webb, Beatrice Potter, and George Bernard Shaw amongst others.

Fabius Maximus
Fabius Maximus was the
Roman dictator who saved Rome from Hannibal by deliberately avoiding battle.

Fakir
A Fakir is a
Hindu ascetic or any ''Holy Man'' in Islam.

Fama
Fama was an alternative name for
Pheme.

Farrier
A farrier is a person who conducts farriery, originally the shoeing of horses but now also the veterinary care of horses.

Feisal
Feisal was
king of Iraq. He was born in 1885 and died in 1933. He was appointed king of Syria in 1920 but deposed shortly afterwards. In 1921 he was elected King of Iraq.

Felice Orsini
Felice Orsini was an Italian
patriot. He was born in 1819 and was executed in 1858 in Paris for attempting to assassinate Napoleon III.

Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn was a
German composer. He was born in 1809 at Hamburg and died in 1847.

Felix Slade
Felix Slade was an
English art collector. He was born in 1790, dying in 1868.

Fellah
Fellah is an arabic word used to signify the
Egyptian peasant.

Fellahin
Fellahin is the plural of
fellah.

Fellow
A fellow is a graduate member of a university, elected to perform some specific governing or tutorial work, for which he or she receives a fixed salary.

Fenian
The Fenians were an organisation of
Irish Americans formed in the middle of the 19th century to promote revolution and the overthrow of the English government in Ireland.

Ferdinand Cohn
Ferdinand Julius Cohn was a German Jewish botanist. He was born in 1828 and died in 1898. He founded bacteriology. His important works were treatises describing his research into the development of minute organisms; his books on the algae, on parasitism, on fungi and on the formation of spores.

Ferdinand Delacroix
Ferdinand Victor Eugene Delacroix was a
French historical painter. He was born in 1798 at Charenton and died in 1863.

Ferdinand Foch
Ferdinand Foch was a
French soldier. He was born in 1851 at Tarbes and died in 1929. He became generalissimo of the Allied armies in 1918 and drove the Germans back during the Great War.

Ferdinand I
Ferdinand I was a Holy
Roman Emperor. He was born in 1503 and died in 1564. Ferdinand I was Emperor of Austria. He was born in 1793 and died in 1875. Ferdinand I was King of Romania. He was born in 1865 and died in 1927.

Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II was
King of the Two Sicilies. He was born in 1810 and died in 1859.

Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese sailor. He was born in 1480 at Sabrosa and died in 1521. He discovered the straight of Magellan.

Ferdinand The Great
Ferdinand The Great was
King of Castile, and Emperor of Spain. He died in 1065.

Feringhi
Feringhi was an Eastern derogatory name for Westerners. It originated in the Middle Ages.

Fernand Leger
Fernand Leger was a
French painter. He was born in 1881 and died in 1955.

Field-marshal
Field-marshal is the highest rank in the British
army. The position was formed in 1736 from a marshal who was previously responsible for order in court and for supervising the camps of an army in the field.

Fifth Monarchy Men
The Fifth Monarchy Men were a sect of Puritans who appeared in
England in 1645, and taught that Christ was about to reappear on earth, to establish a new universal monarchy. In 1653 they held weekly meetings in London at which they denounced Cromwell as ''the man of sin'' as a result he put a stop to their preaching.

Flora Macdonald
Flora Macdonald was a Scottish heroine. She was born in 1722 and died in 1790. She helped Prince
Charles Edward Stuart to escape after the battle of Culloden.

Flora Steel
Flora Annie Steel was an English novelist and an ardent advocate of female suffrage. She was born in 1847 and died in 1929. Her autobiography, The Garden of Fidelity, was published in 1929.

Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale was a British nurse and reformer of
hospital nursing. She was born in 1820 at Florence and died in 1910. She attended the sick during the Crimean war.

Folc-mote
In
Saxon England, a Folc-mote was an assembly of people to consult respecting public affairs.

Fox Indians
The
Fox Indians are a tribe of North American Indians belonging to the Algonquin family and found scattered over Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.

Fra Angelico
Fra Angelico was an Italian painter. He was born in 1387 and died in 1455. He especially painted religious frescoes.

Francesco Albani
Francesco Albani was an Italian painter. He was born in 1578 at
Bologna and died in 1660.

Francesco Di Gentile Da Fabriano
Francesco Di Gentile Da Fabriano was an Italian painter. He was born in 1370 at Fabriano and died in 1450. He did most of his work in
Florence, and is typical of the early Umbrian and Sienese schools.

Francesco Guardi
Francesco Guardi was an Italian painter. He was born in 1712 at
Venice and died in 1793.

Francesco Parmigianino
Francesco Parmigianino was an Italian painter. He was born in 1503 at
Parma and died in 1540.

Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon was an
English philosopher. He was born in 1561 and died in 1626.

Francis Beaumont
Francis Beaumont was a British dramatist. He was born in 1584 and died in 1616. With
John Fletcher he wrote ''The Knight of the Burning Pestle''.

Francis Ferdinand
Francis Ferdinand was Archduke of
Austria. He was born in 1863 and died in 1914. His murder by Serbians at Sarajevo in June 1914 led to the Austrian ultimatum against Serbia, and subsequently to the Great War.

Francis I
Francis I was
King of France. He was born in 1494 and died in 1547. He made an unsuccessful bid for the imperial crown against his rival, the Emperor Charles V of Spain. He founded the College de France.

Francis II
Francis II was
King of France. He was born in 1544 and died in 1560. He married Mary Stuart in 1558.

Francis Joseph I
Francis Joseph I was
Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. He was born in 1830 and died in 1916.

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American novelist. He was born in 1896 and died in 1940. He wrote The Great Gatsby.

Francis Walker
Francis Amasa Walker was an American soldier and economist. He was born in 1840 and died in 1897. He made general in 1865 and was professor of political economy at
Yale from 1873 to 1881.

Francisco de Orellana
Francisco de Orellana was a Spanish soldier. He discovered the
Amazon river, which was so named because he claimed that while travelling down the river he was attacked by a tribe of female warriors.

Francois Chateaubriand
Francois Rene Vicomte de Chateaubriand was a politician and
pioneer of the French Romantic Movement. He was born in 1768 and died in 1848. He was ambassador to Britain in 1822 and minister of Foreign Affairs from 1823 until 1824.

Francois Coppee
Francois Joachim Coppee was a
French poet, novelist and dramatist. He was born in 1842, dying in 1908.

Francois Couperin
Francois Couperin was a
French composer. He was born in 1668 near Paris and died in 1733. He composed music for the harpsichord and revealed new possibilities for that instrument.

Francois Fetis
Francois
Joseph Fetis was a Flemish musical theorist and composer. He was born in 1784 and died in 1871. He founded the Revue Musicale.

Francois Mauriac
Francois Mauriac was a
French novelist. He was born in 1885 and died in 1970.

Francois Rabelais
Francois Rabelais was a
French satirist. He was born in 1490 at Chinon and died in 1553.

Francois Villon
Francois Villon was a
French poet. He was born in 1431 in Paris and died in 1463. He led a gay, idle and vicious life, narrowly escaping being hanged.

Frank Leavis
Frank
Raymond Leavis was a British literary critic. He was born in 1895 and died in 1978.

Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect. he was born in 1869 and died in 1959.

Franklin Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president of the United States. He was born in 1882, dying in 1945. He was opposed to war, and held the philosophy of talk soft, but carry a big stick.

Franks
The Franks were a
federation of Germanic tribes comprising the Salian Franks and other lesser tribes, which overthrew the Romans in Gaul and gave rise to the name France for the area.

Franz Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn was an Austrian composer. He was born in 1732, dying in 1809.

Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka was a Czech writer. He was born in 1883 at
Prague and died in 1924.

Franz Lehar
Franz Lehar was a Hungarian composer. He was born in 1870 and died in 1948.

Franz Marc
Franz Marc was a
German painter. He was born in 1880 and died in 1916 at Verdun during the Great War.

Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert was an Austrian composer. He was born in 1797 in
Vienna and died in 1828.

Franz von Suppe
Franz von Suppe was an Austrian composer. He was born in 1819 in Dalmatia and died in 1895.

Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was the adopted name of
Frederick Austerlitz, an American actor, singer and dancer. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1899 and died in 1987.
He starred in numerous films, including Top Hat, Easter Parade, and Funny Face,
many of the films contain inventive dance sequences which he designed and
choreographed himself. He made ten classic films with the most popular of his
dancing partners, Ginger Rogers. He later played straight dramatic roles in such films as On the Beach.

Frederic Chopin
Frederic Francois Chopin was a Polish composer. He was born in 1810
near
Warsaw and died in 1849. He spent much of his life in Paris where
he founded the modern style of piano playing.

Frederic Villiers
Frederic Villiers was a British war artist and correspondent. He was born in 1852 and died in 1922. He was war artist for the ''Graphic'' in most wars from 1872 and was the only war artist at the siege of
Port Arthur. In 1909 he was with the Spanish army in Morocco and both the French and British armies in France from 1914 to 1917. He was the first to use a cinematograph camera in war.

Frederick Delius
Frederick Delius was an
English composer. He was born in 1862 at Bradford and died in 1934. Despite becoming blind and paralysed at the age of fifty he continued to compose.

Frederick Faber
Frederick William Faber was an English Roman Catholic priest. He was born in 1814 at Yorkshire and died in 1863. He wrote several hymns.

Frederick I
Frederick I was a son of
Christian I and king of Denmark and Norway in 1523.

Frederick II
Frederick II (
Frederick The Great) was King of Prussia. He was born in 1712 and died in 1786. He preferred the French way of life to the Prussian, and he improved the economy and conditions of his country. Frederick II was king of Denmark and Norway in 1559.

Frederick III
Frederick III was
king of Denmark and Norway in 1648. He changed the constitution from an elected monarchy to a hereditary monarchy.

Frederick IV
Frederick IV was a son of
Christian V and king of Denmark and Norway in 1699.

Frederick Leighton
Frederick Baron Leighton was an English artist. He was born in 1830 at Scarborough and died in 1896. He was president of the Royal Academy in 1878.

Frederick Soddy
Frederick Soddy was an
English scientist. He was born in 1877 at Eastbourne and died in 1956. He was a pioneer in the study of radioactive substances.

Frederick The Great
see "
Frederick II"

Frederick V
Frederick V was
king of Denmark and Norway in 1746.

Frederick VI
Frederick VI was
king of Denmark and Norway. He was pronounced Regent as a result of his father's insanity in 1784 and succeeded to the throne in 1808.

Frederick VII
Frederick VII was
king of Denmark in 1848.

Frederick VIII
Frederick VIII was
king of Denmark in 1906.

Frederick Walker
Frederick Walker was an
English painter. He was born in 1840 and died in 1875. He designed woodcuts for books and magazines and as a painter worked in oils and water-colours.

Freodwulf
Freodwulf was
king of Bernicia in 573.

Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Nansen was a
Norwegian scientist. He was born in 1861 and died in 1930. He explored the polar regions and in 1921 organised relief for Russian famine victims. He won the Nobel peace prize in 1922.

Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was the co-founder with Karl Marx of scientific
socialism. He was born in 1820 and died in 1895.

Friedrich Froebel
Friedrich Wilhelm
August Froebel was a German educationalist. He was born in 1782 and died in 1852. He originated the kindergarten system of teaching young children.

Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a
German philosopher who originated the idea of a superman and the doctrine of perfectibility of man through forcible self assertion and superiority.

Friedrich Vischer
Friedrich Theodor Vischer was a
German author. He was born in 1807 and died in 1887. He wrote a monumental work on the philosophy of art entitled ''Aesthetik''.

Frisian
The
Frisians were a Teutonic race who dwelt in the maritime provinces between the Rivers Scheldt and Ems. In the 7th century they were a powerful seafaring-trading people. The Franks tried to convert them to Christianity by force, and succeeded in breaking their power which resulted in the Scandinavian pirates in the Baltic having a free hand, leading to the Viking invasions of Europe.

Frisians
The Frisians were a Germanic tribe who lived between the
Rhine and the Ems during Roman times. They were a peaceful tributary of Rome until oppression drove them to hostilities.

Fritz Kreisler
Fritz Kreisler was an Austrian violinist. He was born in 1875 and died in 1962.

Furlani
The Furlani are inhabitants of Friuli, a once independent duchy at the head of the
Adriatic, now part of Italy and Austria.

Fyodor Dostoievski
Fyodor Dostoievski was a
Russian novelist. He was born in 1821 at Moscow and died in 1881. He studied military engineering before joining the army. He was arrested in 1849 for being a member of a socialist society and sentenced to four years in Siberia.

Gabriel Fahrenheit
Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit was a
German scientist. He was born in 1686 and died in 1736. He moved to Amsterdam, and there invented the thermometer. He invented the fahrenheit scale of temperature, with zero based upon the lowest point the mercury in his thermometer dropped to in the winter of 1709.

Gabriel Faure
Gabriel Urbain Faure was a
French composer. He was born in 1845 at Parniers and died in 1924.

Gadhel
see "
Gael"

Gael
Gael (Gadhel) is the name of the
Celts inhabiting Scotland, Ireland and the Isle Of Man.

Gael Albinnich
Gael Albinnich are the
Gael people of the Scottish Highlands.

Gael Erinnich
Gael Erinnich is the division of the
Gael people living in Ireland.

Gaetano Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti was an Italian operatic composer. He was born in 1797 and died in 1848. He studied music in the
Naples Conservatoire and later joined the Army. While a soldier he wrote his first opera, Enrico di Borgogna, in 1819.

Gaius Catullus
Gaius Valerius Catullus was a
Roman lyric poet. He was born at Verona in 84 BC and died in 54 BC.

Galileo
Galileo was an Italian scientist. He was born in 1564, dying in 1642. He discovered the ring of Saturn,
Jupiter's 4 major satellites and the sun's spots.

Gallas
The Gallas are a people of East
Africa. They are tall, with dark brown skin, wiry bodies. Their nose is often straight or arched and they have moderate lips.

Gamal Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser was prime minister of
Egypt from 1954 until 1956. He was born in 1918 and died in 1970.

Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi was an Indian national leader. He was born in 1869 and died in 1948. He sought Indian independence through non-violent civil disobedience which earned him great respect.

Gauchos
The Gauchos are a native people of the
Pampas of the La Plata countries in South America. They are descended from the Spanish invaders and are noted for their strong will, independence, horsemanship and skill with a lasso.

Gaudenzio Ferrari
Gaudenzio Ferrari was an Italian painter. He was born in 1480 at
Piedmont and died in 1546. He became famous during his lifetime, and painted numerous frescoes for the churches of the Duchy of Milan, as well as the altar-piece in the Church of San Gaudenzio at Novara.

Gavin Douglas
Gavin Douglas was a Scottish poet and Bishop of Dunkeld. He was born in 1474 and died in 1522. He translated the Aeneid into
English, the first time a classical poem had been translated into English.

Geisha
A geisha is a Japanese female professional entertainer. They undergo a long training in singing, conversation and etiquette and often
contract with tea-houses. It is an honourable profession, often combined with prostitution.

Gene Tunney
Gene Tunney was an American
boxer. he was born in 1900 and out fought Jack Dempsey for the World Heavyweight Championship in 1926 and again in 1927. He retired from boxing in 1928 and married Josephine Lauder, an American heiress.

General Charles Gordon
General
Charles George Gordon was an English military leader. He was born in 1833 at Woolwich and died in 1885 following his capture during the siege of Khartoum.

General Franco
General
Francisco Franco was the dictator of Spain. He was born in 1892. He rose to power during the Spanish Civil War.

General Marshall
General George Marshall was an American General and statesman. He was born in 1880 and died in 1959. He was chief of staff during the second World War.

Genevieve Ward
Genevieve Ward was an American actress. She was born in 1837 at
New York and died in 1922. She was educated in Paris and Italy and made her operatic debut at Milan in 1856. She lost her singing voice through illness and studied for the stage, coming to England in 1873.

Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan was a Mongolian chieftain and warrior. He was born in 1162 and died in 1227. He conquered most of
China, Turkistan and Afghanistan.

Genseric
Genseric was a Vandal
king. He was invited to Africa in 429 by the Roman governor, Bonifactus. Genseric declared his independence, overthrew Bonifactus and in 455 took Rome.

Gentleman Jim
see "
James Corbett"

Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer was an
English poet. He was born in 1340 and died in 1400. His works include the Canterbury Tales.

Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth was a British historian. He was born in 1100 and died in 1154. He wrote ''Historia Regum Britanniae''.

Georg Ohm
Georg Ohm was a
German physicist born in 1787, died 1854, who discovered ohm's Law.

George Barrington
George Barrington was an
Irish pick-pocket and author. He was deported to Botany Bay. He was born in 1755 and died in 1840. He wrote the line ''we left our country for our country's good''.

George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard
Shaw was an Irish writer. He was born in 1856 in Dublin and died in 1950.

George Birkbeck
George Birkbeck founded the mechanics' institutes. He was born in 1776, dying in 1841.

George Borrow
George Borrow was an
English writer. He was born in 1803 and died in 1881. he wrote the Dictionary of the Gypsy Language in 1874.

George Cadbury
George Cadbury was an
English businessman, social reformer and philanthropist. He was born in 1839 and died in 1922. Together with his brother Michael Cadbury he established the model village of Bournville, near Birmingham, for the Cadbury work force.

George Castriota
see "
Skanderbeg"

George Chapman
George Chapman was a British poet, dramatist and translator. He was born in 1559 and died in 1634. He translated
Homer's ''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey''.

George Coulton
George Gordon Coulton was an
English scholar and historian. He was born in 1858, dying in 1947. He wrote the book five centuries of religion.

George Crabbe
George Crabbe was an
English poet. He was born in 1754, dying in 1832.

George Cruikshank
George Cruikshank was an
English artist. He was born in 1792 at London and died in 1878. He is remembered for his caricatures and book illustrations.

George Curzon
George Nathaniel Curzon was an
English statesman. He was born in 1859 and died in 1925. He was foreign secretary from 1919 until 1924.

George Dalgarno
George Dalgarno was a Scottish educationalist. He was born in 1627 at
Aberdeen and died in 1687. He wrote ''Didascalocophus'' which was a tutor for the deaf.

George Danton
George Jacques Danton was one of the leaders of the
French revolution. He was born in 1759 and died in 1794.

George Dewey
George Dewey was an American
admiral. he was born in 1837 and died in 1917. He fought under Farragut in the American Civil War. He commanded the Asiatic squadron in the Spanish-American War, and engaged and destroyed the Spanish fleet at Manila in 1898 without loss to his own side.

George Eliot
George Eliot was the published name of Mary Ann Evans. She was a famous
English novelist who wrote Silas Marner and Mill on the Floss.

George Elkington
George Elkington was an
English silver-plater. He was born in 1801 and died in 1865. In 1840 he took over John Wright's invention of an electro-plating process and founded the English electro-plating industry.

George Engleheart
George Engleheart was an
English miniature painter. He was born in 1752 and died in 1839. He painted numerous portraits of George III and copied in miniature form the paintings of Reynolds.

George Fox
George Fox was the founder of the Society Of Friends. He was born in 1624, dying in 1691.
Charles James Fox was an English statesman. He was born in 1749 and died in 1806.

George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer. He was born in 1898 at
New York and died in 1937. He produced Porgy and Bess which was the first American folk opera.

George Herbert
George Herbert was a British poet. He was born in 1593 and died in 1633. He wrote ''The Temple''.

George I
George I was
King of Great Britain and Ireland. He was born in 1660 and died in 1727. he reigned from 1714 until 1727.

George II
George II was
King of Great Britain and Ireland. He was born in 1683 and died in 1760. He was a soldier more than a politician, and allowed his Prime Minister, Walpole, a free hand.

George III
George III was
King of Great Britain and Ireland. He was born in 1738 and died in 1820. He regained for the throne much of its former power, taking that power away from the powerful Whig aristocracy.

George IV
George IV was
King of Great Britain and Ireland. He was born in 1762 and died in 1830.

George Lansbury
George Lansbury was a British politician and leader of the Parliamentary Labour Party from 1931 until 1935. He was born in 1859 and died in 1940.

George Meredith
George Meredith was an
English novelist. He was born in 1828 at Portsmouth and died in 1909.

George Monck
George Monck was an
English soldier. He was born in 1608 and died in 1670. During the English civil war he fought with the Royalists until captured by Fairfax and imprisoned. He then served under Cromwell and was instrumental in bringing about the restoration of Charles II.

George Moore
George Moore was an
Irish poet and novelist. He was born in 1852 and died in 1933.

George Morland
George Morland was an
English painter of rural life. He was born in 1763, dying in 1804.

George Orwell
George Orwell was an
English writer. He was born in 1905 in India and died in 1950. He wrote Nineteen Eighty Four and Animal Farm (the book, not the video).

George Rodney
George Brydges
Rodney was an English admiral who defeated the Spanish fleet off cape St. Vincent in 1780. He was born in 1718, dying in 1792.

George Romney
George Romney was an
English portrait painter. He was born in 1734 in Lancashire and died in 1802.

George Sand
George Sand was a
French writer. He was born in 1804 in Paris and died in 1876.

George Santayana
George Santayana was an American philosopher. He was born in 1863 in
Madrid and died in 1952.

George Stephenson
George Stephenson was an
English engineer. He was born at Wylam in 1781, dying in 1848. He is remembered for designing locomotives. In 1829 his locomotive called the rocket ran at 30 mph and won a prize.

George Vancouver
George Vancouver was an
English navigator. He was born in 1757 and died in 1798. He entered the navy at the age of 13 and sailed with Cook on his second and third voyages of discovery.

George Vogler
George Joseph Vogler was a
German organist, composer and teacher. He was born in 1749 and died in 1814. He established music schoold at Mannheim, Stockholm and Darmstadt.

George Wade
George Wade was a British general. He was born in 1673 and died in 1748. He put down the 1715 rebellion and made military roads in the Scotish
Highlands. He was field-marshal commanding the forces in Flanders against the French in 1743. However, he failed in the Jacobite rising of 1745.

George Walker
George Walker was a defender of
Londonderry. He was born in 1618 and died in 1690 at the Battle of the Boyne. He entered the Church, but when the Revolution broke out he gathered an army for the defence of Londonderry and throughout the siege of 1689 upheld the resistance of the inhabitants. He became Bishop of Londonderry and wrote a book about his experiences entitled ''A True Account of the Siege''.

George Walpole
George Henry Somerset Walpole was Bishop of
Edinburgh and the author of several books on theological subjects.

George Washington
George Washington was an American statesman and the first President of the
USA. He was born in 1732 at Briges Creek and died in 1799.

George Watts
George Frederic
Watts was an English painter and sculptor. He was born in 1817 in London and died in 1904.

George Whitefield
George Whitefield was an
English preacher. he was born in 1714 at Gloucester and died in 1770. He led a group called the Calvanistic Methodists.

Georges Clemenceau
Georges Clemenceau was a
French republican and statesman. He was born in 1841 at Mouilleron-en-Pareds and died in 1929. He was Prime Minister of France in 1906 and inaugurated a scheme of social reform.

Georges Leclanche
Georges Leclanche was a
French engineer. he was born in 1839 and died in 1882. In 1866 he invented a primary electrical cell which still forms the basis for most dry batteries.

George I
George I was
King of England from 1714 to 1727.

George II
George II was a son of
George I and King of England from 1727 to 1760.

George III
George III was
King of England from 1760 to 1820.

George IV
George IV was
King of England from 1820 to 1830.

George V
George V was
King of England from 1910 to 1936.

George VI
George VI was
King of England from 1936 to 1952.

Geradus Mercator
Geradus Mercator was a Flemish geographer and cartographer. He was born in 1512 and died in 1594. He devised a new method of projecting the surface of the
earth on a map which made navigation much simpler.

Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson is a highly innovative creator of children's science fiction adventure
television programmes. His creations of Thunderbirds, Joe-90, and Stingray are legendary. More recently he created ''Space Precinct'' probably one of the most expensive television cereals yet produced costing over 1 million pounds per episode to produce.

Gervase Elwes
Gervase Elwes was an
English tenor. He was born in 1866 at Billing, Northants and died in an accident in 1921 at Boston, Massachusets. Elwes excelled in his interpretation of the works of contemporary English composers.

Getae
The Getae (Daci) were an ancient people of
Europe who lived at Thrace and then moved west to the north bank of the Danube where they became known by the Romans as the Daci.

Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini was an Italian
opera composer. He was born at Lucca in 1858, dying in 1924.

Gilbert Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton was an
English author of essays, verse and novels. He was born in 1874 and died in 1936.

Gildas
Gildas was the first British historian. He was born in 516 and died in 570. He wrote De Excidio Britanniae, one of the few sources of information concerning 5th century Britian.

Gioacchino Rossini
Gioacchino Antonio Rossini was an Italian operatic composer. He was born in 1792 and died in 1868.

Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian art historian, architect and painter. He was born in 1511 and died in 1574. He studied under Michelangelo and
Andrea del Sarto. His paintings won him contemporary fame and he had briliant gifts as an architect, but he is chiefly remembered for his book which is the basis of Italian art history.

Giorgione
Giorgione was a Venetian painter. He was born in 1478 and died in 1510.

Giotto de Bondone
Giotto de Bondone was an Italian painter and architect. He was born in 1267 and died in 1337.

Giovanni Bernini
Giovanni
Lorenzo was an Italian sculptor. He was born in 1598 at Naples, Italy and died in 1680. He created the baroque style of sculpture.

Giovanni Castiglione
Giovanni Bendetto Castiglione was an Italian artist. He was born in 1616 and died in 1670. He painted scenes and landscapes.

Giovanni Cimabue
Giovanni Cimabue was a Florentine painter and mosaic artist. He was born in 1240 and died in 1302.

Giovanni Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian composer. He was born in 1524 and died in 1594. His works include
Marcellus Mass.

Giovanni Piranesi
Giovanni Battista Piranesi was an Italian architect. He was born in 1720 in
Venice and died in 1778.

Giovanni Tiepolo
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was a Venetian painter. He was born in 1696 and died in 1770. He is famous for the frescoes he painted.

Girolamo Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola was an Italian religious reformer. He was born in 1452 at Ferrara and died in 1498 when he was hanged for criticising
Pope Alexander VI.

Girolamo Savonarola
Girolamo Savonarola was an Italian religious and political reformer. He was born in 1452 and died in 1498.

Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian
patriot and liberator. He was born in 1807 and died in 1882.

Giuseppe Mazzini
Giuseppe Mazzini was an Italian
republican patriot and revolutionary. He was born in 1805 at Genoa and died in 1872.

Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi was an Italian composer. He was born in 1813 and died in 1901. He is famed for his operas, and achieved great success with Rigoletto in 1851, Il Trovatore in 1853, and La Traviata in 1855. He also wrote Otello in 1887 and
Falstaff in 1893.

Gladiator
A gladiator was a
Roman professional fighter. The first known instance of gladiators being exhibited was in 264 BC by Marcus and Decimus Brutus at the funeral of their father.

Glappa
Glappa was
king of Bernicia in 567.

Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American composer and band leader. He was born in 1904 and died in 1944. His
dance band became one of the most popular in the world.

Goebbels
Goebbels was the
propaganda minister of the nazis.

Golden Horde
The Golden Horde were originally a powerful
Mongol tribe, the name however became applied to all followers of Gengis Khan and of his grandson, Batu.

Gonds
The Gonds are the aboriginal, non-Aryan inhabitants of the old territorial division of
India called Gondwana. They lost their independence in 1781 to the Mahrattas.

Gonfalonier
Gonfalonier or Standard Bearer of Justice, was a subordinate office in
Florence instituted in 1292. It became paramount in the 15th century and was suppressed in 1532 when the constitution was changed.

Gormo the Old
Gormo the Old was queen of
Denmark in 883 and reigned for 53 years.

Goths
The Goths (Visigoths) were an east Germanic people that settled near the black sea in the 2nd century ad.

Gottfried Leibniz
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a
German philosopher. He was born in 1646 at Leipzig and died in 1716. He wrote Monadology and Principles Of Nature. He discovered calculus.

Goya
Francisco Jose de Goya Y Lucientes was a Spanish painter. He was born in 1746 and died in 1828.

Grace Darling
Grace Darling was born in 1815 at Bamborough and died in 1842. She was the daughter of a lighthouse keeper at
Longstone. On September 7th 1838 she and her father rowed out to a rock and rescued nine survivors from the wreck of the Forfashire. For this she was awarded a gold medal by the Humane Society.

Graham Greene
Graham Greene is a British author. He was born in 1904. Robert
Greene was an English dramatist and poet. He was born in 1558 and died in 1592.

Graham Sutherland
Graham Sutherland is an
English painter.

Greek
A Greek is an inhabitant of
Greece.

Gregor Mendel
Gregor Johann Mendel was an Austrian priest and natural historian. He was born in 1822 at Mahren and died in 1884.

Gregory Rasputin
Gregory Rasputin was a
Russian courtier. He was born in 1871 in Siberia and died in 1916 when he was assassinated by members of the Court.

Grinling Gibbons
Grinling Gibbons was an
English woodcarver. He was born in 1648 at Rotterdam and died in 1720. Orlando Gibbons was an English composer. He was born in 1583 and died in 1625.

Guebres
Guebres was a name given to the descendants of the fire-worshippers of
Persia by their Arab conquerors in the 7th century.

Guglielmo Marconi
Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian scientist. He was born in 1874 at
Bologna and died in 1937. He invented the wireless set. In 1901 he sent a wireless signal between Cornwall and Newfoundland.

Gustav Froding
Gustav Froding was a Swedish poet. He was born in 1860 and died in 1911.

Gustav Holst
Gustav Holst was an
English composer. He was born in 1874 at Cheltenham and died in 1934.

Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a Czech-Austrian composer. He was born in 1860 at Kalischt and died in 1911.

Gustave Courbet
Gustave Courbet was a
French painter. He was born in 1819 at Ornans and died in 1877.

Gustave Flaubert
Gustave Flaubert was a
French novelist. He was born in 1821 and died in 1880. He had an unusual writing style in that he insisted that every word should be the most apt and every phrase exact. This meant it often took him a week to write one page.

Gutenburg
Johann Gutenburg was a
German printer. He was born in 1397 at Mainz and died in 1468. In 1454 he published the first bible using metal types.

Guy Burgess
Guy
Francis DeMoncy Burgess was Executive Officer of the British Foreign Office. He defected to the Russians with Donald Maclean in 1951.

Guy de Maupassant
Guy de Maupassant was a
French writer. He was born in 1850 at Fecamp and died in 1893. He primarily wrote short stories.

Guy Fawkes
Guy Fawkes was a
Yorkshire catholic and one of the conspirators in the gunpowder plot. He was captured in the cellar of the houses of parliament, tried and executed. He was born in 1570, dying in 1606.

Guy Fawkes
Guy Fawkes was the
English conspirator who tried to blow up Parliament during the Gunpowder Plot in 1604. He was born in 1570 and died in 1606.