Benjamin Thompson was a dramtist who wrote plays including The Florentines, or Secret Memoirs of the noble family De C** (J. F. Hughes, London, 1808); Oberon's Oath; or, the Paladin and the Princess: a melodramatic romance, in two acts (London, 1816); The Recall of Momus. A bagatelle (G. Robinson, London, 1809); and The Stranger (J. Dicks, London, [1875]).
Merino sheep originated in North Africa descended from a strain of sheep developed during the reign of Claudius, from 14 to 37 A.D. They spread via the Spanish and French royal families to northern Europe. The original Merinos were a wool sheep, who sheared a very heavy, fine fleece.
Niels Henrik Abel was born in Norway in 1802. His father was Soren Georg Abel, a political activist for Norwegian independence. In 1815 Niels Abel was sent to the Cathedral School at Christiania, where he studied mathematics under Bernt Holmboe, who encouraged him to go to Christiania University. He graduated in 1822, having undertaken work on the solution of quintic equations by radicals. In 1823 he published papers on functional equations and integrals, and a work proving the impossibility of solving the general equation of the fifth degree in radicals. For the next four years Abel travelled in Europe, visiting France, Italy and Germany to meet other mathematicians. He returned to Norway in 1827, where he earned a living through teaching until his death in May 1829. In 1830 he was awarded the Grand Prix of the Paris Academy.
The Lord Chamberlain is the senior member of the Royal Household. Originally the king's personal quarters were his 'chamber' - by the thirteenth century the chamber had developed into an office with clerks and servants. By the late fourteenth century the Chamberlain was one of the five main officers of the royal government, along with the Chancellor, the Treasurer, the Keeper of the Privy Seal, and the Steward. The role of the Lord Chamberlain is to oversee the conduct and general business of the Royal Household and the private estates of the king.
Charles Cavendish Fulke Greville (1794-1865) was a member of a younger branch of the family of the Earls of Warwick. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, before beginning his career as private secretary to Earl Bathurst. He was Clerk to the Privy Council from 1821 to 1859, where he came into contact with all of the leading politicians of the time. This knowledge informed his diaries, which are recognised as the best contemporary political commentary of the period. Greville's diaries were published with omissions between 1875 and 1887, and a full publication edited by Lytton Strachey and Roger Fulford was made in 1938.
No information was discovered at the time of compilation.
Professor George Long was Professor of Greek at University College, London, from 1828 to 1831; Professor Henry Malden was also Professor of Greek at University College from 1831 to 1876.
Josiah Charles Stamp was born in Kilburn, London on 21 June 1880. Stamp's formal education ended when he was sixteen. In 1896 he entered the Civil Service as a boy clerk in the Inland Revenue Department, where he rose to the position of assistant secretary to the Board of Inland Revenue at the age of thirty six. Stamp obtained an external degree in economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1916. His thesis was published as British Incomes and Property in 1916 and launched his academic career. In 1919 he served on the Royal Commission on Income Tax and in the same year he joined Nobel Industries Ltd as secretary and director. In 1926 he became the president of the executive of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway and two years later he was appointed director of the Bank of England. He combined this work with serving on national and international committees, as well as boards of enquiry. In 1926 he served on the statutory commission of the University of London and in 1926 he served as a governor and vice chairman of the LSE. Stamp also held lectureships in economics at several universities, including Cambridge, Oxford and Liverpool. Throughout his working life he published widely on economics. Stamp was created CBE in 1918, KBE in 1920, GBE in 1924 and GCB in 1935. In 1938 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Stamp of Shortlands, Kent. He also received honorary degrees from numerous universities both at home and abroad. Stamp died on 16 April 1941.
Henry Austin Dobson, civil servant and poet, was born on 18 January 1840. After leaving school at the age of 16, he joined the Board of Trade where he remained until his retirement as Principal in 1901. He had an enduring enthusiasm for the eighteenth century and for poetry. He composed a large quantity of his own poetry and was well known for his adaptation of old French verses. His earliest volume of poetry was Vignettes in Rhyme, (1873). Later in his life, Dobson turned his attention increasingly to prose, resulting in several volumes of essays including Eighteenth Century Prose (in 3 series; 1892, 1894 and 1896). He died in 1921.
William Job Collins was born in London on 9 May 1859 and received his education from University College School, London and St. Bartholomew's Hospital. He became a Fellow, Scholar and gold medallist in Sanitary Science and in Obstetrics at London University and received Honours in Physiology, Forensic Medicine and Surgery. During his career Collins was also involved in many aspects of anatomy and ophthalmology, receiving the Doyne Medal for the latter from Oxford University in 1918. He was knighted in 1902.
William Job Collins was also Vice-Chancellor of the University of London, 1907-1909, 1911-12, and a member of the University Senate, 1893-1927. He was also a member of the Royal Commission on Vaccination, 1889-1896; Liberal Member of Parliament for West St. Pancreas, 1906-1910, and for Derby, 1917-18; London County Councillor for West St. Pancreas, 1892-1904; and Vice-Lieutenant of the County of London, 1925-1945.
Not available at present.
No information available at present.
Born in 1890, Henry Flint gained a M.Sc. From the University of Birmingham before being enlisted in the Royal Garrison Artillery from 1915-1918. Following World War One, he was successively Assistant Lecturer in Physics at Cardiff University, 1919-1920, Lecturer in Physics at Reading University College, 1920, and Lecturer in Physics at King's College London, 1920-1926. Whilst at King's College, Flint gained his D.Sc. from the University of London, and went on to become Reader in Physics at King's from 1926-1944. In 1930 he gained a Diploma in Medical Radiology and Electrology from Cambridge University, and began work as a Clinical Assistant in the Radiology Department of Westminster Hospital, later becoming Consultant Physicist to Westminster Hospital and King's College Hospital. Flint was appointed Professor of Physics at Bedford College, University of London, in 1944, a post he held until 1956. He died in 1971.
Purdon was born in London on 15 October 1883. From 1919 to 1928 he was Finance Director at Welwyn Garden City Ltd. Between 1928 and 1935 he edited a succession of journals: Everyman, 1928-1932, New Britain, 1933-1934 and Theatregoer, 1935. During World War Two, Purdon served with the Ministry of Food 1941-1943, Ministry of Supply, 1943 and Ministry of Information 1944. Purdon was also involved with the Garden City movement and town planning. He was the General Secretary of Equity, 1939-1940 and Joint Secretary of the London Theatre. After the war Purdon produced two plays by William Shakespeare, As You like It, 1949 and Macbeth in 1951. He also wrote widely on drama and on town planning. Purdon died on 8 July 1965.
Pistoia is a city in Tuscany, Italy. During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, it was distinguished for its strong economic growth; as a consequence the city came to control a large surrounding territory. In the thirteenth century, Pistoia was caught up in the battles between the opposing powers of Florence and Lucca, suffering a long siege in 1306. In the mid-14th century, Pistoia entered the Fiorentine sphere of influence, having been seriously diminished both demographically and economically by disastrous plagues in 1348 and 1400.
No information available at present.
John Bowyer Nichols was born in London, 1779, and went on to be schooled at St Paul's School, London. In 1796 he entered his father's printing office and began part editorship of The Gentleman's Magazine, of which, by 1837, he was sole proprietor. For a short time he was printer to the Corporation of the City of London. In 1850 he became Master of the Stationer's Company. He published many county histories as well as significant works such as The Literary History of the Eighteenth Century. He died in Ealing, 1863.
John Gough Nichols, son of John Bowyer Nichols, was born in London in 1806. He published his first work, Progress of James I in 1828 and went on to become joint editor of The Gentleman's Magazine in 1851. He was a founding member of the Camden Society, 1838. In 1856 ill health forced him to give up The Gentleman's Magazine and he dedicated his time to Literary Remains of Edward VI (1857-8). Like his father, he published many county histories and volumes of antiquary concern. He died in 1873.
Robert Long served as a Member for Parliament for Devizes in 1625, Sussex in 1640 and for Boroughbridge, Yorkshire in 1661. He also served in the court of Charles I, was writer of the tallies in the exchequer, surveyor of the Queen's lands and secretary of the council for the Prince of Wales. On suspicion of treacherous dealings with the Earl of Essex, Long absconded to France. He remained on the continent with the exiled royal court until 1654. On returning to England in 1654 he returned to favour, after the charges made against him were found to be untrue. On the restoration of Charles II he was made a baronet on 1 September 1660. From 1660 to 1667 he was Chancellor of the Exchequer and in May 1662 he was made Auditor of the Exchequer. In September 1670 Charles II granted him a long lease of the Great Park, Great Park Meadow and a house called Worcester House. In July 1672 Long became a privy councillor. He died on 13 July 1673.
An antiphoner is a liturgical book containing antiphons, the sung portions of the Divine office, both texts and notation. Such books were often of a large format, to be used by a choir.
The committee's report, Adult Education: a plan for development, was published by HMSO in 1973.
No information was available at the time of compilation.
Louis Benigne François Bertier de Sauvigny ([1737]-1789) was a French administrator. He was Assistant Intendant of Paris from 1768 until 1776 when he was made Intendant. His reforms were unpopular, and he was killed by revolutionary rioters on 22 July 1789.
The Privy Council is, historically, the British sovereign's private council. It lost most of its judicial and political functions in the middle of the 17th century, when the sovereign ceased to have responsibility for political decisions. It retained, however, the power to hear appeals to the sovereign, which were dealt with by a General Committee of the Privy Council.
The Privy Council is descended from the Curia Regis, which was made up of the king's tenants in chief, household officials, and anyone else the king chose. This group performed all the functions of government. About the time of Edward I (reigned 1272-1307), the executive and advising duties of the Curia Regis came to be handled by a select group, the king's secret council, which later came to be called the Privy Council.
The law firm Lee and Pembertons was established in the late eighteenth century.
A Breviary is a book furnishing the regulations for the celebration of Mass or the canonical Office. It contains the Psalter, the Proper of the Season, Proper of the Saints, the Common, and certain special Offices.
Legge was the author of Affectionate Cousins (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1980), about the relationship between Thomas Sturge Moore and Maria Appia.
Laurie Gardiner was a professor of Tudor history at Melbourne University. He died in 1991.
Charles Harding Firth was born in Sheffield on 16 March 1857. He received his education from Clifton College, New College, Oxford and Balliol College, Oxford where he graduated with a degree in Modern History in 1878. After lecturing for a period at his uncle's foundation, Firth College, he moved to Oxford in 1883. He was a history lecturer at Pembroke College, from 1883 to 1893, Ford's lecturer 1900-1901, in 1902 he became a research fellow at All Souls and he was Regius Professor of Modern History from 1904 to 1925. He was one of a group of historians who established the English Historical Review in 1886. He served as president of the Royal Historical Society from 1913-1917 and twice as president of the Historical Association, 1906-1910, and 1918-1920.
Firth received honorary degrees from the Universities of Aberdeen, Durham, Cambridge, Sheffield, Manchester and Oxford. He was given a knighthood in 1922. Firth's areas of historical interest included the military, travel, colonisation and Oliver Cromwell. Firth's works include, the Life of William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, 1886, Oliver Cromwell 1900 and The House of Lords During the Civil War, 1910.
George Herbert Perris was born in Liverpool in 1866. He began a career in journalism in 1883. He held various posts in provincial and national newspapers. During World War One he was war correspondent for the Daily Chronicle in France. He also published many works on foreign policy and military history. He died 23 December 1920.
Smoldon was born at Forest Gate and trained as a teacher. His training included a period at Trinity College of Music: he was also a pupil of C H Kitson and took the University of London BMus and PhD. He held senior music posts at Stratford Grammar School (1934-47) and Cheshire Training College, Alsager (1948-62). He was an authority on medieval liturgical music drama, and wrote 'The Music of the Medieval Church Dramas' (ed Cynthia Bourgealt, Oxford University Press, 1980) and transcribed various medieval dramas, including 'Daniel' (Faith Press, 1960), 'Herod' (Stainer and Bell, 1960) and 'Peregrinus' (Oxford University Press, 1965). He died on 17 August 1974.
Ethne Thompson was involved in the running of a girls' club.
Thomas Sturge Moore was a poet, art and literature critic, book designer, illustrator, editor, stage-designer and wood engraver. He was born on 4 March 1870 and was educated at The Croydon Art School and Lambeth Art School. Sturge Moore was a prolific poet and his subjects included morality, art and the spirit. His first pamphlet, Two Poems, was printed privately in 1893 and his first book of verse, The Vinedresser, was published in 1899. His love for poetry lead him to become an active member of the Poetry Recital Society. His first (of 31) plays to be produced was Aphrodite against Artemis (1906), staged by the Literary Theatre Club of which he became a member in 1908. He received a civil list pension in 1920 in recognition for his contribution to literature and in 1930 he was nominated as one of seven candidates for the position of Poet Laureate. He died on 18 July 1944.
No information was available at the time of compilation.
Opal Whiteley was born on December 11th 1897, in Colton, Washington, the daughter of Edward and Lizzie Whiteley. During Opal's childhood the family moved to the rural area of Oregon where she grew up. From a very young age she demonstrated an enthusiasm and affinity with nature. She was also very much involved in church activities and gained a reputation as a speaker and a teacher on the natural world.
Whiteley enrolled to study at the University of Oregon in 1916. She supported herself by giving lectures, but unfortunately could not afford to complete her studies. In 1918 she went to Hollywood in order to try and become a film actor but was this was an unsuccessful venture. Her lectures, however, continued to be popular, and she began work on a nature book for children called The Fairyland All Around Us. She covered the cost of publication by raising subscriptions, but ran out of money when she wanted to make changes to the printing plates, and these were destroyed by the publishers. Whiteley continued to work on the book by hand, to the detriment of her health.
Whilst trying to find a publisher for The Fairyland All Around Us, Whiteley met Ellery Sedgwick, editor of the American periodical The Atlantic. It was in this journal that The Story of Opal: The Journal of an Understanding Heart was first published. Introduced as the diary written by Whiteley during her sixth and seventh years, it was an immediate success. However, within a year of its publication there was considerable controversy about the work. Many people came to believe that it was a hoax, and that it had actually been written by the adult Whiteley.
The issues surrounding Whiteley and her work are further confused by the doubts surrounding her identity. From about the time of the publication of the Diary Whiteley began to claim that she was the daughter of Henri d'Orléans, a prince of the deposed royal family of Bourbon of France. This man, and her mother (who was identified variously by Whiteley) are referred to 'Angel Father' and 'Angel Mother' in the Diary. From this time onward she began to use the name Françoise de Bourbon d'Orléans.
Whiteley devoted much of her time to the search for information about what she regarded as her true parentage. Various influential people supported her in this search. In 1923 she used money received from Lord Grey of Falloden, who had become a close friend after reading the Diary, to travel to England. From England she went to France where she visited Françoise Marie Amélie d'Orléans, the mother of Henri d'Orléans. She, in turn, provided the funds for Whiteley to travel to the Udaipur region of India, where Henri d'Orléans died, so that she could find out more about him. From September 1924 Whiteley lived at the guesthouse of the palace of the maharana of Udaipur, under the assumed name of Françoise d'Orlé.
While she was in India Whiteley carried out extensive research into the customs, activities, life and surroundings of the areas in which she travelled. The results of this work can be partially seen in an article, The Story of Unknown India, which was eventually published by The Queen magazine. She also had plans to publish longer works on the subject of India, but these never came to fruition.
Whiteley returned to England in 1925, and in 1926 she travelled to Rome, and then on to Vienna where she spent 2 years living in a convent. In 1927 she returned to England, and for the next 20 years lived variously in London and in Oxford. She devoted herself to her writings, collecting books relating to her researches and to her Catholic faith. Her writings from this period grow increasingly confused, and many of her many friends and supporters appear to have lost touch with her from the late thirties onwards. In 1948 Whiteley was found to be unable to look after herself, and was taken into the care of Napsbury Hospital in St Albans. She died there in February 1992.
No information was discovered at the time of compilation.
The publishing house of Duckworth was founded in 1898 by Gerald de L'Etang Duckworth. In 1901 he was joined in partnership by George Harry Milsted. Thomas Balston became the third partner in 1923. Duckworth died in 1937, and in 1938 Mervyn Horder and Patrick Crichton Stuart bought interests in the firm and joined the Board of Directors. In 1950, George Milsted retired, and in 1955 Crichton Stuart moved on, leaving Mervyn Horder to become the Managing Director of the firm. By 1956 he had been joined by Charles Gifford as a director.
Such figures as Jonathan Cape and Anthony Powell were amongst the publisher's distinguished staff. Early authors included Hilaire Belloc, D. H. Lawrence and Evelyn Waugh. The firm also published the Sitwells, the plays of John Galsworthy and novels by Elizabeth Goudge. In earlier years, the firm published a wide range of material, including novels and plays, but by the 1950s it was primarily publishing educational material. Series published by the firm include the "Great Lives" series and the "Hundred Years" series, which was aimed at university students and gave accounts of the developments in various fields during the preceding hundred years. There were also two theological series - "Studies in Theology" and the Colet Library - and the "Modern Health Series", originally edited by Mervyn Horder's father, Lord Horder.
No information available at present.
The Madrigal Society were involved in reviving Renaissance vocal music in the 18th and 19th centuries.
John Baxter was born in Australia in 1939. He has written extensively on the cinema, producing biographies of Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick, Luis Bunel, Steven Spielberg, Frederico Fellini, Josef von Sternberg and George Lucas. He lived for a time in Los Angeles, where he was a film journalist and wrote screenplays. Baxter is also known for writing and commentating on science fiction. He has lived in Paris since 1989.
Brian Lapping Associates was formed by Brian Lapping and Norma Percy in 1988, and is a London based television production company specialising in documentaries. Watergate was a joint production with the BBC and the Discovery Channel, produced by Norma Percy and broadcast in the UK and the USA in June and August 1994.
Thomas Sturge Moore was a poet, art and literature critic, book designer, illustrator, editor, stage-designer and wood engraver. He was born on 4 March 1870 and was educated at The Croydon Art School and Lambeth Art School. Sturge Moore was a prolific poet and his subjects included, morality, art and the spirit. His first pamphlet, Two Poems, was printed privately in 1893 and his first book of verse, The Vinedresser, was published in 1899. His love for poetry lead him to become an active member of the Poetry Recital Society. His first (of 31) plays to be produced was Aphrodite against Artemis (1906), staged by the Literary Theatre Club of which he became a member in 1908. He received a civil list pension in 1920 in recognition for his contribution to literature and in 1930 he was nominated as one of seven candidates for the position of Poet Laureate. He died on 18 July 1944.
Presbyterianism was established as the national religion of Scotland in 1690.
Basil Williams was born in 1867, and educated at Marlborough and New College, Oxford University, where he studied classics. He became a clerk in the House of Commons, but then signed up for service in the Second Boer War, 1899-1901. He remained in South Africa for a year, then resigned from the Army and returned as a civilian, where he worked as an administrator in the Education Department. Following his return to England, Williams began to write articles and books as a scholar of eighteenth century history. With no need to work, due to a private income, he concentrated on building a reputation as a historian, and stood unsuccessfully for Parliament as a Liberal in 1910. He acted as editor for Home Rule Problems (P. S. King & Son, London, 1911) and Makers of the Nineteenth Century (Constable & Co, London, 1915-28).
On the outbreak of World War One, 1914-1918, Williams served as an education officer in the Royal Field Artillery. He was awarded the OBE in 1919. Williams was appointed Kingsford Professor of History at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, from 1921 to 1925, and Professor of History at Edinburgh University from 1925 to 1937, the year of his retirement. He died in 1950.
Among his publications were Botha, Smuts and South Africa (Hodder & Stoughton for the English Universities Press, London, 1946), Carteret & Newcastle: a contrast in contemporaries (University Press, Cambridge, 1943), Cecil Rhodes (London, 1921), Erskine Childers, 1870-1922. A sketch (Privately printed, London, 1926), Stanhope. A study in eighteenth-century war and diplomacy (Clarendon Press: Oxford, 1932), The British Empire (Thornton Butterworth, London, 1928), and The Life of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham (Longmans & Co.: London, 1913).
The Garrick Club was founded in 1831 ". . . for the general patronage of the Drama; for the purpose of combining the use of a club, on economical principles, with the advantages of a Literary society; for bringing together the supporters of the Drama; and for the formation of a Theatrical Library, with works on costume". Its first proper meeting took place on 15 October 1831 and its first permanent premises were Probatt's Hotel, 35 King Street, Covent Garden. In 1864, in need of further space, the Club moved to new purpose-built premises, just 200 yards away, in what came to be called Garrick Street.
Famous members connected with the theatre and literary world have included Thackeray, Dickens, Irving, J.M. Barrie and Kenneth Grahame. Today, its list of members continues to include actors, writers, publishers and media professionals as well as businessmen. The Garrick Club Library is an important source for the study of British theatre history and houses a large collection of play-texts, playbills and programmes. It also has a significant collection of theatrical paintings and drawings. For further information about the club, see Richard Hough, 'The Ace of Clubs, A History of the Garrick'.
The first theatre on the site of what is now the Royal Opera House was opened in 1732 by John Rich ([1682]-1761), the founder of modern pantomime. The auditorium was gutted and rebuilt in 1782, and again in 1792. The actor John Philip Kemble (1757-1823), became a shareholder in 1803 and acted there with his sister, Sarah Siddons (1755-1831). The child performer Master Betty (1791-1874), was a huge hit at Covent Garden after Kemble engaged him, and the great clown Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837) made his name there. In 1808 the theatre burnt down, but re-opened in 1809. Kemble, by now the manager, increased ticket prices which provoked the 'O.P.' (Old Price) riots. During the first half of the 19th century, most of the famous actors of the day appeared there, including Edmund Kean and his son Charles. In 1856 the theatre was again destroyed by fire, and when it reopened in 1858, it became a home for opera, and seasonal pantomimes. In 1892, it became known as the Royal Opera House. In 1946, it became London's most prestigious ballet, as well as opera venue. Following a controversial grant of lottery funding in the mid-1990s, the theatre was rebuilt with vastly improved stage, technical and operating facilities, yet retaining and restoring the 1856 auditorium. It reopened in 1999 as one of the most up-to date opera houses in the world.
Unknown.
Born Dunedin, New Zealand, June 1926; poet and playright, his radio play, Jack Winter's Dream (1959), made him internationally famous. Among his poetry collections was Pig Island Letters, published in 1966. In that year, he accepted the Robert Burns Fellowship at the University of Otago. He resigned to live in Jerusalem, a Maori settlement on the Wanganui river and travelled to nearby cities to work with the poor. His poems of this period often railed against society for tolerating poverty. The ascetic life he led from this period resulted in his health suffering. He moved to a commune near Auckland and died there in October 1972.
The Anglican chaplaincy at Christ the King not only served the University of London but also other institutions such as City Polytechnic, City University, and Brunel University. In October 1963, Robert Stopford, the Bishop of London celebrated the Eucharist at Christ the King church in Gordon Square. In so doing, the Bishop began a new era in the church as the base for Anglican student life in London. The University of London Anglican Chaplaincy decided to cease holding its weekly service at Christ the King in July 1992.
John Lionel Tayler was a Unitarian minister in Newington Green and Lincoln. He was the author of A little corner of London in 1925 and also wrote books on biological subjects. His writings on America and other subjects were published posthumously in 1933 with the title New England and New America.
Rose Macaulay was born in Rugby in 1881 and educated at Somerville College, Oxford. She was a prolific writer: her first best-seller was Potterism in 1920 but she also published a biography of John Milton, and wrote verse. Her final novel, The Towers of Trezibond (1956) was especially highly regarded and created a literary sensation. She also wrote many articles for periodicals such as The Spectator and The Observer. Her correspondence with a distant cousin, the Revd. J.H.C. Johnson, was published posthumously as Letters to a Friend (1961) and Last Letters to a Friend (1962).