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Charles Stanhope was born in London and educated at Eton College and the University of Geneva. He became MP for High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, in 1780, keeping the seat until 1786, when he became Earl Stanhope on his father's death. Politically, his opinions were liberal and strongly democratic: he supported the abolition of slavery and was sympathetic to religious dissenters and to the French Revolution. Stanhope was also strongly interested in science: he became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1772 and conceived several inventions, including a new type of printing press. William Pitt the Younger was his brother-in-law from his first marriage and Lady Hester Stanhope, who travelled widely in the Middle East, was his eldest daughter.

Wilhelmina Stirling (1865-1965) was a collector of artefacts. She was the younger sister of the painter Evelyn De Morgan, a member of the Pre-Raphaelite art circle.

George Meredith was born in Portsmouth on 12 February 1828. He received his education at St Paul's School, Southsea and at the Moravian School at Neuwied on the Rhine, 1842-1844. Meredith returned to England in 1844, where he was articled to a solicitor in London, under whose encouragement Meredith began to write poetry. He contributed to Chambers Edinburgh Journal. In 1860 Meredith became a reader for the publishing company, Chapman and Hall. During his life he wrote poetry, seven novels and contributed essays to periodicals. After 1895 Meredith stopped writing prose, but continued to write poetry. His last collection of poems was published in 1901. In 1905 he was awarded the Order of Merit. George Meredith died on 18 May 1909.

John Ruskin was born in London in 1819. He was educated by his mother and various tutors before attending Oxford University. His study there was interrupted for two years by illness. He embarked upon a foreign tour with his parents in 1840. After resuming his education, he received his BA in 1842 and his MA in 1843. He taught art at Working Men's Colleges and at Oxford. While at Oxford he was appointed the first Slade Professor of Fine Art in 1869. During his life he wrote many books on art, social criticism and politics. In 1871 he purchased Brantwood near Coniston in the Lake District. Ruskin died of influenza in 1900.

Henry John Pye was the son of the Poet Laureate Henry James Pye (1745-1813) and his second wife Martha. He married Mary Anne Walker in 1825 and they had 9 children, of whom the eldest, also Henry John Pye (1827-1903) became a clergyman and hymn-writer.

William Ewart Gladstone was born in Liverpool in 1809, the youngest son of Sir John Gladstone, 1st Baronet (1764-1851). He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, graduating in 1831 with a double first. He was elected to parliament in 1832 and served successively as MP for Newark, Oxford University, South Lancashire, Greenwich and Midlothian; intially he was a Conservative, but he joined the Liberal party in 1859. He was Chancellor of the Exchequer 4 times before serving as Prime Minister, also 4 times (1868-1874, 1880-1885, 1886 and 1892-1894). He tried twice unsuccessfully to introduce Home Rule in Ireland (1886 and 1893). His working relationship with Queen Victoria was famously difficult. Gladstone was much involved in efforts to 'rescue' and rehabilitate London prostitutes, and he read and wrote widely on religion, literature, economics and politics. In later life he was nicknamed 'Grand Old Man'.

Oliver Elton was born in Norfolk in 1861. He was educated at Marlborough College and at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He worked as a private tutor in London for several years before becoming a lecturer at the University of Manchester, 1890-1900, followed by a chair in English Literature at the University of Liverpool, 1901-1925. Elton's best known works are perhaps his 6-volume Survey of English Literature, covering 1730-1880, and for his translation of Puskin's Evgeny Onegin. His youngest son was the ecologist Charles Sutherland Elton.

George Chalmers was born at Fochabers, Moray, Scotland, in 1742. He received his education from the parish school at Fochabers and from King's College Aberdeen. He went on to study law in Edinburgh and then in 1773 put these skills into practice as a lawyer in Baltimore, USA in 1773. He returned in 1775 to settle in London, where he devoted his life to writing books about Ireland, affairs of America and the British monarchy. In 1786 he was appointed chief clerk of the committee of the Privy Council for trade and foreign plantations. Chalmers wrote numerous biographies and in 1807 his first volume of Caledonia, a work intended to record the history and antiquities of Scotland was published. Volumes 2 and 3 of Caledonia were published in 1820 and 1824 but Chalmers died, on 31 May 1825, before he could finish the series although he left a manuscript collection intended for its completion.

Chalmers was a prolific writer on history throughout his life as well as a collector of books and manuscripts. His library was sold in three parts between September 1841 and November 1842, yielding £6189 in total. Publications: An Answer from the Electors of Bristol to the Letter of Edmund Burke, Esq. on the affairs of America (T. Cadell, London, 1777); An Appeal to the Generosity of the British Nation, in a statement of facts on behalf of the afflicted widow and unoffending offspring of the unfortunate Mr. Bellingham (M. Jones, London, 1812); An Estimate of the Comparative Strength of Britain during the Present and Four Preceding Reigns; and of the losses of her trade from every war since the Revolution (C. Dilly & J. Bowen, London, 1782); An Introduction to the History of the Revolt of the Colonies (Baker & Galabin, London, 1782); Another Account of the Incidents, from which the title, and a part of the story of Shakspeare's Tempest, were derived; and the true era of it ascertained (R. & A. Taylor, London, 1815); Caledonia: or, an Account, historical and topographic, of North Britain; from the most ancient to the present times: with a dictionary of places, chorographical and philological (T. Cadell, London, 1807-24); Comparative Views of the State of Great Britain and Ireland; as it was, before the war; as it is, since the peace (T. Egerton, London, 1817); Considerations on Commerce, Bullion and Coin, Circulation and Exchanges; with a view to our present circumstances (J. J. Stockdale, London, 1811); Opinions of Eminent Lawyers, on various points of English Jurisprudence, chiefly concerning the Colonies, Fisheries, and Commerce, of Great Britain (Reed and Hunter, London, 1814); Opinions on Interesting Subjects of Public Law and Commercial Policy; arising from American independence (J. Debrett, London, 1784); Political Annals of the Present United Colonies, from their Settlement to the Peace of 1763 (J. Bowen, London, 1780); Proofs and Demonstrations, how much the projected Registry of Colonial Negroes is unfounded and uncalled for (Thomas Egerton: London, 1816); The Life of Daniel De Foe (John Stockdale, London, 1790); The Life of Mary, Queen of Scots; drawn from the State Papers(John Murray, London, 1818); The Life of Thomas Ruddiman (John Stockdale, London, 1794); Churchyard's Chips concerning Scotland: being a collection of his pieces relative to that country, with historical notices, and a life of the author (Longman & Co, London, 1817); A Collection of Treaties between Great Britain and other Powers (John Stockdale, London, 1790); Parliamentary Portraits (T. Bellamy, London, 1795); Facts and Observations relative to the coinage and circulation of counterfeit or base money; with suggestions for remedying the evil (London, 1795);The Arrangements with Ireland considered (John Stockdale, London, 1785); editor of The Poetical Works of Sir David Lyndsay (Longman, London, 1806); An Apology for the believers in the Shakspeare Papers [forged by W. H. Ireland], which were exhibited in Norfolk Street (T. Egerton, London, 1797); A short view of the proposals lately made for the final adjustment of the commercial system between Great-Britain and Ireland (John Stockdale, London, 1785); A Vindication of the privilege of the people, in respect to the constitutional right of free discussion, with a retrospect to various proceedings relative to the violations of that right (London, 1796); Thoughts on the present Crisis of our Domestic Affairs (London, 1807).

Florence Farr was born in 1860. She was the youngest daughter of Mary Elizabeth Whittal and Dr William Farr, a sanitary reformer and advocator of equal education and professional rights for women. She was educated at Queen's College London (1877-1880), received good reports but had no inclination to prepare for higher education. After an unsuccessful attempt at teaching (1880-1882), Farr gravitated to the theatre, appearing in minor parts and adopting the stage name, Mary Lester. In 1883 her father died, leaving her a sufficient amount to live on modestly. Her first novel The Dancing Fawn was published in 1894. That same year she became theatre producer at the Avenue Theatre, producing modern plays. Farr preached about parity for women in employment, wages etc. amongst her intellectual circle of acquaintances. George Bernard Shaw wrote that she reacted vehemently against Victorian sexual and domestic morality and was dauntless in publicly championing unpopular causes such as campaigning for the welfare of prostitutes. Farr had a fascination for the occult, Egyptology and theosophy. She conducted hermetic studies and belonged to an order of like-minded folk, The Hermetic Order of Isis-Urania Temple of The Golden Dawn of London. She published her first philosophical tracts, A Short Inquiry concerning the Hermetic Art by a Lover of Philatethes in 1894. In 1901, Florence, with a friend of Yeat's, collaborated in the writing and production of two one act plays, both recounting Egyptian magical tales. Farr later quit The Golden Dawn and joined the Theosophical Society of London. Farr cultivated friendships with 'clever men'. Among her friends and correspondents were William and May Morris, George Bernard Shaw, John Quinn, Henry Paget, Dr John Todhunter and W B Yeats. In 1884 she married an actor, Mr Edward Emery (b 1863). They separated in 1888 when Mr Emery immigrated to America, according to Shaw, on account of 'some trouble (not domestic)'. Shaw wrote that Florence (who used her own surname more often than her husband's) was quite content with this situation and considered it of little importance. In 1895 she finally divorced Edward Emery on Shaw's advice. In the 1890s, Yeats used Farr's 'golden voice' as part of his quest to encourage the rebirth of spoken poetry. In 1898 made her the stage manager for his Irish Literary Theatre and she became a regular contributor to the performance of his metrical plays. She was also involved in the performance and musical composition of a number of plays at the Lyceum and Court Theatre and New Century Theatres in London, 1902-1906. In 1912, Farr sailed from England for a life in Ceylon. She had been invited by Sri Ponnambalam Ramanthan, a fellow theosophist, to teach at his newly founded College for Girls in Ceylon. As Lady Principal she supervised the teachers, care of sick children, servants and general administration. In 1917, Florence Farr died in Colombo General Hospital at the age of 56. Her body was cremated at the home of Ramanathan. In 1912 she left some of her correspondence with Clifford Bax in a locked black box only to be opened after her death. They were later published in Florence Farr, Bernard Shaw and W B Yeats by C Bax (ed.), The Cuala Press (1941). In preface to these letters Bax wrote that they 'show that she had too much personality to become a good actress' and were testament to her good humour. He described her as 'a woman who could inspire remarkable men' and predicted that she would be remembered primarily on account of her private friendships with eminent intellectuals of the time.

Thomas Bernard was born in Lincolnshire in 1750. He was brought up partly in North America, where his father was colonial governor of Massachusetts, and educated at school in New Jersey and at Harvard University. Returning to England as a young man, he studied law at the Middle Temple and was called to the bar in 1780. Bernard gained a fortune through his legal career and marriage to an heiress and devoted much of his life to philanthropy. He was a governor and treasurer of the London Foundling Hospital and much concerned with improving the conditions of child labourers. He was active in the debate over poor law reform and campaigned against the tax on salt. Much of his work was driven by his evangelical Christian beliefs. Bernard succeeded his brother to the baronetcy in 1810. After his death in 1818 he was buried beneath the Foundling Hospital chapel. His nephew, the Rev James Baker, was his biographer. The author Frances Elizabeth King was his sister.

Michel Chevalier was born in Limoges in 1806. He was educated at the École Polytechnique in Paris. From 1830 to 1832 he was editor of the Saint-Simonian newspaper Le Globe, and was imprisoned for 6 months after the group and newspaper were banned. In the late 1830s his career in industry became successful. He became Professor of Political Economy at the Collège de France aged 35. Later in life, Chevalier became a politician: he was elected a député for Aveyron in 1845 and appointed a senator in 1860. He was also one of the architects of the Cobden-Chevalier free-trade treaty between France and the United Kingdom. He died in Montpellier in 1879.

Michel Chasles studied at the École Polytechnique in Paris and later held professorships there and at the Sorbonne. He became a leading figure in the field of geometry and was awarded the Copley Medal in 1865.

Silas Kitto Hocking was born in Cornwall in 1850, and educated locally. He was ordained as a minister in the United Methodist Free Church in 1870 and subsequently held pastorates in various parts of England and Wales. Hocking's first novel was published in 1878 and he subsequently wrote several other books for children and adults, the best known being Her Benny (1880). He resigned from the ministry in 1896 to concentrate on writing and Liberal politics. His younger brother, Joseph Hocking, was also a novelist and minister.

George MacDonald was born and educated in Aberdeen, graduating MA from King's College (now part of the University of Aberdeen) in 1845. He moved to London to become a tutor and later trained as a Congregational Minister, though his only pastoral position, in Sussex, lasted less than 4 years. MacDonald had begun writing poetry during his student days. His first book was published in 1855 and he continued to write and publish both poetry and prose for more than 40 years. Between 1881 and 1901 he lived for most of the year in Bordighera, Italy, but returned to live in Britain permanently after his wife's death in 1902. Many of MacDonald's most successful works were children's fiction in the form of fairy tales and fantasy. Today, he is no longer widely read by children, but his works influenced many leading writers, including C S Lewis, J R R Tolkien, W H Auden, G K Chesterton and Mark Twain.

Sarah Smith was born in Wellington, Shropshire in 1832. She was educated locally. Aged 26 she began work as a freelance journalist and short story writer. One of her stories was sent to Charles Dickens without her knowledge by her sister Elizabeth, and was published in Household Words. Her work was published under the name Hesba Stretton (taken from the initials of her siblings' names and the nearby village of All Stretton). During the 1860s-1880s, whilst living with Elizabeth in Manchester and later in London, Stretton wrote several books for children and adults. She was concerned with political and social issues and in 1884 co-founded the London Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (later known as the NSPCC).

John Philippart was born in London in 1784. He was educated at a military academy. In 1809 he became private secretary to John Baker Holroyd (later Earl of Sheffield) at the Board of Agriculture, and in 1911 he transferred to work at the War Office. Subsequently, he compiled many pamphlets and several reference books relating to the British Army. Philippart was actively involved in the Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem, serving as a chancellor of the Order for 43 years and founding the West London hospital in Hammersmith. He was a Knight of the Order of St John of Jerusalem and of two Swedish orders, and as such was sometimes called Sir John, although he was not knighted within the British honours system.

Frederic Seebohm was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, and educated in York. In 1855 he moved to Hitchin, Hertfordshire, where he lived for the rest of his life. He had begun to read for the bar at the Middle Temple whilst still living in Yorkshire and was called to the bar in 1856. In 1859 he became a partner in Sharples and Co bank, which his father-in-law had co-founded. He later became president of the Institute of Bankers. Besides being a committed Quaker and political liberal, Seebohm was strongly interested in history, particularly the medieval period and agricultural history; he wrote and published several books on historical and religious topics and his writings are still influential today.

Josiah Tucker was born in South Wales in 1713. He was educated at St John's College, Oxford, and he received his BA in 1736, MA in 1739 and DD in 1775. He was ordained in the Church of England and became a clergyman in Bristol for many years. In 1758 he became Dean of Gloucester Cathedral and divided his time between the two cities for more than thirty years. Tucker held strong and sometimes unpopular views on economics, politics and religion, and wrote several books and pamphlets on the controversial issues of the day. He died in 1799 and is buried in Gloucester Cathedral.

Samuel Romilly was born in London in 1757, the descendant of Huguenot refugees. He worked as a solicitor's clerk before studying for the bar at Gray's Inn; he was called to the bar in 1783. His abilities were recognised by the Whig pary and he was knighted and became Solicitor-General in 1806. He subsequently he served as an MP for several years. Romilly travelled in Europe as a young man and his friends included the Comte de Mirabeau. He is best known for his attempts to reform English criminal law, which met with limited success. He committed suicide in 1818, shortly after his wife's death.

No information was available at the time of compilation.

John Lunan was the author of several books on the laws and court system of colonial Jamaica. He was probably the same John Lunan whose botanical work Hortus Jamaicensis (1814) is cited by the Oxford English Dictionary as the earliest example of the word 'grapefruit'.

Cornelius Walford was born in London and educated in Essex. He worked as a solicitor's clerk and as a journalist before studying for the bar at the Middle Temple, where he qualified as a barrister in 1860. In the 1850s he had already become an insurance agent and inspector, and his Insurance Guide and Handbook (published anonymously in 1857) was a bestseller on both sides of the Atlantic. Walford became director of the East London Bank in 1862 and subsequently managed and directed many firms and operations. He wrote several more works, including the 6-volume Insurance Cyclopedia (1871-1880) and articles on insurers and actuaries in the Dictionary of National Biography. Beyond the field of insurance Walford had strong interests in medieval history and in shorthand.

No information was available at the time of compilation.

No information was available at the time of compilation.

Publications: The Infirmities of Genius, Christopher Johnson: London, 1952; Osler: the Man and the Legend William Heinemann Medical Books: London, 1951; The Preparation and Writing of Medical Papers for Publication, Menley & James, [London, 1952.] A Short History of Nursing, Faber & Faber, London, 1960; The Short-Lived Spring. Poems of youth and desire, A. H. Stockwell, London, 1934; Sir John Bland-Sutton, 1855-1936, E & S Livingstone, Edinburgh & London, 1956; Editor of The History and Conquest of Common Diseases. [By various authors.] University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, [1954.]; and A Short History of Some Common Diseases, Oxford University Press, London, 1934.

Richard Whitfield was the son of George Whitfield (c.1727-1801), St Thomas Hospital Apothecary, 1754-[1800]. He succeeded his father as Hospital Apothecary in [1800], holding the post until 1832. He died [1837]. Richard Gullet Whitfield was born on 31 January 1801, the son of Richard Whitfield, St Thomas Hospital Apothecary, [1801]-1832. He was educated at Eton, St John's College Oxford, and St Thomas's Hospital. In 1822, he became a licentiate of the Society of Apothecaries, London, and was appointed assistant to his father. He became a member of the Society of Apothecaries in 1834, and in 1832, was elected Hospital Apothecary and Secretary to the Medical School. He was also medical instructor at the Nightingale Training-school from 1860-1872, and Fellow of the Zoological Society. He retired as Apothecary in 1871, and as Secretary to the Medical School about 1877. He married in 1828, and died on 21 February 1877.

Henry Cline: born, London, 1750; educated, Merchant Taylors' School; apprenticed to Mr Thomas Smith, surgeon to St Thomas's Hospital, 1767; diploma from Surgeons' Hall, 1774; Lecturer on anatomy, St Thomas's Hospital, 1781-1811; Surgeon, St Thomas's Hospital, 1784-1811; examiner at the College of Surgeons, 1810; master of the College of Surgeons, 1815, president, 1823; delivered the Hunterian oration, 1816, 1824; died, 1827. Publications: On the Form of Animals (Bulmer & Co, London, 1805).

George Fordyce: born, Aberdeen, 1736; educated, school at Fouran, University of Aberdeen; trained with his uncle, Dr John Fordyce of Uppingham, physician, [1751-1755]; medical student, University of Edinburgh; MD, 1758; studied anatomy at Leyden under Albinus, 1759; began a course of lectures on chemistry in London, 1759; added courses on materia medica and the practice of physic, 1764, and continued to teach for nearly thirty years; licentiate of the College of Physicians, 1765; Physician, St Thomas's Hospital, 1770-1802; Fellow of the Royal Society, 1776; 'speciali gratia' fellow of the College of Physicians, 1787; assisted in the compilation of the new Pharmacopeia Londinensis, issued 1788; assisted in forming a Society for the Improvement of Medical and Chirurgical Knowledge, 1793; died, 1802.  Publications include: Elements of Agriculture and Vegetation [Edinburgh, 1765]; Elements of the Practice of Physic third edition (J Johnson, London, 1771); A Treatise on the digestion of food (London, 1791); A Dissertation on Simple Fever, or on fever consisting of one paroxysm only (J Johnson, London, 1794); A second dissertation on fever; containing the history and method of treatment of a regular tertian intermittent (London, 1795); A third dissertation on fever Containing the history and method of treatment of a regular continued fever, supposing it is left to pursue its ordinary course (London, 1798-1799); A Fourth Dissertation on Fever. Containing the history of, and remedies to be employed in irregular intermitting fevers (J. Johnson, London, 1802); A fifth dissertation on fever, containing the history of, and remedies to be employed in, irregular continued fevers Edited by W C Wells (J Johnson, London, 1803).

James Gregory was born in Aberdeen, 1753; educated, Aberdeen and Edinburgh Universities; Christ Church, Oxford; studied at St George's Hospital, London, 1773-1774; M D, 1774; studied medicine on the continent, 1774-1776; Professor of the Institutes of Medicine, 1776; began giving clinical lectures at the infirmary, 1777; Professor of the Practice of Medicine, 1790; head of the Edinburgh Medical School; had the leading consulting practice in Scotland; died, 1821. Publications: Dissertatio medica inauguralis de morbis coeli mutatione medendis (Edinburgh, 1774); Theory of the moods of verbs From the transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh [Edinburgh, 1787]; Philosophical and literary essays 2 volumes (Edinburgh, 1792); Memorial to the managers of the Royal Infirmary [of Edinburgh] (Edinburgh, 1800); Additional Memorial to the Managers of the Royal Infirmary (Murray & Cochrane, Edinburgh, 1803); Lectures on the duties ... of a physician ... Revised and corrected by James Gregory, M.D. (Edinburgh, 1805); Epigrams and Poems (Edinburgh, 1810); Letters from Dr J G in defence of his Essay on the difference of the relation between motive and action, and that of cause and effect in physics: with replies by A Crombie(London, 1819).

William Heberden was born in London in August 1710. He was educated at St Saviour's Grammar School, Southwark, and St John's College, Cambridge,. He graduated BA in 1728, and then MA in 1732. He was elected Fellow of his College in April 1731 and began to study medicine, partly at Cambridge and partly in a London hospital. In 1734 he received a fellowship of his College. Between 1734 and 1738 he was Linacre Lecturer in Physic, and proceeded to MD in 1739. During the next decade he practiced medicine in the university, and gave an annual course of lectures on materia medica. In 1745 Heberden was admitted a candidate of the Royal College of Physicians, and was made Fellow in 1746. In 1748 he was persuaded to move to London by Sir Edward Hulse, physician to George III, and settled in Cecil Street where his practice began to thrive. In 1749 he was made Fellow of the Royal Society, and was made Gulstonian Lecturer and Censor at the Royal College of Physicians. In the following year he was nominated Harveian Orator at the College. He gave up his fellowship at St John's College in 1752, and in the same year married Elizabeth Martin. In 1760 he held the offices of Croonian Lecturer and Censor at the Royal College of Physicians. Heberden was held in high esteem by George III, and in 1761 upon Queen Charlotte's arrival in England was named her physician in ordinary, an honour which he declined. In 1762 he was constituted an Elect of the College, an office in which he remained until 1781. His interest in classical literature was further reflected in his election, in 1770, to Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.
About 1770 he moved to Pall Mall, where he continued in practice. He was made honorary member of the Royal Society of Medicine in Paris in 1778. In 1783, he took partial retirement, residing during the summer months at Datchet, near Windsor, though he continued for some years to return to London to practice during the winter. He began to compile in his seventies his Commentaries on the History and Cure of Diseases (1802), which his son William Heberden the younger published, in Latin and then in English, after his death. As an acute clinical observer he had always been in the habit of taking copious notes of his cases, and these formed the basis of this work. Heberden's first wife died in 1754, just two years after their marriage; she left him one son, Thomas, who became Canon of Exeter. In 1760 he married Mary Wollaston and had eight children, one being the aforementioned William Heberden the younger, a reputed physician in his own right. Heberden died on 17 May 1801 at the age of 90. Publications: Antitheriaca: An Essay on Mithridatium and Theriaca (1745); Commentarii de Morborum Historia et Curatione (London, 1802, 1807; Frankfurt, 1804; Leipzig, 1805, 1927; English translation ascribed to William Heberden junior, London, 1803, 1806); Medical and non-medical papers in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society and the Medical Transactions of the College of Physicians; Strictures upon the Discipline of the University of Cambridge addressed to the Senate, anonymous - attributed to Heberden by Halkett and Laing and Bowes (London, 1792); An Introduction to the Study of Physic, with a prefatory essay by L. Crummer with a reprint of Heberden's Some Account of a Disorder of the Breast, Le Roy Crummer (New York, 1929)

John Hunter: Born 1728; worked as cabinet maker for brother-in-law in Glasgow; assisted brother William at his London dissecting room, 1748; attended Chelsea Hospital, 1749-1750; studied at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London, 1751; appointed a master of anatomy at the Surgeons' Corporation, 1753; surgeon's pupil at St George's Hospital, London, from 1754; matriculated, St Mary Hall, Oxford, 1755; staff surgeon on expedition to Belleisle, 1761; served with British Army in Portugal, 1762; practised as surgeon in Golden Square, London, 1763; Surgeon, St George's Hospital, 1768; took in house pupils including Edward Jenner, 1768; began to lecture on the principles and practice of surgery, 1773; worked on the human placenta and a paper read before the Royal Society, London, 1780; built new museum to house his extensive collection of anatomical specimens, 1785; died, 1793; Publications include: A treatise on the natural history of the human teeth (London, 1771, 1778); A treatise on the venereal disease (London, 1786); A treatise on the blood, inflammation, and gunshot wounds (published posthumously, London, 1794); Directions for preserving animals and parts of animals for anatomical investigation (London, 1809); The works of John Hunter James Palmer editor 4 volumes (London, 1835-1837); Essays and observations on natural history, anatomy, physiology, psychology and geology Sir R Owen editor 2 volumes (London, 1861).

Alexander Monro: Born, Edinburgh, 1733; educated at the school of Mr Mundell; University of Edinburgh, 1752; Professor of Anatomy and Surgery as coadjutor to his father, Alexander Monro, 1755; graduated, M D, 1755; went to London and attended William Hunter's lectures, and after to Paris, Leyden, and Berlin; matriculated, Leyden University, 1757; worked under the anatomist Professor Meckel in Berlin; returned to Edinburgh, 1758; Fellow, College of Physicians of Edinburgh, 1759; Secretary, Philosophical Society of Edinburgh; gave a full course of lectures every year, 1759-1800; stopped lecturing, 1808; died, 1817. Publications include: Essays and heads of lectures on Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, and Surgery (Edinburgh, 1840); Dissertatio ... de testibus et de semine in variis animalibus, etc (Edinburgi, 1755); Observations, anatomical and physiological, wherein Dr Hunter's claim to some discoveries is examined. With figures (Edinburgh, 1758); De venis lymphaticis valvulosis et de earum in primis origine (Berolini, 1760); A State of Facts concerning the first proposal of performing the paracentesis of the thorax, ... and concerning the discovery of the lymphatic valvular absorbent system of vessels, in oviparous animals (Edinburgh, 1770); A short description of the human muscles; chiefly as they appear on dissection. Together with their several uses, and the synonyma of the best authors John Innes Second edition improved by A Monro (Edinburgh, 1778); Observations on the structure and functions of the Nervous System, etc (Edinburgh, 1783); The Structure and Physiology of Fishes explained, and compared with those of Man and other animals (Edinburgh, 1785); Experiments on the Nervous System, with opium and metalline substances; made chiefly with the view of determining the nature and effects of Animal Electricity (Edinburgh, 1793).

Percivall Pott: Born, London, 1714; educated, private school at 'Darne' (Darenth), Kent; apprentice to Edward Nourse, assistant-surgeon at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, 1729-1736; admitted to the Barber-Surgeons' Company, 1736; lecturer on anatomy, 1753, master, 1765, Corporation of Surgeons; assistant-surgeon, 1744, surgeon, 1749, senior surgeon, 1765-1787, St Bartholomew's Hospital; introduced many improvements to surgery; became the leading surgeon of his time, and perhaps the earliest 'modern' surgeon; thrown from his horse, and suffered a compound fracture of the leg, 1756, that type of fracture becoming known as 'Pott's fracture'; fellow of the Royal Society, 1764; instituted a course of lectures for the pupils at St Bartholomew's Hospital, 1765; honorary fellow, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, 1786; honorary member, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 1787; Governor, St Bartholomew's Hospital, 1787; died, 1788. Publications include: A Treatise on Ruptures (C Hitch & L Hawes, London, 1756); An Account of a particular kind of Rupture, frequently attendant upon children, and sometimes met with in adults; viz. that in which the intestine, or omentum, is found in the same cavity, and in contact with the testicle (London, 1757); Observations on that Disorder of the Corner of the Eye, commonly called Fistula Lachrymalis second edition (L Hawes & Co, London, 1763); Remarks on the disease commonly called a fistula in ano (L Hawes, London, 1765); A Treatise on the Hydrocele, or Watry Rupture, and other Diseases of the Testicle second edition (L Hawes, London, 1767); Observations on the nature and consequences of those injuries to which the head is liable from external violence, etc (L Hawes, London, 1768); Some few General Remarks on Fractures and Dislocations second edition (L Hawes, London, 1773); Chirurgical Observations relative to the Cataract, the polypus of the nose, the cancer of the scrotum, ... ruptures, and the mortification of the toes, etc (London, 1775); The Chirurgical Works of Percival Pott (London, 1775); Farther Remarks on the useless state of the lower limbs in consequence of a Curvature of the Spine, being a supplement to a former treatise on that subject (London, 1782); Observations on Chimney Sweeper's Cancer [London, 1810?].

Born, Edinburgh, 1714; graduated M A, St Andrews University, 1730; studied medicine in Edinburgh; studied of anatomy under Monro; moved to London, 1734, studied under Cheselden, visited the wards of the London hospitals; attended the lectures of Winslow in Paris, Boerhaave and Albinus, Leyden; M D, Rheims, 1736; licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, 1737; Fellow, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, 1738, and commenced practice as a physician; Professor of the Theory of Medicine in Edinburgh University, 1747; Fellow of the Royal Society, 1752; lectured on chemistry, 1756; first physician to the King in Scotland, 1761; President, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, 1763-1766; died, 1766.
Publications include: An Essay on the vital and other involuntary motions of animals (Edinburgh, 1751); An Essay on the virtues of Lime-Water in the cure of the Stone (Edinburgh, 1752); Physiological Essays (Hamilton, Balfour and Neill, Edinburgh, 1755); Observations on the Nature, Causes, and Cure of those Disorders which have been commonly called Nervous Hypochondriac, or Hysteric, to which are prefixed some remarks on the sympathy of the nerves (T Becket and P du Hondt, London, J Balfour, Edinburgh, 1765); Observations on the dropsy in the brain, by R W (Edinburgh, 1768); The Works of R. W. ... Published by his son [R Whytt] (Edinburgh, 1768).

The first Trade Union to be officially recognised in Nyasaland was the Transport and Allied Workers' Union (TAWU) in 1949. The Nyasaland Trades Union Congress (NTUC) was founded in 1956. Trade Unions suffered a great set-back during the State of Emergency in 1959, most active leaders were detained and for many months TU activity were almost unknown. In 1960 the TAWU disaffiliated from the NTUC, and established the National Council of Labour in direct opposition.

The Central African Examiner was published in Salisbury, Rhodesia from 1957-1966.

Richard Jebb was born in 1874. His father was a landowner in Wales and Shropshire and his uncle, Sir Richard Claverhouse Jebb, was a renowned classical scholar, historian and MP - the identities of the two Richards were sometimes confused. Educated at Marlborough College and New College, Oxford, he was going to enter the Indian Civil Service but the deaths of his father and brother made him financially independent. He had demonstrated an early interest in the Empire and, following a period (1897-1901) travelling overseas, visiting many of the colonies, he began his career as an Empire'publicist' and journalist on his return home in 1902.
Though originally a Free Trader and advocate of Imperial Federation, his first major article, 'Colonial Nationalism' in Empire Review (Aug 1902) rejected both in favour of a system of mutual preference in trade and a political arrangement that recognised the colonies' own sense of nationhood and for autonomy. He continued this theme, calling for 'alliance' rather than federation, in his first and most influential book, Studies in Colonial Nationalism (1905), which aimed to give Britons a true account of opinion in the self-governing colonies. The book was enthusiastically received in Australia and Canada. Jebb declared himself a follower of Joseph Chamberlain and Tariff Reform and became increasingly involved in this cause.
He wrote on imperial matters for the Morning Post, and developed contacts with Conservative and colonial politicians. Both activities continued during his second tour of the empire in 1905-1906; interest in the ideas put forward in Studies in Colonial Nationalism brought Jebb meetings with senior figures in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. On his return, he continued writing and campaigning, and visited the West Indian colonies in 1909. In the general election of January 1910 he fought a bitter campaign in East Marylebone, London, as a Tariff Reform candidate against the official Unionist Conservative candidate. Despite support from Dominion politicians, Jebb came last amid a degree of public ridicule, from the Daily Express in particular. He withdrew from party politics, convinced that 'influence' was a more effective means of advancing his views. In 1911 he resigned from the Morning Post following its decision to pursue a less pro-Tariff Reform line.
In 1911 Jebb published the two-volume The Imperial Conference (the Jebb Papers include a draft of a third volume), in which he argued for the need to turn the conference into a permanent body to develop foreign and economic policy. In his next book, The Britannic Question (1913), he countered the idea of an Empire Parliament, suggested by Lionel Curtis's Round Table Group, with his own proposal for a 'Britannic Alliance' managed through a permanent Imperial Conference.
The outbreak of war in 1914 effectively ended Jebb's career in public life. A new system of imperial arrangements was quickly developed and Jebb had no opportunity for involvement. He served in Britain as an instructor for most of the war, following which he returned to live in the family home in Ellesmere, Shropshire, taking an active role in local affairs. He continued to write on imperial matters, especially at the time of Imperial Conferences. In The Empire in Eclipse (1926) he reiterated his views, but they were no longer influential. Richard Jebb died in Ellesmere on 25 June 1953.

In 1986, Granada Television Ltd screened a series of four programmes on the history and current state of Apartheid in South Africa. The four parts covered successive periods of time, and each was individually produced.

Julius Chigwendere b 1939, Chilmani Reserve, Rhodesia; educated at Government Schools in Gwelo and St Francis Xavier's College, Kutama; returned to Gwelo to work, 1959, had a succession of six jobs in a year; became involved in trade union activity when employed at Charles W Hall (hosiery manufacturers) 1959; National Organising Secretary, Tailors and Garment Workers' Union in Bulawayo, Jan 1961; Minutes Secretary at inauguaral meeting of Southern Rhodesia Trades Union Congress (SRTUC), Apr 1961; appointed Disputes Secretary of SRTUC, 1961; became a member of Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), c 1962; also involved with the formation of Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), 1963; awarded International Labour Office scholarship to Switzerland, the UK and Sweden, 1963; arrested and detained by Rhodesian Government, Aug 1963; in prison until Sep 1964, then left for the UK; unofficial ZANU representative 1970-1973; official ZANU representative from Sep 1973.

The Empire Press Union was founded by Harry Brittain in 1909, it became the Commonwealth Press Union in 1950. Members are newspapers of which there are currently over 700 from 50 countries in membership. These are represented by their proprietors, senior executives and editors. The Union's aim is to uphold the ideas and values of the Commonwealth and to promote, through the Press, understanding and goodwill among its members; to defend Press freedom; to support the interests of publishing bodies and individuals; to maintain a comprehensive training programme; to work forimproved facilities for reporting and transmitting news. The CPU provides training and defendsthe freedom of the Press. It organises training courses, seminars, workshops, exchanges and three fellowships: Harry Brittain fellowship, Gordon Fisher fellowship and the CPU fellowship in international journalism. Conferences are held every two years. It vigorously defends press freedom, making use of its close links with governments and also with other established Commonwealth bodies, with the shared aims including the pursuit of better education and the protection of human rights. It monitors and opposes all measures and proposals likely to affect the freedom of the press in any part of the Commonwealth.

On October 4, 1966, the Kingdom of Lesotho attained full independence, governed by a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliament consisting of a Senate and an elected National Assembly. Early results of the first post-independence elections in January 1970 indicated that the Basotho National Party (BNP) might lose control. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Chief Leabua Jonathan, the ruling BNP refused to cede power to the rival Basotholand Congress Party (BCP), although the BCP was widely believed to have won thee elections. Citing election irregularities, Prime Minister Leabua Jonathan nullified the elections, declared a national state of emergency, suspended the constitution, and dissolved the Parliament. In 1973, an appointed Interim National Assembly was established. With an overwhelming pro-government majority, it was largely the instrument of the BNP, led by Prime Minister Jonathan. In addition to the Jonathan regime's alienation of Basotho powerbrokers and the local population, South Africa had virtually closed the country's land borders because of Lesotho support of cross-border operations of the African National Congress (ANC). Moreover, South Africa publicly threatened to pursue more direct action against Lesotho if the Jonathan government did not root out the ANC presence in the country. This internal and external opposition to the government combined to produce violence and internal disorder in Lesotho that eventually led to a military takeover in 1986.
Under a January 1986 Military Council decree, state executive and legislative powers were transferred to the King who was to act on the advice of the Military Council, a self-appointed group of leaders of the Royal Lesotho Defense Force (RLDF). A military government chaired by Justin Lekhanya ruled Lesotho in coordination with King Moshoeshoe II and a civilian cabinet appointed by the King.
In February 1990, King Moshoeshoe II was stripped of his executive and legislative powers and exiled by Lekhanya, and the Council of Ministers was purged. Lekhanya accused those involved of undermining discipline within the armed forces, subverting existing authority, and causing an impasse on foreign policy that had been damaging to Lesotho's image abroad. Lekhanya announced the establishment of the National Constituent Assembly to formulate a new constitution for Lesotho with the aim of returning the country to democratic, civilian rule by June 1992. Before this transition, however, Lekhanya was ousted in 1991 by a mutiny of junior army officers that left Phisoane Ramaema as Chairman of the Military Council.
Because Moshoeshoe II initially refused to return to Lesotho under the new rules of the government in which the King was endowed only with ceremonial powers, Moshoeshoe's son was installed as King Letsie III. In 1992, Moshoeshoe II returned to Lesotho as a regular citizen until 1995 when King Letsie abdicated the throne in favor of his father. After Moshoeshoe II died in a car accident in 1996, King Letsie III ascended to the throne again.
In 1993, a new constitution was implemented leaving the King without any executive authority and proscribing him from engaging in political affairs. Multiparty elections were then held in which the BCP ascended to power with a landslide victory. Prime Minister Ntsu Mokhehle headed the new BCP government that had gained every seat in the 65-member National Assembly. In early 1994, political instability increased as first the army, followed by the police and prisons services, engaged in mutinies. In August 1994, King Letsie III, in collaboration with some members of the military, staged a coup, suspended Parliament, and appointed a ruling council. As a result of domestic and international pressures, however, the constitutionally elected government was restored within a month.

Surrounded by the Cape Province (in the portion that is now Eastern Cape) of South Africa, the black "homeland" of Ciskei consisted of two parcels of land, the larger one bordering the Indian Ocean to the southeast.
Under acts of the South African Parliament, land was set aside for blacks in pseudoindependent territories (originally called Bantustans), allegedly to allow blacks self-government and cultural preservation. Ciskei was designated for Xhosa-speaking people. In 1961, Ciskei became a separate administrative territory and in 1972 was declared "self-governing. Following the 1973 Election Lennox L Sebe replaced Thandatha Jongilizwe Mabandla as Chief Minster. Sebe remained Chief Minster until 1981, and was President from 1981-1990. During the 1970s Xhosa-speaking people were relocated to the homeland.
In 1981, Ciskei became the fourth homeland to be granted "independence and subsequently its residents' South African citizenship was revoked. Ciskei, like all of the homelands, was not recognized as an independent nation by the international community. Even after the legal foundation of apartheid was largely struck down in 1991-92, the Ciskei government remained closely aligned with the South African government. In September 1992, Ciskei police fired on a crowd of African National Congress demonstrators, killing 28 and wounding several hundred. South Africa took control of Ciskei in early 1994 after a coup by local police, and later that year, Ciskei and the other homelands were reincorporated into South Africa after the nation's first all-race elections.

Britain granted internal self-government to Uganda in 1961, with the first elections held on 1 March 1961. Benedicto Kiwanuka of the Democratic Party became the first Chief Minister. Uganda maintained its Commonwealth membership. In succeeding years, supporters of a centralized state vied with those in favor of a loose federation and a strong role for tribally based local kingdoms. Political manoeuvering climaxed in February 1966, when Prime Minister Milton Obote suspended the constitution, assumed all government powers, and removed the president and vice president. In September 1967, a new constitution proclaimed Uganda a republic, gave the president even greater powers, and abolished the traditional kingdoms. On 25 January 1971, Obote's government was ousted in a military coup led by armed forces commander Idi Amin Dada. Amin declared himself president, dissolved the parliament, and amended the constitution to give himself absolute power.Idi Amin's 8-year rule produced economic decline, social disintegration, and massive human rights violations. The Acholi and Langi tribes were particular objects of Amin's political persecution because Obote and many of his supporters belonged to those tribes and constituted the largest group in the army. In 1978, the International Commission of Jurists estimated that more than 100,000 Ugandans had been murdered during Amin's reign of terror; some authorities place the figure much higher. In October 1978, Tanzanian armed forces repulsed an incursion of Amin's troops into Tanzanian territory. The Tanzanian force, backed by Ugandan exiles, waged a war of liberation against Amin's troops and Libyan soldiers sent to help him. On 11 April 1979, Kampala was captured, and Amin fled with his remaining forces. After Amin's removal, the Uganda National Liberation Front formed an interim government with Yusuf Lule as president. This government adopted a ministerial system of administration and created a quasi-parliamentary organ known as the National Consultative Commission (NCC). The NCC and the Lule cabinet reflected widely differing political views. In June 1979, following a dispute over the extent of presidential powers, the NCC replaced President Lule with Godfrey Binaisa. In a continuing dispute over the powers of the interim presidency, Binaisa was removed in May 1980. Thereafter, Uganda was ruled by a military commission chaired by Paulo Muwanga. The December 1980 elections returned the UPC to power under the leadership of President Obote, with Muwanga serving as vice president. Under Obote, the security forces had one of the world's worst human rights records. In their efforts to stamp out an insurgency led by Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Army (NRA), they laid waste to a substantial section of the country, especially in the Luwero area north of Kampala.Obote ruled until 27 Jul 1985, when an army brigade, composed mostly of Acholi troops and commanded by Lt. Gen. Basilio Olara-Okello, took Kampala and proclaimed a military government. Obote fled to exile in Zambia.

Kenneth Ernest Robinson b 1914; educated at Monoux Grammar School, Walthamstow; Hertford College, Oxford; Beit Senior Scholar in Colonial History; Colonial Office, 1936-1948; Fellow of Nuffield College and Reader in Commonwealth Government, Oxford, 1948-1957; Director, Institute of Commonwealth Studies and Professor of Commonwealth Affairs, University. of London, 1957-1965; Vice-Chancellor, University of Hong Kong, 1965-1972; Hallsworth Research Fellow, University of Manchester, 1972-1974; Director, Commonwealth Studies Resources Survey, University of London, 1974-1976; Editor, Journal of Commonwealth Political Studies, 1961-1965.
Publications (with W. J. M. Mackenzie) Five Elections in Africa, 1960; (with A. F. Madden) Essays in Imperial Government presented to Margery Perham, 1963; The Dilemmas of Trusteeship, 1965; (with W. B. Hamilton & C. D. Goodwin) A Decade of the Commonwealth 1955-64 (USA), 1966.

Ralph Johnson Bunche b 1904; educated at University of California, Los Angeles (AB), Harvard University (AM, PhD); Chairman, Dept of Political Science, Howard University, Washington DC, 1928-1950; Director, Trusteeship Department, Unted Nations, 1946-1954; acting UN Mediator on Palestine, 1948-1949; awarded Nobel Peace Prize for his work in the Middle East, 1950; Professor of Government, Harvard, 1950-1952; UN Under Secretary for Special Political Affairs, 1954-1967; UN Special Representative in the Congo, 1960; UN Under Secretary-General, 1968-1971.

The Barbados Workers' Union is a general workers union and was registered on 4th October 1941. It has a membership of 25,000 persons covering all areas of employment in Barbados.

The Committee of African Organizations was a London-based group giving support to exiled politicians from all over Anglophone Africa. Dorothy Robinson was Administrative Secretary of the Anti-Apartheid Movement, 1962-1965.

The Sword of the Spirit was founded in 1940, in response to the rise of fascism. Although founded by lay Catholics and supported by Cardinal Hinsley the organisation was ecumenical from the start. Its focus was on a just social order. At that stage it looked primarily to Europe. In the 1950s, it widened its brief to inform people in church and society about the international agenda.

In 1965, The Sword of the Spirit was renamed the Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR) with an education section and an overseas volunteer programme. In 1966, the overseas volunteer programme became part of the UK government's British Volunteer Programme and was in the most part funded by the Government's Overseas Development Administration (ODA, later the Department for International Development, or DFID). At first, volunteer placements were linked to the church, but the overseas programme gradually took on more of a serious developmental perspective and was not limited to any particular religious affiliation. The programme worked closely with other sending agencies (through the British Volunteer Agencies Liaison Group).

Throughout its history, the organisation has sought to influence church and state, most notably to support liberation struggles, grassroots developments and to strengthen a moral voice against human rights abuses. In the 1970s, following the Second Vatican Council and the statement of the Catholic Church's commitment to the option for the poor, progressive elements in the Church came increasingly to support grassroots liberation movements. CIIR's then education department supported the progressive elements of the Church in various liberation and human rights struggles in Central America, southern Africa and Asia. CIIR published booklets on liberation theology and promoted progressive church speakers. The CIIR, in collaboration with others also undertook detailed policy analysis and innovative work on issues such as drugs, debt and trade.

Early in the 1990s, the overseas programme was renamed International Cooperation for Development (ICD). ICD continued to have ODA funding. Around this time ICD started having national staff in country offices - a vanguard move among development agencies, most of which were still run locally by expatriate staff. Throughout the 1990s, CIIR's education department (by this time renamed the international policy department) faced difficulties. Funding sources were drying up and there was a proliferation of agencies and academic institutions undertaking development policy work. The two approaches remained separate and distinct departments within CIIR until January 2000. After an internal process of reflection, CIIR brought the two departments together into one programme department, combining skill-share and advocacy. In 2006 CIIR changed its name to Progressio.

Marion Valerie Friedmann was born in 1918, and was a founder member of the Liberal Party of South Africa. The multiracial Liberal Party of South Africa was founded in 1954, and was forced to disband under the Prohibition of Political Interference Act of 1968.

'World in Action', produced by Granada Television, is one of Britain's longest running current affairs programmes. First launched in 1963, World in Action was the first weekly current affairs programme in Britain to pioneer pictorial journalism on film and to risk taking an independent editorial stance. Guyana achieved independence in 1966, the 1968 General Election was won by the People's National Congress, led by Forbes Burnham.

Henry Isbell, 1858-1930 was employed on the Belvidere and Diamond estates in Antigua, 1878-1891.

Cyril Lionel Robert (CLR) James was born in Trinidad on 4 January 1901. He trained as a teacher, and worked as a teacher and journalist in Trinidad. James left Trinidad in 1932 at the instigation of the cricketer Learie Constantine (later Lord Constantine) and went to stay with him in Nelson, Lancashire. He worked as a cricket correspondent for the Manchester Guardian, 1933-1935, and also became a prominent member of the Trotskyist movement. For a time he was a member of the Independent Labour Party, and he campaigned actively against the Italian invasion of Abyssinia. He moved to the United States in 1938, and spent 15 years there writing and lecturing mainly on the Pan-African Movement. He left the Trotskyist movement in 1951, though he remained a convinced Marxist. He was expelled from the US because of his Communist views in 1953, returned to Britain and became active in the African independence movement. In 1958 he returned to Trinidad at the invitation of Dr Eric Williams, to edit the People's National Party newspaper. He also became secretary of the West Indies Federal Labour Party, and campaigned unsuccessfully against the break-up of the Federation of the West Indies. James soon quarrelled with Williams, and left Trinidad in 1963. In the 1960s and 1970s he lectured extensively in the United States and Europe. In 1963 he published Beyond a Boundary which explored the place of cricket in popular culture, especially in the colonial context, regarded by many as the greatest book ever written about cricket. He died in Brixton, London in 1989.

2nd Lt H M C Ledger, the son of Horace and Kathleen Ella Ledger, and husband of Ellinor Ledger was commissioned in the Indian Army Reserve of Officers, and served initially in a Regiment of the Egyptian Army before training as an Observer in the Royal Flying Corps. In 1915 he was attached to the French Seaplane Squadron in Palestine. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre in Nov 1915 and twice mentioned in the Commanding Admiral's 'Ordre du Jour'. He was shot down and killed near Beersheba on 22 Dec 1915.

Guy Mainwaring, Senior Superintendent of Polce, North Western Province, Ceylon, 1931.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born at Qunu, near Umtata on 18 July 1918. His father, Henry Mgadla Mandela, was chief councillor to Thembuland's acting paramount chief David Dalindyebo. When his father died, Mandela became the chief's ward to be groomed to assume high office. However, influenced by the cases that came before the Chief's court, he determined to become a lawyer. After receiving a primary education at a local mission school, Mandela matriculated at Healdtown Methodist Boarding School and then started a BA degree at Fort Hare. As a Student Representative Council member he participated in a student strike and was expelled, along with Oliver Tambo, in 1940. He completed his degree by correspondence from Johannesburg, did articles of clerkship and enrolled for an LLB at the University of the Witwatersrand.In 1944 he helped found the African National Congress (ANC) Youth League, whose Programme of Action was adopted by the ANC in 1949.

Mandela was elected national volunteer-in-chief of the 1952 Defiance Campaign. He travelled the country organising resistance to discriminatory legislation. He was given a suspended sentence for his part in the campaign. Shortly afterwards a banning order confined him to Johannesburg for six months. By 1952 Mandela and Tambo had opened the first black legal firm in the country, and Mandela was both Transvaal president of the ANC and deputy national president. A petition by the Transvaal Law Society to strike Mandela off the roll of attorneys was refused by the Supreme Court.In the 1950s after being forced through constant bannings to resign officially from the ANC, Mandela analysed the Bantustan policy as a political swindle. He predicted mass removals, political persecutions and police terror.

When the ANC was banned after the Sharpeville massacre in 1960, he was detained until 1961 when he went underground to lead a campaign for a new national convention. Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the military wing of the ANC, was born the same year. Under his leadership it launched a campaign of sabotage against government and economic installations. In 1962 Mandela left the country for military training in Algeria and to arrange training for other MK members. On his return he was arrested for leaving the country illegally and for incitement to strike. He conducted his own defence. He was convicted and jailed for five years in November 1962. While serving his sentence, he was charged, in the Rivonia trial, with sabotage and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Shortly after his release on Sunday 11 February 1990, Mandela and his delegation agreed to the suspension of armed struggle. He was inaugurated as the first democratically elected State President of South Africa on 10 May 1994. Nelson Mandela retired from public life in June 1999. He currently resides in his birth place - Qunu, Transkei.

Joel Joffe was born in 1932, and educated at Marist Brothers' College, Johannesburg and Witwatersrand University. He became a solicitor in 1956 and a barrister in 1962. He worked as a human rights lawyer, 1958-1965, and acted as Nelson Mandela's instructing solicitor in the Rivonia Treason Trial, 1963-1964. He was Director and Secretary of Abbey Life Assurance, 1965-1970, and Director, Joint Managing Director and Deputy Chairman of Allied Dunbar Life Assurance, 1971-1991. He was appointed Chairman of Oxfam in 1995, and created a life peer as Baron Joffe in 2000.

In 1976 the Parti Québécois led by René Lévesque won the Québec provincial election, promising to hold a referendum on sovereignty-association. The referendum was held in May 1980 and federalists won with 60% of vote. Lévesque adopted a constitutional strategy known as the 'beau risque' based on the idea that a political reconciliation with the rest of Canada was possible.

The Zimbabwe-Rhodesia Constitutional Conference, held at Lancaster House, London, began on 10 September 1979. The delegates included Lord Carrington, the British Foreign Secretary, Bishop Abel Muzorewa, Prime Minister of Rhodesia since the general election in April, and other members of his Government of National Unity including the former premier, Ian Smith, Joshua Nkomo, head of the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and Robert Mugabe, head of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), both representing the Patriotic Front. Although none of the participants began the conference with any real expectations that a solution would be reached, after four months of negotiation a settlement was concluded. On 21 December 1979 the delegates signed an agreement to accept a constitution for a new independent Zimbabwe and to implement a cease-fire in the civil war.

Michael Roberts is a Sri Lankan Australian whose secondary and university education was undertaken in Sri Lanka where he graduated with honours in History at the University of Peradeniya before proceeding to Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship. Completing his doctorate on British agrarian policies in 19th century Ceylon, he taught at the Department of History, University of Peradeniya from 1966 to 1975. He has been teaching at the Department of Anthropology, University of Adelaide since 1977 and has held a position of Reader since 1984.

Edward Roux was born in the northern Transvaal, South Africa, in 1903, the son of an English mother and an Afrikaner father. He grew up in Johannesburg, where his father opened a pharmacy in 1907. Roux's father was a free-thinker and Roux, while still a student, helped found the Young Communists League in 1921. In 1923 he joined the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA). After completing his first degree at the University of the Witwatersrand he was awarded a scholarship to Cambridge University, where he spent the years 1926-1929 completing a PhD and carrying out research on plant physiology. In 1928 he visited Moscow as a South African delegate to the 6th Congress of the Communist International. He returned to South Africa in 1929, and by 1930 was engaged on full-time political work as editor of 'Umsebnzi', the Communist weekly. He remained active until 1935 when he was removed from the party's political bureau for aleged right wing sympathies. He left the CPSA in 1936 and took no direct part in politics for the next 20 years. He returned to his academic career and in 1945 he joined the faculty of the University of the Witwatersrand, where he became professor of botany in 1962. In 1957 he became an active member of the multiracial Liberal Party of South Africa. Although 'named' as a former member of the CPSA in 1950 he was not singled out for persecution by the Nationalist government until the early 1960s. In 1963 he was forced to resign from the Liberal Party under new ruled banning 'named' persons, and in 1964 he was issued a full array of banning orders, prohibiting him from teaching, publishing, attending gatherings, being quoted, or leaving Johannesburg. He died in 1966.
Publications S P Banting - A Political Biography, 1944; Longer than Rope [the first major history of African nationalism in South Africa], 1948, numerous articles and pamphlets. His autobiography Rebel Pity: The Life of Eddie Roux was written with his wife Winifred, and published posthumously in 1970.