Historical men and women

Born on 21 st August 1765, William was the third son of King George III and would not have expected ever to become King.  He joined ...

26 th October seems to be a day on which prominent politicians like to get born, particular those with a left-leaning or revolution...

Thomas Hooker was an important figure in the history of colonial America, and not just in Hartford, Connecticut, the city with which h...

17 th November is not a date that is generally celebrated in England but perhaps it should be. In 1558 a hated monarch died and a new...

Was there ever a female pope? Many people used to believe that there had been one, and no doubt there are still some today who prefer...

King Alfred of Wessex, who died in 899, is the only English king to whom is accorded the title “Great”, but perhaps his grandson Athe...

Although there can be few people who have not heard of Genghis Khan, the Mongol emperor who swept all before him as he built a vast...

Fletcher Christian earned himself a footnote in history as the leader of the Mutiny on the Bounty and also as the “father of his nati...

On 26 th February 1815 Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from his exile on the island of Elba and began his “100 days” revival that would e...

24 th February was an important date in the life of Charles V, the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor from 1519 to 1546 and ruler over vast...

15 th January 1815 was the day on which Emma, Lady Hamilton, died in Calais at the age of 50. Hers had been an unfortunate life as a...

The name Huldrych Zwingli may not be one of the better known from European history, and it is certainly not one that trips easily off...