Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill (Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill) (1874 - 1965) - Prime Minister, political and statesman of Great Britain, Nobel Prize laureate, writer. Winston Churchill was born on November 30, 1874 in Blenheim, Oxfordshire into a wealthy and influential family. Until the age of eight, in the biography of Winston Churchill, a nanny was involved in his upbringing. And then he was sent to study at St. George's School, and later transferred to a school in Barighton. Churchill studied at Harrow School, where, in addition to knowledge, he acquired excellent fencing skills. And in 1893 he began to study at the Royal Military School, after which he received the rank of junior lieutenant.

He did not serve long in the hussar regiment - he was sent to Cuba. There Winston was a war correspondent, publishing articles. Then he went on a military operation to suppress the uprising of the Pashtun tribes. At the end of hostilities, Churchill’s book “The History of the Malakand Field Corps” was published. The next campaign in which Churchill took part was the suppression of the uprising in Sudan.

At the time of his resignation, Winston Churchill was known as an excellent journalist. In 1899 he unsuccessfully ran for parliament. Then, while participating in the Anglo-Boer War, he was captured, but was able to escape from the camp. In 1900 he was elected to the House of Commons as a Conservative. At the same time, Churchill’s novel “Savrola” was published. In December 1905, if we consider Churchill’s brief biography, he took the post of Deputy Secretary of State for Colonial Affairs. In 1910 he became Home Secretary and in 1911 First Lord of the Admiralty. After the First World War he became Minister of Armaments, then Aviation and Minister of War. In 1924 he again entered the House of Commons. In the same year he became Chancellor of the Exchequer. After the elections of 1931, he founded his own faction within the Conservative Party.

On May 10, 1940, Churchill took over as Prime Minister (he remained in office until July 1945). He himself took the post of Minister of Defense to direct all military actions. In 1951, in Churchill's biography, the post of Prime Minister was again occupied. He remained in office until April 1955. Churchill died on January 24, 1965.

Charles Darwin

Charles Robert Darwin is an outstanding English naturalist, naturalist, founder of Darwinism. His works on the evolution of living organisms had a huge impact on the history of human thought and marked a new era in the development of biology and other sciences.

Darwin was born in Shrewsbury (Shropshire) on February 12, 1809 in a fairly wealthy large family of a doctor. Members of this family were characterized by a high cultural level, intelligence, and broad outlook. In particular, Erasmus Darwin, Charles's grandfather, gained fame as a doctor, philosopher, and writer.

The boy's sincere interest in the life of nature and his penchant for collecting arose in childhood. In 1817, the mother dies, and in 1818, Charles and Erasmus, the elder brother, are sent to a local boarding school. Since 1825, Charles Darwin has been studying medicine at the University of Edinburgh. Not feeling inclined towards this profession, he abandoned his studies and, at the insistence of his angry father, entered to study as a theologian at Cambridge, although he was not completely convinced of the truth of Christian postulates. Natural inclinations, participation in the life of scientific societies, acquaintance with botanists, zoologists, geologists, excursions of a natural history orientation did their job: Charles Darwin emerged from the walls of a Christian college in 1831 as a naturalist-collector.

In this capacity, for five years (1831-1836) he took part in a trip around the world by ship, where he ended up on the recommendation of friends. During the voyage, he collected remarkable collections, and he outlined his impressions and observations in a two-volume book entitled “A Voyage Around the World on the Beagle,” which made him famous in the scientific community. Charles returned from this voyage as a formed scientist, who saw science as his only calling and meaning in life.

Returning to England, Darwin worked as secretary of the Geological Society of London (1838-1841), and in 1839 he married Emma Wedgwood, who subsequently bore him 10 children. Poor health forced him to leave the English capital in 1842 and settle on the Down estate (Kent County), with which his entire subsequent biography was connected.

The main evolutionary factors were reflected in Darwin's main work (1859) “The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life.” In 1868, a two-volume book entitled “Changes in Domestic Animals and Cultivated Plants”, supplementing it with factual material, was published. The third book on evolution was The Descent of Man and Sexual Selection (1871) and its subsequent companion, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872), and it was here that Darwin considered the origin of man from ape-like ancestors.

Darwin was not just an exceptionally authoritative scientist, but a simple, modest, friendly, tactful person who treated even his irreconcilable opponents correctly. While serious passions were raging in the world over the theory of evolution, the main troublemaker followed the ups and downs, leading a solitary life, and continued to engage in scientific research, despite extremely poor health.

In parallel with the victorious march of Darwinism, its author became the owner of an increasing number of various regalia from scientific communities, which began with the Copley gold medal from the Royal Society of London in 1864. In 1882, the scientist who made an unprecedented scientific revolution died quietly in Down. Charles Darwin's body was taken to Westminster Abbey, where he was buried near Newton.

Diana Princess of Wales

Diana (Diana, princess of Wales - Diana, Princess of Wales, née Lady Diana Francis Spencer (Spenser)) (July 1, 1961, Sandringham, Norfolk - August 31, 1997, Paris), ex-wife of the heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, mother of Princes William and Harry. From a noble, well-born family. Diana's parents separated in 1975. The girl was educated in Switzerland and upon returning to England she worked as a teacher in a privileged kindergarten. She attracted the attention of the royal family, and her budding friendship with Prince Charles immediately aroused the interest of the press.

The tragic death of Princess Diana in a car accident has caused an unprecedented response in many countries, especially in the UK. The death of Princess Diana shocked England - the square in front of Buckingham Palace was littered with flowers, hundreds of memorial candles burned on the asphalt. Thousands of people stood in a huge queue for seven hours just to sign the book of condolences. On the day of the princess's funeral, a minute of silence was declared in the country. A variety of people sought to pay the princess their last tribute of love and admiration: a charitable foundation in her name has already been created, anti-personnel mines will soon be banned - this is exactly what Diana advocated in the last year of her life.

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare, an outstanding playwright and one of the most famous poets in the world, was a native of Stratford-upon-Avon. Here, in Warwickshire, he was born in 1564. His date of birth is unknown. It is generally accepted that this is April 23, but the day of baptism, April 26, is reliably established. His father was a wealthy artisan, a respected man in the city, and his mother was a representative of an old Saxon family.

During 1569-1571. Shakespeare was a student at Junior School and later at Stratford High School. She had a decent level of education, but it is not known for certain whether William graduated from her or not - most likely, due to family financial difficulties, he had to leave his studies and help his father. As an 18-year-old boy, William married the pregnant Anne Hathaway, who was 8 years older than him; By marrying, the young people were saved from dishonor and punishment. In 1583, the Shakespeare couple had a daughter, and 2 years later, a pair of opposite-sex twins. Shakespeare left Stratford in the 2nd half of the 80s. and moved to London.

The period of Shakespeare's biography, affecting subsequent years, is usually called the dark, or lost years, because... There is no information about his life at this time. It is generally accepted that the move to London took place approximately in 1587, but there are other versions. Be that as it may, in 1592 Shakespeare was already the author of the historical chronicle “Henry VI”.

During 1592-1594. theaters in the English capital were closed due to the plague epidemic. To fill the gap, Shakespeare writes plays, in particular, “The Taming of the Shrew,” the tragedy “Titus Andronicus,” the poems “Lucretia” and “Venus and Adonis.” Also in the period from 1594 to 1600, Shakespeare wrote a large number of sonnets. All this makes him a famous writer. When the theaters opened, in 1594 Shakespeare entered a new line-up - the so-called. a troupe of the Lord Chamberlain's servants, named after its patron. Shakespeare was not only an actor, but also a shareholder.

Throughout 1595-1596. The famous tragedy “Romeo and Juliet” was written, as well as “The Merchant of Venice” - a comedy that was later called “serious” for the first time. If earlier the authors of plays for the theater were “university minds,” then by this time their role was lost: someone stopped writing, someone died. They were replaced by Shakespeare, thereby marking a new era in the development of theatrical art.

In 1599, another significant event took place in Shakespeare’s biography - the opening of the Globe Theater, in which he was an actor, chief playwright and one of the owners. A year after this, the famous “Hamlet” was released, opening the period of “great tragedies”, which include “Othello”, “King Lear”, “Macbeth”. The comedies written at this time also had a much more serious and sometimes pessimistic content. During the same period of his life, Shakespeare became a nobleman and acquired a large house in Stratford, the second largest in the city.

After the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603 and the rise to power of James I, the king himself became the patron of the Lord Chamberlain's troupe. 1606 became the starting point for the last period in Shakespeare’s literary activity, marked, in particular, by the creation of tragedies based on the plots of antiquity (“Coriolanus”, “Antony and Cleopatra”), as well as the romantic tragicomedies “The Tempest”, “The Winter’s Tale” and etc.

Around 1612, Shakespeare, whose career was developing very successfully, unexpectedly left the capital and returned to Stratford, to his family. Researchers suggest that the reason for such a drastic step was a serious illness. In March 1616, Shakespeare drew up his famous will, which later created the ground for the so-called. Shakespeare's question, which considers the problem of the authorship of his works and his very personality. On April 3, 1616, one of the world's greatest playwrights died; he was buried on the outskirts of his hometown in the church of St. Trinity.

During his lifetime, William Shakespeare's works were published only in separate form, sometimes in the form of collections (sonnets). The first complete collection of works by friends was prepared and published in 1623. The so-called Shakespearean canon included 37 plays; During the playwright's lifetime, only 18 of them were published. His work marked the end of the process of creating the English language and culture and drew a line under the European Renaissance. To this day, his plays are an integral part and the basis of the repertoire of theaters around the world. In the age of new technologies, almost all of Shakespeare's drama has been filmed.

Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton (1643 - 1727) is a great scientist who made a great contribution to the development of physics, mathematics, and astrology.

Born in Woolsthorpe, England.

After school, Newton's education was received at Holy Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. Under the influence of physicists, Newton made several discoveries, mostly mathematical, while still a student.

In the period from 1664 to 1666, he derived Newton's binomial formula, the Newton-Leibniz formula, and derived the law of universal gravitation. In 1668, in the biography of Isaac Newton, he received a master's degree, and in 1669, a professor of mathematical sciences. Thanks to the telescope (reflector) created by Newton, significant discoveries were made in astronomy. The scientist was a member of the Royal Household (since 1703 - president) and keeper of the Mint.

Newton's laws are the foundations of classical mechanics. Newton's first law explains the conservation of body speed under compensated external influences. Newton's second law describes the dependence of the acceleration of a body on the applied force. From Newton's three laws other laws of mechanics can be derived.

Newton's love for mathematics determined a number of his greatest discoveries in this science. This is how he described integral and differential calculus, the method of differences, and the method of finding the roots of an equation (Newton’s method).

John Lennon

John Lennon is an English musician, poet, composer, artist, one of the founders of the legendary British quartet The Beatles.

John Winston Lennon was born on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool (Great Britain), since childhood he suffered from congenital myopia (and wore glasses), as well as dyslexia - a disease that manifests itself, for example, in the fact that a person confuses the letters in words. Perhaps both defects had a strong influence on the peculiarities of John Lennon’s perception of the world, on his artistic thinking and poetic talent. It could also have been influenced by the fact that John’s mother and father constantly quarreled with each other in front of his eyes, and he was especially impressed by the episode when he saw his father fighting with his mother’s lover. His mother, Julia, was generally a reckless and reckless woman, however, despite this, John loved her very much and suffered greatly when she died under the wheels of a police car (John Lennon was then 18 years old). Later, John Lennon dedicated several of his songs to her. When John Lennon was five years old, his parents gave him a choice - who he wanted to live with, his father or his mother. John chose his father, but stayed with his mother, his mother took him to Aunt Mimi and left him with her. She was a totalitarian woman and greatly oppressed everyone around her (including John Lennon).

In 1956, John Lennon founded the band The Quarrymen with his school friends, in which John Lennon began playing guitar. On July 6, 1957, John Lennon met Paul McCartney, who soon joined The Quarrymen. John Lennon entered the Liverpool College of Art, where he met his future first wife, Cynthia Powell.

In 1959, The Quarrymen mutated into the Silver Beetles, and a little later into simply The Beatles. The further history of this group is known and deserves a separate article. It is important for us now to point out the next big milestone in the life of John Lennon. Namely: on March 14, 1969, John Lennon married Yoko Ono. The point of view that it was this Japanese avant-garde artist who became the decisive person in the formation and development of that John Lennon is consistently carried out in the article by Gleb Davydov, “John Lennon. Created by a Japanese woman." This text also denies the view of Yoko Ono as the person who ruined The Beatles. In fact, the group broke up due to the grueling lifestyle that its members, including John Lennon, led. By that time, John Lennon was using all kinds of drugs (especially a lot of LSD) and was a complete paranoid and drug addict. It was Yoko Ono who helped him come to his senses again and, in particular, through social campaigns such as Bed-in. Immediately after the wedding, John Lennon and Yoko Ono arrived in Amsterdam and announced a “bed interview” there. Journalists, expecting that John Lennon and Yoko Ono would publicly copulate, flocked to the hotel, but there it turned out that John Lennon and Yoko were just sitting in bed and shouting peaceful slogans. White pajamas, flowers everywhere and the doors of their room were wide open all day long... Anyone could come in and talk to them. Cameras, photographers, newspaper journalists and more. The protest later moved to Montreal (where John Lennon publicly recorded the anthemic song Give Peace a Chance). It was a media sensation, and thanks to it, the media was full of proposals to end the war in Vietnam. On December 15, 1969, John Lennon and Yoko held an anti-war concert, “The War Will End If You Want It.” On December 30 of the same year, British TV showed a program about John Lennon, where he was named one of the three political figures of the decade (the other two were John Kennedy and Mao Zedong).

John Lennon also advocated for giving Indians civil rights, for easing the conditions of prisoners in prisons, for the release of John Sinclair, one of the leaders of American youth, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for possession of marijuana (thanks to the action of John Lennon, Sinclair was released).

In 1971, John Lennon's cult disc Imagine appeared. Since September 1971, John Lennon and Yoko Ono began to live in the USA. Since then, John Lennon has never returned to his homeland, Great Britain.

On December 8, 1980, John Lennon was killed by a crazy maniac, a reader of Salinger's book The Catcher in the Rye. In 2002, the BBC conducted a poll to determine the hundred greatest Britons of all time. John Lennon took eighth place according to the voting results.

Ernest Shackleton

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (born 15 February 1874, Kilkee House, Kildare, Ireland - 5 January 1922, Grytviken, South Georgia) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer and figure in the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. Member of four Antarctic expeditions, three of which he commanded.

The first experience of polar research was gained in the Discovery expedition, a participant in the first trip to the South Pole (latitude 82° 11’ was reached), after which he was evacuated for health reasons. In 1907, Shackleton led his own Nimrod expedition, during which he reached 88° 23" S, 97 geographical miles (180 km) short of the South Pole. For his achievements, he was knighted by King Edward VII.

After Amundsen (December 14, 1911) and Scott (January 17, 1912) reached the South Pole, Shackleton declared that crossing the entire Antarctic continent remained "the only great goal of Antarctic travel." In 1914 he organized the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. The voyage ended in disaster: before reaching the shores of Antarctica, the expedition ship Endurance was trapped by ice in the Weddell Sea and sank. Shackleton managed to save the entire crew without killing a single person, but his heroism and professional qualities were not appreciated in Britain against the backdrop of the First World War. In 1921, he led the Shackleton-Rowett expedition, but even before its work began in Antarctica, he died of a heart attack at the age of 47 and was buried on the island of South Georgia.

Shackleton was a versatile personality, tried to run for the British Parliament, organized commercial enterprises, but was not successful in any of them. After his death, he was forgotten for some time, but in the middle of the twentieth century there was a surge of interest in Shackleton’s legacy, first in the USA and then in Great Britain. In 2002, during a national poll of the 100 Greatest Britons, Shackleton was ranked 11th, while Robert Scott was only 54th.

James Cook

James Cook (1728-1779), English navigator, leader of three expeditions around the world.

Born on October 27, 1728 in the village of Marton (Yorkshire). The ninth child in the family of a day laborer on a farm.

At the age of 13 he entered the service of a haberdashery merchant.

At the age of 18, he left home and got a job as a cabin boy on a ship for transporting coal. During this period, Cook seriously began to educate himself, buying books, spending almost all of his salary on them.

In 1755, during the war with France, he was taken as a sailor on a warship. Cook proved himself to be a talented cartographer: his map of the St. Lawrence River in Canada allowed the British to successfully attack the city of Quebec. And the maps of the coast of the Labrador Peninsula, subsequently compiled by Cook, were used even at the beginning of the 20th century.

In 1768, forty-year-old Cook was promoted to officer, and in the same year he was entrusted with leading an expedition to the Southern Hemisphere. The voyage lasted almost three years - from August 1768 to June 1771. Having rounded Cape Horn, on June 3, 1769, Cook reached the island of Tahiti, where the researchers were going to conduct astronomical observations. However, the equipment necessary for this was stolen by the natives. The ship moved further south and in the fall of 1769 reached New Zealand. It turned out that this is not the cape of the Southern Continent, as previously thought, but two islands. Since then, the passage between them has been called Cook Strait. Then the sailors explored the eastern coast of Australia and claimed England's rights to this territory. In addition, the Great Barrier Reef was discovered.

In the second expedition (July 13, 1772 - July 29, 1775), the ships were unable to break through the ice to the Southern continent. Cook explored the boundaries of the ice and compiled detailed maps. Navigators discovered the archipelago of Tonga and New Caledonia.

Cook's third and final voyage (July 12, 1776 - October 4, 1780) was intended to find the so-called Great Passage connecting the two oceans to the north. However, after passing through the Bering Strait, the ships were only able to reach the 71st parallel due to ice. Cook decided to wait until next summer and ordered a return to Hawaii, which he had discovered a little earlier.

Hostile natives killed Cook on February 14, 1779, and his ships returned to England under the command of J. Gore.

Margaret Thatcher

Thatcher Margaret Hilda (born 1925), Prime Minister of Great Britain (1979-1990).

Born on October 13, 1925 in the city of Grantham in the family of a grocer. After leaving school she studied at Oxford University from 1947-1951. worked as a research chemist.

In 1950, she ran for parliament for the first time, but failed.

In 1953, Thatcher received a law degree, after which she practiced law (1954-1957). In 1959 she was elected to parliament.

In 1961-1964. Thatcher served as Junior Minister for Pensions and Social Security from 1970 to 1974. - post of Minister of Education and Science.

After the defeat of the Conservative Party in the elections (1974), Thatcher was elected its leader. The Conservatives won the elections in May 1979, and Thatcher received the post of prime minister.

She associated her program for economic recovery with reducing government spending, ending subsidies for unprofitable enterprises, and transferring state corporations to private ownership; considered inflation a greater danger than unemployment.

Her firmness in defending her views and her rigidity in implementing her decisions secured the title of “Iron Lady” for Thatcher.

In 1984-1985 it made no concessions during the miners' strike, thereby maintaining low prices for fuel and electricity. Inflation has decreased and labor productivity has increased. In the June 1987 elections, Thatcher remained prime minister for a third term for the first time in the history of modern Britain.

But resistance to Britain's integration into the European monetary system has left Conservatives dissatisfied with their leader.

After leaving the post of Prime Minister, Thatcher served as Member of the House of Commons for Finchley for two years. In 1992, at the age of 66, she decided to leave the British Parliament, which, in her opinion, gave her the opportunity to more openly express her opinion on certain events

In February 2007, Thatcher became the first British Prime Minister to have a monument erected in the British Parliament during her lifetime (the official opening took place on February 21, 2007 in the presence of the former politician).

Queen Victoria

Victoria (24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen Reigning of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India under the British Raj, from 1 May 1876 until her death. Her reign as queen lasted 63 years and 7 months, longer than that of any other British monarch, and her reign longer than any female monarch in history.

The time of her reign is called the Victorian era, a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific and military progress in the United Kingdom. Her reign was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. During this period it reached its zenith and became the foremost world power of the time. She arranged the marriages of her 9 children and 42 grandchildren across the continent, linking Europe and earning the nickname "Grandmother of Europe". She was the last British monarch of the House of Hanover.

Victoria was born at Kensington Palace in 1819. At the time of her birth, her grandfather, George III, was on the throne, and his three eldest sons had no legitimate surviving children. Victoria later described her childhood as quite sad. Victoria's mother was overprotective of the princess, who was raised in isolation, with a detailed set of rules and protocols.

On May 24, 1837, Victoria turned 18 years old, and in June she became Queen of the United Kingdom.

Princess Victoria first met her future husband, her cousin Prince Albert, when she was just 17, in 1836. Some authors have written that she initially found Albert rather boring. However, according to her diary, she initially enjoyed his company. They married on 10 February 1840, in the chapel of St James's Palace in London. Albert became not only the queen's companion, but also an important political adviser. They had nine children and the marriage was quite successful. The Prince Consort died of typhoid fever on December 14, 1861, due to the primitive sanitary conditions at Windsor Castle. His death devastated Victoria, who was still suffering from the death of her mother in March of that year. She went into mourning and wore black robes for the rest of her life. She avoided public appearances, and rarely visited London in the following years. Her seclusion gave her the name "Widow Windsor".

Queen Victoria's reign was marked by the gradual creation of the modern constitutional monarchy. A series of legal reforms saw the House of Commons, which led to an increase in its influence, at the expense of the House of Lords and the monarchy, and the role of the monarch gradually became more symbolic. Victoria's reign created the concept of "family monarchy" in England, with which the growing middle class identified.

Alexander Fleming

Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Fleming was born on August 6, 1881 in Ayrshire into a farmer's family. At the age of 13, he went to London, where he worked as a clerk, attended classes at the Polytechnic Institute on Regent Street, and in 1900 joined the London Scottish Regiment.

1901, having inherited 250 pounds sterling (almost $1,200), Alexander Fleming applies for a national competition and becomes a scholarship student at St. Mary's Hospital Medical School, where he studies surgery. 1906 He becomes a member of the Royal College of Surgeons. Continuing to work in the pathology laboratory of Professor Almroth Wright of St. Mary's Hospital, in 1908 he received a Master's and Bachelor's of Science degrees from the University of London.

img4f433853ec62d Biography of Alexander Fleming

After Britain entered World War I, he served as a captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps and took part in hostilities in France. While working in a wound research laboratory, Alexander Fleming became convinced that antiseptics such as carbolic acid, which by that time were widely used to treat open wounds, destroyed white blood cells, which create a protective barrier in the body, and this promotes the survival of bacteria in tissues.

1915 Fleming marries nurse Sarah Marion McElroy, of Irish descent. The couple had a son.

1922, after unsuccessful attempts to isolate the causative agent of colds, Alexander Fleming accidentally discovered lysozyme, an enzyme that kills some bacteria without harming healthy tissue. This discovery prompted the search for other antibacterial drugs that would be harmless to the human body.

Another happy accident - Fleming's discovery of penicillin in 1928 - was caused by the untidiness of the scientist, who did not throw out bacterial cultures from laboratory dishes for 2-3 weeks. Alexander Fleming never mentioned penicillin in any of the 27 articles or lectures he published in the 1930s and 1940s, even when talking about substances that caused the death of bacteria.

Penicillin might have been forgotten forever if not for the earlier discovery of lysozyme. It was this discovery that forced Flore and E. Chain to study the therapeutic properties of penicillin, and therefore the drug was isolated and clinically tested.

The 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Alexander Fleming, together with Cheyne and Flore, “for the discovery of penicillin and its therapeutic effect in many infectious diseases.”

After the death of his wife in 1949, Fleming's health deteriorated sharply. 1952 He marries Amalia Koutsouris-Vureka, a bacteriologist and his former student. Three years later, the scientist died of a myocardial infarction at the age of 73.

Michael Faraday

Faraday Michael (1791-1867), English physicist, founder of the doctrine of the electromagnetic field.

Born on September 22, 1791 in London in the family of a blacksmith. He began working early in a bookbinding shop, where he became interested in reading. Michael was shocked by the articles on electricity in the Encyclopedia Britannica: “Conversations on Chemistry” by Madame Marcais and “Letters on Various Physical and Philosophical Matters” by L. Euler. He immediately tried to repeat the experiments described in the books.

The talented young man attracted attention and was invited to listen to lectures at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. After some time, Faraday began working there as a laboratory assistant.

From 1820 he worked hard on the idea of ​​combining electricity and magnetism. Subsequently, this became the scientist’s life’s work. In 1821, Faraday was the first to rotate a magnet around a current-carrying conductor and a current-carrying conductor around a magnet, i.e., he created a laboratory model of an electric motor.

In 1824 he was elected a member of the Royal Society of London. In 1831, the scientist discovered the existence of electromagnetic induction, and in subsequent years established the laws of this phenomenon. He also discovered extracurrents when closing and opening an electrical circuit and determined their direction.

Based on experimental material, he proved the identity of “animal” and “magnetic” thermoelectricity, electricity from friction, and galvanic electricity. Passing current through solutions of alkalis, salts, and acids, he formulated the laws of electrolysis (Faraday's laws) in 1833. Introduced the concepts of “cathode”, “anode”, “ion”, “electrolysis”, “electrode”, “electrolyte”. Constructed a voltmeter.

In 1843, Faraday experimentally proved the idea of ​​conservation of electric charge and came close to the discovery of the law on the conservation and transformation of energy, expressing the idea of ​​​​the unity of the forces of nature and their mutual transformation.

The creator of the doctrine of the electromagnetic field, the scientist expressed an idea about the electromagnetic nature of light (memoir “Thoughts on Ray Oscillations,” 1846).

In 1854 he discovered the phenomenon of diamagnetism, and three years later - paramagnetism. Laid the beginning of magnetooptics. Introduced the concept of electromagnetic field. This idea, according to A. Einstein, was the most important discovery since I. Newton.

Faraday lived modestly and quietly, preferring experiments to everything else.

Died 25 August 1867 in London. The ashes rest in London's Highgate Cemetery. The scientist's ideas are still waiting for a new genius

Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II (English Elizabeth II), full name - Elizabeth Alexandra Mary (English Elizabeth Alexandra Mary April 21, 1926, London) - Queen of Great Britain from 1952 to the present.

Elizabeth II comes from the Windsor dynasty. She ascended the throne on February 6, 1952, at the age of 25, following the death of her father, King George VI.

The future reigning queen was born in London in the family of Prince Albert (better known as King George VI) and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. Its genealogy goes back to the House of Windsor, which ruled England for many years. However, since childhood, our today's heroine could hardly count on the fact that one day she would ascend to the British throne. According to the rules of English succession to the throne, Elizabeth was only the third in the hierarchy of persons claiming the royal crown. In this list, she was inferior to her father, the Prince of York, as well as his older brother, Edward VIII.

Despite this fact, the representative of the august family was raised as a real princess from early childhood. The best teachers worked with her, giving her an excellent education; as well as private teachers who taught her horse riding, basic etiquette and many other disciplines, the knowledge of which was a prerequisite for members of her family. It is quite remarkable that the girl herself was always very passionate about knowledge. As many literary sources telling about the early years of the life of the future queen say, she actually independently learned French and many other important subjects. Conscientious and courageous beyond her years, Elizabeth appeared before the people of Britain during the Second World War. Then her uncle Edward abdicated the throne because of his love for a married lady, and her father, George VI, ascended the English throne. During this period, the thirteen-year-old girl was remembered for the fact that she often, together with her father, gave radio messages to the British people, addressing mainly children of her age. In 1943, she first appeared in public during the king's visit to a regiment of guards soldiers. A year later, she was officially included in the number of state advisers - persons who have the right to replace the monarch during his absence. Already in this status, our today's heroine joined the women's self-defense unit, where she was trained and received the rank of lieutenant in the English armed forces.

After the end of World War II, Elizabeth began to appear in public more often and speak to British citizens. In 1947, she made her legendary speech, in which she promised to be faithful to her homeland and its people. Around the same period, the girl began dating Philip Mountbatten, an English officer whose family goes back to the Danish and Greek monarchical families. The young people had known each other for a long time, but only eight years later they began to see each other often and spend time together.

In the same year, 1947, the lovers officially tied the knot. A year later, Elizabeth and Philip had their first child, son Charles (the current Prince of Wales). In 1950, the youngest daughter of the august royalty, Princess Anna, was born. In 1952, another fateful event occurred in the life of our today's heroine. In February of the above-mentioned year, her father, King George the Sixth, died of thrombosis. And the twenty-six-year-old princess became the new queen of England and all countries of the British Commonwealth of Nations. In June 1953, her coronation took place in Westminster Abbey, which was broadcast by central television in England to many countries around the world. This ceremony attracted thousands of people to the screens and, some believe, contributed significantly to the rise in popularity of television. After her ascension to the throne, Queen Elizabeth II actively participated in the political life of her country, as well as many other states that are members of the British Commonwealth of Nations. It is quite remarkable that back in the fifties she became the first representative of the British monarchy to visit New Zealand and Australia on a long-term visit. Almost forty years later, she became the first queen to make an official speech at a joint meeting of both houses of the United States Congress. Over the years of her many-year reign, Elizabeth traveled to many countries on the planet and participated in various significant events. Thus, as the Queen of Canada, she took part in the opening ceremony of the XXI Olympic Games in Montreal, and then as the Queen of England - in a similar event held in London. As befits the head of a royal house, she received representatives of foreign delegations at Windsor Castle, and also actively worked on its reconstruction after the royal palace was badly damaged by fire.

At the moment, Elizabeth II remains one of the main symbols of England and the whole of Great Britain. Having been in power for more than 65 years, she was able to strengthen the authority of the British monarchy, as well as become a true role model for millions of Britons.

Currently, Elizabeth Second, as before, is the head of the Windsor dynasty. From her marriage to Philip Mountbatten, she has four children, the eldest of whom, Prince Charles, is the current heir to the English throne.

Currently, Queen Elizabeth has eight grandchildren, as well as three great-grandchildren. The youngest great-grandson of our today's heroine, George, was born in mid-2013.

David Bowie

David Robert Jones (born January 8, 1947), better known under the pseudonym David Bowie, is a British rock musician, singer, producer, audio engineer, composer, artist, and actor.

David Bowie rose to fame in the 1970s with the advent of glam rock. He is called the “chameleon of rock music”, since Bowie has been able to adapt to new trends in the musical world for almost 40 years, boldly experimenting with different styles - from classic rock and glam to electronics and metal. At the same time, Bowie managed to maintain his own recognizable style, successfully combining it with current musical trends.

During 2000, the weekly New Musical Express conducted a survey among musicians of a wide variety of styles and genres. There was only one question: “Which musician had the greatest influence on your own work?” According to the results of the survey, Bowie was recognized as the most influential musician of the century. Bowie achieved recognition as a film actor and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

David Robert Jones was born on January 8, 1947 in Brixton, London. Since childhood, he learned to play the saxophone, then the guitar. In 1963, according to legend, David got into a fight with his friend George Underwood over a certain young lady, and he cut his eye with a ring. David spent a long time in the hospital; doctors managed to save his eye, but his left pupil remained paralyzed.

At 16, he works as an advertising agent and performs with various bands, as well as releasing unrecognized singles. At this very time, the American group “The Monkees”, whose vocalist was Davy Jones, became famous, and in order to avoid confusion with the American, David decided to take a pseudonym. A big fan of Mick Jagger, he learns that “jagger” means “knife” in Old English; David took a similar nickname for himself (Bowie is a type of combat knife named after the Texas war hero).

David Bowie's birthday is considered to be January 14, 1966. It was on this day that he first appeared under this name with the Lower Third group on the cover of the album “Can’t Help Thinking About Me”.

David Beckham

David Robert Joseph Beckham (born May 2, 1975, London, England) is an English footballer and midfielder. He became popular not only on the field, but also far beyond its borders. The footballer was already a famous Manchester United player when he married Spice Girls star Victoria Adams (Luxury Spice) in July 1999. The combination of two popular personalities exerted unique pressure on the public. The couple became one of the most famous British unions.

As a player, Beckham is renowned for his light touch and impressive long-range strikes (including his famous goal from halfway against Wimbledon in 1996).Manchester United sold the player to the Spanish team Real Madrid for 35 million euros (about 25 million British pounds) in July 2003. At the 1998 championship, meeting with Argentina, Beckham was disqualified for rude, nervous behavior on the field. However, the footballer played at the championships in 2002 and 2006. From 2000 to 2006, Beckham was captain of the English national team. He left this role after losing to Portugal in the World Cup quarter-finals. In 2007, the football player signed a multimillion-dollar contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy team. He wore the new kit for the first time on July 21, 2007, in a "friendly" match with Chelsea.

Additional data: Beckham usually plays as a midfielder. His nickname is "Bex". Together with Victoria, David has three sons named Brooklyn (born March 4, 1999), Romeo (born September 1, 2002), Cruz (born February 20, 2005). When David Beckham played for Manchester United, the athlete wore uniform No. 7. After joining Real Madrid, he changed his number to 23. Beckham wore the same number when he started playing for the Galaxy. In addition to Beckham, other football stars played for Real Madrid: Figo, Ronaldo, Zidane.

In 2002, the film “Bend It Like Beckham” was released with Keira Knightley - a story about a teenage football player. Beckham did not star in the film, but his name was in the title. The film's title referenced Beckham's skill at throwing a curveball.

William Blake

Blake William (1757-1827), English poet and artist. Born on November 28, 1757 in London in the family of a merchant.

He started as an engraver and draftsman. In 1778 he entered the Royal Academy and in 1780 took part in an academic exhibition for the first time, presenting a watercolor “The Death of Earl Goodwin”.

Since 1787, Blake's passion for mysticism began. It was caused, firstly, by the impression of the death of his beloved brother Robert, and secondly, by his friendship with the artist I. G. Fusli, who developed fantastic themes, and lasted throughout his life.

1804-1818 was a difficult period in Blake's life. Based on a denunciation, he was accused of treason, tried, but acquitted. The personal exhibition of 1804 was not successful, the paintings sold poorly.

But then almost ten years of recognition and glory followed, and before his death Blake was surrounded by the worship and veneration of young painters.

Blake can be called one of the first theorists of romanticism. His poetry and painting are like a link between enlightenment and romanticism. The first two collections of poems - “Poetic Sketches” (1783) and “Songs of Innocence” (1789) - are quite optimistic in spirit. At that time, Blake was close in his convictions to the democratic London Corresponding Society. He was captivated by the spirit of the Great French Revolution, and in 1791 Blake began working on the poem “The French Revolution,” which remained unfinished.

Subsequently, he will write “Prophetic Books” (1791-1820), in which he talks about the French Revolution and the struggle of the American colonies of England for independence, resorting to biblical allegories. Over time, optimism gradually begins to give way to twilight moods (“Songs of Experience,” 1794) and satire (“Proverbs of Hell,” 1793).

Blake's main idea is to bring humanity to a golden age through religion-art, through the search for higher intelligence and beauty not outside of man, but within himself. After Blake's death (August 12, 1827, London), interest in him began to grow, and now he is considered a classic, an exponent of characteristically English views on art.

John Harrison

John Harrison (Harrison; English John Harrison; March 24, 1693 - March 24, 1776) - English inventor, self-taught watchmaker. Invented a marine chronometer, which solved the problem of accurately determining longitude during long sea voyages. The problem was considered so intractable and pressing that the UK Parliament offered a reward of £20,000 (equivalent to $4.72 million) for its solution.

John Harrison was born in Folby, near Wakefield in West Yorkshire. He was the eldest son in a carpenter's family and from an early age helped his father in his work. In 1700 the family moved to Lincolnshire.

Harrison received only a limited education, but from childhood he had a keen interest in mechanics and clocks. He assembled his first watch, all the parts of which were made of wood, when he was 20 years old. Three of his early clocks survive today.

For a long time he worked with his younger brother James. Their first project was a tower clock, which, unlike clocks of the time, did not require lubrication.

In 1725, he invented pendulum compensation (to eliminate the effect of temperature on the duration of swing) with rods. The director of the Greenwich Observatory, Halley, recommended it to George Graham, who, after many experiments, found Harrison's system more convenient than his own.

Subsequently, Harrison achieved a high degree of perfection in the manufacture of chronometers, for which he received the Copley Medal and a prize of 20,000 pounds sterling, which the British Admiralty assigned back in 1713 for the invention of a clock that made it possible to determine the position of a ship at sea with an accuracy of 1°.

Charles Dickens

Charles John Huffam Dickens (February 7, 1812, Portsmouth, England - June 9, 1870, Higham (English) Russian, England) - English writer, novelist and essayist.

One of the most famous English-language novelists, a renowned creator of vivid comic characters and social critic. Born in Landport near Portsmouth in the family of a clerk in the naval department. Charles was the second of eight children. His mother taught him to read, he attended primary school for some time, and from the age of nine to twelve he went to a regular school. In 1822 his father was transferred to London. Parents with six children huddled in Camden Town in dire need. At the age of twelve, Charles began working for six shillings a week in a blacking factory in Hungerford Stairs on the Strand. On February 20, 1824, his father was arrested for debt and imprisoned in the Marshalsea prison. Having received a small inheritance, he paid off his debts and was released on May 28 of the same year. For about two years, Charles attended a private school called Wellington House Academy.

While working as a junior clerk in one of the law firms, Charles began to study shorthand, preparing himself to become a newspaper reporter. He contributed to several well-known periodicals and began writing fictional essays about life and characteristic types of London. The first of these appeared in the Munsley Magazine in December 1832. In January 1835, J. Hogarth, publisher of the Evening Chronicle, asked Dickens to write a series of essays on city life. In the early spring of that year, the young writer became engaged to Catherine Hogarth. April 2, 1836 The first issue of The Pickwick Club was published. Two days earlier, Charles and Catherine had married and moved into Dickens's bachelor pad. At first, the response was lukewarm, and the sale did not promise much hope. However, the number of readers grew; By the end of the publication of The Posthumous Notes of the Pickwick Club, each issue sold 40 thousand copies.

Dickens accepted R. Bentley's offer to head the new monthly Bentley's Almanac. The first issue of the magazine was published in January 1837, a few days before the birth of Dickens's first child, Charles Jr. The first chapters of Oliver Twist appeared in the February issue. Having not yet finished Oliver, Dickens began writing Nicholas Nickleby, another twenty-issue series for Chapman and Hall. With the growth of wealth and literary fame, Dickens's position in society also strengthened. In 1837 he was elected a member of the Garrick Club, and in June 1838 a member of the famous Athenaeum Club.

Occasional friction with Bentley forced Dickens to resign from the Almanac in February 1839. Prints The Curiosity Shop and Barnaby Rudge. In January 1842, the Dickens couple sailed to Boston, where a crowded and enthusiastic meeting marked the beginning of the writer's triumphant trip through New England to New York, Philadelphia, Washington and beyond - all the way to St. Louis.

In 1849, Dickens began writing the novel David Copperfield, which was a huge success from the very beginning. In 1850, he began publishing a weekly magazine, Home Reading, at a cost of two pence. At the end of 1850, Dickens, together with Bulwer-Lytton, founded the Guild of Literature and Art to help needy writers. By this time, Dickens had eight children (one died in infancy), and another, his last child, was about to be born. At the end of 1851, Dickens's family moved into a house in Tavistock Square, and the writer began work on Bleak House.

The writer's years of tireless work were overshadowed by a growing awareness of the failure of his marriage. While studying theater, Dickens fell in love with the young actress Ellen Ternan. Despite her husband's vows of fidelity, Catherine left his house. In May 1858, after the divorce, Charles Jr. remained with his mother and the rest of the children with their father. Having stopped publishing Home Reading, he very successfully began publishing a new weekly, All Year Round, publishing in it A Tale of Two Cities, and then Great Expectations.

His last completed novel was Our Mutual Friend. The writer's health was deteriorating. Having somewhat recovered, Dickens began writing “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” which was only half written. On June 9, 1870, Dickens died. In a private ceremony on 14 June, his body was buried in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey.

Frank Whittle

Sir Frank Whittle (eng. Sir Frank Whittle; June 1, 1907, Coventry (Warwickshire) - August 9, 1996, Columbia, Howard, Maryland) is an outstanding English design engineer. Father of the turbojet aircraft engine.

Graduated from Leamington College. In 1926 he entered the British Royal Air Force School in Cranwell.

In 1928-1932, test pilot of fighter aircraft, flight lieutenant (captain).

On January 16, 1930, Frank Whittle registered the world's first British patent No. 347206 for a workable gas turbine (turbojet) engine.

Group of developers and manufacturers of the Whittle W.1 gas turbine engine. BTH company. 1941

In 1936, Whittle and his partners created the company Power Jets Ltd., where the first English turbojet engines were developed.

The first English jet aircraft, the Gloster E.28/39, powered by the Whittle engine JETS W.1 (Whittle No. 1), took off on May 15, 1941.

In 1948, Whittle was knighted (Sir) by King George VI.

In 1953 he was awarded the FAI gold aviation medal.

Despite the attempts of the British government to soften Whittle's dissatisfaction with the awarding of various titles and awards to him, in 1976 Whittle emigrated to the United States, where he received full recognition of his services to world aviation.

Since 1977 - professor at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis.

According to contemporaries, the basis for the success of Whittle's machine (engine) was determined by the development of special materials capable of withstanding high gas temperatures at the turbine inlet and high centrifugal forces.

John Logie Baird

John Logie Baird (Baird; English John Logie Baird; August 13, 1888, Helensborough (Scotland) - June 14, 1946, Bexhill, East Sussex, England) is a Scottish engineer who gained fame for creating the first mechanical television system.

After studying at school, he entered and graduated from a technical college and university in Glasgow. Due to the outbreak of the First World War, he never received his doctorate and subsequently did not return to this topic. Experiments in Television: John Baird and his "TV", circa 1925. First known photograph of the image produced by the Baird device, circa 1926. Although television is the result of the work of many inventors, Baird is one of the pioneers. He will remain known as the first person to transmit a black and white (grayscale) image of an object over a distance. Many engineers worked on this topic, but Baird was the first to achieve results. This was after replacing the photoelectric element of the camera with a more advanced one and using a video amplifier. Baird's early television experiments used a Nipkow disk, and in February 1924 he demonstrated a mechanical television system capable of transmitting and displaying moving images. The system reproduced only the silhouettes of the objects being photographed, such as the bending of fingers. Already on March 25, 1925, the premiere of a three-week television demonstration took place in the Selfridges store (London). On October 2, 1925, in his laboratory, John Baird achieved success in transmitting a black and white (grayscale) image of a ventriloquist's dummy. The image was scanned in 30 vertical lines, 5 images per second were transmitted. Baird went downstairs and brought the courier, 20-year-old William Edward Taynton, to see what a human face would look like in the transmitted image. Edward Tainton is the first person whose image was transmitted using a television system. In search of an opportunity to inform the public about his invention, Baird visited the editorial office of the Daily Express newspaper. The newspaper editor was shocked by the proposed news. Later, one of the editorial staff recalled his words: For God's sake, go downstairs to the reception area and get rid of the madman waiting there. He says he invented a machine to see through the radio! Be careful - he may be armed. First public displays: On January 26, 1926, in his laboratory in London, Baird demonstrated image transmission for members of the Royal English Association. Royal Institution and reporters from The Times newspaper. By this time, he had increased the scanning speed to 12.5 images per second. This was the world's first display of a true television system that showed moving images in grayscale. He demonstrated his first color transmitter in the world on July 3, 1928, using 3 Nipkow disks in a camera and a television: in the camera in front of each disk there was a filter that passed only one of the three primary colors, and in the television behind each disk a lamp of the corresponding color was installed .

Douglas Robert Bader

Sir Douglas Robert Stuart Bader (21 February 1910 – 5 September 1982) was a Colonel in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and ace of the Second World War. Lost both legs in a plane accident, but continued to fly and participated in combat operations. He won 20 personal victories, 4 in a group, 6 personal unconfirmed, one group unconfirmed and damaged 11 enemy aircraft.

Bader joined the KVVS in 1928 and became a pilot in 1930. In December 1931, during aerobatic training, he had an accident and lost both legs. After undergoing rehabilitation after amputation of his legs, he resumed flight training and applied for reinstatement as a pilot, but was discharged from the army for health reasons. During World War II in 1939, Bader managed to reinstate himself in the RCAF. He scored his first victory at Dunkirk during the French Campaign in 1940. Bader took part in the Battle of Britain and became a friend of Trafford Leigh-Mallory, helping him master the "big wing" tactics.

In August 1941, Bader was shot down over occupied France and captured. There he met Adolf Galland, the famous German ace. The reasons why Bader was shot down are not fully understood; he may have been a victim of friendly fire. Bader visited many prisoner of war camps, the last of which was the camp at Colditz Castle, from which the pilot was released in April 1945 by the American military.

Bader left the KVVS in February 1946, and subsequently worked in the fuel industry. In the 1950s, a film and book were published about his life and career during the war. Bader was elevated to the rank of Knight Bachelor in 1976 and continued to fly until 1979. He died on September 5, 1982 from a heart attack.

Drake Francis

Drake Francis (c. 1540-1596), English navigator.

Born in the town of Tayvistoke (Devonshire) into a farmer's family. In his youth he sailed on coasting ships that entered the Thames. After his first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, Drake received a position as captain of a ship in J. Hawkins' squadron. In 1567, he participated in Hawkins's naval expedition to capture the ships of Spanish slave traders and plunder Spanish possessions in the West Indies.

Since 1570, Drake carried out pirate raids every summer in the Caribbean Sea, which Spain considered its own. He captured Nombre de Dios in Mexico, plundering caravans transporting silver from Peru to Panama.

In December 1577, Drake set out on his most famous expedition. It was equipped with money from private investors, which Drake was able to obtain thanks to the patronage of the Earl of Essex, the favorite of Elizabeth I. Later, the navigator mentioned that the queen herself invested 1000 crowns. Drake was tasked with sailing through the Strait of Magellan, finding suitable sites for colonies and returning back the same way. It was also assumed that he would carry out raids on Spanish possessions in America.

Drake sailed from Plymouth on December 13, 1577. He commanded the ship "Pelican" (later renamed "Golden Hind") of 100 tons; there were four more small ships in the squadron. Having reached the coast of Africa, the flotilla captured more than ten Spanish and Portuguese ships. Through the Strait of Magellan, Drake entered the Pacific Ocean; there a strong storm drove the ships south for 50 days. Between Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica, Drake discovered a strait that was later named after him. The storm damaged the ships. One of them returned to England, the others drowned. The captain only had the “Golden Hind” left. Moving along the coast of South America, Drake robbed ships and harbors off the coasts of Chile and Peru. On March 1, 1579, he captured the ship Cacafuego, loaded with gold and silver bars. In July of the same year, the ship commanded by Drake crossed the Pacific Ocean. In 1580 he returned to Plymouth. Thus, the navigator made a trip around the world (the second after F. Magellan), which brought him not only fame, but also wealth.

Having received his share of the spoils (at least 10 thousand pounds sterling), Drake bought an estate near Plymouth. Queen Elizabeth granted him the title of knight in 1581. In 1585, Drake was appointed commander-in-chief of the English fleet heading to the West Indies. This marked the beginning of the war with Spain.

In March 1587, Drake unexpectedly captured the port city of Cadiz in southern Spain, destroyed it and captured about 30 Spanish ships. And again, in addition to military glory, the “pirate of Queen Elizabeth” received huge amounts of money - his personal share of the captured wealth amounted to more than 17 thousand pounds sterling.

In 1588, Drake was appointed vice admiral and played a decisive role in the defeat of the Invincible Armada. Drake's luck ran out during an expedition to the West Indies in 1595. He fell ill with dysentery and died on January 28, 1596 near Portobelo (Panama).

The vice admiral was buried according to traditional naval rites, at sea.

Nightingale Florence

Florence Nightingale (born Florence Nightingale; May 12, 1820, Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany - August 13, 1910, London, UK) - sister of mercy and public figure in Great Britain.

She was born on May 12, 1820 in Florence and was named after the city in which she was born. In her youth she traveled around Europe accompanied by family friends. In 1849, she attended the Institute of Deaconesses in Kaiserwerth (Germany) and returned to England with the firm intention of becoming a sister of mercy. In 1853 she became the manager of a small private hospital on Harley Street in London.

In October 1854, during the Crimean campaign, Florence, along with 38 assistants, among whom were nuns and sisters of mercy, went to field hospitals, first in Scutari (Turkey), and then in Crimea. Consistently implemented the principles of sanitation and care for the wounded. As a result, in less than six months, mortality in hospitals decreased from 42 to 2.2%.

In 1856, Florence, with her own money, erected a large white marble cross on a high mountain in Crimea above Balaklava in memory of the soldiers, doctors and nurses who died in the Crimean War.

The Crimean War made Florence a national heroine. Soldiers returning from the front told legends about her, calling her “the lady with the lamp,” because at night, with a lamp in her hands, she always, like a kind bright angel, walked around the wards with the sick.

On her return to England (1856) Nightingale was tasked with reorganizing the army medical service. In 1857, the government allocated funds to organize a commission to implement the necessary reforms. In 1859, Herbert again became Minister of War; with his help, Nightingale ensured that hospitals were equipped with ventilation and sewage systems; hospital staff were required to undergo the necessary training; Strict statistical processing of all information was carried out in hospitals. A military medical school was organized, and awareness-raising work was carried out in the army about the importance of disease prevention.

Nightingale was a capable mathematician, engaged in statistical research, and became an innovator in the use of infographic methods in statistics, in particular, she used pie (pie) charts. In 1859 she was elected a fellow of the Royal Statistical Society and subsequently became an honorary member of the American Statistical Association.

She wrote the books Notes on Matters Affecting the Health, Efficiency and Hospital Administration of the British Army (1858) and Notes on Nursing : What It Is and What It Is Not, 1860).

During the war, Nightingale managed to collect a large sum of money by subscription, with which in 1860 the world's first school of Sisters of Charity was organized at St. Thomas's Hospital in London. Soon, graduates of this school began to create similar institutions at other hospitals, and even in other countries. Thus, Emmy Caroline Rape, who studied at this school in 1866-67, became a pioneer in creating a system for training sisters of mercy in Sweden.

Thomas Edward Lawrence

Thomas Edward Lawrence, or Lawrence of Arabia (eng. Thomas Edward Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia; 16 August 1888, Tremadoc - 19 May 1935, Bovington Camp, Dorset), was a British officer and traveler who played a major role in the Great Arab Revolt of 1916-1918 years. Author of the famous memoir "Seven Pillars of Wisdom". Lawrence is considered a military hero both in Great Britain and in a number of Arab countries in the Middle East. One of the most famous biographical films in cinema history is dedicated to him.

Thomas Edward Lawrence was born on 16 August 1888 in the Welsh village of Tremadoc, the illegitimate son of Sir Thomas Chapman. As a child he lived in Oxford, and in 1907 he entered Oxford's Jesus College. Studied history and archaeology. Lawrence explored medieval castles in France and Syria and wrote his first book, Crusaders Castles, 2 vols., published in 1936. From 1911 to 1914, Lawrence participated in the excavations of Carchemish (Jerablus), a Hittite city in the upper Euphrates, led by D. Hogarth, C. Thompson and C. Woolley, and in 1912 - in excavations in Egypt led by Flinders Petrie. In 1911 he returned briefly to England, then again went to the Middle East. Traveled extensively throughout Arabia and studied Arabic.

In March 1923, taking the surname Shaw, Lawrence joined the Royal Tank Units, and in his free time he tested new models of motorcycles. In 1925 he was again allowed to join the Air Force. Following the advice of his friend Bernard Shaw, he continued to work on The Seven Pillars of Wisdom and in 1926 released the book as a beautifully designed edition, printed in 128 copies, distributed by subscription. To recoup the costs of publication, in 1927 he released an abridged version called Revolt in the Desert. This book was a huge success in many countries around the world.

Robert Scott

Robert Falcon Scott (eng. Robert Falcon Scott; June 6, 1868, Plymouth - ca. March 29, 1912, Antarctica) - captain of the Royal Navy of Great Britain, polar explorer, one of the discoverers of the South Pole, who led two expeditions to Antarctica: "Discovery" (1901 -1904) and "Terra Nova" (1912-1913).

There are people who have become famous for great deeds and truly fearless and very courageous actions, such as the exploration of Antarctica. Robert Falken Scott was just such a man. This man lived a very bright and eventful life, and also made a very significant contribution to the study of the remote lands of Antarctica. You can book a hotel in the UK on our portal.

The famous traveler and explorer was born in 1868. As a child, Robert had very poor health, but this did not interfere with the formation of a strong-willed character. At a young age, this weak but stubborn boy from a large family had already entered the navy; his service began in 1880. After six years of impeccable service, a fateful meeting took place in the life of Robert Scott - he met K. Markham, the president of the geographical society. construction of warehouses It was this man who recommended that Robert become a member of a large-scale research expedition to the shores of Antarctica. The expedition took place - it was a study lasting more than 3 years. It was this research that became key to the development of geography and works devoted to the Antarctic at the beginning of the 20th century. During this expedition, which greatly weakened the explorer, Scott managed to explore the shores of Victoria, reservoirs, and also discover an oasis in the icy Arctic expanses. This expedition ended for Robert Scott not only with the collection of very valuable data, but also with universal recognition and awards; he was awarded many honors, as well as the rank of captain of the fleet. Using our portal you can find air tickets to the UK.

The major expedition of 1901-1904 was the beginning of a completely new period in the life of the researcher: he began to actively study and use innovations that could be indispensable for travel and research, as well as make presentations, however, so measured and more related to science , than, directly, with research, life quickly became boring for the traveler. Already in 1910, he and a team of like-minded people again set out on an expedition, this time it was the conquest of the South Pole. The expedition was clearly planned and thought out to the smallest detail, however, by a tragic coincidence, it became fatal for Robert Scott: both he and his companions died due to severe weather conditions, as well as lack of food. According to the official version, the great and courageous explorer fought to the last and became the last of the expedition members to die.

Alexander Bell

Alexander Graham Bell (eng. Alexander Graham Bell; March 3, 1847, Edinburgh, Scotland - August 2, 1922, Baddeck, Nova Scotia, Canada) - scientist, inventor and businessman of Scottish origin, one of the founders of telephony, founder of Bell Labs (formerly Bell Telephone Company), which determined the entire further development of the telecommunications industry in the United States.

Alexander Bell was born on March 3, 1847 in the Scottish city of Edinburgh. He added the word Graham to his name later as a sign of respect for his family friend, Alexander Graham. Several of Bell's close relatives, notably his grandfather, father and uncle, were professional rhetoricians. The father of the future inventor, Alexander Melville Bell, even published a treatise on the art of eloquence.

At the age of 13, Bell graduated from the Royal School in Edinburgh, and at the age of 16 he received a position as teacher of elocution and music at Weston House Academy. Alexander studied at the University of Edinburgh for one year, then moved to the English city of Bath.

After Alexander's two brothers died of tuberculosis, the family decided to move to Canada. In 1870, the Bells settled in Brantford, Ontario. While still in Scotland, Bell began to become interested in the possibility of transmitting signals via telecommunications channels. In Canada, he continued to invent, in particular, he created an electric piano, adapted to transmit music over wires.

In 1873, Bell received a position as professor of speech physiology at Boston University. In 1876, he received U.S. Patent No. 174465, describing "a method and apparatus... for transmitting speech and other sounds by telegraph... by means of electric waves." In fact, it was about the telephone. In addition, Bell led work on the use of light beams in telecommunications - a direction that later led to the creation of fiber optic technologies.

In 1877, Bell married his student Mabel Hubbard. In 1882, he became a naturalized US citizen. In 1888 he took part in the creation of the US National Geographic Society

Bell died on August 2, 1922 at his Beinn Brae estate near the town of Baddeck (Nova Scotia, Canada). After his death, all telephones in the United States (more than 13 million) were switched off for a minute of silence to honor his memory.

Freddie Mercury

Freddie Mercury (real name Farrokh Bulsara) is a British singer of Parsi origin, songwriter, vocalist of the rock band Queen. . He was the author of such group hits as “Seven Seas of Rhye”, “Killer Queen”, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “Somebody to Love”, “We Are the Champions”, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, etc. The musician also worked solo work. Born on September 5, 1946 in Zanzibar. At school age, Freddie was fond of tennis and boxing, studied well, and was involved in painting and music. While studying at school, I learned to play the piano. And in 1958, Freddie Mercury and his friends organized the group “The Hectics,” which played at school parties.

In 1962 Freddie returned to Zanzibar, but his family soon moved to England. There he began studying at a polytechnic school, but was intensely involved in painting and graphics. After leaving school, Freddie entered London's Ealing College of Art, where he studied graphic illustration. Freddie stopped living with his parents and rented an apartment for himself. Soon an important event occurred in his biography - he met the leader of the Smile group, Tim Staffel. Then he began to attend the band’s rehearsals and became better acquainted with Brian May and Roger Taylor. After graduating from art college, Mercury, together with Taylor, opened his own used clothing store.

In 1970, after Staffel left Smile, Freddie took his place. Soon the group changed its name to “Freddie Mercury - Live Aid 1985 Queen”. The place of bass guitarist, after a long search and several candidates, was taken by John Deacon. Freddie created a logo for the band incorporating elements of British heraldry. Two years later, Freddie decided to take the pseudonym Mercury (before that he had his own last name). The group's first album was released in 1972. Mercury was the author of several of Queen's first hits: "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Killer Queen". The group became famous throughout the world and began touring in different countries.

1980 marked a new period for the singer; Freddie even changed his image, began to wear a mustache and cut his hair short. Taking advantage of the vacation and suspension of touring activities, Mercury began solo work. First, he released the single “Love Kills” (1984). And in 1985, his first solo album “Mr. Bad Guy." Collaboration with Monserat Caballe resulted in the next album “Barcelona”.

Freddie Mercury - last official photo Since 1986, rumors about the singer's illness appeared in the press, which he completely denied. Only those closest to him knew about his AIDS disease. In 1989, Queen abandoned the tour. Freddie Mercury devoted this period in his biography to recording songs, because he wanted to release as many as possible. The last Queen albums during Mercury's lifetime were “The Miracle” and “Innuendo”.

On November 23, 1991, Mercury officially confirmed that he had AIDS, and the next day he died of bronchial pneumonia at his London home.

Julie Andrews

Julie Elizabeth Andrews (born 1 October 1935) is a British actress, singer and writer. Winner of Emmy, Grammy, Golden Globe and Oscar awards.

Already during the war, Andrews constantly performed in the music halls of London, and when she came of age, she moved to the USA to Broadway, where she was proclaimed the “queen of the musical.”

Her performance as Eliza Dolittle in the updated version of George Bernard Shaw's play My Fair Lady caused a sensation. Such musicals as “Camelot” and “Cinderella” were written specifically for the young actress.

In 1964, Andrews tried her hand at film.

Although her signature role of Eliza Dolittle was given to superstar Audrey Hepburn by producers, Andrews signed a contract with Walt Disney Studios to star in the film version of Mary Poppins. This picture became one of the most commercially successful projects in the history of the studio and brought the actress an Oscar for Best Actress.

On the wave of success, she played the main role in the musical film “The Sound of Music,” which has already become an unfading classic of family cinema. The film won an Oscar for best film of the year, and Andrews, who was nominated for the second time, became known throughout the world.

In 1997, as a result of surgery to remove polyps, Andrews lost her amazing voice. Fortunately, her career as an actress continued. In 1999, the Queen of Great Britain awarded her the title of Dame.

The paradox is that while playing virtuous governesses, Andrews found herself “sandwiched” into a certain type that she had to fight with for the rest of her life. She essentially had nothing else to play in the musical theater, and in the film industry she was written off as a star of the early sixties. However, since The Americanization of Emily, Andrews' acting range has steadily expanded.

Andrews tried herself as a theater director, played in the children's comedy The Princess Diaries and voiced Queen Lillian in the animated film Shrek 2.

George Stephenson

George Stephenson, Stephenson (06/09/1781, Wileham, Northumberland, - 08/12/1848, Tapton House, Chesterfield), English designer and inventor, mechanical engineer, who initiated the development of steam railway transport. Born into a miner's family, he worked for hire from the age of 8, learned to read and write at the age of 18, and through persistent self-education acquired the specialty of a steam engine mechanic (around 1800). Since 1812, the chief mechanic of the Killingworth mines (Northumberland) invented a mine lamp of an original design (1815). Since 1814 he was engaged in the construction of steam locomotives. The first steam locomotive "Blücher" was built with the assistance of R. Trevithick's former assistant J. Steele for the mining railway. In 1815-1816 he created two more steam locomotives of improved designs. In 1818, together with N. Wood, he conducted the first scientific studies of the dependence of rail track resistance on loads and track profile.

In 1823, in Newcastle, he founded the world's first steam locomotive factory, which produced the steam locomotive "Movement" (1825) for the Darlington - Stockton railway, built under Stephenson's leadership, and then the steam locomotive "Rocket" (1829) for the road between Manchester and Liverpool ( 1826-1830). During the construction of this line, Stephenson for the first time solved complex problems of railway technology: artificial structures were created (bridges, viaducts, etc.), iron rails were used on stone supports, which allowed steam locomotives of the "Rocket" type to reach speeds of up to 50 km/h. The gauge (1435 mm), adopted by Stephenson, became the most common on the railways of Western Europe.

In 1836, Stephenson organized a design office in London, which became a scientific and technical center for railway construction. Based on the drawings of Stephenson and his son Robert, steam locomotives were built, which were operated not only in Great Britain, but also in other countries. Stephenson also resolved other technical issues in the field of transport and industry, and was the organizer of schools for mechanics.

Charlie Chaplin

Sir Charles Spencer (Charlie) Chaplin (English: Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin; April 16, 1889 - December 25, 1977) - American and English film actor, screenwriter, composer and director, universal master of cinema, creator of one of the most famous images of world cinema - the image of the tramp Charlie, who appeared in short comedies produced in the 1910s at the Keystone film studio. Chaplin actively used the techniques of pantomime and buffoonery, although starting from the 1920s, his work began to include much more serious social themes than was the case in the early period of short films.

This character is well known to the actor: after all, he himself came out of the midst of the people, having learned in childhood the full hardship of a half-starved existence. Left without a father at an early age, he began performing on stage as a child. And when he turned 18, he was accepted into the pantomime troupe of Fred Karno, with whom he went on tour to the USA in 1913.

A year later, the twenty-five-year-old actor made his screen debut in the Mack Sennett studio film Making a Living. But only with almost a dozen short films behind him (“Children’s auto racing in Venice”, 1914; “Between Two Showers”, 1914; “The Best Tenant”, 1914, etc.) did he finally find the permanent image of Charlie, so beloved by the audience Chaplin: excessively wide trousers and a tight-fitting jacket, too large broken shoes that curl up toes, a mustache, a bowler hat and a cane. From film to film (and 34 of them were released in 1914 alone), this tramp, trying to seem like a gentleman, ran, fell, tumbled, threw cream cakes and received responses right in the face, in a word, he used the well-known techniques of clownery and farce. In many ways, his theatrical background helped him here: most of the tricks were borrowed from English pantomime (“His New Profession”, 1914; “All Night Long”, 1915; “The Tramp”, 1915; “Woman”, 1915, etc.). However, already in “The Bank” (1915) the audience was struck by the sad look of the lonely hero, and in “The Immigrant” (1917) the first signs of Charlie’s collision with a hostile reality appeared.

These trends manifested themselves in full force in the 1920s and 30s, when Charlie Chaplin founded his own film studio and began producing full-length films, in which he was no longer only an actor, but also a screenwriter, director, and composer. The warm and humane “Baby” (1921), where the eternal tramp Charlie acted as a caring father who sheltered a boy abandoned by his parents (J. Coutan), enjoyed success. The image of the escaped convict he created in “Pilgrim” (1923) is causticly satirical. The lone gold miner in “Gold Rush” (1925) is parodied, who, as is customary in Hollywood melodramas, is lucky in the finale, leading him “from rags to riches.” The “bun dance” on forks, which the actor performed while sitting at a table, was such a huge success that Charlie Chaplin repeated it twice in the original version of the film.

Soon after the release of this film, which was included in the top ten best films of all time, a scandal erupted, of which there were quite a few in Chaplin’s biography. Despite his small stature and “unmanly” appearance, Charlie Chaplin enjoyed enormous success with women. In addition, the press, greedy for sensation, deliberately inflated his love stories and the collapse of legal marriages. She made the first noise when the actor broke up with actress Mildred Harris. But, having received a large compensation, she let him go in peace. Divorce from the mother of his two sons, the mediocre extra Lita Gray, almost cost the actor his film career. The bitterness that Chaplin developed after this story was reflected in the eccentric comedy “The Circus” (1928), where a metaphorical scene - small evil monkeys torment Charlie walking on a tightrope - suggests that the actor did not forgive this persecution to American society. Although it was not Chaplin's best film of the 1920s, it received a special Oscar for "the genius of its writing, acting, direction and production."

The pinnacle of Charlie Chaplin's creativity and the style he found - the interweaving of whimsical eccentricity, sad lyricism and sharp satire - was his first sound - only musical accompaniment - the film "City Lights" (1931, in our rental - "City Lights"). The love story of an unemployed tramp for a blind flower girl (Virginia Cherrill) fails, and in the eyes of Charlie, who understands this, there is sadness and despair, which he tries in vain to hide with a timid smile. This line is constantly interspersed with the hero’s “friendship” with a millionaire drunkard, shown in an openly satirical manner.

The audience first heard Charlie Chaplin’s voice only in “Modern Times” (1936), where he sings a lyrical song in some incomprehensible language. But the actor’s facial expressions and movements are so expressive that the audience easily grasps the meaning of the sad story about how a fat dandy seduced a girl with a fake ring. A fundamental innovation was that here the hero fights for his right to life and happiness not alone, but with a girl (Paulet Goddard, who played this role, soon became Chaplin’s third wife). In these two films, the comic image of the charming little tramp of the silent period develops into a deeply dramatic one. His spiritual purity and kindness stand against the stupid indifference of the rich, the rudeness of the all-powerful police, and the inhumanity of assembly line production.

In 1940, The Great Dictator was published, in which, in addition to his traditional role of the “little man,” this time a Jewish hairdresser, the actor also plays the fascist leader Adenoid Hynkel, who even looks like Hitler. His plasticity is amazing, especially in the scene of playing with the globe. This political pamphlet clearly reflected the civic position of its creator, who talentedly, using only his own means, exposed the misanthropic essence of fascism. The New York Critics Award for Best Actor crowned this difficult, but so necessary work for people at that time.

Charlie Chaplin's post-war film Monsieur Verdoux (1947) again showed the little man's clash with society, but not in the image of Charlie (the film was based on the real story of the Frenchman Landru, who killed women for profit). Here, this story was given a social connotation: a bank employee who was left unemployed during the crisis years fed his family in such an original way. The unusual nature of the material caused a furious campaign in the United States against this film; its creator was again reproached for all mortal sins - political and moral. Then he left America forever, settling in Switzerland with Una - the daughter of the famous playwright Eugene 0"Neal, whom he married in 1943 after a peaceful divorce from Polet - and numerous children. He rented a studio in England.

The film “Footlights” (1952), which starred not only members of his family, but also many associates of his youth, in particular, Bester Keaton and Edna Purviance, Chaplin’s constant partner from 1915 to 1923 - the story of the last love of the clown Calvero, is largely autobiographical . And although the actor again achieved an amazing mixture of lyricism and comedy here, the picture was far inferior to his best creations. As, indeed, is the frankly evil satire on America “A King in New York” (1957). The melodrama “The Countess from Hong Kong” (1967), where the actor appeared in the tiny role of a steamship steward, turned out to be a clear failure. The actor never acted in films again...

The genius of Charlie Chaplin had a profound influence on the development of world cinema, although no equal to him ever appeared. The figure of this amazing master still stands apart. In 1954 he was awarded the Soviet International Peace Prize. In 1972 he was awarded a special Oscar and in the same year received the Gold Prize of the Venice International Film Festival for his work. In 1992, R. Attenborough directed the film “Chaplin,” where Robert Downey Jr. played the title role.

Since childhood, Jane devoted a lot of time to reading books by English novelists. She was fascinated by the works of Fielding, Richardson, and Shakespeare. In the period from 1783 to 1786. Together with her sister Cassandra she studied at Oxford, Southampton and Reading. Jane had no luck with schools; in the first, she and Cassandra suffered from the despotic temper of the headmistress and almost died after contracting typhus. Another school in Reading, on the contrary, was run by a very good-natured person, but the knowledge of the students was the last concern of her life. Having returned his daughters home, George Austin decided to educate them himself and was very successful in this. Skillfully guiding their reading, he instilled in the girls a good literary taste and taught them to love classical authors, whom he knew well from his own occupation. Shakespeare, Goldsmith, Hume were read. They were also interested in novels, reading such authors as Ridcharson, Fielding, Stern, Maria Edgeworth, Fanny Burney. Among the poets they preferred were Cowper, Thomson, and Thomas Gray. The formation of Jane Austen's personality took place in an intellectual environment - among books, constant conversations about literature, discussions of what was read and what was happening.

Austen's literary career began in 1789. When she was only 14 years old, she wrote her first work, “Love and Friendship.” The heroes of this parody novel are a little boring and sentimental, which is why it remains little known. The most productive years creatively were 1811-1817. It was during this period of time that Jane wrote her novels “Sensibility” (1811), “Pride and Prejudice” (1811), “Northanger Abbey” (1818). The latter was published posthumously. The novel Sanditon remained unfinished.

Jane Austen loved dresses, balls, and fun. Her letters are full of descriptions of hat styles, stories about new dresses and gentlemen. Fun was combined in her with a natural intelligence and a decent education, especially for a girl of her circle and position, who had not even graduated from school.

Restraint is a feature not only of Austen’s creative image, but also an integral part of her life position. Austen came from a family with strong English traditions: they knew how to feel and experience deeply, but at the same time they were restrained in expressing feelings.

Jane Austen never married. When Jane was 20 years old, she had an affair with her neighbor, Thomas Lefroy, the future Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, and at that time a law student. However, the marriage of young people would be impractical, since both families were relatively poor and hoped to take advantage of the marriages of their offspring to improve their financial and social situation, so Jane and Tom had to separate. At the age of 30, Jane put on a cap and never took it off as a sign of renunciation of hopes for personal happiness. The writer died on July 18, 1817 in Winchester due to Addison's disease. The works of Jane Austen have forever entered world literature as novels with artless sincerity combined with gentle English humor. She is considered the so-called "First Lady" of English literature and many of her works are included in the UK curriculum.

First leader of the Smallpox Vaccination Lodge in London from 1803 (now the Jenner Institute).

Soon he got a job as a mechanic at the University of Glasgow, where he began conducting experiments with steam engines. “All my thoughts,” Watt wrote to a friend, “are directed towards the steam engine: I can’t think about anything.”

Between 1764 and 1784 Watt worked on creating a heat engine. Its design was more advanced compared to the inventions of other European scientists. The machine operated due to the fact that steam from the boiler entered the cylinder and, expanding, forced the piston to move. At the same time, Watt managed to increase its power by providing a special cooling device - a condenser - for the steam to escape.

The hinge mechanism developed by Watt turned the steam engine into a universal engine for spinning and weaving machines, allowing it to be used in factories and factories, and in mining. It replaced the labor of dozens of people who previously had to set machines in motion manually. This accelerated the development of English industry.

Maxwell James Clerk (1831-1879), English physicist, creator of classical electrodynamics, one of the founders of statistical physics.

Born on June 13, 1831 in Edinburgh into the family of a Scottish nobleman. At the age of ten he entered the Edinburgh Academy, where he became the first student.

From 1847 he studied at the University of Edinburgh (graduated in 1850). Here I became interested in experiments in chemistry, optics, magnetism, and studied mathematics, physics, and mechanics. Three years later, to continue his education, James transferred to Trinity College Cambridge and began studying electricity from the book of M. Faraday. Then he began experimental research on electricity.

After successfully graduating from college (1854), the young scientist was invited to teach. Two years later he wrote an article “On Faraday lines of force.”

At the same time, Maxwell was developing the kinetic theory of gases. He derived a law according to which gas molecules are distributed according to their velocities (Maxwell's distribution).

In 1856-1860 Maxwell is a professor at the University of Aberdeen; in 1860-1865 he taught at King's College London, where he first met Faraday. It was during this period that his main work, “Dynamic Theory of the Electromagnetic Field” (1864-1865), was created, in which the patterns he discovered were expressed in the form of systems of four differential equations (Maxwell’s equations). The scientist argued that a changing magnetic field forms a vortex electric field in surrounding bodies and in vacuum, and this, in turn, causes the appearance of a magnetic field.

This discovery became a new stage in the knowledge of the world. A. Poincaré considered Maxwell's theory to be the pinnacle of mathematical thought. Maxwell proposed that electromagnetic waves must exist and that their speed of propagation is equal to the speed of light. This means that light is a type of electromagnetic waves. He theoretically substantiated the phenomenon of light pressure.

Born on January 3, 1892 in the city of Bloemfotain (South Africa). The son of an English merchant who settled in South Africa, Tolkien returned to England at a conscious age, after the death of his father. Soon he lost his mother too. Before her death, she converted from Anglicanism to Catholicism, so a Catholic priest became John’s educator and guardian. Religion had a significant influence on the writer’s work.

In 1916, after graduating from Oxford University, Tolkien married Edith Brett, whom he loved from the age of 14 and with whom he did not part until her death in 1972. Edith became the prototype for one of Tolkien’s favorite images - the elven beauty Luthien.

Since 1914, the writer was busy implementing an ambitious plan - creating a “mythology for England” that would combine his favorite ancient tales about heroes and elves and Christian values. The result of these works was the “Book of Forgotten Tales” and the mythological corpus “The Silmarillion” that grew from it towards the end of the writer’s life.

In 1937, the magical story “The Hobbit, or There and Back Again” was published. In it, for the first time in the fictional world (Middle-earth), funny creatures appear, reminiscent of the inhabitants of rural “good old England”.

The hero of the tale, the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, becomes a kind of mediator between the reader and the gloomy, majestic world of ancient legends. Persistent requests from publishers prompted Tolkien to continue the story. This is how the fairy-tale-epic trilogy “The Lord of the Rings” appeared (the novels “The Fellowship of the Ring”, “The Two Towers”, both 1954, and “The Return of the King”, 1955, revised edition 1966). In fact, it was a continuation of not only and not so much “The Hobbit,” but also “The Silmarillion,” which was not published during the writer’s lifetime, as well as the unfinished novel about Atlantis, “The Lost Road.”

Joanne Rowling is an English writer, writing under the pseudonym Joanne Katheline Rowling, author of a series (1997-2007) of novels about Harry Potter, translated into more than 60 languages, including Russian.

The Potter books have won several awards and have sold over 400 million copies. They became the best-selling book series in history and the basis for a film series that became the highest-grossing film series in history. Rowling herself approved the film scripts and had complete control over the creative process, being the producer of the last part.

At that time she was quiet, freckled, nearsighted and terribly unathletic. Her favorite subjects are English and other languages. She used to tell stories to her friends - where they all performed brave and heroic deeds that they would not dare to do in real life.

She went to Exeter University straight after school and studied French, at the urging of her parents, who said she could make a career as a bilingual secretary. She spent several years studying at the university and working as “the worst secretary in the world.”

In 1991, at the age of 26, she went to Portugal to teach English. She says she liked it. She gave lessons in the afternoon and evening, and composed in the morning. During this time, she began working on her third novel (the first two had been dismissed as "very bad"). The new book was about a boy who discovered that he was a wizard and ended up in a wizarding school. In Portugal she met and married a Portuguese journalist. Their daughter, Jessica, was born in 1993.

After the divorce, Rowling and her daughter moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, closer to her younger sister Dee. Rowling set herself the goal of completing the Harry novel before starting work as a French teacher, and, of course, trying to publish it. She wrote on the cafe table while Jessica was sleeping. The Scottish Arts Council gave her a grant to complete the book and, after a number of rejections, she eventually sold Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to Bloomsbury (UK) for US$4,000.

A few months later, Arthur A. Levin/Teaching Literature buys the American rights to the book for enough money to enable her to quit teaching. The book was published in the UK in June 1997 (at the time of writing the first edition of this book has sold £12,000/$20,000). At that moment the confession came. Harry Potter wins the British Book of the Year and Smarties Prize. Retitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the book was published in the US in September 1998. The next, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was published in the UK in July 1998, and in the US in June 1999. The third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban "was published in the UK in July 1999, and in the US in September 1999.

Rowling became an international literary sensation in 1999 when the first three books in the Harry Potter series reached the top 3 positions on the New York Times bestseller list - achieving similar success in the UK. In the summer of 2000, the first three books had sold over 35 million copies, in 35 languages, valued at approximately $480 million. In July 2000, the first printing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was 5.3 million copies with advance orders of over 1.8 million. "Order of the Phoenix", "Half-Blood Prince" and "Deathly Hallows" also became leaders in terms of circulation and box office receipts. The total circulation of all seven books about the adventures of Harry Potter was 400 million copies. In 2000, Warner Brothers released a film based on the first book about Harry Potter; in 2011, the eighth and final film premiered - at the whim of the filmmakers, the final novel was divided into two parts. All eight films occupied the leading positions in box office collections all over the world.

Each person has his own prototypes for inheritance, idols, or simply people whose life stories motivate them to act. In world history there are more than one example of biographies of famous people, after reading which you are inspired to do absolutely anything. Often these are people who lived centuries ago, but there are also our contemporaries. For some they are athletes, for others they are politicians, for others they are successful entrepreneurs. But they all have one thing in common - they are leaders. And even today, when the world is changing rapidly, sometimes several centuries after the death of such figures, their ideas continue to remain relevant and contribute to the unity of people. Isn't this the task of a real leader?

Political leaders

Professional politicians and skilled statesmen have given history the largest number of famous leaders. The reason for this is the specificity of the area, where such people quite often decided the fate of the world, and their names were constantly heard. In addition, success in politics requires charisma, grit, and usually excellent public speaking skills.

Winston Spencer Leonard Churchill(1874-1965) - British statesman, political and military figure, Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1940-1945 and 1951-1955. Journalist, writer, scientist. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. The greatest Briton in history, according to a BBC poll in 2002.

W. Churchill is a man of extraordinary energy and erudition. He worked in many ministries and had direct influence on the development of military action plans during the two world wars. Reading his “The Second World War,” you never cease to be amazed at the detail with which the author describes the diplomatic vicissitudes of the late 30s, and on the next page he gives a full technical description of the magnetic mine. As a leader, Churchill took an active part in everything and was interested in everything that directly or indirectly related to government. He was an excellent speaker - his radio speeches during the war (for example, the famous "It was their best time") attracted huge audiences, instilling optimism and pride in Britain. Many of the British politician’s speeches remain examples of oratory, and some phrases have become catchphrases.

« Success cannot be guaranteed, it can only be earned»

Franklin Delano Roosevelt(1882-1945) - American statesman and politician, 32nd President of the United States, the only president in the history of the country to be elected to the highest public office 4 times in a row. The author of the New Deal economic program, which helped the United States emerge from the Great Depression, as well as one of the consistent inspirers of the idea of ​​​​creating the UN.

F. Roosevelt is an example of a leader capable of uniting a variety of people in difficult times to achieve a common goal. Confined to a wheelchair due to an illness, this politician managed to assemble a team of many specialists and achieved support in Congress for reforms aimed at improving the economy. The Roosevelt administration gave refuge to many Jewish refugees from Germany after the Nazis came to power there. Possessing extraordinary courage, determination and strong character, this figure had a huge influence on international politics in the 30s - the first half of the 40s. XX century.

« Happiness lies in the joy of achieving a goal and the thrill of creative effort»

Nelson Rolilahla Mandela(1918-2013) - 8th president and first black president of South Africa, a famous fighter for human rights and against apartheid. He was convicted for his activities and spent 27 years in prison, from 1962 to 1990. Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 1993, honorary member of more than 50 international universities.

N. Mandela is a great example of transactional leadership. Having devoted his life to the idea of ​​achieving equal rights for the black population of South Africa with whites, he advocated peaceful transformations, but did not hesitate to prove himself right by carrying out acts of sabotage through the efforts of the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). After winning the presidential election in 1994, N. Mandela appointed his main political opponent from the National Party, F. de Klerk, as first deputy, wanting to complete the settlement process that began in the 90s. Today this politician is one of the most authoritative fighters against HIV-AIDS.

« If you have a dream, nothing will stop you from making it come true as long as you don't give up.»

Margaret Hilda Thatcher(1925-2013) - Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1979-1990. The only woman to hold this position, as well as the first female prime minister of a European state. Author of tough economic measures to improve the economy, called “Tet-cherism”. She received the nickname “Iron Lady” for the tenacity with which she pursued her policy and for her constant criticism of the Soviet leadership.

M. Thatcher's leadership style, which best characterizes her leadership qualities, was close to authoritarian. She is a typical businesswoman: reasonable, logical, cold to emotions, but at the same time having a feminine perspective on the problem. The determination with which the Falklands War was fought marks her out as a confident politician, and the letters she herself signed for the family of each victim mark her as a mother. The conflict with the IRA, casualties, attempts on the lives of the prime minister and her husband, difficult relations with the USSR - this is an incomplete list of what M. Thatcher had to face. How she dealt with these challenges, history will judge. Only one fact is interesting - the Iron Lady was indifferent to feminism, trying with her whole life to show that there is no discrimination, and in order to achieve something it is enough to be better than everyone else.

« If you want something to be said, ask a man about it; if you want something done, ask a woman»

Examples of Business Leaders

Business, unlike politics, this is an area where the word “success” is used in relation to famous people much more often. Everyone wants to be successful, and this partly explains the popularity of books written by famous businessmen. Leaders in the economic sphere are often bold innovators, risk-takers and optimists who can captivate people with their ideas.

John Davison Rockefeller(1839-1937) - American entrepreneur, philanthropist, the first dollar billionaire in human history. Founder of Standard Oil, the University of Chicago, the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research and the Rockefeller Foundation, which was involved in philanthropy, donating huge sums to fight disease and education.

J. Rockefeller was a competent manager. In the early days of his oil company, he refused to pay salaries in cash, rewarding employees with company shares. This made them interested in the success of the business, because everyone’s profit directly depended on the company’s income. There are many not very pleasant rumors about the further stage of his career - the takeover of other companies. But turning to the facts, we can judge J. Rockefeller as a religious leader - since childhood, he transferred 10% of his income to the Baptist church, donated to the development of medicine and Christian communities, and in his interviews he repeatedly emphasized that he cared about the welfare of his compatriots.

« “Your well-being depends on your own decisions.”»

Henry Ford(1863-1947) - American inventor, industrialist, owner and founder of the Ford Motor Company. He was the first to use an industrial conveyor for car production, thanks to which Ford cars were for some time the most affordable on the market. He wrote the book “My Life, My Achievements,” which became the basis for such a political economic phenomenon as “Fordism.”

G. Ford, without a doubt, was one of those people who had the greatest influence on the industrial development of the world in the twentieth century. O. Huxley in his dystopia “Brave New World” connects the beginning of consumer society with the name of Ford, whom the world of the future considers to be God. G. Ford's management decisions were largely revolutionary (an increase in wages almost doubled allowed him to gather the best specialists), which was dissonant with the authoritarian leadership style, which was manifested in the desire to make all decisions himself and completely control the work process, confrontation with trade unions, as well as anti-Semitic worldview. As a result, the company was on the verge of bankruptcy by the end of the industrialist's life.

« Time doesn't like to be wasted»

« Everything can be done better than it has been done so far»

Sergey Mikhailovich Brin(b. 1973) is an American entrepreneur and scholar in the fields of computing, information technology and economics. Developer and co-founder of the Google search engine and Google Inc. A native of the USSR, he now ranks 21st on the list of the richest people on the planet.

In general, leading a modest lifestyle and not being a public figure, S. Brin is known as one of the world's most respected experts in the field of search technologies and IT. Currently managing special projects at Google Inc. S. Brin advocates for the protection of the right to public access to information, freedom and openness on the Internet. He gained particular popularity among the Internet community after speaking out against radical anti-online piracy programs initiated by the US government.

« It doesn't matter whether I'm rich or not, I'm happy because I enjoy what I do. And this is actually the main wealth»

Stephen Paul Jobs(1955-2011) - American entrepreneur, developer and co-founder of Apple, NeXT and the animation company Pixar. Led software development for iMac, iTunes, iPod, iPhone and iPad. According to many journalists, Jobs is the “father of the digital revolution.”

Today, the name Steve Jobs is as successful a marketing symbol as a bitten apple. Biographies of the Apple founder sell millions of copies, thanks to which the company's products also benefit. This, to some extent, is what Jobs is all about: the success of his company and products is a merit not only of quality, but also of a set of actions planned to the smallest detail in marketing, sales, and support service. Many criticized him for his authoritarian management style, aggressive actions towards competitors, and the desire for total control of products even after they were sold to the buyer. But is it not because of this that “Applemania” became a real cultural trend of the early 21st century?

« Innovation distinguishes the leader from the catch-up»

Leadership in culture

Without going into a philosophical debate regarding the influence of mass culture on the civilizational development of mankind, we note the fact that it is the leaders in this area who most often become the subject of adoration and inheritance, understandable and simple, the same as an ordinary member of society. The reason for this is the very mass nature of the concept of pop culture and its accessibility.

Andy Warhole(1928-1987) - American artist, producer, designer, writer, collector, magazine publisher, film director, cult figure in the history of the pop art movement and modern art in general. Warhol is the world's second best-selling artist after Pablo Picasso.

The influence of E. Warhol with his works as a hymn to the era of mass consumption had a huge impact on the development of culture in the 60s. and remain so to this day. Many fashion designers consider his services to the fashion world simply titanic. The artist’s name is strongly associated with such concepts as a bohemian lifestyle and outrageousness. Undoubtedly, even today, Warhol's works do not lose their popularity and remain very expensive, and many cultural figures continue to inherit his style.

« The most beautiful thing in Tokyo is McDonald's. The most beautiful thing in Stockholm is McDonald's. The most beautiful thing in Florence is McDonald's. There is nothing beautiful in Beijing and Moscow yet»

John Winston Lennon(1940-1980) - British rock musician, singer, poet, composer, artist, writer. One of the founders and member of The Beatles. Political activist, preached the ideas of equality and brotherhood of people, peace, freedom. According to a BBC study, he ranks 8th in the ranking of the greatest Britons of all time.

J. Lennon was one of the most famous spiritual leaders and inspiration for the hippie youth movement, an active preacher of the peaceful resolution of any conflicts existing in the world. A large number of young musicians admired his talent and work. Lennon was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to world culture and social activities. The group’s work, as well as their solo career, had a huge impact on the development of the culture of the twentieth century, and the songs rightly occupy places in the list of the best works ever written.

« Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans.»

Michael Joseph Jackson(1958-2009) - American entertainer, songwriter, dancer, composer, choreographer, philanthropist, entrepreneur. The most successful performer in the history of pop music, winner of 15 Grammy awards and hundreds of others. Listed in the Guinness Book of Records 25 times; Jackson's albums have sold about a billion copies worldwide.

M. Jackson is the man who took the music industry and choreographic performances to a whole new level. The number of fans of his talent is measured by millions of people from all over the world. Without exaggeration, this man is one of the most significant personalities of pop culture of our time, who largely determined its development with his life and work.

« You can have the greatest talent in the world, but if you don't prepare and work according to plan, everything will go to waste.»

Sports leaders

Sport- one of the spheres of mass culture. To achieve success in this area, you need to have talent, stand out with physical or mental abilities, but there are often cases when success was achieved by those who persistently pursued the goal through exhausting training and complete dedication. This makes sport a subject of idealization, because it knows most of all examples when a boy from the Brazilian slums or a person from a family of disadvantaged African emigrants reached the top, becoming an idol for millions of the same children around the world.

Edson Arantis do Nascimento(better known as Pele) (born 1940) – Brazilian football player, entrepreneur, football functionary. Participant in four FIFA World Cups, 3 of which Brazil won. The best football player of the 20th century according to the FIFA Football Commission, the best athlete of the 20th century according to the International Olympic Committee. He is one of the 100 most influential people in the world according to Time magazine.

The success story of the football player Pele most closely matches the title description of a boy from the slums. Many of the Brazilian’s achievements remain unique to this day; almost all children who kick a ball in the yard know his name. For admirers of his genius, the example of Pele is not only an example of one of the greatest football players, but also a successful businessman and public figure who turned a childhood hobby into his life’s work.

« Success is not an accident. It's about hard work, perseverance, training, study, sacrifice and most of all, love for what you do or learn to do.»

Michael Jeffrey Jordan(born 1963) is a famous American basketball player and shooting guard. One of the best basketball players in the world at this position. Multiple NBA championship winner, two-time Olympic champion. Today he owns the Charlotte Bobcats bookmaker. Especially for M. Jordan, Nike developed the Air Jordan shoe brand, which is now popular all over the world.

According to research published in an article titled "The Jordan Effect" in Fortune magazine, the economic impact of the brand called "Michael Jordan" was estimated at $8 billion. M. Jordan is a cult figure for basketball, American and world fans of this game. It was he who played a huge role in the popularization of this sport.

« Boundaries, like fears, most often turn out to be just illusions»

Muhammad Ali(Cassius Marcellus Clay) (born 1942) is an American professional heavyweight boxer, one of the most famous and recognizable boxers in the history of world boxing. Sports personality of the century according to the BBC, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, philanthropist, excellent speaker.

One of the most famous boxers of the “golden era of boxing,” Muhammad Ali is an example of how a talented person, even after losing everything, continues to work hard on himself, again reaches the top. His three fights with Joe Frazier are among the best boxing matches of all time and, without a doubt, are known to all fans of this sport. Even after the end of his career, Muhammad Ali remained one of the most recognizable athletes of the 20th century; many books, newspaper and magazine articles have been written about him, and more than a dozen films have been made.

« Worrying all the time about past mistakes is the worst mistake»

Military leaders

Today, thanks to the rapid development of technology, including military technology, there is not much room left in history for a military genius. But even a century ago, the fate of individual states and the world as a whole sometimes depended on commanders and military leaders.

Alexander III the Great of Macedon(356-323 BC) - Macedonian king from 336 BC. e. from the Argead dynasty, commander, creator of a world power. He studied philosophy, politics, ethics, literature from Aristotle. Already in antiquity, Alexander gained the reputation of one of the greatest commanders in history.

Alexander the Great, whose military and diplomatic talents are beyond doubt, was a born leader. It was not for nothing that the young ruler gained love among his soldiers and respect among his enemies at such a young age (he died at 32): he always kept himself simple, rejected luxury and preferred to endure the same inconveniences in numerous campaigns as his troops, did not attack at night, was honest in negotiations. These features are a composite image of the characters from books and films that we all loved in childhood, heroes idealized in world culture.

« I owe it to Philip that I live, and to Aristotle that I live with dignity.»

Napoleon I Bonaparte(1769-1821) - Emperor of France in 1804-1815, great commander and statesman, military theorist, thinker. He was the first to separate artillery into a separate branch of the military and began to use artillery preparation.

Individual battles won by Napoleon were included in military textbooks as examples of the art of warfare. The emperor was far ahead of his contemporaries in his views on tactics and strategy of war, and government. His life itself is evidence of how one can develop a leader within oneself by making this a life goal. Not being of high origin, not standing out among his peers at military school for special talents, Napoleon became one of the few cult personalities in world history thanks to constant self-development, unprecedented hard work and extraordinary thinking.

« A leader is a merchant of hope»

Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov(1802-1855) – Russian naval commander, admiral. He circumnavigated the world in the team of M. P. Lazarev. Defeated the Turkish fleet in the Battle of Sinop during the Crimean War. Recipient of many awards and orders.

The leadership qualities and skills of P. S. Nakhimov were most fully demonstrated during his leadership of the defense of Sevastopol. He personally toured the front lines, thanks to which he had the greatest moral influence on the soldiers and sailors, as well as the civilian population mobilized to defend the city. The leadership's talent, multiplied by his energy and ability to find an approach to everyone, made Nakhimov a “father-benefactor” for his subordinates.

« Of the three ways to influence subordinates: rewards, fear and example - the last is the surest»

Reviews, comments and suggestions

The above list of outstanding leaders from various fields is only a small part of the material in this direction. You can express your opinion or write about a person who is an example for you using the form below.

“Outstanding political figures of Great Britain of the 20th century and their role in the development of the country’s political culture”

Modern Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy. Unlike most countries in the world, the UK does not have a Constitution that is a single document; it consists of various acts of parliament - statutes, court decisions and constitutional customs. The Constitution can be amended by an Act of Parliament or by general consent to change constitutional custom. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II (born April 21, 1926), who ascended the throne in February 1952. Over the last century, there has been a tendency to transfer power directly to the government, but the queen continues to take part in a number of important functions of government.

Great Britain includes 4 historical and geographical regions (historical provinces) - England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (Ulster) - part of Ireland - 6 north-eastern counties (according to the 1921 Treaty, it was included in Great Britain with autonomy rights).

The highest legislative body is parliament. It consists of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Parliament is engaged in legislative activity. Bills pass 3 readings. Generally, bills must be passed by both houses. They must receive royal assent before they can become laws. In practice this is a pure formality.

The head of the executive branch is the monarch. The head of government is the prime minister. The government is formed by the leader of the party that wins the majority or the largest number of seats in parliament in the elections. The government consists of cabinet members (about 20), non-cabinet ministers, and junior ministers (usually parliamentary deputy ministers). Most ministers are members of the House of Commons. At the disposal of the Prime Minister is a staff of civil servants

The key to understanding many of the features of the modern socio-political structure of British society is provided by such features of its development as evolution, “traditionalism” and the comparative stability of political institutions. Over the centuries, British political culture has been characterized by moderation and the organic weaving of new elements into existing structures, the combination and fusion of traditional and modern values, and the gradual acquisition by the ruling elite of the skills and abilities of “coordinating interests” within the framework of democratic institutions. The stability of British society has always depended on the ability of the country's leading politicians to achieve consensus on its fundamental goals and ways to achieve them. One of such outstanding British politicians of the twentieth century was Winston Churchill.

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (b. 1874 - d. 1965), Prime Minister of Great Britain (1940-1945, 1951 - 1955). Nobel Prize winner (1953) in the field of literature. One of the members of the “Big Three” - the heads of the powers of the anti-Hitler coalition, the initiator of the Cold War, largely thanks to whom the modern world is what it is.

Sir Winston Churchill earned a reputation during his lifetime as one of the most famous people of the 20th century, but over the years his fame as a great statesman increased a hundredfold. He was not only an intelligent and subtle politician, this man was much further ahead of his time than any of his contemporaries. Not everyone, for example, knows that Churchill was the initiator of the development of a tank design and was one of the first to realize the importance of aviation, back in the 30s. showed interest in rockets. On his orders, the pilots began scattering aluminum foil to confuse the German radars. He expressed the idea of ​​creating a pipeline under the Atlantic Ocean and invented a navigation device for pilots. Churchill was also the highest paid journalist of his time; writer, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature 1953

Churchill went down in British history as the most prominent politician of the 20th century, who was in power during the reign of six monarchs - starting with Queen Victoria and ending with her great-great-granddaughter Elizabeth II. He managed to take part in battles in Sudan and was present during the testing of the atomic bomb, which became the main threat of the post-war world. Churchill was an excellent diplomat, artist and even gardener at his Chartwell estate. His paintings were periodically exhibited at the Royal Academy, and in 1958 there was a solo exhibition of his work. Churchill was one of the best orators of his time. It was he who coined the term “Iron Curtain”, which became a capacious description of the post-war political situation. And this charming Englishman was one of the wittiest people of his time. One day Lady Astor told him: “If I had to marry you, I would give you poison,” to which Winston replied: “If I were your husband, I would take that poison.”

Churchill had irrepressible ambition, an unbridled desire for power. At the same time, the dominant feature of his political portrait was his commitment to democracy and hatred of dictatorship. His famous aphorism has long become textbook: “Democracy is the most terrible form of government, but humanity has not come up with anything better.” The following statement is no less famous: “In politics, as in war, they kill. Just more than once." He knew what he was talking about. His whole life confirms this aphorism.

The father of the future politician, Lord Randolph Churchill, was the third son of the seventh Duke of Marlborough, who traces his ancestry back to the Norman comrades of William the Conqueror. However, most biographers believe that the first Duke of Marlborough was the ardent royalist John Churchill, a lawyer from Dorset. His son fought on the side of King Charles I during the English bourgeois revolution and in 1643 married a girl who came from the family of Sir Francis Drake, who became famous in the 16th century. pirate expeditions and plunder of Spanish possessions in the West Indies.

Winston's mother Jenny Jerome was the daughter of a prominent New York entrepreneur and was reputed to be one of the most beautiful and brilliant social women in Great Britain. According to his son, “it was a princess, a fairy. She sparkled and radiated light like a star.”

Churchill's parents devoted a lot of time to social pleasures: they passionately loved horse riding and did not miss a single ball. The boy was born at seven months old during one of these balls on November 30, 1874, in the changing room in the palace of the Dukes of Marlborough, in Oxfordshire. His parents were seriously worried about his life. Winston grew up weak and had a strong stutter and lisp for a long time. Apparently, he could not count on a brilliant career. In addition, the boy studied poorly in all aristocratic schools, not wanting to study ancient languages, mathematics and philosophy. His favorite pastime was playing with toy soldiers, with whom he played out entire battles.

In 1887, the future “greatest Englishman of the 20th century.” entered a privileged educational institution in Harrow. This was a violation of family tradition, since all the Churchills studied at Eton. However, even here he was faced with constant reproaches from teachers for phenomenal negligence, tardiness and loss of books. A year later, remembering his son’s passion for soldiers, his father decided to send him to the famous military school at Sandhurst. In his opinion, Winston was incapable of anything else. But just before admission, the young tomboy managed to fall from a tree and received a severe concussion. He lay unconscious for three days, then without movement for several months, and finally recovered only a year later. After two unsuccessful attempts, on the third try, Winston finally entered military school.

In 1895, the young man suffered great grief. His father and nanny died. He became the head of one of the branches of the Churchill family and immediately faced serious problems - it turned out that his parents had squandered their entire fortune. At the same time, the mother continued to spend money thoughtlessly, blaming her son for his extravagance.

In the same year, the future prime minister finished his studies in twentieth place among 130 students and was assigned to the 4th Hussars Regiment. He passionately wanted to take part in hostilities. Therefore, when the war began in Cuba, he, through his father’s influential friends, secured a business trip to the island. He was tasked with checking the ammunition of the Spanish troops fighting there. In addition, he had to send articles to the London Dailygraphic newspaper. From this trip, Winston developed a passion for cigars, which many years later would become an integral part of the image of the famous politician. Here he became addicted to afternoon rest, which he followed throughout his life.

Returning from the island, Churchill was assigned to India. However, upon landing in Bombay, he dislocated his shoulder and had limited use of his right arm for the rest of his life. This did not, however, stop the young man from being passionate about polo and even winning victories in competitions between regiments. Since 1897, Winston worked in India as a war correspondent and covered the fighting against the Afghan Pathan and Afri-Di tribes who resisted the British invasion. He described this campaign in the book The Malakand Field Army, which brought him some fame.

In the same year, Churchill’s first political speech took place: the Conservative Party needed good speakers, and one of the relatives suggested that Winston try his hand at a Conservative meeting in Bath. His speech was well received, and the Morning Post newspaper reported “the arrival of a new figure on the political scene.”

However, military adventures attracted Winston much more. In 1898 he went to Sudan to take part in the campaign against the Islamic army of the Mahdi. In September, at the head of a detachment of lancers, a young officer fought with 12 dervishes and put them to flight, personally killing five. He later described this attack in the book “River War”, the circulation of which sold out instantly. In the same year, as a war reporter, Churchill went to South Africa, where there was a war between the British and the Boers. Two weeks later, Winston was captured and miraculously escaped, hiding in a carriage between bales of wool that were heading to East Africa. Two days later he safely left Boer territory and ended up in Mozambique. The brave correspondent returned to England as a hero.

In 1900, 25-year-old Churchill was elected to Parliament from the constituency of Oldham. In parliament he was accepted as an honorary member of the Conservative Party, but less than three years later Winston joined the ranks of the opposition Liberal Party, losing all his popularity. The formal reason for the transition was disagreements with Conservative leader J. Chamberlain on the issue of protectionism. In 1906, Churchill was again elected to parliament, now on the Liberal Party list, from the Manchester constituency. At that time he was considered one of the most brilliant speakers. Winston began his government career as Deputy Secretary of State for the Colonies, in 1908 he headed the Ministry of Commerce, and two years later became Minister of the Interior.

At one of the meetings with voters, Churchill met 23-year-old Clementine Hozier, a representative of a noble and wealthy family living in the Scottish city of Dundee. In August 1908, he proposed to her, and a month later they got married. And although Clementine could not be called the first great love of the 34-year-old minister, their marriage turned out to be extremely happy. According to Churchill, this woman, who had both external and internal virtues, brought calm and tranquility into his life and became a faithful companion for life.

Smart, beautiful, educated, she was able to tame the unbridled and self-centered character of her husband. When giving advice to young girls, Clementine liked to repeat: “Never force your husband to agree with you. You will achieve more if you calmly stick to your beliefs.” As a result, Winston often consulted with his wife about his political steps, was an exemplary family man and did not cheat on his wife. Politics always interested Churchill more than women. Clementine had nothing to complain about except her husband’s addiction to Armenian cognac and gambling.

Churchill realized that life exists outside of politics when he acquired the ancient Chartwell estate. Built during the time of Henry VII, the house offered a magnificent view worthy of an artist's brush. However, there was a lot of work to be done here: the beams were eaten away by worms, everything around was overgrown. With his usual passion, Winston set about arranging the estate. He cut down and burned the bushes, cleaned the pond, and laid the bricks himself. The wife, who perfectly understood what a huge job it was to turn Chartwell into a cozy nest, courageously performed the most thankless job.

In October 1911, Churchill received the appointment he had long dreamed of. He became First Lord of the Admiralty, i.e. Minister of the Navy. In this post, he sought to modernize the army through the creation of aviation, including naval aviation. During the Second World War it played a crucial role in protecting British cities from German bombing. The head of the military department often flew airplanes and seaplanes himself, which plunged his wife into panic.

After the defeat of the British troops at Gallipoli, at the end of 1916, Churchill was forced to leave his post in the cabinet. After a brief stint as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, he went to Flanders, in the active army, as commander of a battalion of Fusiliers in the Royal Scots Regiment. Here he saw for the first time how effective the use of tanks on the battlefield could be; Subsequently, becoming Secretary of the Navy, Churchill ordered the development of new types of weapons.

Churchill was soon recalled to England for consultations, and in the summer of 1917, in the coalition government of Lloyd George, he was appointed Minister of War Supply. Thanks to his energetic leadership, the output of military products increased significantly. By the end of the war, Winston had regained his position as one of the top officials in the state and, after the abolition of the ministry in 1918, he was appointed to the posts of Minister of the Navy and Minister of Aviation, which he held until 1921.

In 1917, when the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia, Churchill became one of the most ardent opponents of their regime. Regarding Lenin’s return to Russia through Germany, he said that “the brave Russian heart was defeated with the help of German money.” And when in March 1919 the government of Lloyd George decided to withdraw British troops from Russia, he protested. The Minister of War did not want to give in to “Lenin and his gang” and supported the White Guards with manic persistence, which displeased the Prime Minister.

Churchill's finest hour came in the 1940s. This was preceded by a number of important political events.

The House of Commons passed a vote of no confidence in the cabinet of Neville Chamberlain, who in 1938 signed the Munich Pact, which allowed Germany to occupy Czechoslovakia. The short-sighted prime minister believed that by doing this he would ensure peace for Great Britain. However, a year later, when Poland was captured and World War II began, it became clear what to expect from Hitler. Britain immediately declared war on Germany, and Churchill was again appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. In this post, he quickly gained popularity among his fellow citizens thanks to several successful military operations at sea, in particular a well-organized attack on the German ship Altmark, hiding in the Norwegian fjords. There were about 300 English prisoners on board, who were safely released. While supervising military operations, the minister did not stop working on the manuscript of a book on the history of English-speaking peoples.

After the failure of the military operation in Norway, the cabinet of ministers headed by Chamberlain was forced to finally resign. King George VI understood that Churchill was better than anyone else capable of leading the country in a moment of terrible danger. The monarch summoned him to Buckingham Palace and appointed him prime minister on May 10, 1940. From that moment on, he became that Churchill, without whom no history textbook would ever be complete - a tough, cunning, intelligent politician, to whose genius England owes the fact that it paid so little for participation in the Second World War, compared to other countries. price.

In his first speech in his new post, Churchill said: “I have nothing to offer you except blood, sweat and tears. You ask: what is our goal? I will answer in one word - Victory! Victory at any cost, victory no matter what, victory no matter how long and hard the path to it may be. Without her we cannot survive, without her there will be no British Empire and all that it represents. If we do not win, we will have to say goodbye to our way of life... I have now been given the right to demand help from all of you, and I say to you: come, everyone, and together we will go to victory.”

Soon bombs began to fall on English cities, turning them into piles of smoking ruins. No wonder Dover, where the raids began, was called “Hellish Mess.” But the Royal Air Force, once prudently created by Churchill, managed to protect the skies of their country.

On June 22, 1941, Germany attacked the USSR. Churchill hated communism, but in the fight against Nazism he was ready to take anyone as an ally. He made a statement that London would provide technical and economic assistance to Moscow. During the war, Churchill's relations with Stalin became quite close, and on many issues their points of view coincided.

Many facts indicate that Churchill began to think about the arrangement of the post-war world long before the end of hostilities in Europe. He understood that after victory, the USSR would get rid of two strong enemies - Germany and Japan - and would become the greatest land power and the mortal enemy of the entire free world. Therefore, without weakening a dangerous ally militarily, he sought to prepare the ground so that after the war the political chances of the USSR to influence the course of events would be minimal. The opening of the famous “second front” and the desire of the Western allies to seize as much territory as possible in Europe were subordinated to this goal.

The culmination of this policy was his speech on March 5, 1946 at Westminster College (Fulton, Missouri) on the occasion of the presentation of an honorary doctorate to him. In the presence of President Truman, insisting on the need to strengthen the Anglo-American alliance, he uttered the famous phrase that became the call for the beginning of the Cold War: “From Szczecin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has fallen across the whole world... I have come to know our Russians well.” friends and allies in war and is deeply convinced that they respect only strength, and there is nothing that inspires them less respect than weakness, especially military weakness." In addition, on September 19 in Zurich, Churchill called for the creation of a United States of Europe. At the same time, when it came to the unification of Germany, he was convinced that the way to solve this problem lay through an agreement with the USSR.

Immediately after the war, in July 1945, Labor won the elections and Churchill said goodbye to the position of prime minister. The famous politician fulfilled his historical mission. At the beginning of the next year, the king presented him with the honorary Order of Merit, which only two had been awarded before him. Churchill accepted it with gratitude, but refused the Order of the Garter, saying that he had no right to it, since voters preferred Labour.

True, in 1951, the Tory leader once again led his party to victory and again received the post of prime minister, promising the country “peace and greatness.” Three years later, after a stroke, the entire left side of his body was lost, but after four months the prime minister was back in action. However, the strength was no longer the same.

In April 1955, after the whole of England solemnly celebrated Churchill's 80th birthday, the great politician resigned as prime minister. On this occasion, a magnificent reception was held at the residence of the head of government, which was attended by Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh. The Queen appeared in a magnificent outfit, sparkling with beautiful diamonds. Churchill put on all his awards. At the end of the reception, gallant as always, Winston came out to hold the door of the royal car. The next morning he assembled his cabinet for the last time, drank tea with members of his team and left for his Chartwell estate. His tenure in power ended in the best English traditions.

In Great Britain, the Conservative and Labor parties have alternated in power since 1924. From the beginning 1970s “third” parties began to receive significant support, primarily the Liberal Democratic (until 1988 - Liberal) and Scottish nationalists. In 1979, neoconservatives led by M. Thatcher came to power. Authoritarian tendencies in public administration have intensified; The role of the executive branch in the institutions of interest representation has increased. At the same time, the most important direction of Tory policy was the transformation of the system of state social services, or the “welfare state”: there was a partial denationalization of the health care system; Conservatives implemented a number of measures aimed at implementing the principle of freedom of choice in school education and encouraging various types of private insurance. These changes took place thanks to the work of an outstanding British politician - Margaret Thatcher.

Margaret Hilda Thatcher (née Roberts) was born on October 13, 1925 in Grantham (Lincolnshire, UK) in the family of a grocer. She was educated at Oxford, where she studied chemistry and became chairman of the university's Conservative Association. After graduating in 1947, she worked as a chemist, first in Colchester (Essex), then in Dartford (Kent). In 1950, she made her first attempt to start a political career: she was elected to parliament from the Conservative Party from Dartford. The attempt ended in failure. In 1953, she received a lawyer's diploma, practiced law, and specialized in tax law. In 1959, Thatcher was elected to the House of Commons for the first time as a member of the Conservative Party. She took over as chairman of the parliamentary pensions committee, combining this position with the head of the national security committee. In 1967, Thatcher was appointed to the shadow cabinet (the cabinet of ministers formed by the party in opposition to the party in power in Britain). Under Edward Heath, prime minister from 1970-1974, Margaret Thatcher headed the Department of Education as the only woman in government. Despite the fact that the Conservatives lost the election in 1975, Mrs. Thatcher retained her ministerial portfolio even in the Liberal government. In February 1975, Thatcher became leader of the Conservative Party. The Conservative victory in the 1979 House of Commons elections made Margaret Thatcher prime minister. She became the first woman to hold this post in the UK. During her years as head of government, Margaret Thatcher gained a reputation as an “iron lady”: in her office, all work was based on a clear hierarchy, accountability and high personal responsibility; she was an ardent defender of monetarism, limiting the activities of trade unions within the strict framework of laws. During her 11 years as head of the British cabinet, she carried out a number of tough economic reforms, initiated the transfer into private hands of sectors of the economy where the state monopoly had traditionally reigned (the airline BritishAirways, the gas giant BritishGas and the telecommunications company BritishTelecom), and advocated an increase in taxes. Following Argentina's 1982 occupation of the disputed Falkland Islands, Thatcher sent warships into the South Atlantic and British control of the islands was restored within weeks. This was a key factor in the Conservatives' second victory in the parliamentary elections in 1983. Margaret Thatcher's third term as prime minister was the most difficult. After taking a number of unpopular measures, she lost support in her party and was effectively left with no choice but to leave her post. In November 1990, Thatcher announced her voluntary resignation "for the sake of party unity and the prospect of victory in the general election"; She was replaced by Finance Minister John Major. After her resignation, she served as a member of the House of Commons until 1992. In 1991, she founded and headed the Margaret Thatcher Foundation. Thatcher held numerous academic degrees. Among them is an honorary doctorate from the Russian University of Chemical Technology named after D.I. Mendeleev. She wrote two volumes of memoirs, The Downing Street Years (1993) and The Path to Power (1995), and the book Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World (2002). On June 26, 1992, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain granted her the title of Baroness and she became a life member of the House of Lords. In 1990, Margaret Thatcher received the Order of Merit, Britain's highest government award. In 1995, she was awarded the title of Dame of the Order of the Garter, the highest order of knighthood in Great Britain. In 2001, she was awarded the Chesney Gold Medal. Thatcher also received awards from a number of foreign countries. Health and age less and less allowed Baroness Thatcher to participate in public life. In the last years of her life, the “iron lady” experienced several mini-strokes and also suffered from senile dementia (dementia). On April 8, 2013, Margaret Thatcher died. Baroness Thatcher's ashes, in accordance with her will, were buried on the grounds of the Royal Chelsea Hospital next to her husband.

Margaret Thatcher can easily be called one of the strongest women in the history of mankind. Not afraid of any difficulties or problems, overcoming any obstacles, she managed to hold on as Prime Minister of Great Britain for 11 years, becoming the first and so far only woman to ever hold this position.

Wise and accurate statements of the “iron lady”, which she left behind as a legacy.

When a woman shows character, they say “bitch” about her. When a man shows character, they say he is a “great guy.”

Defeat? I don't understand the meaning of this word.

Every woman who is familiar with the problems of running a household is close to understanding the problems of governing a country.

The rooster may crow well, but the chicken still lays the eggs.

No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he only had good intentions. He also had money.

If you want to discuss something, go to a man; if you want to actually do something, go to a woman.

The home should be the center, but not the boundary, of women's lives.

I only rejoice at personal attacks on me. This means that the enemy no longer has any other political arguments.

You need to study your enemy well, then one day you can turn him into a friend.

Doing everything with an open heart is not a good idea. The heart should remain closed, so it functions better.

Without economic freedom there can be no other freedom.

90% of our worries are about things that will never happen.

The wealth of a country is not necessarily built on its own natural resources; it is achievable even in their complete absence. The most important resource is people. The state just needs to create the basis for people’s talent to flourish.

Women are much better at saying “no” than men.

Today, women have a lot of opportunities to express themselves: some of us even run countries. But, to be honest, a reticule suits us better than a bayonet.

As a rule, 10 seconds are enough for me to form an opinion about a person, and then it rarely changes.

Politeness today is highly valued, but impudence has no price at all.

If those who criticize me saw me walking on the waves of the Thames, they would say: it’s only because she doesn’t know how to swim.

It is not at all necessary to agree with the interlocutor in order to find a common language with him.

Being powerful is like being a real lady. If you have to remind people that you are, you definitely aren't.

41.7k (1066 per week)

There are countries on our planet that everyone and everything knows about, and one of them is Great Britain. Looking at the huge lists of the 100 great inhabitants of this country, one gets the impression that the United Kingdom has collected all the minds and talents: a lot of politicians, scientists, stars and writers were born here, leaving a huge contribution to world history. And many famous people of Great Britain made a huge contribution not only to the development of this country, but also to the science and culture of the whole world.

1. Queen Elizabeth II (1926 - present)

The current reigning queen of Great Britain, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, was born in London in 1926, and in 1952 ascended the throne and to this day delights the whole world with her reign.
Queen Elizabeth II is the daughter of King George VI and the heir to the famous Windsor dynasty, which has ruled England for many years. As a child, she did not even dream of ascending the throne, because she was only the third contender after her uncle Edward VIII and her father. But Edward VIII abdicated the throne because of his love for a married woman, and George VI died of thrombosis in 1952. As a result, a young girl at the age of 26 ascended the throne.
Even before this significant event, Elizabeth II married Philip Mountbatten and managed to give birth to two children - Prince Charles and Princess Anne. During the reign, the crowned couple had two more children.
Throughout her life, Elizabeth II actively took part in the political activities of the country, received an excellent education and even taught herself some disciplines. Today she is the main modern symbol of Great Britain, an example to follow not only for royalty, but also for ordinary Englishmen.

2. Diana Spencer (1961-1997)

Lady Di, or officially Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales. This person needs no introduction, as she has been living in the hearts of thousands of people for many years, especially in the UK. She was married to Prince Charles, gave birth to two children from him - Prince William and Prince Harry, but in this marriage she never found her love and happiness.
Princess Diana, heir to the ancient and famous Spencer-Churchill family, was the standard of style and kindness during her lifetime, and remains so now.
In the last years of her marriage, Lady Di experienced many scandals - the publication of information about her husband's infidelities, the official declaration of her own infidelity to Prince Charles and the constant excessive interest of the media, which ultimately led to the death of everyone's favorite. Queen Elizabeth II insisted on Diana and Charles' divorce, and it was officially signed in 1996. A year later, Lady Di was in a car accident in Paris with her lover Dodi al-Fayed (the son of an Egyptian billionaire), as a result of which she did not survive.
Princess Diana's role in charitable and global activities has brought her well-deserved popularity and love throughout the world.

3. Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

Winston Churchill is one of the smartest and most quoted politicians in the United Kingdom, who managed to stay in the political system during the reign of 6 British monarchs (from Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth II). Churchill became a favorite of the British during the Second World War, it was at this time that he raised the spirit of the country's inhabitants, who did not believe in victory and were waiting for the German invaders. Churchill was also responsible for the initiative to start the Cold War, so this politician can be called the “cutter” of the modern world as we see it today.
Everyone remembers Sir Winston Churchill as the Prime Minister of Great Britain, but besides this, he was also a writer, a journalist, and even a winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, which he received in 1953.

4. Queen Victoria (1819 - 1901)

Alexandrina Victoria, or Queen Victoria, was the reigning monarch of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 until her death. Until recently, she was the longest-reigning monarch in the history of the United Kingdom, sitting on the throne for 63 years and 7 months. In honor of this ruler, even the era of her reign was called Victorian, since Queen Victoria was able to significantly expand the British Empire, create a constitutional monarchy as we see it today, and ensure cultural, industrial, scientific and military progress. The House of Commons also succumbed to the reforms, increasing its influence.
Victoria became Queen at the age of 18, a year before she met her future husband, Prince Albert. The couple had 9 children, and the Queen was often called the “Grandmother of Europe” for the fact that throughout her life she arranged the marriages of all her children and 42 grandchildren across the continent. After the death of her mother and her dear husband in 1861, Queen Victoria went into mourning and wore only black robes for the rest of her life.

5. Margaret Thatcher (1925 - 2013)

“The Iron Lady” Margaret Hilda Thatcher is the first female prime minister of a European state and Great Britain in particular. At one time, she harshly criticized the leadership of the USSR, for which she received the nickname “Iron Lady,” but in her country she was very loved and revered, especially after the victory in the Falkland Islands. Respect for this political person can be indicated by the fact that she was re-elected to the post of prime minister 3 times.
During her political career, Margaret Thatcher carried out many economic and political reforms, for example, she was able to keep inflation at an incredibly low level, achieved permission to privatize some unprofitable state-owned enterprises, and solved unemployment problems in the country. The result was economic growth and stability in the UK.

6. William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

It is impossible to imagine English literature without William Shakespeare. He is an outstanding playwright and poet. His immortal works, in particular Hamlet and King Lear, are staged more often than others all over the world.
William Shakespeare is called the poet of England; he wrote 38 plays, 154 sonnets, and many comedies and epitaphs. However, there is no evidence that all these works were written by Shakespeare, nor are there any surviving manuscripts of the writer. In addition, William Shakespeare did not receive an education, although all of his works are incredibly deep with a large vocabulary reaching 29 thousand words. And although there is a lot of controversy surrounding the figure of the great playwright (about the authenticity of his works, religion, appearance and even his orientation), he was and remains a unique personality with a worldwide heritage.

7. Isaac Newton (1643-1727)

The famous scientist, mathematician, one of the founders of classical physics, astronomer and mechanic - all this is Isaac Newton. We have known about him since school: it was he who expounded the law of universal gravitation, explained the 3 laws of mechanics, developed the theory of color, integral and differential calculus; He has more than one mathematical and physical theory to his credit.
This is a scientist with a capital S, since he considered even eating and sleeping necessary, but wasted time that could be devoted to science. Newton did not have direct students, but a number of English scientists grew up on his books and research.

8. Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

We all know Charles Robert Darwin from the main theory in our history of the evolution of life on Earth, namely the evolution of man from the ape. He was a biologist, naturalist and explorer who circumnavigated the world after graduating from Cambridge University in 1831. After publishing works that resulted from research during his travels, Darwin began collecting material on the evolution and heredity of plants and wild animal species, studied natural and artificial selection, putting forward the hypothesis of heredity.
Most biologists recognized Darwin's theory of evolution during his lifetime, but it became generally accepted only in the 50s of the last century. Now “Darwinism” has become a household word, meaning a scientific view of evolution in the modern world.

9. Charlie Chaplin (1889 - 1977)

One of the most recognizable images in cinema was created by the inimitable Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin, who was not only an actor, but also a director, screenwriter, composer, and editor. At the age of 13, he began his career, inheriting acting talent from his parents, music hall artists.
Although Charlie Chaplin played not only in silent short comedies, but also created films with serious social themes, he is remembered throughout the world for his image of the tramp Charlie. The actor worked not only in England, but also in the USA, where he became the co-founder of the United Artists film studio. This talented silent filmmaker will forever remain in the memory of cinema, being included in the hundred greatest stars of world cinema.

10. James Cook (1728 - 1779)

The name James Cook is associated with oceans and trips around the world. This brave discoverer left behind many accurate maps, which he compiled with such care that they were used by many generations of sailors afterward. He explored lands where few had previously reached - the east coast of Canada, some parts of Newfoundland, New Zealand, Australia. James Cook has completed 3 round-the-world expeditions across the World Ocean.
James Cook was very friendly and tolerant of the local aborigines, wherever he sailed, however, it was at their hands, or more precisely, the inhabitants of Hawaii, that he was killed with a spear in the back of the head.

11. Paul McCartney (1942 - present)

A member of the legendary group The Beatles, Sir James Paul McCartney is recognized as one of the best bass guitarists of all time. He has received a Grammy Award 16 times, is a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and is at the same time an active public and charitable figure, calling for the fight for animal rights, etc.
Paul McCartney is even included in the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful musician and composer in recent history for 60 gold discs and more than 100 million singles sold.

12. Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870)

The writer Charles Dickens is one of the main pillars of literature in England. He was the most popular English-language writer during his lifetime, and after his death his name was placed next to Shakespeare. Such novels as “The Life and Adventures of Oliver Twist”, “David Copperfield” and others made Dickens a classic of world literature, the greatest prose writer of the 19th century.

13. John Tolkien (1892 - 1973)

England is rich in famous writers, but it was John Tolkien who was able to introduce “high fantasy” into the genre that has been read by thousands of people around the world for several decades. Great films have been created based on his books; people of all ages read “The Hobbit, or There and Back Again,” “The Lord of the Rings,” “The Silmarillion,” without even knowing that the author of their favorite books was not just a writer. John Tolkien worked as a professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of Oxford, was a linguist, philologist, translator, and received the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire from Queen Elizabeth II. His contribution to modern literature is enormous, and it is not for nothing that he has been ranked among the 50 greatest British writers since 1945.

14. Stephen Hawking (1942 - 2018)

Who would have thought that in the modern world a physicist could be so popular, and even have physical disabilities. However, Stephen William Hawking succeeded, he became a popularizer of science, promotes his theory of black holes to the masses, is one of the most influential theoretical physicists, and the founder of quantum cosmology.
Stephen Hawking is almost completely paralyzed (only part of his cheek remains mobile); he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at a young age. However, thanks to a speech synthesizer, the physicist communicates with others and leads an active social life, even flying in zero gravity.

15. David Beckham (1975 - present)

A list of famous British people would be incomplete without David Beckham, the former Manchester United midfielder. This footballer gained worldwide fame thanks to his execution of set-pieces and free kicks. Not only with his excellent game, but also with his attractive appearance, Beckham was able to achieve the title of the highest paid football player in 2011. He is also famous for being married to Victoria Adams, one of the members of the mega-popular group “Spice Girls”. Now the couple are very famous in the fashion world.

Estimate!

Give your rating!

8.19

10 1 26 16

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Read also:

Comments

Cookie Cat:z 10.03.19 16:53 WITH P A With And b O

Incognita 10.03.19 16:51 THX) [Reply] [Cancel reply]

PolinaCat ;3 10.03.19 16:49 Thank you [Reply] [Cancel reply]

PolinaKit:3 10.03.19 16:46 Oh thank you)) very helpful [Reply] [Cancel reply]

No name 12.02.19 19:10 Good facts thx???? [Reply] [Cancel reply]

yo 29.01.19 21:58 [Reply] [Cancel reply]

No name 15.10.18 18:05

Application

British politicians and statesmen of the second half of the 19th century.

Asquith, Herbert Henry, Earl of Oxford (1852–1928) – English statesman, liberal. 1892–1895 - Minister of Internal Affairs; 1905–1908 – Chancellor of the Exchequer; 1908–1916 - Prime Minister. In the elections to the House of Commons in 1924, Asquith was defeated. Subsequently he was a member of the House of Lords.

Balfour, Arthur James (1848–1930) – English statesman, conservative. Since 1874, member of the House of Commons from the Conservative Party. At the Berlin Congress of 1878 he served as secretary to his uncle, Foreign Secretary Lord Salisbury; 1886 – Secretary of State for Scotland; 1887–1891 – Minister for Irish Affairs; 1891 – First Lord of the Treasury and Leader of the House of Commons; since 1902 - Prime Minister and head of the Conservative Party. He was one of the initiators of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance (1902), which put an end to the policy of “splendid isolation”; achieved the conclusion of an alliance between England and France - the basis of the anti-German coalition. At the end of 1905 he retired. In November 1911 he was forced to resign as leader of the Conservative Party. During the First World War, he entered the coalition government, taking the post of Minister of Navy. 1916–1919 - Foreign Secretary; 1921–1928 - President of the British Academy.

Bright, John (1811–1889) – English statesman, radical. Member of the House of Commons since 1843. One of the founders of the Manchester League against the Corn Laws. In the liberal offices of the second half of the 19th century. served as Minister of Trade - 1868–1870; Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster - 1873–1874 and 1880–1882.

Victoria(1819–1901) - Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837, Empress of India from 1876, last representative of the Hanoverian dynasty.

Victoria remained on the throne for more than 63 years, longer than any other British monarch. She inherited the throne after George IV and William IV died, leaving no heirs. She became queen on June 20, 1837, and was coronated at Westminster Abbey on June 28, 1838. She was married to Duke Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861) on February 10, 1840. Had 9 children.

Gladstone, William Ewart (1809–1898) – English statesman, liberal. Coming from the trading classes of Liverpool, in the House of Commons since 1832 from the Tory party. In the 1840s. served as Minister of Commerce (1843), Secretary of State for Colonial Affairs (1845). Since 1847 in the ranks of the Liberal Party, since 1867 - leader of the Liberal Party. Held the posts of Chancellor of the Exchequer - 1852–1855, 1859–1866; Prime Minister - 1868–1874, 1880–1885, January-July 1886 and 1892–1894.

Gordon, Charles George (1833–1885) – English general. In 1863–1864 commanded the army that suppressed the Taining uprising in China. 1877–1879, 1884–1885 - English governor of Sudan. Participated in the suppression of the Mahdist uprising. Killed during the assault on Khartoum.

Gray,(Gray of Fallodon) Edward, Viscount (1862–1933) - English statesman, liberal. Member of the House of Commons in 1885–1916, from 1916 – member of the House of Lords. 1892–1895 – Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; 1905–1916 - Foreign Secretary; 1919 – Temporary British Ambassador to the USA.

Grenville, George (1815–1891) – English statesman, liberal. Member of the House of Commons since 1836, House of Lords since 1846. He supported free trade. Held the posts of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster - 1854; Chairman of the Privy Council - 1855–1858, 1859–1866 He was Minister of Foreign Affairs - 1851–1852, 1870–1874, 1880–1885; Colonial Secretary - 1868–1870, 1886

Durham, John George Lambton, Lord (1792–1840) - English statesman, Whig. Member of the House of Commons from 1813, House of Lords from 1828, 1830 and 1832–1833. - Lord Privy Seal. 1835–1837 – Ambassador to Russia; 1838 – Governor General and High Commissioner of Canada. In 1839, he presented to the English government a “Report on the situation in British North America,” which had a significant influence on the development of British colonial policy.

Derby, Edward Geoffrey Smith, Earl (1799–1869) - English statesman. Member of the House of Commons from the Whig Party since 1820, joined the Tory Party in 1835. He served as Minister of Colonies - 1833–1834 and 1841–1845; 1852, 1858–1859, 1866–1868 – Prime Minister

Johnston, Henry (1858–1927) was an English explorer and colonial administrator. During his travels to African countries in the early 1880s. entered into treaties with local chiefs, laying the foundation of the British East African Franchise Company. In 1885 he was appointed British vice-consul in Cameroon, and from 1887 - consul. 1891–1896 – Special Commissioner for British Central Africa; 1899–1901 led the British administration in Uganda.

Disraeli, Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield (1804–1881) - English statesman, conservative. In the 1830s. became known as a writer, author of the novels: “Elroy” (1833), “Contarini Fleming” (1832), “Venice” (1837). Elected to the House of Commons in 1837; from 1841 - leader of the parliamentary group "Young England", whose ideology was reflected in the novels "Coningsby" (1844), "Sibyl or the Two Nations" (1845), "Tancred" (1847). Chancellor of the Exchequer in Conservative Cabinets - 1852, 1858-1859, 1866-1868; Prime Minister - 1868, 1874-1880s. In August 1876 he received the title of Lord Beaconsfield.

Dilk, Charles (1843–1911) – English politician, liberal. Member of Parliament from 1868 1880–1882 – Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; 1882–1885 headed the Ministry of Local Self-Government. Author of numerous works on imperial themes, including: “Great Britain” (1866–1867), “Problems of Great Britain” (1890), “British Empire” (1899).

Curzon, George Nathaniel (1859–1925) – English statesman, conservative. In 1886 was elected to parliament from the Conservative Party. 1891–1892 – Deputy Minister for Indian Affairs; 1895–1898 – Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 1899, Curzon was appointed Viceroy of India. In 1905 he resigned, taking a seat in the House of Lords and the post of rector of Oxford University, and in 1916 he joined the coalition cabinet of G. Asquith. 1919–1924 - Foreign Secretary.

Cobden, Richard (1804–1865) – English politician. Born into a farmer's family. Since 1828 he was engaged in the chintz trade. He was one of the leaders of the Anti-Corn Law League, founded in 1839, whose members advocated the abolition of duties on grain imported into England. Since 1841 - Member of Parliament. In 1860, he managed to achieve the conclusion of an Anglo-French treaty, which promoted free trade in Great Britain.

Cromer, Evelyn Baring, Lord (1841–1917) - English politician. In 1877 he was appointed British commissioner in the management of Egypt's debt. In 1880–1883 served as financial advisor to the Viceroy of India; 1883–1907 – Consul General in Egypt; from 1892 - peer with the title of baron.

Livingston, David (1813–1873) – Scottish missionary and explorer of Africa. He made a number of long trips around South and Central Africa (since 1840). Explored the Kalahari depression, R. Cubango, Basa. R. Zambezi, lake Nyasa, discovered Victoria Falls, lake. Shirva, Bangveulu and r. Lualabu, together with E. Stanley, explored the lake. Tanganyika, crossed the African continent from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.

Lugard, Frederick (1858–1945) – African explorer, English colonial administrator. He took part in the wars in Afghanistan (1879–1880), Sudan (1884–1885), and Burma (1886–1887). In 1890–1892 became the administrator of Uganda, explored the countries lying to the east and northwest of the lake. Victoria-Nianza. In 1896–1897 made a trip to the lake. Igami. In 1900 he was appointed High Commissioner to Northern Nigeria. Under his leadership, until 1906, the territories that became part of modern Nigeria were conquered and subordinated to British rule. 1907–1912 - Governor of Hong Kong; 1914–1919 - Nigeria.

Macaulay, Thomas Babington (1800–1859) - English historian and critic, politician, Whig. Member of Parliament since 1830; 1834–1838 – Member of the Supreme Council under the Governor of India; 1839–1841 - Minister of War. Author of several works on the history of England, including “History of England” in 5 volumes (1849–1861) about the events of 1685–1702.

Mill, John Stewart (1806–1873) – English philosopher and economist, ideologist of liberalism. In 1823–1858 served in the East India Company; 1865–1868 - Member of the House of Commons, where he supported liberal and democratic reforms. Among the main works: "System of Logic" (vol. 1-2, 1843), "Foundations of Political Economy" (vol. 1-2, 1848), "Utilitarianism", (1863).

Milner, Alfred (1854–1925) – English statesman. In 1889–1892 was one of the officials involved in Egyptian finances; 1992–1897 – head of the department of taxes and duties in the British government; 1897–1905 - High Commissioner of South Africa and governor of the Cape Colony, and later of the Transvaal. 1918–1919 - Minister of War; in 1919–1921 - Minister of Colonies.

Molesworth, William (1810–1855) – English politician, radical. Member of Parliament since 1832; 1855 – Colonial Secretary.

Morley, John (1838–1923) – English statesman, radical. He made a successful career in journalism, and in 1880 was appointed publisher of the Pal Mall Newspapers. Member of the House of Commons from 1883 1885, 1892–1895 – Minister for Irish Affairs; 1905–1910 - Indian Affairs; 1910–1914 - Chairman of the Privy Council.

Munro, Thomas (1761–1827) - English colonial administrator. He took part in a number of military campaigns against Indian principalities. 1819–1923 - Governor of Madras.

Palmerston, Henry John Temple, Viscount (1784–1865) - English statesman. Member of the House of Commons from the Tory party since 1807, Minister of War - 1809–1828. Having joined the Whig Party, he served as Foreign Secretary - 1830-1834, 1835-1841, 1846-1851; Minister of the Interior - 1852–1855; Prime Minister - 1855–1858; since 1859 - leader of the Whigs.

Russell, John, Earl (1792–1878) – English statesman, liberal. Member of the House of Commons since 1813; leader of the Liberal Party from 1831. One of the authors of the electoral reform project of 1832. 1835–1839. - Minister of Internal Affairs; 1839–1841 – Colonial Secretary. He served as Prime Minister - 1846–1852 and 1865–1866; Minister of Foreign Affairs - 1852, 1859–1865; Colonial Secretary - 1855

Rhodes, Cecil John (1853–1902) was an English colonial leader. In 1869 he went to South Africa, where he managed to make a fortune during the Kimberley diamond rush. Founder of the De Beers company. In the 1880s contributed to the annexation of a number of territories to British possessions. Founder of the British South Africa Company (1889), which was to administer and develop the territories later named Rhodesia after Rhodes. 1890–1895 - Prime Minister of the Cape Colony.

Rosebery, Archibald, Lord (1847–1929) - English statesman, liberal. 1886, 1892–1894 - Foreign Secretary. Leader of the liberal-imperialist group. 1894–1895 - Prime Minister.

Salisbury, Robert Arthur Talbot (1830–1903) – English statesman, conservative. Member of the House of Commons from the Conservative Party since 1853, the House of Lords since 1866. He served as Minister for India - 1866–1867 and 1874–1878; Minister of Foreign Affairs - 1878–1880; 1885, 1886–1892 and 1895–1902 - Prime Minister.

Stanley, Henry Marton (present, name and surname John Rowland) (1841–1904) – journalist, explorer of Africa. In 1871–1872 as a correspondent for the New York Herald newspaper he participated in the search for D. Livingston; explored the lake with him. Tanganyika; crossed Africa twice. In 1879–1884 was in the service of the Belgian king Leopold II, participated in the capture of the river basin. Congo.

Wakefield, Edward (1796–1862) – English economist and politician, representative of classical political economics. Author of commentaries on the works of A. Smith. Major works: “Letter from Sydney” (1829), “England and America” (1833), “A View of the Art of Colonization” (1849).

Hartington, Spesor, Duke of Devonshire (1833–1908) – English statesman, liberal. He held the posts of First Lord of the Admiralty, Deputy Secretary of War, Secretary of State for India (1880–1882), and Secretary of War (1882–1885). Since 1886, the leader of the Liberal Unionists supported the Conservatives. Since 1891 in the House of Lords; 1895–1903 - Chairman of the Privy Council in the Conservative government.

Hicks Beach, Michael, Lord (1837–1916) - English politician, Conservative. Member of Parliament since 1864. 1868 – Deputy Minister of the Interior; 1874–1878 and 1886–1887 – Minister for Irish Affairs; 1878–1880 - Minister of Colonies; 1885 and 1895–1902 - Minister of Finance.

Chamberlain, Joseph (1836–1914) – English statesman. Member of the House of Commons since 1876; one of the leaders of the Radical Party until 1885; 1890s – leader of the unionists; 1880–1885 – Minister of Trade; 1895–1903 - Minister of Colonies.

Churchill, Winston Leonard Spencer, Duke of Marlborough (1874–1965) - English statesman. Member of Parliament since 1900. Until 1904 - Conservative, until 1923 - Liberal, then again Conservative, leader of the Conservative Party. 1911–1915 - Lord of the Admiralty; 1919–1921 – Minister of War and Minister of Aviation; 1924–1929 - Minister of Finance; 1939–1940 - Minister of the Navy; 1940–1945 and 1951–1955 - Prime Minister of Great Britain.

From the book History of Public Administration in Russia author Shchepetev Vasily Ivanovich

State authorities. State and political figures of the 20th century. Chairmen of the State Duma (the representative legislative institution of Tsarist Russia in 1906–1917) Sergei Andreevich Muromtsev, cadet, chairman of the 1st State Duma (April 7 – 8

From Lezgina's book. History, culture, traditions author Gadzhieva Madlena Narimanovna

Historical, political and statesmen Haji-Davud Mushkursky - Khan of Shirvan and Kuba (1723–1728) and other territories of Lezgistan with the capital in Shemakha. A major statesman in the history of the South Caucasus. Organizer and leader of the people's liberation movement

From the book History of Russia author Munchaev Shamil Magomedovich

author

1.2. Statesmen 1.2.1. Senmut, the right hand of Hatshepsut In the funny Polish feature film "The New Amazons", two men find themselves in the distant future after being unfrozen. They discover that people live underground. And these are some women who became

From the book World History in Persons author Fortunatov Vladimir Valentinovich

5.2. Statesmen 5.2.1. Acting Japanese Emperor Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa At the end of 2011, the media reported that the famous Russian film director A. Sokurov was so emotional when he was awarded the Japanese Order that

From the book World History in Persons author Fortunatov Vladimir Valentinovich

6.2. Statesmen 6.2.1. How the Duke of Alba prepared the Dutch Revolution The Dutch Revolution is in the shadow of others - English, French, American, Russian. Meanwhile, this is the first bourgeois revolution in Europe and the world, which led to

From the book World History in Persons author Fortunatov Vladimir Valentinovich

7.2. Statesmen 7.2.1. Dissident, intelligence officer and writer Daniel Defoe The English King Charles I was beheaded in 1649. But a constitutional monarchy gradually established itself in England. The French king Louis XVI had his head cut off in 1793. But in France

author Fortunatov Vladimir Valentinovich

1.2. Statesmen 1.2.1. Sveneld - Varangian in Russian service The name of the Varangian Sveneld is often found on the pages of Russian chronicles telling about the events of the 10th century. In 946, Voivode Sveneld led the memorable punitive campaign of Princess Olga against the Drevlyans. Igor's son

From the book Russian History in Persons author Fortunatov Vladimir Valentinovich

3.2. Statesmen 3.2.1. Sylvester and Alexey Adashev: the paradigm of life of Russian reformers in action State reforms of the late 40s - 50s. The 16th century, which determined the features of public administration in Russia for a century, are associated with the name of Alexei

From the book Russian History in Persons author Fortunatov Vladimir Valentinovich

4.2. Statesmen 4.2.1. "Semi-powerful ruler." A.D. Menshikov under Peter and without Peter The first governor of St. Petersburg, Alexander Danilovich Menshikov (1673-1729) was the son of a court groom. On the recommendation of Admiral Franz Lefort, he became Peter's orderly and

From the book Russian History in Persons author Fortunatov Vladimir Valentinovich

5.2. Statesmen 5.2.1. "Russia is concentrating." Master class by A. M. Gorchakov for Russian diplomacy It was no coincidence that the writer V. S. Pikul in his novel “The Battle of the Iron Chancellors” turned to the history of the confrontation between two outstanding statesmen -

From the book Russian History in Persons author Fortunatov Vladimir Valentinovich

6.2. Statesmen 6.2.1. Why did “Iron Felix” break? One of the creators of the new political regime, of course, was Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky, chairman of the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Profiteering, Sabotage and Counter-Revolution with

From the book Russian History in Persons author Fortunatov Vladimir Valentinovich

7.2. Statesmen 7.2.1. Anatoly Sobchak's rise to power In 2007, the country celebrated the 70th anniversary of the birth of Anatoly Aleksandrovich Sobchak. Few people remember that the political activities of a professor at Leningrad State University named after A.A.

From the book Rulers of Russia author Gritsenko Galina Ivanovna

Political and government figures AXELROD Pavel Borisovich (1850–1928) - a leader of the Russian Social Democratic movement, one of the leaders of Menshevism. Born in the Chernigov province in the family of a small merchant. After graduating from the Mogilev gymnasium, he studied at

From the book Louis XIV by Bluche Francois

Appendix 1. MODERN MONARCHES, HEADS OF STATE AND FRENCH STATES FIGURES Monarchs, heads of state, popesPapes: Urban VIII (1623–1644), Innocent X (1644–1655), Alexander VII (1655 - 1667), Clement IX (1667–1669), Clement X (1670–1676), Innocent XI (1676–1689),

From the book Oral History author Shcheglova Tatyana Kirillovna

18. Political, state and party figures of Soviet and post-Soviet history in assessments of the population (rural, urban) 1. Which of the Soviet or post-Soviet leaders of the country, in your opinion, did the most for ordinary people? Whose policy was it?