Part 2

Was born in Milk Street, London, brought up in the household of Cardinal Morton under Henry VII. He was early distinguished by great attainments, wit, and dauntless love of truth. When Speaker of the House of Commons, he came into collision with Wolsey upon a loan of £800,000 demanded by the king. As not a member would open his lips, Wolsey appealed to More, who said that unless all the statues around him could put their wits into his head, he could not answer His Grace. More refused to take the oath of supremacy to Henry VIII. as head of the English Church, and he was executed on Tower Hill. His daughter, Margaret Roper, rescued his head. He was a man of deep and various learning, and his _Utopia_, or romance of a model republic, is well known.

WILLIAM TYNDALE.

Born 1447.—Died 1536.—Henry VI.—Edward IV.—Edward V.—Richard III.—Henry VII.—Henry VIII.

Was born in Wales, educated at Cambridge, and with Miles Coverdale made a new translation of the New Testament, the Pentateuch, and the book of Jonah. He was strangled and burnt at the stake at Vilvoord, in consequence of the success of his translations of the Bible.

THOMAS CRANMER,

Born 1489.—Died 1556.—Henry VII.—Henry VIII.—Edward VI.—Mary.

Born at Aslacton, in Nottinghamshire, was a tutor at Cambridge, and was made at one bound Archbishop of Canterbury. He owed his rise to his clever suggestions for enabling Henry VIII. to divorce Queen Katherine, and became the favourite of Anne Boleyn in consequence. As Primate he sanctioned three divorces of Henry VIII. He drew up the Book of Common Prayer. He perished at the stake at Oxford in 1550, under Mary, after signing several recantations which he finally repudiated, and died with firmness.

SEBASTIAN CABOT,

Born 1447.—Died 1557.—Edward IV.—Edward V.—Richard III.—Henry VII.—Henry VIII.—Edward VI.

Was born at Bristol, of Venetian ancestry; became a celebrated navigator. He was the first to see the coast of Labrador from the ship _Matthew_, and discovered a great part of America.

SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.

Born 1554.—Died 1586.—Mary.—Elizabeth.

This eminent gentleman, poet, and man of letters was born at Penshurst in Kent. He was General of the Horse under Queen Elizabeth, and distinguished himself in many engagements. He wrote a romance called _Arcadia_ and _The Defence of Poesie_. He was killed at the battle of Zutphen in Holland, where, when a draught of water was brought him, he showed his unselfishness by sending it to a poor dying soldier near him, saying, “He wants it more than I do.”

SIR FRANCIS WALSINGHAM.

Born 1536.—Died 1590.—Henry VIII.—Edward VI.—Mary.—Elizabeth.

Sir Francis Walsingham was one of Elizabeth’s most devoted ministers, and one of the craftiest and wiliest of men. He had an army of spies in pay, and was the chief mover in the cruelties practised in Elizabeth’s reign, and in the beheading of Mary Queen of Scots.

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.

Born 1545.—Died 1596.—Henry VIII.—Edward VI.—Mary.—Elizabeth.

One of the “Devonshire Worthies,” born at Tavistock. Sailing from Plymouth with five ships, he passed through the Straits of Magellan to the South Seas, captured many large Spanish galleons with his famous _Golden Hind_, and returned to Plymouth by the Cape of Good Hope. He had been two years and ten months sailing round the world (December 1577 to 1580). Queen Elizabeth dined with Drake on board the _Golden Hind_ at Deptford and knighted him with her own hands. Some of the timbers of Drake’s famous ship were made into a chair, which was given to the university of Oxford. Drake took a distinguished part in the defeat of the Spanish Armada.

WILLIAM CECIL,

Born 1520.—Died 1598.—Henry VIII.—Edward VI.—Mary.—Elizabeth.

Lord Burleigh, was born in Lincolnshire. He was the greatest of all Queen Elizabeth’s statesmen and the chief originator of the English merchant navy. By taking their privileges from the Hanse Town steelyard merchants, who monopolized nearly all the foreign trade of England, he obliged English merchants to build their own ships; and devoted himself also to raising the revenues of the country. He purified the coinage and took a chief part in building the first Exchange, where the London merchants could meet under cover to transact their business. He persuaded Queen Elizabeth to visit it, and it ever after was known as the Royal Exchange. This building was burnt in the great fire (1666). Lord Burleigh was a silent and most cautious man, fond of books and his garden, and was a most useful minister to England.

EDMUND SPENSER.

Born 1553.—Died 1599.—Mary.—Elizabeth.

The author of the _Fairy Queen_, six books of which were unfortunately lost by his servant when coming from Ireland, where Spenser was private secretary to the cruel Lord Grey de Wilton. He was the great friend of Sir Philip Sidney and Sir Walter Raleigh. He was born and died in London.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE.

Born 1564.—Died 1616.—Mary.—Elizabeth.—James I.

Universally acknowledged as the greatest poet that ever lived. He was born in 1564 at Stratford-on-Avon, and when quite young delighted the court of Queen Elizabeth with his genius. His plays are the best known of his works, and those which relate to historical subjects are treasuries of information upon the manners, customs, and mode of life of the times they represent.

SIR WALTER RALEIGH,

Born 1552.—Died 1618.—Edward VI.—Mary.—Elizabeth.—James I.

Was born at Hayes, in Devonshire, and was one of the “Devonshire Worthies.” He was the son of a Devonshire gentleman of small fortune, who rose rapidly in favour with Queen Elizabeth from his wit, good looks, and great talents. He was sent on a command to Ireland, and afterwards took great part in colonizing Virginia in North America. In the reign of James I. he was unjustly accused of high treason and sent to the Tower, where he wrote his famous “History of the World.” He was beheaded at Westminster, though his guilt was never proved.

FRANCIS BACON,

Born 1561.—Died 1626.—Elizabeth.—James I.—Charles I.

Lord Verulam, was born in London. This extraordinary man was a great statesman and lawyer, an eminent writer, and has been called the Light of Science and Father of Experimental Philosophy. He was made Royal Keeper and Lord Chancellor under James I., and then trafficked in the decisions of the woolsack. After a career of unbounded expense and the most unprincipled use of his high offices, Bacon was impeached and sentenced to a kind of imprisonment within twelve miles of the court. For five years he presented the pitiful sight of vast genius, united to a total want of principle or high character, and with all his splendid gifts he died despised and in disgrace.

BEN JONSON.

Born 1574—Died 1637.—Elizabeth.—James I.—Charles I.

This celebrated English poet and dramatist was born in Westminster. After serving to his credit as a soldier in the Netherlands, he became a player and dramatic writer. He was distinguished for his wit, learning, and various information, as well as for his writings. He was made Poet Laureate by James I.

JOHN HAMPDEN.

Born 1594.—Died 1643.—James I.—Charles I.

This brave gentleman, born at Great Hampden, in Buckinghamshire, distinguished as a patriot, was the first to refuse payment of the shipmoney levied by Charles I. He was one of the foremost of those who reasonably opposed the king’s unconstitutional acts. He was killed at the battle of Chalgrove, near Oxford.

VANDYKE.

Born 1598.—Died 1641.—Elizabeth.—James I.—Charles I.

This famous Flemish portrait painter was a pupil of Rubens, but imitated Titian in his warm, rich colouring. He lived in England for many years, being much patronised by Charles I.

WILLIAM LAUD,

Born 1573—Died 1644.—Elizabeth.—James I.—Charles I.

Archbishop of Canterbury, was born in Berkshire, and educated at the grammar school, Reading, and at St. John’s College, Oxford, of which he became President. As Primate in the turbulent reign of Charles I., he was associated with repressive measures against the Puritans, to whom he made himself so obnoxious that through their instrumentality he was beheaded on Tower Hill.

INIGO JONES.

Born 1572.—Died 1652.—Elizabeth.—James I.—Charles I.

An architect, born in London in 1572. He designed many imposing public buildings in his own peculiar style—the Banqueting House, Whitehall, the Church and Piazza of Covent Garden, etc.; many stately brick and stone country houses were also built by him. He has been called the “British Vitruvius.”

ADMIRAL BLAKE.

Born 1598.—Died 1657.—Elizabeth.—James I.—Charles I.

Born at Bridgewater in Somersetshire. He was first distinguished as a Parliamentary General. He afterwards raised the name of the English navy, under Cromwell, to almost its greatest height. He burnt nine pirate ships in Tunis Harbour, and after a series of battles and brilliant victories, in which he several times defeated the Dutch under Van Tromp, he carried off the spoil of several rich Spanish plate galleons at Teneriffe. That same year, just as his well-known ship the _St. George_ was entering Plymouth sound, Blake, worn out with toil and disease, breathed his last.

DR. WILLIAM HARVEY.

Born 1578.—Died 1657.—Elizabeth.—James I.—Charles I.

This eminent man of science, born at Folkestone in Kent, was physician extraordinary to James I. and Charles I. He was the first discoverer of the circulation of the blood, but his great modesty of character prevented him from making it known till many years after.

JEREMY TAYLOR.

Born 1613.—Died 1667.—James I.—Charles I.—Charles II.

Born at Cambridge, became Bishop of Down and Connor, in Ireland. He was chaplain to Charles I., and was present during several of his campaigns. After the royal martyr’s death he kept a school in Wales, and there wrote the beautiful devotional works by which his name will be remembered.

JOHN MILTON.

Born 1608.—Died 1674.—James I.—Charles I.—Charles II.

This great poet, born in Bread Street, London, was Cromwell’s Latin Secretary, and was strongly imbued with republican opinions. His _Paradise Lost_ and _Paradise Regained_ are models of sublime verse; and _Comus_ and many smaller poems and sonnets are full of beauty and learning. Milton was totally blind, and was obliged to dictate his poems to his daughter, who wrote for him. He was buried in St. Giles’ church, Cripplegate, London.

SIR PETER LELY.

Born 1617.—Died 1680.—James I.—Charles I.—Charles II.

A celebrated portrait painter, whose pictures are full of grace and exquisite colouring. He painted the well-known beauties of the court of Charles II.

JOHN BUNYAN.

1628–1688.—Charles I.—Charles II.—James II.

Born in Bedfordshire, where he began life as a tinker, then enlisted as a soldier in the Parliamentary army, and ended by preaching, for which he suffered imprisonment for twelve years. While in prison he wrote his famous allegory _The Pilgrim’s Progress_, and several others, by which his name will always be known.

JOHN DRYDEN.

Born 1631.—Died 1700.—Charles I.—Charles II.—James II.—William III.

The translator of _Virgil_ and the author of _The Hind and Panther_ and other celebrated political and descriptive poems of singular energy and force. His plays also are well known. He was born at Aldwinkle, in Northamptonshire.

JOHN LOCKE.

Born 1632.—Died 1704.—Charles I.—Charles II.—James II.—William III.

A celebrated philosopher and man of learning, was born at Wrington, near Bristol. He wrote the essay upon the Conduct of the Human Understanding.

JOHN EVELYN.

Born 1620.—Died 1706.—James I.—Charles I.—Charles II.—James II.—William III.—Anne.

This Surrey country gentleman was remarkable as a naturalist and man of literature. He wrote a famous Diary, and “_Silva_,” or account of Forest Trees; also on engraving.

THOMAS KEN.

Born 1637.—Died 1711.—Charles I.—Charles II.—James II.—William and Mary.—Anne.

Bishop of Bath and Wells. The friend and relative of Isaac Walton. Was appointed to the bishoprick of Bath and Wells by King Charles II. He refused to take the oath of allegiance to William and Mary, and was consequently deprived of his see. He was one of the most eminent of those who for this refusal were called _Nonjurors_. He was the author of _The Evening Hymn_, and other pious works.

JOHN FLAMSTEAD.

Born 1646.—Died 1719.—Charles I.—Charles II.—James II.—William III.—Anne.—George I.

The first astronomer-royal after Greenwich Observatory was built. He made many astronomical discoveries, and drew up the catalogue of the stars seen in our astronomical hemisphere.

JOSEPH ADDISON.

Born 1672.—Died 1719.—Charles II.—James II.—William III.—Anne.—George I.

Was born at Milston, in Wiltshire, of which his father was Rector, and educated at the Charter House and Magdalene College, Oxford. He is chiefly known by his papers in the _Spectator_ and _Tatler_. His style was pure and flowing, though more polished and artificial than the English of the present day. He held several appointments, and became Secretary of State. He died at Holland House, Kensington.

JOHN CHURCHILL,

Born 1650.—Died 1722.—Charles II.—James II.—William III.—Anne.—George I.

Duke of Marlborough. This celebrated general, born in Devonshire, went to court as a page under Charles II. He married the beautiful Sarah Jennings, became attached to the Duke of York (James II.), and rose rapidly, through his great military genius. James II. created him Lord Churchill, and by basely forsaking him for William III., he was created Earl of Marlborough. In the war of the Spanish Succession (1702) Marlborough dashed from the Low Countries (Belgium) to Bavaria, and defeated the French and their allies at Donauwert, Blenheim (on the Danube, thirty-three miles from Ulm), Ramilies, Oudenarde, Malplaquet, and Arleux, and in numberless smaller engagements. After the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, Marlborough was created a Duke, and received from the nation a property and splendid palace near Woodstock, built by Sir John Vanbrugh, and called Blenheim. Marlborough was unhappy in his private life.

SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN.

Born 1632.—Died 1723.—Charles I.—Charles II.—James II.—William III.—Anne.—George I.

Was born at East Knoyle, in Wiltshire. He was the greatest architect of his age, after Italian models. He did not understand the principles of Pointed, or what is called Gothic Architecture. Besides re-building many of the churches destroyed by the great fire of London, he built the Theatre at Oxford and re-built St. Paul’s Cathedral, which is the greatest of his works. The Latin inscription to him to be read there justly says, “If you seek for his monument, look around you.”

SIR ISAAC NEWTON.

Born 1642.—Died 1727.—Charles I.—Charles II.—James II.—William III.—Anne.—George I.

This great man was a native of Woolsthorpe, in Lincolnshire; he has been called the founder of natural philosophy. He made great discoveries in astronomy by applying the principle of gravitation to the planets; and established important facts in optics and mathematics. His great works were the _Principia_ and _Optics_. He was a man of the gentlest disposition, and was so unassuming and modest that he seemed unaware of his own genius. He died at Kensington.

SIR RICHARD STEELE.

Born 1671.—Died 1729.—Charles II.—James II.—William III.—Anne.—George I.—George II.

The friend of Addison and editor of the _Spectator_, _Tatler_, _Guardian_, and _Englishman_, in which he also wrote.

DANIEL DEFOE.

Born 1661.—Died 1731.—Charles II.—James II.—William III.—Anne.—George I.—George II.

The author of _Robinson Crusoe_ and the _History of the Plague_, was the son of James Foe, a butcher of Cripplegate in London. He also wrote tracts which several times got him into trouble.

ALEXANDER POPE.

Born 1688.—Died 1744.—James III.—William III.—Anne.—George I.—George II.

This celebrated poet of the 18th century, the son of a linendraper in the Strand, London, translated the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_, wrote the _Rape of the Lock_, the _Essay on Man_, and other poems.

DEAN JONATHAN SWIFT.

Born 1667.—Died 1745.—Charles II.—James II.—William III.—Anne.—George I.—George II.

An Irish divine, born at Dublin, was a distinguished wit and writer. He wrote many satirical works, and _Gulliver’s Travels_. His bitter, morose spirit tinges all his works. He died insane as Dean of St. Patrick’s.

JOSEPH BUTLER.

Born 1692.—Died 1752.—William III.—Anne.—George I.—George II.

The author of the famous Analogy and Sermons, which have been long used as text-books of moral philosophy at our universities; he was Bishop of Bristol and afterwards of Durham, and Clerk of the Closet to Queen Caroline. He was born at Wantage in Berkshire, and died at Bath.

HENRY FIELDING,

Born 1707.—Died 1754.—Anne.—George I.—George II.

Son of Lieutenant-General Fielding and great grandson of the third Earl of Denbigh, was born at Sharpham, in Somersetshire. He was the author of _Tom Jones_ and several other novels full of character and accurate descriptions of varieties of life, but disfigured by the great coarseness of the age in which he wrote. He died of dropsy at Lisbon.

GENERAL WOLFE.

Born 1726.—Died 1759.—George I.—George II.—George III.

This brave General, born in Kent, earned during his short life of thirty-three years unusual distinction. He was appointed General of the British troops in North America, under Lord Chatham’s administration, and fought in the siege of Louisbourg, which surrendered, in Cape Breton. While afterwards besieging Quebec, Wolfe was shot at the moment of his victory over the French under Montcalm, and when told that the French troops were flying, said, “I die content.”

SAMUEL RICHARDSON.

Born 1689.—Died 1761.—William III.—Anne.—George I.—George II.—George III.

This celebrated novelist was born in Derbyshire. He was educated at Christ’s Hospital, and began life as a printer. He was the first English writer of fiction who, in _Sir Charles Grandison_, avoided the coarseness which disfigures Smollett’s and Fielding’s works. He wrote also _Pamela_ and _Clarissa Harlowe_, which have been translated into most of the European languages.

WILLIAM HOGARTH.

Born 1697.—Died 1764.—William III.—Anne.—George I.—George II.—George III.

Born in London, began life as an engraver on silver: he became a great painter. The engravings of _The Rake’s Progress_, _Marriage à la Mode_, _The Analysis of Beauty_, etc., are universally known. His works are full of satire and instruction, though not of the most pleasing kind.

JAMES STUART.

Born 1688.—Died 1766.—James II.—William III.—Anne.—George I.—George II.—George III.

The first Pretender, son of James II., who when living at St. Germain, in France, landed in Scotland after the battle of Sheriffmuir, and made a public entry into Dundee. His small army soon melted away, and he escaped in a small vessel from the Bay of Montrose to Gravelines. Unhappily, eight Jacobite noblemen had been induced to rise in this rebellion, and though most of them escaped, Lords Derwentwater and Kenmure were beheaded on Tower Hill.

LAWRENCE STERNE,

Born 1738.—Died 1768.—George II.—George III.

Born at Clonmel in Ireland, was author of _The Sentimental Journey_, _Tristram Shandy_, and other works.

GEORGE WHITFIELD,

Born 1714.—Died 1770.—Anne.—George I.—George II.—George III.

The founder of the sect of Calvinistic Methodists, was born in Gloucestershire, was educated at the Crypt School there, and at Pembroke College, Oxford, and first displayed there his extraordinary powers as an eloquent and forcible preacher. He worked with the Wesleys in Georgia in America, until differences arose, which divided the Methodists into two sects, and he died the rival of Wesley, near Boston, in the United States.

DR. TOBIAS SMOLLETT,

Born 1721.—Died 1771.—George I.—George II.—George III.

Born in Scotland, was a physician, but is best known as the author of a very poor continuation of _Hume’s History of England_, and very powerful and striking novels, the talent of which is defaced by coarseness and want of religious principle. He died at Leghorn.

JAMES BRINDLEY,

Born 1716.—Died 1772.—George I.—George II.—George III.

A mechanic of extraordinary abilities, born at Thornsett, in Derbyshire. He planned the Bridgewater canal from Worsley to Manchester, and several other great works of inland navigation.

ROBERT LORD CLIVE.

Born 1725.—Died 1774.—George I.—George II.—George III.

A famous General in the East India Company’s Service, born at Styche, in Shropshire. He fought the French under Count Lalley, and took from them Ponticherry and Chandanagore. He defeated the Nabob of Bengal, Surajah Dowlah, who put 146 English prisoners into the Black Hole of Calcutta—twenty feet square—and after the battle of Plassey he secured for England the Empire of India. Lord Clive was called by the Hindoos “The Daring in War.” He was impeached for using his position to enrich himself, but acquitted, and committed suicide.

OLIVER GOLDSMITH.

Born 1728.—Died 1774.—George II.—George III.

Born at Pallas, near Longford, in Ireland. He wrote by turns prose, poetry, and plays. His poems of _The Deserted Village_ and _The Traveller_, and his tale of the _Vicar of Wakefield_, are almost equally famous.

DAVID HUME.

Born 1711.—Died 1776.—Anne.—George I.—George II.—George III.

Wrote the History of England and Essays. His writings are sadly tinged with unbelief and bitterness. He was born and died in Edinburgh.

WILLIAM PITT,

Born 1708.—Died 1778.—Anne.—George I.—George II.—George III.

Lord Chatham. This great statesman, the son of Mr. Robert Pitt of Boconnoc, in Cornwall, during a most successful administration, raised the dignity of England to a high standard. His eloquence as a debater was extraordinary, and when he burst forth in indignant invective, scarcely any adversary could stand against him. He was seized with his last illness (apoplexy) in the House of Lords, and died soon afterwards.

CAPTAIN JAMES COOK.

Born 1728.—Died 1779.—George II.—George III.

This great navigator, born at Marton, in Yorkshire, made many useful geographical discoveries. He sailed three times round the world, and was at last killed in one of the Sandwich Islands.

DAVID GARRICK,

Born 1716.—Died 1779.—George I.—George II.—George III.

Was born at Hereford. He is generally considered to have been altogether the most famous actor ever known on the English stage. He was also a good writer of light literature: he died in London.

SIR WILLIAM BLACKSTONE.

Born 1723.—Died 1780.—George I.—George II.—George III.

This eminent lawyer is best known by his _Commentaries_ and _Analysis of the Laws of England_, in which the information is conveyed in very clear and beautiful English: he was born in London.

DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON,

Born 1709.—Died 1784.—Anne.—George I.—George II.—George III.

The son of a bookseller at Lichfield, was a man of immense learning and capacity. His _English Dictionary_, _Essays_, _Rambler_, _Idler_, _Rasselas_, and _Tour to the Hebrides_, show his great range of knowledge and powers of mind. His life has been admirably written by his friend James Boswell.

CHARLES EDWARD STUART.

Born 1720.—Died 1788.—George I.—George II.—George III.