Important People in UK History

William Shakespeare (1564-1642)

• Dramatized significant historical events
• Portrayed ordinary Englishmen and women
• Influenced the English language, inventing many words
• Famous lines from plays and poems:
  • "Once more into the breach" - Henry V
  • "To be, or not to be" - Hamlet
  • "A rose by any other name" - Romeo and Juliet
  • "All the world's a stage" - As You Like It
  • "The Darling Buds of May" - Sonnet 18
• Considered the greatest playwright of all time
• The Globe Theatre in London is a modern replica of one of his original theaters

Isaac Newton (1643-1727)

• Born in Lincolnshire, Eastern England
• Became interested in science at Cambridge University
• Important figure in science
• Famous work: Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy)
• Discovered laws of gravity and that white light is made up of colors of the rainbow

Richard Arkwright (1732-1792)

• Originally trained and worked as a barber
• Improved the carding machine for textiles
• Developed horse-driven spinning mills and later used steam engines
• Efficiently ran factories, making production more profitable

Sake Dean Mohammed (1759-1851)

• Born in the Bengal region of India
• Served in the Bengal Army
• Opened the first curry house in Britain (Hindustan Coffee House in London) in 1810
• Introduced 'shampooing' (Indian art of head massage) to Britain

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

• Born in India, lived in India, UK, and USA
• Wrote books and poems set in both India and the UK
• Awarded Nobel Prize in Literature (1907)
• Famous works: Just So Stories, The Jungle Book
• Famous poem: If

Florence Nightingale (1822-1910)

• Born in Italy to English parents
• Trained as a nurse in Germany
• Worked in military hospitals during the Crimean War
• Improved hospital conditions, reducing mortality rate
• Established Nightingale Training School for Nurses in London (1860)
• Considered the founder of modern nursing

Alexander Fleming (1881-1955)

• Born in Scotland, moved to London
• Discovered penicillin in 1928 while researching influenza
• Penicillin further developed by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain
• Won Nobel Prize in Medicine (1945)
• Penicillin still used to treat bacterial infections

Mary Peters (1939- )

• Born in Manchester, moved to Northern Ireland
• Talented athlete, won Olympic gold in pentathlon (1972)
• Raised money for local athletics
• Team manager for women's British Olympic team
• Promotes sport and tourism in Northern Ireland
• Made a Dame of the British Empire (2000)

Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013)

• Daughter of a grocer from Grantham, Lincolnshire
• Trained as a chemist and lawyer
• Elected Conservative MP (1959)
• Cabinet Minister (1970, Secretary of State for Education and Science)
• Leader of the Conservative Party (1975)
• First woman Prime Minister of the UK (1979-1990)
• Implemented Important economic reforms
• Worked closely with US President Ronald Reagan
• Recognized changes in the Soviet Union, leading to the end of the Cold War

Roald Dahl (1916-1990)

• Born in Wales to Norwegian parents
• Served in the Royal Air Force during WWII
• Began publishing books and short stories in the 1940s
• Famous for children's books, also wrote for adults
• Famous works: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, George's Marvellous Medicine
• Several books made into films

Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

• Son of a politician, soldier, and journalist
• Conservative MP (1900)
• Became Prime Minister (May 1940)
• Inspirational leader during WWII
• Refused to surrender to Nazis, known for famous speeches:
  • "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat."
  • "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds."
  • "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."
• Lost general election (1945) but returned as PM (1951)
• Given a state funeral (1965)
• Voted greatest Briton of all time (2002)

Clement Attlee (1883-1967)

• Born in London, son of a solicitor
• Studied at Oxford University, became a barrister
• Became Labour MP, Deputy Prime Minister during WWII
• Prime Minister (1945-1951)
• Nationalized major industries (coal, steel)
• Created National Health Service (NHS)
• Implemented Beveridge's welfare state plans

William Beveridge

• British economist and social reformer
• Briefly served as Liberal MP
• Known for 1942 report: Social Insurance and Allied Services (Beveridge Report)
• Recommended combating five giant evils: want, disease, ignorance, squalor, idleness

Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)

• Welsh poet and writer
• Performed works in public, including for BBC
• Famous works: Under Milk Wood, Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night
• Died at 39 in New York
• Memorials in Swansea, including a statue and Dylan Thomas Centre