Curated category
English male non-fiction writers
- Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill was born on the 30th of November 1874 inside Blenheim Palace, the ancestral home his family had held for generations in Oxfordshire.
- Benjamin DisraeliBenjamin Disraeli climbed what he called "the top of the greasy pole" to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, not once but twice, despite arriving at…
- W. H. AudenW. H. Auden died on the 29th of September 1973 in a Vienna hotel room, a few hours after reading his poems aloud at the Palais Pálffy.
- Antony BeevorAntony Beevor was born in Kensington, London, on the 14th of December 1946, into a family with writing in its blood going back generations.
- Stanley SadieStanley John Sadie spent the better part of three decades turning a nine-volume reference work into a twenty-volume monument that reshaped how the world…
- Thomas MoreThomas More climbed the scaffold at Tower Hill on the 6th of July 1535 and, finding the structure so rickety it might collapse, told the waiting official: "I…
- John FoxeJohn Foxe published a book on the 20th of March 1563 that would make him, in the words of one contemporary observer, England's first literary celebrity.
- John Boardman (art historian)John Boardman arrived in the world on the 20th of August 1927 within the town of Ilford, Essex. His early years unfolded at Chigwell School between 1938 and…
- Raphael HolinshedRaphael Holinshed is the man Shakespeare read. That single fact has kept Holinshed's name alive for centuries, long after scholars dismissed his great work…
- William CamdenWilliam Camden was born in London on the 2nd of May 1551, into a city that had barely begun to reckon with its own past.
- John Hawkins (author)Sir John Hawkins began his life as an architect, following the footsteps of his father. He worked in that field until he was nearly thirty years old.
- Stephen HawkingStephen Hawking spent his final years communicating at roughly one word per minute, twitching a single cheek muscle to select letters from a screen.
- Andy SerkisAndrew Clement Serkis arrived in the world on the 20th of April 1964 within the quiet suburb of Ruislip Manor. His childhood unfolded across two distinct…
- Geoffrey EltonGeoffrey Elton arrived in Britain in February 1939 as a Jewish refugee from Czechoslovakia, a teenage boy named Gottfried Rudolf Otto Ehrenberg.
- Jeremy Black (historian)Jeremy Black entered the academic world through a specific sequence of institutions. He studied at Queens' College, Cambridge, before moving to St John's…
- John Harris (writer)John Harris entered the world around 1666 in Shropshire. He carried a quiet ambition that led him to Trinity College, Oxford.
- Mark LewisohnMark Lewisohn was born on the 16th of June 1958 in England. His entry into professional history began with a simple quiz at the first London Beatles…
- John LingardJohn Lingard entered the world on the 5th of February 1771 in St Thomas Street, central Winchester. His parents were recusant Catholics who had migrated from…
- Reginald PoleReginald Pole entered the world at Stourton Castle in Staffordshire on the 12th of March 1500. He was the third son of Sir Richard Pole and Margaret Pole…
- Gary WhittaGary Leslie Whitta was born on the 21st of July 1972 in England. His professional journey began within the pages of ACE magazine, a publication dedicated to…
- Correlli BarnettCorrelli Barnett was born on the 28th of June 1927 in Norbury, in the County Borough of Croydon, into a Britain that still considered itself a great power.
- Joseph FaringtonJoseph Farington died on the last day of 1821 by falling down a church steps in Didsbury, Manchester. He had gone there for a New Year's Eve service.
- Alan WattsAlan Wilson Watts was born on the 6th of January 1915 in Chislehurst, Kent, into a middle-class household at Rowan Tree Cottage, 3 Holbrook Lane, where his…