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|
Firsts
|
| Alderson, Thomas Hopper (1903–1965), wartime rescue party leader |
| Henry fitz Ailwin (d. 1212), first mayor of London |
| Markievicz [née Gore-Booth], Constance Georgine, Countess Markievicz in the Polish nobility (1868–1927), Irish republican and first woman elected to parliament |
| Normanton, Helena Florence (1882–1957), barrister and feminist campaigner |
| Omai (c.1753–c.1780), first Tahitian to visit England |
and lasts
|
| Ellis [née Neilson], Ruth (1926–1955), nightclub hostess and convicted murderer |
| Pentreath [later Jeffery], Dorothy [Dolly] (bap. 1692, d. 1777), native Cornish speaker |
| Russell, Edward Southwell, twenty-sixth Baron de Clifford (1907–1982), racing driver, dog-food salesman, and the last peer to be tried by the House of Lords |
| Shanawdithit [called Nancy] (c.1801–1829), the last of the Beothuk |
| Wenham, Jane (d. 1730), last person convicted of witchcraft in England |
Men of mystery
|
| Anonymous IV (fl. 1250–1280), music theorist |
| Gawain Poet (fl. c.1375–1400), author |
| Hood, Robin (supp. fl. late 12th–13th cent.), legendary outlaw hero |
| Spring-Heeled Jack (fl. 1837–1838), mystery assailant |
| Walter (b. early 1820s, d. in or after 1894), anonymous autobiographer |
Cat and dog lovers
|
| Aspinall, John Victor (1926–2000), gambler and zoo owner |
| Chapman [married name Sanger], Ellen (1830/31–1899), lion tamer |
| Cruft, Charles Alfred (1852–1938), founder of Crufts Dog Show |
| Liakhoff, Nicolai [Nikolay Liakhov] (1897–1962), pioneer of guide dog training |
| Woodhouse [née Blackburn], Barbara Kathleen Vera (1910–1988), animal trainer and broadcaster |
Snappy dressers
|
| Brummell, George Bryan [known as Beau Brummell] (1778–1840), dandy and socialite |
| Clark, Raymond [Ossie] (1942–1996), fashion designer |
| Forde, Florrie [real name Flora May Augustus Flanagan; married name Flora May Augustus Barnett] (1876–1940), music-hall entertainer |
| Goalen [née Bach; other married name Campbell], Barbara Kathleen (1921–2002), fashion model |
| Roger, Neil Munro [Bunny] (1911–1997), couturier and socialite |
People to get stuck in a lift with
|
| Bramah [Bramma], Joseph (1749–1814), engineer and inventor of locks |
| Hutchinson, Leslie Arthur Julien [performing name Hutch] (1900–1969), cabaret entertainer |
| Maskelyne, John Nevil (1839–1917), magician |
| Shaw, Sir Eyre Massey (1828–1908), fire officer |
| Violante [Larini], Signor (fl. 1727–1728), ropeslider |
High-fliers
|
| Davis, Harold [performing names Harold Alzana, the Great Alzana] (1916–2001), high-wire walker |
| Cadman [Kidman], Robert (1711/12–1740), ropeslider |
| Congreve, Sir William, second baronet (1772–1828), rocket designer |
| Johnson [married name Mollison], Amy (1903–1941), aviator |
| Lunardi, Vincenzo (1759–1806), balloonist |
Domestic gods and goddesses
|
| Booth, Hubert Cecil (1871–1955), civil engineer |
| Cradock, Phyllis Nan Sortain [Fanny] (1909–1994), television chef |
| Cullwick, Hannah (1833–1909), diarist |
| May, Robert (b. 1588?, d. in or after 1664), cook and author |
| Peel [née Bayliff], Constance Dorothy Evelyn (1868–1934), journalist and writer on household management |
People in a hurry
|
| Damm, Sheila Van (1922–1987), rally driver and theatre director |
| Hailwood, (Stanley) Michael Bailey (1940–1981), racing motorcyclist |
| Hill, (Norman) Graham (1929–1975), racing motorist |
| Carstairs, Joe [formerly Marion Barbara] (1900–1993), heiress and motor-boat racing driver |
| Thomas, John Godfrey Parry (1884–1927), holder of land speed records |
Household names
|
| Bird, Alfred (bap. 1811, d. 1878), chemist and food manufacturer |
| Horlick, Sir James, first baronet (1844–1921), health drink manufacturer |
| Perrins, William Henry (1793–1867), sauce manufacturer |
| Lyle, Abram (1820–1891), shipowner and sugar refiner |
| Mars, Forrest Edward (1904–1999), confectionery manufacturer |
Tall dark strangers
|
| Churchill, Gladys Marie Spencer- [née Gladys Marie Deacon], duchess of Marlborough (1881–1977), society beauty |
| Cotter, Patrick [performing name Patrick O'Brien] (1760/61–1806), giant |
| Elliott [Eliot; née Dalrymple], Grace [nicknamed Dally the Tall] (1754?–1823), courtesan and writer |
| Hackenschmidt, George (1877–1968), wrestler and philosopher |
| Rathbone, (Philip St John) Basil (1892–1967), actor |
People not to have dinner with
|
| Buckland, William (1784–1856), geologist and dean of Westminster |
| Churchill [née Jerome], Jeanette [Jennie; Lady Randolph Churchill] (1854–1921), society hostess and writer |
| Godric of Finchale [St Godric of Finchale] (c.1070–1170), trader and hermit |
| Greville, Charles Cavendish Fulke (1794–1865), political and social diarist |
| Lambert, Daniel (1770–1809), the most corpulent man of his time in England |
Desert island companions
|
| Defoe, Daniel (1660?–1731), writer and businessman |
| Gleitze, Mercedes (1900–1981), swimmer |
| Morton, John Cameron Andrieu Bingham Michael [pseud. Beachcomber] (1893–1979), humorous journalist |
| Plomley, (Francis) Roy (1914–1985), radio broadcaster |
| Salote Mafile'o Pilolevu Tupou III (1900–1965), queen of Tonga |
Children's favourites
|
| Awdry, Wilbert Vere (1911–1997), children's writer, railway historian, and Church of England clergyman |
| Hargreaves, (Charles) Roger (1935–1988), copywriter and children's author |
| Mills, Annette [real name Edith Mabel Mills] (1894–1955), entertainer |
| Thompson, Eric Norman (1929–1982), actor and theatre director |
| Webb [married names Brierley, Hunter, Searle], (Kathleen) Kaye (1914–1996), children's publisher and journalist |
People of courage
|
| Chavasse, Noel Godfrey (1884–1917), army medical officer and holder of two Victoria crosses |
| Darling, Grace Horsley (1815–1842), heroine |
| Khan, Noor-un-Nisa Inayat (1914–1944), special operations officer |
| MacDonald, Flora (1722–1790), Jacobite heroine |
| Walker [formerly Bellenie, Bellenie-Walker], William Robert (1869–1918), diver |
True romantics
|
| Cartland [married name McCorquodale], Dame (Mary) Barbara Hamilton (1901–2000), novelist |
| Homrigh, Esther Van [known as Vanessa] (1688–1723), correspondent and lover of Jonathan Swift |
| Howard, Trevor [real name Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith] (1913–1988), actor |
| Boon, Charles (1877–1943), publisher |
| Niclaes, Hendrik [Henry Nicholas] (1502–c.1580), founder of the Family of Love |
People who aren't all they seem
|
| Belaney, Archibald Stansfeld [called Grey Owl] (1888–1938), impostor and conservationist |
| Baker [née Willcocks], Mary [alias Princess Caraboo] (bap. 1791, d. 1864), impostor |
| Parsons, Elizabeth [called the Cock Lane Ghost] (1749–1807), impostor |
| Thornton, Anne Jane (b. 1817), sailor and cross-dresser |
| Tichborne claimant (d. 1898), claimant of baronetcy |
Ne'er do wells
|
| Charteris, Francis (c.1665–1732), gambler and rake |
| Clare, Bogo de (1248–1294), ecclesiastic and figure of scandal |
| Drummond, George Henry Charles Francis Malcolm, Viscount Forth (1834–1861), dipsomaniac |
| Harris, James Thomas [Frank] (1856?–1931), journalist and rogue |
| Hervey, Frederick William John Augustus, seventh marquess of Bristol (1954–1999), wastrel |
People with swing
|
| Benson, Ivy (1913–1993), bandleader |
| Bryden, Beryl Audrey (1920–1998), jazz singer and washboard player |
| Dinnie, Donald (1837–1916), athlete |
| Love, Geoffrey [Geoff] (1917–1991), popular composer, bandleader, and trombonist |
| Vardon, Henry William [Harry] (1870–1937), golfer |
Double acts
|
| Burke, William (1792–1829), murderer, and William Hare (b. 1792/1804), murderer |
| Flanders, Michael Henry (1922–1975), actor and lyricist, and Swann, Donald Ibrahim (1923–1994), composer and pianist |
| Gilbert, Sir William Schwenck (1836–1911), playwright, and Sullivan, Sir Arthur Seymour (1842–1900), composer and conductor |
| Morecambe, Eric [real name John Eric Bartholomew] (1926–1984), actor and comedian, and Wise, Ernie [real name Ernest Wiseman] (1925–1999), entertainer |
| Rolls, Charles Stewart (1877–1910), motor car promoter and aviator, and Royce, Sir (Frederick) Henry, baronet (1863–1933), engineer and motor car designer |
Feature essay
