Documents for "British and Irish History: Biographies":

• Æthelbald d. 757, king of Mercia (716-57), grandson of a brother of Penda. He spent years in exile before he became king. A strong ruler, by 731 he controlled all England S of the Humber River and led...

• Æthelbert d. 616, king of Kent (560?-616). Although defeated by the West Saxons in 568, he became the strongest ruler in England S of the Humber River. His wife, Bertha, daughter of a Frankish king, was a...

• Æthelbert d. 865, king of Wessex (860-65), son of Æthelwulf. After the death of his father in 858 he ruled Kent, Surrey, Sussex, and Essex, and he reunited them with Wessex when in 860 he succeeded his...

• Æthelflæd or Ethelfleda , d. 918, daughter of King Alfred the Great of Wessex and wife of Æthelred, ealdorman [alderman or earl] of Mercia. After her husband's death in 911, she ruled the semi-independent Mercia alone...

• Æthelfrith d. 616, king of Northumbria (c.593-616). He was the first great Anglo-Saxon leader among the northern English; he united Bernicia and Deira into the kingdom of Northumbria. He repulsed an attack...

• Æthelmar of Valence see Aymer of Valence.

• Æthelred d.871, king of Wessex (865-71), son of Æthelwulf and brother of Alfred. He succeeded his brother Æthelbert as king of Wessex and as overlord of Kent and possibly of East Anglia. Æthelred spent his short reign gathering forces to oppose the Danes, who occupied York (866) and ravaged much of England...

• Æthelred 965?-1016, king of England (978-1016), called Æthelred the Unready [Old Eng. unrœd =without counsel]. He was the son of Edgar and the half brother of Edward the Martyr , whom he succeeded. Æthelred began his reign under a cloud of suspicion because of the murder of Edward. He was a weak king, but his efforts to resist the Danes, who resumed their raids on England...

• Æthelstan see Athelstan.

• Æthelwulf d. 858, king of Wessex (839-56), son and successor of Egbert; father of Æthelbert , Æthelred , and Alfred. He was lord of Kent, Surrey, Sussex, and Essex before his father's death in 839. As king of Wessex he was compelled to defend his realm against constant Danish attacks, and he won a notable...

• Abercromby, Sir Ralph 1734-1801, British general. After serving in the Seven Years War , he returned to service in 1793 against France, where he commanded a brilliant retreat in Flanders in the winter of 1794-95. He was (1795-97) commander in chief in the West Indies, where he...

• Aberdeen, George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th earl of 1784-1860, British statesman. He served (1813) as ambassador extraordinary at Vienna and helped arrange (1814) the peace terms at Paris after Napoleon I's initial defeat. He was foreign secretary...

• Addington, Henry see Sidmouth, Henry Addington, Viscount.

• Ahern, Bertie 1951-, Irish politician, prime minister of the Republic of Ireland (1997-). Born into a working-class family, he studied accounting at University College, Dublin. A member of Fianna Fáil , he entered the Irish parliament in 1977 and held a number of parliamentary offices. From 1986 to 1987 he was lord mayor of Dublin. Returning to national government, he served as labor minister...

• Alanbrooke, Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount 1883-1963, British general. He entered the field artillery in 1902 and served with distinction during World War I. In the 1930s he made himself a master of mechanized warfare. At the beginning of...

• Albany, Alexander Stuart, duke of see Stuart, Alexander, duke of Albany.

• Albany, Louisa, countess of 1752-1824, wife of Charles Edward Stuart (the Young Pretender), self-styled count of Albany; daughter of a German noble, the prince of Stolberg-Gedern. Married in 1772, she left her dissolute husband after eight years and became the...

• Albany, Robert Stuart, 1st duke of see Stuart, Robert, 1st duke of Albany.

• Albemarle, Arnold Joost van Keppel, 1st earl of 1669-1718, Dutch adherent and constant companion of William III of England. He accompanied the future king to England (1688) and was made an earl in 1696. After William's death (1702), he returned...

• Albemarle, George Monck, 1st duke of see Monck, George.

• Albert 1819-61, prince consort of Victoria of Great Britain, whom he married in 1840. He was of Wettin lineage, the son of Ernest I, duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and first cousin to Victoria. As an alien prince he was initially unpopular, but in time the English came to admire him for his...

• Alexander I 1078?-1124, king of Scotland (1107-24), son of Malcolm III and St. Margaret of Scotland. He succeeded his brother Edgar, who had divided the kingdom so that Alexander ruled only N of the Forth and...

• Alexander II 1198-1249, king of Scotland (1214-49), son and successor of William the Lion. He joined the English barons in their revolt against King John of England in 1215. Though he made his peace with John's...

• Alexander III 1241-86, king of Scotland (1249-86), son and successor of Alexander II. He married a daughter of Henry III of England and quarreled with Henry, and later Henry's son Edward I , over the old English claims to overlordship in Scotland. The great achievement of Alexander was his final acquisition for Scotland of the Hebrides and of the Isle of Man, which his father had...

• Alexander, Harold Rupert Leofric George, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis 1891-1969, British field marshal. His long military career began with service in World War I, followed by a period (1934-38) in the North-West Frontier Province, India. In World War II he directed...

• Alexandra 1844-1925, queen consort of Edward VII of Great Britain, whom she married in 1863. She was the daughter of Christian IX of Denmark.

• Alfred 849-99, king of Wessex (871-99), sometimes called Alfred the Great, b. Wantage, Berkshire.

• Allenby, Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount 1861-1936, British field marshal. Educated at Sandhurst, he saw active service in Bechuanaland (1884-85) and Zululand (1888) and in the South African War (1899-1902). When World War I broke out...

• Althorp, John Charles Spencer, Viscount see under Spencer, George John Spencer, 2d Earl.

• Alverstone, Richard Everard Webster, 1st Viscount 1842-1915, lord chief justice of England (1900-1913). He served on various international arbitration commissions, including those dealing with the Bering Sea Fur-Seal Controversy (1893) and the...

• Angus, earls of For Scottish nobles thus titled, use Douglas, Archibald.

• Anne 1665-1714, queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1702-7), later queen of Great Britain and Ireland (1707-14), daughter of James II and Anne Hyde; successor to William III.

• Anne (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise), 1950-, British princess, only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, duke of Edinburgh. She was educated at Benenden School. In 1973 she married a British...

• Anne Boleyn queen of England: see Boleyn, Anne.

• Anne of Bohemia 1366-94, queen consort of Richard II of England, daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. She was married to Richard early in 1382 and quickly gained popularity in England. It was probably...

• Anne of Cleves 1515-57, fourth queen consort of Henry VIII of England. The sister of William, duke of Cleves, one of the most powerful of the German Protestant princes, she was considered a desirable match for Henry by those English councilors, most...

• Anne of Denmark 1574-1619, queen consort of James I of England (James VI of Scotland), daughter of Frederick II of Denmark and Norway. She married James in 1589. Brought up a Lutheran, she became a Roman Catholic...

• Anson, George Anson, Baron 1697-1762, British admiral. In his famous voyage (1740-44) around the world, Anson, in spite of shipwrecks and scurvy, inflicted great damage on Spanish shipping and returned to England with a rich...

• Argyll, Archibald Campbell, 1st duke of d. 1703, Scottish nobleman; eldest son of the 9th earl of Argyll. Having unsuccessfully sought favor with James II in order to recover the estates forfeited by his father, he supported the cause...

• Argyll, Archibald Campbell, 3d duke of 1682-1761, Scottish nobleman; brother of the 2d duke. As lord high treasurer of Scotland (1705) and a commissioner for the union (1706), he helped negotiate the union (1707) of the kingdoms of...

• Argyll, Archibald Campbell, 5th earl of 1530-73, Scottish statesman. He and Lord James Stuart (later earl of Murray) became followers of John Knox in 1556 and led the troops of the Scottish Protestants, the lords of the congregation,...

• Argyll, Archibald Campbell, 8th earl of and 1st marquess of 1607-61, Scottish statesman. He became chief of the powerful Campbell clan at the death (1638) of his father, the 7th earl. A staunch Presbyterian, he was a leading opponent of Charles I's attempt...

• Argyll, Archibald Campbell, 9th earl of 1629?-1685, Scottish nobleman; son of the 8th earl. An ardent and active royalist and a Protestant, he opposed extreme measures against the Covenanters , thereby incurring the enmity of the duke of York (later James II), who in 1680 was high commissioner of Scotland. Argyll was accused of treason and sentenced to death in 1681. He escaped to...

• Argyll, John Campbell, 2d duke of 1678-1743, Scottish general; son of the 1st duke, whom he succeeded in 1703. For his ardent support of the union of England and Scotland he was created (1705) earl of Greenwich. He served under the...

• Arlington, Henry Bennet, 1st earl of 1618-85, English statesman. He fought for the royalists in the English civil war and, after going into exile, served as an envoy in Spain for the future Charles II. After the Restoration, Charles made him a secretary of state (1662), and he became one of the king's closest advisers, a member of the Cabal. He knew of the king's secret agreement with Louis XIV in the Treaty of Dover (1670) and seems to have encouraged Charles in promulgating the Declaration of Indulgence (1672) and in instigating the...

• Arundel, Henry Fitzalan, 12th earl of 1511?-1580, English statesman. Lord chamberlain under Henry VIII, he was a member of the council appointed by Henry to govern during the minority of Edward VI. After Edward's death (1553), he...

• Ashburton, Alexander Baring, 1st Baron see Baring , family.

• Ashburton, John Dunning, 1st Baron see Dunning, John, 1st Baron Ashburton.

• Ashley, Anthony Ashley Cooper, Baron see Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st earl of.

• Asquith, Margot see under Oxford and Asquith, Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st earl of.

• Astor, Nancy Witcher (Langhorne) Astor, Viscountess 1879-1964, British politician, b. Virginia. She was first married to Robert Gould Shaw, and after her divorce (1903) from him she went to England. There she was married (1906) to Waldorf Astor (see...

• Athelstan or Æthelstan , d. 939, king of Wessex (924-39), son and successor of Edward the Elder. After coming to the throne, he vigorously built up his kingdom on the foundations established by his grandfather Alfred. He made himself overlord of all England, establishing his hegemony firmly by victory over a coalition of his enemies at Brunanburh in 937. He was popular as well as able, was generous to the church, and issued laws that attempted to impose royal authority on customary law. Athelstan married his sisters to Charles III of...

• Athlone, Godart van Ginkel, 1st earl of see Ginkel, Godart van.

• Attlee, Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl 1883-1967, British statesman. Educated at Oxford, he was called to the bar in 1905. His early experience as a social worker in London's East End led to his decision to give up law and devote his...

• Auchinleck, Sir Claude John Eyre 1884-1981, British field marshal. In World War II he commanded briefly (1940) at Narvik, Norway, then in building defenses in England and in India (1940-41). After succeeding (July, 1941) Gen. Sir...

• Auchmuty, Sir Samuel b. 1758 (not, as commonly stated, 1756) in New York City, d. 1822, British general. A Loyalist soldier in the American Revolution, he went to England at the end of the war. Successful service in...

• Audley of Walden, Thomas Audley, Baron 1488-1544, lord chancellor of England (1533-44) under Henry VIII. He was made speaker of the House of Commons in 1529 and lord keeper of the great seal in 1532. A loyal servant of Henry VIII, he...

• Avon, 1st earl of see Eden, Anthony, 1st earl of Avon.

• Aymer of Valence, earl of Pembroke see Pembroke, Aymer de Valence, earl of.

• Babington, Anthony 1561-86, English conspirator. A member of the Roman Catholic gentry, he served as a youth in the household of the earl of Shrewsbury at Sheffield Castle, where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned. In 1586 he became involved in a plot to murder Queen Elizabeth I, to free Mary, and to make England a Catholic realm. The plot was discovered, Babington was executed, and the...

• Bacon, Sir Nicholas 1509-79, English jurist. Called to the bar in 1533, he was made attorney of the court of wards and liveries in 1546 and, although a staunch Protestant, held this office through the reign of Mary I...

• Baden-Powell of Gilwell, Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron 1857-1941, British soldier, founder of the Boy Scouts. He saw much active service in India and Africa prior to the South African War, in which he defended Mafikeng for seven months (1899-1900) and subsequently organized the South African constabulary...

• Bagot, Sir Charles 1781-1843, British diplomat. As minister to the United States (1815-20) he negotiated the Rush-Bagot Convention , which limited armaments along the U.S.-Canadian border. As governor-general of Canada (1841-43), he was instructed by the British cabinet to resist Canadian demands for responsible government...

• Baldwin of Bewdley, Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl see Baldwin, Stanley.

• Baldwin, Stanley 1867-1947, British statesman; cousin of Rudyard Kipling. The son of a Worcestershire ironmaster, he was educated at Harrow and at Trinity College, Cambridge, and entered the family business. In...

• Balfour, Sir James d. 1583, Scottish judge and politician. Captured (1547) at St. Andrews after the murder of Cardinal Beaton, he served a sentence in the French galleys and on his release (1549) abjured...

• Baliol, Edward de d. 1363, king of Scotland, son of John de Baliol (d. 1315). Having secured English support for his claim to the Scottish throne, he invaded Scotland in 1332 and was crowned at Scone. He was soon driven out, but Edward III of England came to his active support, and together they defeated forces of the young David II at Halidon Hill in 1334. Baliol then ceded several southern Scottish counties to Edward. He was driven out again, and David, who had been in France, returned in 1341 as king. In 1356 Baliol retired...

• Baliol, John de 1249-1315, king of Scotland (1292-96), son of John de Baliol (d. 1269). He became head of the family after the death of his elder brothers in 1278. At the death of Margaret Maid of Norway (1290), he claimed the Scottish throne through his grandmother, eldest daughter of David of Huntingdon, brother of King William the Lion. His principal rival was Robert the Bruce, of the celebrated Bruce family, son of David of Huntingdon's second daughter and hence one generation closer to his royal ancestor, although through a younger line. The laws of succession not being firmly established, the...

• Baliol, John de d. 1269, nobleman with lands in both England and Scotland; founder of Balliol College, Oxford. The name is also spelled Balliol. In 1249 he became a member of the Scottish council of regency and a...

• Balliol Scottish family: see Baliol, Edward de ; Baliol, John de.

• Balliol, Edward de see Baliol, Edward de.

• Balliol, John de see Baliol, John de.

• Balmerino, Arthur Elphinstone, 6th Baron 1688-1746, Scottish nobleman. He resigned a command in the English army to join the Jacobite rising of 1715, escaping after its suppression to France. He returned and took part in the 1745 rising,...

• Barbon, Praise-God see Barebone, Praise-God.

• Barebone, Praise-God 1596?-1679, English lay preacher and leather merchant. Soon after 1630 he became leader of half of a Baptist congregation that had split over the issue of infant baptism. Barebone favored this...

• Baring British family of bankers. Sir Francis Baring (1740-1810) founded (1763) the John and Francis Baring Company, which he renamed Baring Brothers and Company in 1806. At first the firm acted as...

• Barré, Isaac 1726-1802, British soldier and politician. He served under Gen. James Wolfe in the French and Indian Wars and was wounded at Quebec (1759). Entering Parliament in 1761, he was adjutant general and governor of Stirling (1763-64), vice treasurer of Ireland (1764-68), treasurer of the navy in the 2d...

• Barrington, George 1755-c.1804, notorious English pickpocket, b. Ireland. His family name was Waldron. Arriving in London in 1773, he became a professional pickpocket and, obtaining introductions in society, robbed...

• Barton, Elizabeth 1506?-1534, English prophet, called the Maid of Kent or the Nun of Kent. She was a domestic servant who, after a period of illness, began (c.1525) to go into trances and to utter prophecies, which...

• Battenberg German princely family, issued from the morganatic union of Alexander, a younger son of Louis II, grand duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, and Countess Julia von Hauke, who was created (1858) princess of...

• Beaconsfield, Benjamin Disraeli, 1st earl of see Disraeli, Benjamin.

• Beatty, David Beatty, 1st Earl 1871-1936, British admiral. He served with distinction in Egypt and Sudan (1896-98) and in the Boxer Uprising (1900) in China. Made rear admiral in 1910, he commanded successful naval actions...

• Beauchamp, Guy de see Warwick, Guy de Beauchamp, earl of.

• Beauchamp, Richard de see Warwick, Richard de Beauchamp, earl of.

• Beauchamp, Thomas de see Warwick, Thomas de Beauchamp, earl of.

• Beaufort, Edmund see Somerset, Edmund Beaufort, 2d duke of.

• Beaufort, Henry 1377?-1447, English prelate and statesman. The son of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, and his mistress (later wife) Catherine Swynford, he was half brother to Henry IV. He was declared...

• Beaufort, Margaret, countess of Richmond and Derby 1443-1509, English noblewoman, mother of Henry VII. She was the daughter and heiress of John, 1st duke of Somerset, and great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster. She was married three times: to Edmund Tudor, earl of Richmond, who was...

• Beaverbrook, William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron 1879-1964, British financier, statesman, and newspaper owner, b. Canada. The son of a Scottish Presbyterian clergyman, he grew up near Beaverbrook, N.B. He made a fortune in business and was...

• Bedford, Francis Russell, 2d earl of see Russell , family.

• Bedford, Francis Russell, 4th earl of see Russell , family.

• Bedford, Francis Russell, 5th duke of see Russell , family.

• Bedford, John of Lancaster, duke of 1389-1435, English nobleman; third son of Henry IV of England and brother of Henry V. At the death (1422) of his brother and succession of his 9-month-old nephew, Henry VI, Bedford was designated...

• Bedford, John Robert Russell, 13th duke of see Russell , family.

• Bedford, John Russell, 1st earl of see Russell , family.

• Bedford, John Russell, 4th duke of see Russell , family.

• Bedford, William Russell, 5th earl and 1st duke of see Russell , family.

• Benbow, John 1653-1702, English admiral. Some of the stories of his exploits seem to be legendary, but he did command the fleet and successfully fight the French at La Hogue (1692), Saint-Malo (1693), and...

• Benn, Anthony Wedgwood (Tony Benn), 1925-, British politician, b. London. After working for the British Broadcasting Corporation (1949-50), he was elected a Labour member of Parliament in 1950. He tried unsuccessfully to...

• Bennet, Henry see Arlington, Henry Bennet, 1st earl of.

• Bentinck, Lord William Cavendish 1774-1839, British administrator in India. He served in the Napoleonic Wars and was (1803-7) governor of Madras. He was appointed governor-general of Bengal in 1827, assuming the title...

• Bentinck, Lord William George Frederick Cavendish 1802-48, English politician and sportsman, known as Lord George. Although he entered Parliament in 1826, he was known primarily for his horse-racing activities until in 1846 he emerged as a leading...

• Bentinck, William see Portland, William Bentinck, 1st earl of.

• Bentinck, William Henry Cavendish see Portland, William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, 3d duke of.

• Beresford, John 1738-1805, Anglo-Irish Protestant politician. He entered the Irish Parliament in 1760, became a privy councillor (1768), a commissioner of revenue (1770), and chief revenue commissioner (1780)...

• Beresford, William Carr Beresford, Viscount 1768-1854, British general. He served with distinction in Egypt (1801-3) and participated (1806) in the capture of Cape Colony (later Cape Province , South Africa) from the Dutch. He captured Buenos Aires in 1806 but held it only briefly before it was retaken by Jacques de Liniers. Beresford occupied Madeira (1807) and for a time was governor of the island. Joining Arthur Wellesley (later duke of Wellington) in Portugal (1808), he successfully reorganized the Portuguese army...

• Berkeley, John, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton 1602-78, English army officer and courtier. A royalist, he fought in numerous engagements in the English civil war and later, through association with the duke of York (later James II), won great...

• Bevan, Aneurin 1897-1960, British political leader. A coal miner and trade unionist, he served (1929-60) in Parliament as a member of the Labour party. As minister of health (1945-51) he administered and...

• Bevin, Ernest 1881-1951, British labor leader and statesman. An orphan who earned his own living from childhood, he began a long career as a trade union official when he became secretary of the dock workers'...

• Bigod, Hugh, 1st earl of Norfolk d. 1177, English nobleman. He was instrumental in securing the throne for Stephen in 1135, but he subsequently switched his allegiance back and forth between Stephen and Matilda , and it is not known for sure which one of them created him earl of Norfolk. He finally cast his lot with the future Henry II in 1153. In 1173 he joined the revolt of Henry's sons against their...

• Bird, Isabella see Bishop, Isabella Lucy (Bird).

• Birkenhead, Frederick Edwin Smith, 1st earl of 1872-1930, British statesman and jurist. He was called to the bar in 1899 and entered the House of Commons as a Conservative in 1906. A brilliant orator, he soon gained prominence as a...

• Bishop, Isabella Lucy (Bird) 1831-1904, English traveler and writer, first woman member of the Royal Geographical Society. She traveled extensively and wrote a number of books, including The English Woman in America (1856), The...

• Black Prince see Edward the Black Prince.

• Blair, Tony (Anthony Charles Lynton Blair), 1953-, British politician, b. Edinburgh. An Oxford-educated lawyer, he was first elected to Parliament in 1983 as the Labour party candidate from a district in N England. Articulate and telegenic, Blair rose quickly in the party organization. He was chosen as Labour's leader after the death (1994) of John Smith , even though he, unlike previous leaders, had no roots in the labor movement and rejected socialist doctrine. As leader, he endeavored to reposition the party as a moderate center-left alternative...

• Blake, Robert 1599-1657, English admiral. A merchant, he sat in the Short Parliament (1640) and joined the parliamentary side in the civil war. He defended Bristol, Lyme, and Taunton against royalist attacks...

• Bligh, William 1754-1817, British admiral. He is chiefly remembered for the mutiny (1789) on his ship, the Bounty , but he had a long and notable career. He was sailing master on Capt. James Cook's last voyage (1776-79). Later he was a commander in the French wars, then (1805-8) governor of New South Wales,...

• Blondel de Nesle fl. late 12th cent., French troubadour, a favorite of Richard I of England. Legend relates that after Richard was captured and imprisoned by Leopold V of Austria in 1193, Blondel wandered through Germany, singing a song known only to him and his lost master,...

• Boadicea d. AD 61, British queen of the Iceni (of Norfolk), properly called Boudicca. Her husband, King Prasutagus, died in AD 59 or 60, leaving half his property to the Roman emperor and half to his...

• Boethius, Hector see Boece, Hector.

• Bohun, Henry de, 1st earl of Hereford 1176-1220, English nobleman. Although King John granted him the marcher lordship of Hereford in 1199, Henry was one of the barons who forced the king to accept the Magna Carta in 1215 and one of...

• Bohun, Humphrey V de, 2d earl of Hereford and 1st earl of Essex d. 1275, English nobleman; son of Henry de Bohun, 1st earl of Hereford. A member of the household of Henry III, he inherited the earldom of Essex from a maternal uncle and in 1242 went with the...

• Bohun, Humphrey VII de, 3d earl of Hereford and 2d earl of Essex d. 1298, English nobleman. He was constable of England and with Roger Bigod, earl of Norfolk, led the baronial opposition to Edward I that forced the king to sign the important confirmation of the...

• Bohun, Humphrey VIII de, 4th earl of Hereford and 3d earl of Essex 1276-1322, English nobleman; son of Humphrey VII de Bohun. One of the lords ordainers who attempted to curb the powers of Edward II in 1310, he took part in the execution (1312) of the hated Piers...

• Boleyn, Anne 1507?-1536, second queen consort of Henry VIII and mother of Elizabeth I. She was the daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn, later earl of Wiltshire and Ormonde, and on her mother's side she was related to the Howard family. After spending some years...

• Bolingbroke, Henry of see Henry IV (England).

• Bolingbroke, Henry St. John, Viscount see St. John, Henry, Viscount Bolingbroke.

• Bonar Law, Andrew see Law, Andrew Bonar.

• Bonnie Prince Charlie see Stuart, Charles Edward.

• Boroimhe, Brian see Brian Boru.

• Borough, William 1536-99, British naval officer. A younger brother of Stephen Borough , William accompanied him on early voyages and was himself a captain for the Muscovy Company. As a naval officer he took part in...

• Boru, Brian see Brian Boru.

• Boscawen, Edward 1711-61, British admiral. He was a popular naval hero, famous for his decisive courage displayed against France and Spain at Portobelo (1739), Cape Finisterre (1747), and Lagos Bay (1759). He is...

• Bothwell, James Hepburn, 4th earl of 1536?-1578, Scottish nobleman; third husband of Mary Queen of Scots. Though a Protestant, he was a strong partisan of the Catholic regent, Mary of Guise, mother of Mary Queen of Scots. In 1562, Bothwell's old enemy, James Hamilton, earl of Arran, accused Bothwell...

• Bowring, Sir John 1792-1872, British diplomat, linguist, and writer. An extraordinarily versatile linguist, he is remembered for his anthologies and translations of poetry from many European and Asian languages. He...

• Boyle, Charles, 4th earl of Orrery see Orrery, Charles Boyle, 4th earl of.

• Boyle, Richard, 1st earl of Cork 1566-1643, English settler in Ireland. He first went to Ireland in 1588 and in 1602 purchased for a small sum Sir Walter Raleigh's large landholdings in Cork, Waterford, and Tipperary. His energy...

• Boyle, Roger, Baron Broghill and 1st earl of Orrery see Orrery, Roger Boyle, 1st earl of.

• Brackley, Thomas Egerton, Viscount see Ellesmere, Thomas Egerton, Baron.

• Bradshaw, John 1602-59, English regicide judge. In 1649 he was made president of the parliamentary commission to try Charles I, other lawyers of greater prominence having refused the position. For a short time he...

• Brandon, Charles see Suffolk, Charles Brandon, 1st duke of.

• Breadalbane, John Campbell, 1st earl of 1635?-1717, Scottish nobleman. He took part in the royalist rising of 1654 and helped George Monck to further the restoration (1660) of Charles II. In 1688 he privately supported James II, but he...

• Brett, Reginald Baliol, 2d Viscount Esher see Esher, Reginald Baliol Brett, 2d Viscount.

• Brian Boru or Brian Boroimhe , 940?-1014, king of Ireland. A clan prince, he succeeded his brother Mathghamhain, who had seized the throne of Munster from the Eogharacht rulers (963). Brian subjugated all Munster, then extended...

• Bright, John 1811-89, British statesman and orator. He was the son of a Quaker cotton manufacturer in Lancashire. A founder (1839) of the Anti-Corn Law League, he rose to prominence on the strength of his...

• Brisbane, Sir Thomas Makdougall 1773-1860, British soldier, astronomer, and colonial administrator in Australia, b. Scotland. From 1793 to 1814 he served in the army in Flanders, in the West Indies, in Spain, and in Canada,...

• Bristol, George Digby, 2d earl of 1612-77, English courtier; son of John Digby, 1st earl of Bristol. At first a member of the parliamentary opposition to Charles I, he later fought for the king in the English civil war. Afterward...

• Bristol, John Digby, 1st earl of 1580-1653, English diplomat. He spent most of the years 1611-24 at the Spanish court, where as ambassador he conducted the prolonged negotiations for the marriage of Prince Charles (later Charles I ) to the Spanish infanta. Digby was made earl of Bristol in 1622, but the next year the visit of Charles and the duke of Buckingham to Madrid brought to an end the already deadlocked marriage...

• Brittan, Sir Leon 1939-, British politician. Educated at Cambridge, he was elected to Parliament as a Conservative in 1974. Under Margaret Thatcher he served as home secretary (1983-85) and secretary for trade and industry (1985-86). He resigned from the government in the aftermath of the Westland helicopter affair (1986), which involved the...

• Britton, John 1771-1857, English antiquary and topographer. The long list of his writings includes biographies, critical works on art and literature, and the descriptions of landscapes and buildings for which he...

• Brogan, Denis William 1900-1974, British historian and political scientist, b. Glasgow, Scotland. He was educated at the Univ. of Glasgow, Oxford, and Harvard and was professor of political science at Cambridge from...

• Brooke, Alan Francis see Alanbrooke, Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount.

• Brookeborough, Basil Stanlake Brooke, 1st Viscount 1888-1973, Northern Irish politician. After serving in the cavalry in World War I he was elected to the Senate of the first Northern Ireland Parliament (1921). He resigned the following year to...

• Brougham, Henry Peter, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux 1778-1868, British statesman, b. Edinburgh. As a young lawyer in Scotland he helped to found (1802) the Edinburgh Review and contributed many articles to it. He went to London, was called (1808) to the English bar, and entered (1810) Parliament as a Whig. Brougham took up the fight against the slave trade and opposed...

• Brown, J. Gordon 1951-, British politician. From 1972 to 1980 he taught at Edinburgh Univ. and Glasgow College of Technology; he then joined Scottish Television (1980-83). As a Labour party member of Parliament (1983-97) under the Conservative government, he held major opposition posts on trade and economic affairs. In 1997, Prime Minister Tony Blair appointed him Chancellor of the Exchequer. One of Brown's early actions was to give the Bank of England the power to set short-term interest rates, a power previous Labour and Conservative...

• Bruce Scottish royal family descended from an 11th-century Norman duke, Robert de Brus. He aided William I in his conquest of England (1066) and was given lands in England. His son was granted fiefs in...

• Bruce, Edward d. 1318, Scottish king of Ireland, brother of Robert I of Scotland. He aided his brother in the war for independence from England and in 1315 was declared heir to Robert's throne. With Robert's approval he then invaded Ulster, to which he had some...

• Bruce, James, 8th earl of Elgin see Elgin, James Bruce, 8th earl of.

• Bruce, Thomas, 7th earl of Elgin see Elgin, Thomas Bruce, 7th earl of.

• Bruce, Victor Alexander, 9th earl of Elgin see under Elgin, James Bruce, 8th earl of.

• Brudenell, James Thomas see Cardigan, James Thomas Brudenell, 7th earl of.

• Bruton, John 1947-, Irish politician, b. Dublin. A lawyer and farm owner, he is a member of the centrist Fine Gael party. Bruton was first elected to the Irish parliament in 1969 and during the 1970s served as a junior minister. In Fine Gael cabinets during the 1980s, he was minister for industry, trade,...

• Brutus legendary founder of the British race: see Brut.

• Bryce, James Bryce, 1st Viscount 1838-1922, British historian, statesman, and diplomat, b. Belfast. After his education at the Univ. of Glasgow and at Oxford, he practiced law in London for a short time before becoming professor...

• Bryhtnoth see Byrhtnoth.

• Buchanan, George 1506-82, Scottish humanist. Educated at St. Andrews and Paris, he became (1536) tutor to James V's illegitimate son James Stuart (later earl of Murray). He was imprisoned (1539) for satirizing the...

• Buckingham, dukes of (Stafford line): see Stafford, Edward ; Stafford, Henry ; Stafford, Humphrey.

• Buckingham, George Nugent Temple Grenville, 1st marquess of see Grenville, George Nugent Temple, 1st marquess of Buckingham.

• Buckingham, George Villiers, 1st duke of 1592-1628, English courtier and royal favorite. He arrived (1614) at the English court as James I was tiring of his favorite, Robert Carr, earl of Somerset. Villiers was made a gentleman of the bedchamber (1615) and, after Somerset's disgrace, rose rapidly, becoming earl of Buckingham (1617),...

• Buckingham, George Villiers, 2d duke of 1628-87, English courtier; son of the 1st duke. Brought up with the royal family and educated at Cambridge, he was a strong royalist in the English civil war. In 1648 he escaped to the Continent,...

• Buller, Sir Redvers Henry 1839-1908, British general. His military career began in China, and he later took part in the suppression of the Red River Rebellion (1870) in Canada. In Africa he fought in the Kafir and Zulu...

• Bulwer, William Henry Lytton Earle, Baron Dalling and Bulwer 1801-72, English diplomat and author; brother of the novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton. He was known most of his life as Sir Henry Bulwer. Although he sat in Parliament for some years (1830-37,...

• Burgh, Hubert de d. 1243, chief justiciar of England under kings John and Henry III. Having served as a royal minister and commander in France, he was appointed justiciar by John in 1215. He continued in this position after John's death (1216) and in 1217 took part in the defeat...

• Burgh, Ulick de, earl of Clanricarde see Clanricarde, Ulick de Burgh, 5th earl and marquess of.

• Burghley, William Cecil, 1st Baron 1520-98, English statesman. He first rose to prominence during the protectorate of Edward Seymour, duke of Somerset, and he served as secretary of state (1550-53) during the ascendancy of John...

• Burgoyne, John 1722-92, British general and playwright. In the Seven Years War, his victory over the Spanish in storming (1762) Valencia de Alcántara in Portugal made him the toast of London. He was elected to...

• Burke, John 1787-1848, Irish genealogist. He issued (1826) A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the United Kingdom. He published the guide irregularly until 1847, after which...

• Burleigh, William Cecil, 1st Baron see Burghley.

• Burnet, Gilbert 1643-1715, Scottish bishop and writer. He studied in Scotland, England, and abroad, held minor ecclesiastical office in Scotland, and was appointed (1669) professor of divinity at Glasgow Univ. He...

• Burns, John 1858-1943, British union leader and politician. A factory worker as a child, he was largely self-educated and was led by his reading to radical socialism. Burns became an outstanding orator, and in...

• Bute, John Stuart, 3d earl of 1713-92, British politician. He was prominent as a friend of Frederick Louis, prince of Wales, as early as 1747 and became the tutor of Frederick's impressionable son, the future George III. When George became king in 1760, Bute was appointed a privy councilor, first gentleman of the bedchamber, and (Mar., 1761) a secretary of state. George III's policies of destroying the Whig...

• Butler, James see Ormonde, James Butler, 12th earl and 1st duke of.

• Butler, Richard Austen 1902-82, British politician. Educated at Cambridge, he entered Parliament in 1929 as a Conservative. As minister of education (1941-45), he piloted through Parliament the Education Act of 1944,...

• Butler, Thomas see Ossory, Thomas Butler, earl of.

• Butt, Isaac 1813-79, Irish politician and nationalist leader. A member of both the Irish and the English bar, he was a noted conservative lawyer and scholar and an opponent of Daniel O'Connell. After the Irish famine experience of the 1840s, how