Characters of the British Empire

From the Act of Union to the Great War

Foundation of Empire (18th century) Height of Empire (19th century) Ireland Canada Australia and New Zealand India and Asia Colonial Africa The Great War (20th century)

Foundation of Empire (1707 to 1815 )

The Act of Union, to the Battle of Waterloo

Character	Dates	Short Biography
George I of England	1660-1727	First Hanoverian Monarch of Britain. Entrusted government to Robert Walpole
Alexander Pope	1688-1744	Eminent poet and Satirist of the enlightenment era. Wrote Essay on Criticism.
Robert Walpole	1676-1745	First Prime Minister of Britain. Ran cabinet meetings for George I
Jonathan Swift	1667-1745	Poet, essayist, and satirist. Best known as author of Gulliver's Travels.
General Wolfe	1727-1759	Defeated the French at the Battle of Quebec, giving Canada to Britain. Died during battle.
George II of England	1683-1760	Second Hanoverian Monarch of Britain.
Lord Anson	1697-1762	British naval hero who circumnavigated the globe and wrote a diary about his journey.
Old Pretender	1688-1766	Son of James II, led Jacobites in a bid to restore Stuarts to the throne of England.
John Wesley	1703-1774	Founder of the evangelical Methodist movement in England. Social reformer.
William Pitt the Elder	1708-1778	Statesman who masterminded the rise of the British Empire during the critical 18th century.
Lord Edward Hawke	1705-1781	Hero of the naval Battle of Quiberon during the Seven Years War.
Samuel Johnson	1709-1784	Eminent literary figure in England. Wrote the first British Dictionary.
Young Pretender	1720-1788	Grandson of James II, led Jacobites in bid to restore Stuarts to the throne of England.
Flora MacDonald	1722-1790	Heroine who help Bonnie Prince Charles escape from Scotland.
General Braddock	1695-1755	Led a disastrous campaign to Fort Duquesne (Ohio) during the French and Indian Wars.
General Burgoyne	1723-1792	British leader who surrendered with 6000 men to American forces at Saratoga.
Lord Cornwallis	1738-1805	British leader defeated at Yorktown in Revolutionary War. Later served as governor in India.
James Hargreaves	1720-1778	Inventor of an automated spinning wheel. Founder of the Industrial Revolution.
Richard Arkwright	1732-1792	Inventor of the spinning frame, which allowed water or steam power to spin cloth.
Edmund Burke	1730-1797	Very influential political philosopher, whose works are a basis of constitutional law.
Lord Horatio Nelson	1758-1805	Great Naval hero of his age; victor at the Battle of the Nile, Copenhagen, and Trafalgar.
William Pitt the Younger	1759-1806	Son of the Earl of Chatham, served between American Revolution and Napoleonic Wars.
Angelica Kaufmann	1741-1807	Eminent European Painter who lived many years in England.
Sir John Moore	1761-1809	Napoleonic War hero who died at the Battle of Coruna.
George III of England	1738-1820	Monarch whose long reign encompassed Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
Samuel Crompton	1753-1827	Inventor of the Spinning Mule, which could be used to make fine cloth such as Muslin.
Hannah More	1745-1833	Dedicated her life to helping the poor of England.
Elizabeth Fry	1780-1845	Quaker and prison reformer. Fought for better conditions for inmates.
Duke of Wellington	1769-1852	Napoleonic War General who fought in Spain and Portugal. Defeated Napoleon at Waterloo.

Height of Empire (1815 A.D. to 1902 A.D.)

Aftermath of Napoleonic Wars, to the Second Boer War

Character	Dates	Short Biography
Sir Walter Scott	1771-1832	Author best known for novels set in Scotland.
Grace Darling	1815-1842	British heroine who saved sailors from a ship that crashed on her father's lighthouse.
John Franklin	1786-1847	Explorer of the Arctic regions of Canada.
George Stephenson	1781-1848	Inventor of the steam locomotive and the modern railroad.
Lord Raglan	1788-1855	Field Marshall of English Forces during the Crimean War.
Henry Havelock	1795-1857	Led a division to relieve Lucknow during the Sepoy Rebellion. Died during the siege.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning	1809-1861	Eminent poet of the Victorian era. Married to Robert Browning.
Michael Faraday	1791-1867	Physicist who was important in the development of electricity and magnetism.
Charles Dickens	1812-1870	Prolific novelist of the Victorian Era. Wrote David Copperfield, A Christmas Carol and others.
David Livingstone	1813-1873	As a medical missionary, he explored uncharted regions of the interior of Africa.
Benjamin Disraeli	1804-1881	Prime Minister, Author, and conservative rival of Gladstone.
Charles Darwin	1809-1882	Proposed the theory of evolution of species. Wrote Origen of Species.
Charles Gordon	1833-1885	General who defeated the Tai-pings in China, served as governor in Soudan and resisted the Mahdi in Khartoum.
Charles Parnell	1846-1891	Irish Catholic politician who fought for home rule for Ireland.
Alfred Tennyson	1809-1892	Best known poet of he Victorian Age. Write Idylls of the King and many other poems.
Henry Bessemer	1813-1898	Invented a process for the manufacture of steel that was of superior quality for a low cost.
William Gladstone	1809-1898	Prime minister and member of the Liberal Party. Opponent of Disraeli.
Victoria of Great Britain	1819-1901	Longest reigning English Monarch. Presided over the British Empire at its height.
Cecil Rhodes	1853-1902	Power broker in South Africa, tried to turn all provinces into a British Colony.
H. M. Stanley	1841-1904	Met Livingstone in Africa, then continued his explorations. Followed the Congo river to the sea.
Lord Kelvin	1824-1907	Made important discoveries in thermodynamics and electricity.
Florence Nightingale	1820-1910	Nurse who reformed the care of wounded soldiers during the Crimean War.
Lord Roberts	1832-1914	Career officer, saw service in Indian Mutiny, Afghanistan, Abyssinia, India and South Africa.
Horatio Kitchener	1850-1916	Military hero of the late 19th century, first in Sudan, and later in the Boer Wars

Ireland (450 to 1922)

St. Patrick brings Christianity to Ireland, to Irish Independence

Character	Dates	Short Biography
Saint Patrick	389-461	Kidnapped as a child and brought to Ireland, returned as a child to spread Christianity.
Saint Brigid	451-525	Patron Saint of Ireland (with Patrick). Founded a monastery at Kildare in Ireland.
Brian Boru	941-1014	King who unified all of Ireland briefly before the Norman invasion.
Lambert Simnel	1477-1534	Pretender to the throne of England during the reign of Henry Tudor.
Shane O'Neill	1530-1567	Chieftain of the O'Neill clan of Ulster, under Queen Elizabeth.
Jonathan Swift	1667-1745	Poet, essayist, and satirist. Best known as author of Gulliver's Travels.
Oliver Goldsmith	1730-1774	Poet and novelist, best known for The Vicar of Wakefield.
Henry Grattan	1746-1820	Irish politician who strove to create and independent Irish Parliament. He resisted the Union of 1801.
Daniel O'Connell	1775-1847	Political leader of Irish Catholics during early 19th century. Promoted Catholic Emancipation.
Charles Parnell	1846-1891	Irish Catholic politician who fought for home rule for Ireland.

Canada and America (1497 to 1949)

Cabot's first voyage to North America, to Union of Canada and Newfoundland

Character	Dates	Short Biography
Sir Humphrey Gilbert	1537-1583	Sea-faring adventurer. Founded the first English colony in the New World in Canada.
Sir Martin Frobisher	1535-1594	Explored much of Canada in search of the Northwest Passage. Fought in the Armada.
John Davis	1550-1605	British explorer who sought a Northwest Passage through Canada.
Henry Hudson	1575-1611	Explorer who discovered Hudson Bay and other parts of North America.
William Baffin	1585-1622	Discovered Baffin Bay while on a quest to find the Northwest Passage.
Samuel de Champlain	1580-1635	Founded French colonies in the St. Lawrence seaway and Great Lake region. Father of 'New France.'
Count Frontenac	1622-1698	Governor of New France from 1672 to 1698. Expanded fur trade, and fought with British.
Madeline de Vercheres	1678-1747	Fended off a tribe of Indians attacking her fort when she was only fourteen.
General Braddock	1695-1755	Led a disastrous campaign to Fort Duquesne (Ohio) during the French and Indian Wars.
General Wolfe	1727-1759	Defeated the French at the Battle of Quebec, giving Canada to Britain. Died during battle.
Louis-Joseph Montcalm	1712-1759	Military leader of New France during the Seven Year War; died at Battle of Quebec.
George Vancouver	1757-1798	Discovered Puget Sound, Vancouver Island, Columbia River; claimed region for Britain.
Alexander Mackenzie	1764-1820	Discovered the Mackenzie River and Great Northern Lakes of Canada.
Lord Selkirk	1771-1820	Obtained a land grant near Red River valley and help poor Scottish pioneers settle there.
Lord Durham	1792-1840	Helped draft the Reform bill of 1832. Then recommended a form of self government for Canada.
Laura Secord	1775-1868	During War of 1812 warned a British Lieutenant of an impending surprise attack.
Louis Riel	1844-1885	Leader of the Metis tribes of Manitoba and Saskatchewan who fought for their rights.

Australia and New Zealand (1770 to 1931)

First Voyage of Captain Cook, to the Statute of Westminster

Character	Dates	Short Biography
Captain James Cook	1728-1779	Discovered Australia and New Zealand. Helped establish colonies there.
George Bass	1771-1803	Naturalist and Surgeon, who with Flinders, explored Botany Bay and Van Diemen's Land.
Matthew Flinders	1774-1814	Naval Captain, circumnavigated Australia and explored inner regions.
Samuel Marsden	1764-1838	Early settler in Australia and missionary to the Maoris in New Zealand.
Hone Heke	1810-1850	Maori chief who resisted British rule and instigated the Flagstaff War.
Edward Wakefield	1796-1862	Organized early settlements in Australia and New Zealand.
George Edward Grey	1812-1898	Governor of South Australia, Cape Colony, and New Zealand.
Ernest Rutherford	1871-1937	Father of nuclear physics. Advocated the orbital theory of the atom.
Abel Janszoon Tasman	1603-1659	Visited Formosa and Japan, discovered Tasmania and New Zealand

British India (1600 to 1901)

First Charter of British East India Company, to Boxer Rebellion in China

Character	Dates	Short Biography
Great Mogul Aurangzeb	1618-1707	Moslem ruler of largely Hindu India. Consolidated the Moghul empire, but oppressed Hindus.
Joseph Francois Dupleix	1697-1763	Governor of the French trading company in India; rival of Clive for control of Bengal.
Mir Jafar	1691-1765	Succeeded to the position of Nawab of Bengal after Clive won the Battle of Plassey.
Sir Robert Clive	1725-1774	British soldier, who rose to be a hero in the Carnatic Wars and delivered Bengal to Britain at the Battle of Plassey.
Tipu Sultan	1750-1799	Took over the Mysore Kingdom on the death of his father Hyder Ali. Fought the British in a series of Anglo-Mysore wars.
Warren Hastings	1732-1818	Early Governor of India. Was tried for corruption, but acquitted after a lengthy trial.
Lord Amherst	1773-1857	British ambassador to China, and then governor of India. Fought first Burmese War.
Henry Havelock	1795-1857	Led a division to relieve Lucknow during the Sepoy Rebellion. Died during the siege.
Lord Dalhousie	1812-1860	Made major reforms and increased British holding in India, shortly before the mutiny.
Colin Campbell	1792-1863	Commanded the Highland Brigade during the Crimean War. Also served in India.
Sir James Outram	1803-1863	Hero of the sieges of Cawnpore and Lucknow during the Sepoy Rebellion.
William Brydon	1811-1873	Surgeon in the Bengal army; sole survivor of the massacre at Khyber pass in Afghanistan.
Lord Roberts	1832-1914	Career officer, saw service in Indian Mutiny, Afghanistan, Abyssinia, India and South Africa.
Marques Wellesley	1760-1842	Governor-general of India, fought Second Maratha and Mysore wars. Later, promoted Catholic emancipation.
Charles Gordon	1833-1885	General who defeated the Tai-pings in China, served as governor in Soudan and resisted the Mahdi in Khartoum.
Harry Smith Parks	1828-1885	British diplomat in China and Japan, active during the Second Opium war.

Colonial Africa (1770 to 1910)

James Bruce discovers the Blue Nile, to Union of South Africa

Character	Dates	Short Biography
Jan van Riebeeck	1619-1677	Founder and first Governor of the Dutch settlement at Cape Town, South Africa.
James Bruce	1730-1794	Explorer who discovered the source of the Blue Nile in Ethiopia.
Mungo Park	1771-1806	Explorer of the Niger river area in Africa.
Hugh Clapperton	1788-1827	Explored Sub-Saharan Africa. Discovered Lake Chad.
Chaka	1781-1828	Chieftain who oversaw the Zulu's rise to power and domination over a large region of South Africa.
Pieter Retief	1780-1838	Leader of Boers during the Great Trek. Murdered by Dingaan during negotiations.
Dingan	1795-1840	Ruled Zulus after assassinating Shaka. Murdered Boer leaders leading to Zulu-Boer War.
Andries Pretorius	1798-1853	Leader of Boers who avenged death of Piet Retief, and formed the Transvaal Republic.
John Hanning Speke	1827-1864	Explored, with Burton, the Great Lakes region of Africa.
David Livingstone	1813-1873	As a medical missionary, he explored uncharted regions of the interior of Africa.
Cetewayo	1826-1884	Leader of the Zulus during the Anglo-Zulu War.
Charles Gordon	1833-1885	General who defeated the Tai-pings in China, served as governor in Soudan and resisted the Mahdi in Khartoum.
Mahdi	1844-1885	Raised an army of Rebel Muslim Sudanese. Caused widespread carnage. Besieged Khartoum.
Richard Burton	1821-1890	Explored, with Speke, the Great Lakes region of Africa. Also translated Arabian Nights.
The Khalifa	1846-1899	Succeeded as leader of the Mahdists on the death of Mahdi. Fought Kitchener at Omdurman.
Cecil Rhodes	1853-1902	Power broker in South Africa, tried to turn all provinces into a British Colony.
H. M. Stanley	1841-1904	Met Livingstone in Africa, then continued his explorations. Followed the Congo river to the sea.
Paul Kruger	1825-1904	Boer leader who resisted British rule, and was president of the Transvaal Republic.
Arabi Pasha	1839-1911	Leader of an insurrectionary movement in Egypt in1882
Horatio Kitchener	1850-1916	Military hero of the late 19th century, first in Sudan, and later in the Boer Wars
Louis Botha	1862-1919	Boer Hero during the Second Boer War. First Prime Minister of South Africa.

The Great War (1900 to 1922)

Prelude to Aftermath of the Great War

Character	Dates	Short Biography
George V of England	1865-1936	King of England during the Great War. Relinquished all German holdings; changed name to Windsor.
Horatio Kitchener	1850-1916	Military hero of the late 19th century, first in Sudan, and later in the Boer Wars
Lawrence of Arabia	1888-1935	British archeologist and historian who served with the Arab irregulars during WWI.
Rudyard Kipling	1865-1936	Kipling's novel's and poetry are associated with British Imperialism, for good and ill.
Ernest Rutherford	1871-1937	Father of nuclear physics. Advocated the orbital theory of the atom.
Joseph Joffre	1852-1931	Commander and chief of the French army during the early years of the Great War.
Ferdinand Foch	1851-1929	Military theorist and teacher who became Field Marshall of the Allies during the Great War.
General Pershing	1860-1948	Leader of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I.