Historical figures in London
The atlas holds 249 people and 882 moments here, from 1374 to 2025. The most recorded lives are Charles Dickens, John Milton and William Blake. Among them Writers, Political Leaders and Scientists, across the Space Age and the Cold War.
Notable people
Charles de Gaulle
from 1940 to 1944
4 moments here
French army officer, leader of Free France during the Second World War, head of France's Provisional Government, and president of the French Fifth…
Charles Dickens
from 1815 to 1870
18 moments here
English novelist, journalist, editor, social reformer, actor and celebrated public reader. This chronology traces documented residences, workplaces,…
Charlie Chaplin
from 1889 to 1975
11 moments here
English actor, comedian, director, writer, producer and composer whose screen persona, the Tramp, became an international icon.…
Charlotte Brontë
from 1842 to 1848
2 moments here
English novelist, poet, and governess, best known for Jane Eyre. This chronology records documented physical presences from her birth in Thornton…
Daniel arap Moi
from 1960 to 1979
2 moments here
Kenyan teacher and politician who served as Kenya’s vice president from 1967 to 1978 and its second president from 1978 to 2002.…
Daniel Defoe
from 1660 to 1731
12 moments here
English merchant, political writer, journalist, intelligence agent, and novelist. This chronology records documented physical presences from his…
David Hume
from 1737 to 1776
4 moments here
Scottish philosopher, historian, economist and essayist. Hume’s documented movements include formative stays in Bristol and France; residences at…
Desiderius Erasmus
from 1505 to 1510
2 moments here
Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, theologian, editor, and author. Erasmus was born in the Burgundian Netherlands, educated in the Low…
Desmond Tutu
from 1962 to 2004
4 moments here
South African Anglican bishop, theologian, anti-apartheid activist, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Archbishop of Cape Town, and chair of South Africa’s…
Diana, Princess of Wales
from 1967 to 1997
11 moments here
Diana Frances Spencer (1961–1997) was Princess of Wales from 1981 until her divorce in 1996.…
Dmitri Mendeleev
in 1889
1 moment here
Russian chemist Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev formulated the periodic law and produced a foundational periodic table.…
Doris Lessing
from 1949 to 2013
5 moments here
British novelist Doris May Lessing was born in Kermanshah, Iran, grew up in Southern Rhodesia, and moved to London in 1949.…
Douglas Adams
from 1952 to 1994
5 moments here
English author, screenwriter and humourist best known for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.…
Dwight D. Eisenhower
in 1942
2 moments here
Dwight D. Eisenhower was a United States Army officer, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during World War II, and the 34th president of the United…
Edgar Allan Poe
from 1816 to 1817
2 moments here
American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic whose work helped shape Gothic fiction, detective fiction, and early science fiction.…
Edmund Barton
from 1900 to 1902
2 moments here
Australian barrister, federation leader, first prime minister of Australia (1901–1903), and founding justice of the High Court of Australia.…
Eleanor Roosevelt
from 1899 to 1942
2 moments here
American political figure, diplomat, activist, and First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945.…
Elizabeth I
from 1533 to 1603
7 moments here
Elizabeth I (1533–1603), daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, was Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 until her death.…
Elizabeth II
from 1926 to 2022
15 moments here
Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death.…
Elizabeth Taylor
from 1932 to 1982
5 moments here
British-American actress and HIV/AIDS activist. Born in London, Taylor moved to Southern California in 1939, became a major Hollywood star, worked…
Émile Zola
in 1898
3 moments here
French novelist, journalist, and leading naturalist writer. Born in Paris, Zola spent formative years in Aix-en-Provence before returning to Paris;…
Ernest Hemingway
in 1944
1 moment here
American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. Hemingway’s documented movements ranged from Illinois and Michigan to Italy in World War I,…
Ernest Rutherford
in 1937
1 moment here
New Zealand-born physicist and chemist whose research on radioactivity, the atomic nucleus, and nuclear transmutation helped establish nuclear…
Florence Nightingale
from 1853 to 1910
7 moments here
English social reformer, statistician, and nursing pioneer. Nightingale’s documented movements span childhood homes in England; travel and nursing…
Moments
- 1707 First-Fruits mission in London Jonathan Swift
- 1709 Relocates to Chelsea Isaac Newton
- 1710 First London visit George Frideric Handel
- 1710 Political work in London Jonathan Swift
- 1710 Settles in St Martin's Street Isaac Newton
- 1712 Permanent settlement in England George Frideric Handel
- 1713 Barn Elms residence George Frideric Handel
- 1714 Testifies on the longitude problem Isaac Newton
- 1717 Water Music river party George Frideric Handel
- 1723 Brook Street residence George Frideric Handel
- 1724 Journeyman printer in London Benjamin Franklin
- 1725 Moves to Kensington for his health Isaac Newton
- 1726 Stayed with Pope at Twickenham Jonathan Swift
- 1726 Lives with Fawkener in Wandsworth Voltaire
- 1726 Takes rooms at Durham Court Voltaire
- 1726 Recounts the falling-apple insight Isaac Newton
- 1727 Dies at Kensington Isaac Newton
- 1727 Lodges above the White Peruke Voltaire
- 1729 Arrival in London Montesquieu
- 1730 Initiation at Horn Tavern Lodge Montesquieu
- 1734 Mary Delany's London party George Frideric Handel
- 1737 Arrival in London after French retreat David Hume
- 1749 Foundling Hospital benefit concert George Frideric Handel
- 1750 Return to Foundling Hospital George Frideric Handel
- 1755 Instrument-making training in London James Watt
- 1757 London colonial agency Benjamin Franklin
- 1757 Birth at Broad Street William Blake
- 1757 Baptism at St James's Church William Blake
- 1759 Burial at Westminster Abbey George Frideric Handel
- 1759 Death at Brook Street George Frideric Handel
- 1762 Returns to England and marries in London James Cook
- 1764 Departure from Glasgow for London Adam Smith
- 1764 Second London mission Benjamin Franklin
- 1764 Stays at Ebury Street Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1764 Arrives in London Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1764 Lodges in Cecil Court Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1764 Performs before George III Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1764 Second London royal engagement Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1764 Appears at Ranelagh Gardens Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1764 Performs in Grosvenor Square Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1764 Moves to Frith Street Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1765 Performs at Hickford's Long Room Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1765 Performs daily at a Cornhill tavern Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- 1766 Arrival in London Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1766 Stay at Chiswick Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- 1766 Letter from London David Hume
- 1766 Return to London from France Adam Smith
- 1767 Under-secretary in London David Hume
- 1772 Apprenticeship to James Basire William Blake
- 1773 London research and writing Adam Smith