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

1. Hugo Chávez

   from 2001 to 2006

   2 moments here

   Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías was a Venezuelan army officer and politician who led the failed February 1992 coup attempt, became president of Venezuela in…

2. Igor Stravinsky

   in 1961

   1 moment here

   Russian-born composer, conductor, and pianist who became a French citizen in 1934 and an American citizen in 1945.…

3. Indira Gandhi

   from 1966 to 1969

   2 moments here

   Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was an Indian stateswoman who served as prime minister from 1966 to 1977 and from 1980 until her assassination in 1984.…

4. Isaac Newton

   from 1687 to 1727

   10 moments here

   English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, theologian, alchemist, author, and public official.…

5. James Clerk Maxwell

   from 1860 to 1861

   2 moments here

   Scottish physicist and mathematician whose career moved among Edinburgh, Galloway, Cambridge, Aberdeen, and London.…

6. James Cook

   in 1762

   1 moment here

   British naval officer, hydrographer and explorer whose surveys of Newfoundland and three Pacific voyages transformed European geographic knowledge of…

7. James Joyce

   from 1904 to 1931

   3 moments here

   Irish novelist, poet, and critic whose life moved between Dublin, continental Europe, and Switzerland.…

8. James Watt

   in 1755

   1 moment here

   Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist whose separate-condenser improvement to the steam engine was foundational to industrialization.…

9. Jane Austen

   from 1788 to 1815

   7 moments here

   English novelist Jane Austen spent her life in southern England, principally in Hampshire, Bath, Southampton, Chawton, and Winchester.…

10. Jawaharlal Nehru

    from 1905 to 1948

    3 moments here

    Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and statesman who became independent India’s first prime minister, serving from 15 August 1947 until his…

11. Jean-Jacques Rousseau

    in 1766

    2 moments here

    Genevan philosopher, writer, composer, and a major figure of the European Enlightenment. Rousseau’s documented movements ranged across Geneva, Savoy,…

12. Jiddu Krishnamurti

    from 1911 to 1928

    2 moments here

    Indian philosopher, speaker, and writer. Raised within the Theosophical Society, he became head of the Order of the Star in the East, dissolved it at…

13. Jim Morrison

    in 1968

    1 moment here

    James Douglas “Jim” Morrison was an American singer, songwriter, poet, and lead vocalist of the Doors.…

14. Jimmy Carter

    in 1977

    1 moment here

    James Earl Carter Jr. was an American naval officer, Georgia state senator and governor, the 39th president of the United States, and a…

15. John Adams

    in 1785

    1 moment here

    American lawyer, revolutionary leader, diplomat, first vice president of the United States, and second U.S. president.…

16. John Atta Mills

    from 1968 to 2009

    4 moments here

    John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills was a Ghanaian legal scholar and politician who served as vice president of Ghana from 1997 to 2001 and president from 7…

17. John Cornforth

    from 1946 to 1951

    2 moments here

    Australian-British organic chemist and 1975 Nobel Prize laureate, noted for elucidating the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalysed reactions.…

18. John F. Kennedy

    from 1938 to 1961

    4 moments here

    John Fitzgerald Kennedy was an American naval officer, journalist, congressman, senator, and the 35th president of the United States.…

19. John Lennon

    from 1963 to 1969

    3 moments here

    English musician, songwriter, artist and peace activist; co-founder of the Beatles. This chronology records documented physical presence at…

20. John Locke

    from 1647 to 1702

    6 moments here

    English philosopher, physician, and political writer. Locke was born in Somerset, educated in London and Oxford, served Lord Shaftesbury in London,…

21. John Maynard Keynes

    from 1906 to 1946

    9 moments here

    English economist, civil servant, Cambridge fellow, and British international negotiator whose work shaped modern macroeconomics.…

22. John Milton

    from 1608 to 1674

    17 moments here

    English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. This chronology follows documented residences, education, continental travel, marriages, public service,…

23. John Quincy Adams

    from 1795 to 1815

    3 moments here

    John Quincy Adams was an American diplomat, secretary of state, sixth president of the United States, and Massachusetts representative.…

24. Jomo Kenyatta

    from 1929 to 1962

    5 moments here

    Jomo Kenyatta (c. 1897–1978) was a Kenyan anti-colonial activist and politician who became Kenya’s first prime minister in 1963 and first president…

Moments

1. 1822 Moves to Bayham Street Charles Dickens
2. 1824 Visits his family in the Marshalsea Charles Dickens
3. 1824 Works at Warren's Blacking Warehouse Charles Dickens
4. 1825 Attends Wellington House Academy Charles Dickens
5. 1827 First Christmas Lecture Michael Faraday
6. 1827 Clerks at Gray's Inn Charles Dickens
7. 1827 Death at Fountain Court William Blake
8. 1829 Reports at Doctors' Commons Charles Dickens
9. 1829 Discusses beetles in London Charles Darwin
10. 1830 Becomes a British Museum reader Charles Dickens
11. 1831 Work at the Royal Institution Michael Faraday
12. 1834 Takes rooms at Furnival's Inn Charles Dickens
13. 1836 Marries at St Luke's Church Charles Dickens
14. 1837 Residence at Buckingham Palace Queen Victoria
15. 1837 Moves to London scientific circles Charles Darwin
16. 1837 Establishes home in Doughty Street Charles Dickens
17. 1837 Recovers at Hampstead Heath Charles Dickens
18. 1837 Incognito London visit Frédéric Chopin
19. 1837 First Privy Council at Kensington Palace Queen Victoria
20. 1838 Coronation at Westminster Abbey Queen Victoria
21. 1838 Moves into Upper Gower Street Charles Darwin
22. 1839 Moves to Devonshire Terrace Charles Dickens
23. 1840 Wedding to Prince Albert Queen Victoria
24. 1842 Carriage attack on The Mall Queen Victoria
25. 1843 Visit to German communists Friedrich Engels
26. 1844 Visits Kew Gardens Charles Darwin
27. 1845 Research journey to London Friedrich Engels
28. 1845 Studies and meets Chartists in London Karl Marx
29. 1847 First Communist League congress Friedrich Engels
30. 1847 Arrives in London Hans Christian Andersen
31. 1847 Conducts I masnadieri premiere Giuseppe Verdi
32. 1847 Meets Charles Dickens Hans Christian Andersen
33. 1847 Second Communist League congress Friedrich Engels
34. 1847 Attends Communist League congress Karl Marx
35. 1848 Arrival for Great Britain tour Frédéric Chopin
36. 1848 Performance at Stafford House Frédéric Chopin
37. 1848 Last public appearance at Guildhall Frédéric Chopin
38. 1849 Refugee reunion Friedrich Engels
39. 1849 Arrives as an exile in London Karl Marx
40. 1851 Attends the Great Exhibition Charles Dickens
41. 1851 Lives at 28 Dean Street Karl Marx
42. 1851 Moves into Tavistock House Charles Dickens
43. 1854 Attends Crystal Palace opening Charles Darwin
44. 1855 London Philharmonic concerts Richard Wagner
45. 1856 Moves to Grafton Terrace Karl Marx
46. 1860 Move to London and King's College James Clerk Maxwell
47. 1860 Trinity House board attendance Michael Faraday
48. 1861 Royal Institution colour-photography demonstration James Clerk Maxwell
49. 1861 First foreign journey: London Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
50. 1862 Met Herzen and visited the Crystal Palace Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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