Lord Chelmsford was appointed commander of British forces in South Africa in 1878. The following year he led the British invasion of Zululand. The first engagement of the campaign was the Zulu rout of ...

Born in Oxford on 7 August 1826, Gilbert was one of eleven children of Ashurst Turner Gilbert, principal of Brasenose College, Oxford and afterwards bishop of Chichester and his wife Mary Anne.

The eldest daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV and his fourth wife, Elizabeth of Pomerania. Anne became Queen of England on 20 January 1382 when she was married to Richard II in Westminster ...

Bulgarian-born writer; studied Chemistry in Vienna before emigrating to England in 1938; wrote essays, plays, autobiography and a study of crowds, but made his name with the novel, Die Blendung (1935) ...

Tewodros II (or 'Theodore') was a Coptic Christian ruler of Abyssinia from 1855. Like many rulers, he won power through defeating his rivals through war, but he continued to face internal revolt and ...

Booking required for school groups only. Please see the School visits page. The Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award makes a welcome return to the National Portrait Gallery for 2024. The prestigious ...

Olaudah Equiano was born in Essaka, in what is now southeastern Nigeria. He was kidnapped into slavery at the age of eleven and put to work for a number of different masters in America, the West ...

Younghusband's interests lay in problems of the poor, and whilst a full-time lecturer at the London School of Economics (1933-57), she devoted her spare time to the Citizens' Advice Bureaux, care ...

Astrophysicist, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, President of the Royal Society (2005-10) and Director of the Institute of Astronomy (1977-82, 1987-91). Baron Rees pursued an academic career in ...

Italian-born Belzoni moved to England in 1803 where he found work for a time as a strongman, actor and conjuror at fairs and theatres around the country. He travelled to Egypt having persuaded Mehmet ...

Staley was a Catholic goldsmith and banker accused of speaking malicious and treasonable words against King Charles II. His accusers were 'loose and vicious gentleman' who offered to drop the charge ...

Political leader, activist and religious and social reformer. Born in Porbandar, India, Gandhi left for London in 1888 to study law at University College. His first major job was as a legal advisor in ...