Prince Albert was the husband and consort of Queen Victoria. He was a significant influence on his wife and she never recovered from his death. Albert Francis Charles Augustus Emmanuel of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was born on 26 August 1819 in Bavaria. When he was seven, his father divorced his mother on grounds of adultery, and she […]
Famous People in Victorian Times
Victorian England was a time of great change and progress. Many famous and important people were born or lived during this period. In this article, we will discuss some of the most famous English Victorians.
These individuals made significant contributions to society and left a lasting legacy. We hope you enjoy learning about them
A List of Famous Victorians
Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria was the monarch of England during the Victorian era. She was a powerful and influential figure, and her reign saw great progress and change. Victoria was a strong advocate for women's rights and played a major role in advancing the status of women in society. She also championed the arts and helped to make England a leading cultural force in the world.
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens was one of the most famous and popular authors of the Victorian era. He wrote novels and short stories that captured the essence of life in Victorian England, and his work is still enjoyed and read today. Dickens was a master of the written word, and his stories are full of humor, pathos, and social commentary. He is considered to be one of the greatest English novelists of all time.
Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll was the pen name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, an English mathematician, and author. He is best known for his children's books, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, which are full of fantasy and nonsense. Carroll was a master of wordplay and linguistic invention, and his books are still enjoyed by children and adults alike.
Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin was born in 1809 and spent his life studying animals and plants. He is best known for his work on the theory of evolution, which he published in On the Origin of Species in 1859. This theory explains how living things change over time, and has had a huge impact on the way we think about science and nature.
George Stephenson
George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and locomotive builder. He is considered to be the "father of railways" thanks to his innovations in steam locomotive technology. Stephenson's work helped to revolutionize transportation and laid the foundations for the modern railway system. He was also an accomplished architect and designed some of the most famous railway stations in England.
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was an English author, artist, and critic. He was a major figure in the Victorian art world, and his work helped to shape the aesthetic of the era. Ruskin was a passionate advocate for the arts, and he believed that they should be accessible to all people. He also championed the concept of "art for art's sake", and believed that artists should be free to create without commercial constraints. Ruskin's work was highly influential, and his ideas continue to be studied and debated by artists and scholars to this day.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel was a renowned English engineer and architect. He was one of the most innovative and creative engineers of his time, and his work helped to shape the modern world. Some of Brunel's most famous projects include the construction of the Thames Tunnel and the Great Western Railway. He was also an accomplished artist, and many of his designs are still in use today. Brunel was a true pioneer of his field, and his work continues to inspire engineers and architects all over the world.
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy was an English novelist and poet. He is best known for his novels set in the rural Wessex region of England, which are noted for their bleak and tragic tone. Hardy's novels are often categorized as "romantic tragedy," and he is considered to be one of the greatest writers of the Victorian era.
Joseph Lister
Lister was an English doctor and social reformer. He was a major figure in the field of public health, and is credited with helping to found the modern profession of nursing. Lister was also a vocal advocate for social reform, and campaigned for better living conditions and healthcare for the working classes. He was a pioneer of his field, and his work helped to improve the lives of millions of people.
Robert Peel
Robert Peel was a British statesman and Peelite Conservative. He served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1834 to 1835 and again from 1841 to 1846. Peel is best remembered for his reforms of the British government and his founding of the modern police force. He was also a strong advocate for free trade and helped to liberalize the British economy. Peel was a talented orator and politician, and he remains one of the most influential figures in British political history.
The Victorian era was a time of great progress and change, and many of the advances made during this time continue to have an impact on society and culture today. The Victorian era saw the rise of the middle class, the advancement of women's rights, and the growth of industry and commerce. This period also saw a flowering of the arts, with many famous writers, scientists, artists, and musicians emerging during this time.
The Victorian era has had a profound influence on modern-day society and culture, and it remains an important source of inspiration for many people around the world.
Lord Melbourne – William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (1779 – 1848)
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (21 March 1779 – 24 November 1848) was a British Whig politician who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century. He is best known for his intense and successful mentoring of Queen Victoria, who was still a teenager when she ascended the throne. After leaving office, he served […]
Bronte Sisters
The Bronte sisters were the world’s most famous literary family and Haworth Parsonage, now the Brontė Parsonage Museum, was their home from 1820 to 1861. Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontė were the authors of some of the best-loved books in the English language. Charlotte’s novel Jane Eyre (1847), Emily’s Wuthering Heights (1847), and Anne’s The […]
Sir William Blake Richmond
The artist Sir William Blake Richmond RA (1842-1921), son of George Richmond RA, became a student at the Royal Academy Schools in 1856. His father was a great admirer of William Blake, the visionary, painter, & poet, hence naming his son in his honour. Richmond entered the RA Schools in 1858, where he was a […]
Alexander Fisher
Alexander Fisher (1864-1936), silversmith, was a leading artist working with enamels. He taught at the LCC Central School of Arts and Crafts from 1896-1898 and later at other London Schools. He also had several private pupils. In the spirit of the Arts and Crafts Movement, he advocated that every artwork should express a particular idea and […]
Elizabeth Siddal
Elizabeth Siddal (1829-1862) – the family name was ‘Siddall’ but she signed with the shorter spelling – is best known as the wife of Rossetti and the subject of many Pre-Raphaelite pictures. She was also an amateur painter. Siddal had no formal art training. She was introduced to the minor Pre-Raphaelite Walter H. Deverell in 1849, sitting for his Twelfth […]
John William Waterhouse (1849-1917)
John William Waterhouse was born in 1849 in Rome, where his parents, both painters, lived for some years. In the 1850s the family returned to England. Before entering the Royal Academy schools in 1870, Waterhouse assisted his father in his studio. His early works were of classical themes in the spirit of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema […]
William Holman Hunt
Hunt, a founder of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was born in London, the son of a warehouse manager. Throughout his life he was a devout Christian. He was also serious minded, & lacking in a sense of humour. Hunt joined the Royal Academy Schools in 1844, where he met Millais & Rossetti, &, in fact brought […]
Sir John Everett Millais
Millais was born in Southampton in 1829, the son of John William and Emily Mary Millais. His father came from a well-known Jersey family, and his mother nee Evamy came from a prosperous family of Southampton saddlers. Emily Millais had been married previously to one Enoch Hodgkinson, by whom she had two sons. By her […]
Henry Moore
Henry Moore was born in York 1831, the second of thirteen sons of William Moore (1790-1851), and his wife Sarah, nee Collingham. He was educated in York, and received tuition in art from his father, before entering the RA Schools in 1853. He also exhibited at the Academy from that date. He did not, however, […]