Britain Unlimited covers the lives of 250 of Great Britain’s most famous people
We have chosen two hundred and fifty iconic Britons to tell the story of Britain itself. Each page gives you an easy to read guide about who the person was and what they were famous for. It tells you what they did and where they went in a chronological biography and also lists relevant locations so that you can follow in their footsteps for research or purely for pleasure. Select the information you need from one of the menus for either surname or a subject, or you can just visit the Full List of 250. We cover people from the Roman Empire to those who died before the end of the Twentieth Century and with our historical timelines you can see how they fitted into the world around them.
On Britain Unlimited you’ll also find museums dedicated to their memory, places they lived in or visited and examples of the works they achieved. You’ll find lists of the books they wrote and the pictures they painted. In fact everything you need to know to get a flavour of the people that made Britain great. This site is dedicated to individual people so you will not find Kings and Queens although the timelines relate a person to a particular reign to make it easier to distinguish a period. If you want to see who was the Prime Minister at the time you can choose the year from this list.
Follow the links in the top menus for further information about the United Kingdom itself and the organisations and companies that can help you find out more on your chosen subject.
People of the Moment
- It is 100 years since the birth of Christopher Robin Milne without whom we wouldn’t have Winnie the Pooh! See our page about his father, the author here.
- It is 250 years since the birth of William Wordsworth in Cockermouth, Cumbria. One of the “Lake Poets” he is widely thought to have brought about a revolution in English Literature. See more about him here.
- It is 200 years since the birth of Anne Bronte. See our page about her here. 1820 also had two other major events. John Constable’s “Haywain” was first exhibited at the Royal Academy and William Blake produced his first copies of “Jerusalem”
- It is 500 years since the birth of William Cecil, Lord Burghley one of the greatest statesmen of the reign of Queen Elizabeth the the First. Read about him here.
- Scottish independence is as hot a topic today as it was 700 years ago when King Robert the Bruce was one of the signatories to the “Declaration of Arbroath” in 1320 which outlined Scotland’s idea of a separate state. See about him here.
- Even further back in time the bones of Saint Thomas Becket were moved in 1220 to a purpose built shrine in Trinity Chapel at Canterbury Cathedral. This attracted the famous pilgrimages which Geoffrey Chaucer wrote so vividly about in his “Canterbury Tales”. Becket’s remains were sadly destroyed during the reign of King Henry the Eighth.
We like to see who the most popular characters are on Britain Unlimited and each year we check to see who has been most read. In 2019 the top ten Britons were as follows:
- Lewis Carroll. Mathematician and author of “Alice in Wonderland”.
- William Wordsworth. Romantic Poet
- Grace Darling. Lifeboat heroine who rescued survivors in a rowing boat.
- Thomas Arne. Composer
- William Pitt the Elder. Prime Minster in Eighteenth Century
- William Armstrong. Nineteenth Century industrialist
- Abraham Darby. Industrial pioneer
- Florence Nightingale. One of the founders of nursing.
- George Cadbury. Chocolate Manufacturer.
- George Eliot. Victorian Novelist.
...and if all that wasn’t enough there’s information on hotels and accommodation, travel tips, tours and how to find historic houses.
Enjoy reading Britain Unlimited and maybe you’ll discover something new today about the Britain you love.