Famous Britons Charles Babbage Born 26 December 1791

Famous Britons

Charles Babbage üBorn: 26 December 1791 üOccupation: Mathematician, analytical philosopher, mechanical engineer, üOriginated the idea of a programmable computer üDied: 18 October 1871 (aged 79)

Alexander Graham Bell üBorn: 3 March 1847 üOccupation: inventor, scientist üEducation: University of Edinburgh, University of Toronto üassociated with the invention of the telephone üDied: 2 August 1922 (aged 75)

William Shakespeare üBorn: April 1564 (exact date unknown) üOccupation: playwright, poet, actor üGenres: comedies, tragicomedies, sonnets ü 38 plays, 154 sonnets üDied: 23 April 1616

Daniel Defoe üBorn: 1659|1661(? ) üOccupation: writer, journalist, spy ü 500 books, pamphlets, journals üFamous novel: “Robinson Crusoe” üTopics: politics, crime, religion, psychology üDied: 24 April 1771 (? )

Lewis Carroll ü Name: Charles Lutwidge Dodgson ü Born: 27 January 1832 ü Occupation: writer, mathematician, clergyman, photographer ü Genre: literary nonsense ü Died: 14 January 1898

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ü Born: 22 May 1859 ü Occupation: short story writer, novelist, poet, doctor ü Genre: detective fiction, historical novels, nonfiction, poetry ü Famous book – about detective Sherlock Holmes ü Died: 7 July 1930 (aged 71)

Sir Isaac Newton ü Born: 4 January 1643 ü Occupation: physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist ü Scientific revolution ü Died: 31 March 1728 (aged 85)

Charles Darwin ü Full Name: Charles Robert Darwin ü Born: 12 February 1809 ü Alma mater: University of Edinburgh, University of Cambridge ü Occupation: naturalist ü Known for: Natural selection, The origin of Species ü Prizes: Royal Medal (1853), Wollaston Medal (1859), Coplay Medal (1864) ü Died: 19 April 1882

Robert Louis Stevenson ü Born: 13 November 1850 ü Occupation: novelist, poet, and travel writer ü Famous book: Treasure Island ü Died: 3 December 1894

Joseph Rudyard Kipling ü Born: December 30, 1865, Bombay, India ü Occupation: short story writer, novelist, poet, journalist ü Genres: Short story, novel, children's literature, poetry, travel literature ü Famous work: “The Jungle Book” ü Died: January 18, 1936 (aged 70)

Sir Alexander Fleming ü Born: 6 August 1881, Scotland ü Occupation: biologist and pharmacologist ü Best-known achievement: the discovery of penicillin ü a Nobel Prize in 1945 ü Died: 11 March 1955

Charlie Chaplin ü Full Name: Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin ü Born: 16 April 1889 ü Occupation: comedy actor, director and musician ü one of the finest mimes and clowns ü His working life: over 65 years ü Died: 25 December 1977 (aged 88)

John Logie Baird ü Born: August 13, 1888 ü Occupation: engineer ü inventor of the world's first working television system ü Died: June 14, 1946

Agatha Christie ü ü ü Name: Agatha Mary Clarissa, Lady Mallowan Born: 15 September 1890 Occupation: novelist (80 detective novels) Genres: murder mystery, crime fiction the best-selling writer of books of all time Died: 12 January 1976

JRR Tolkien ü Born: 3 January 1892 ü Occupation: philologist, writer and ü university professor ü Genres: high fantasy ü Famous books: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Hobbit Rings ü Died: 2 September 1973 (aged 81)

JK Rowling ü Name: Joanne "Jo" Murray née Rowling ü Born: 31 July 1965 ü Occupation: novelist ü Genres: fantasy ü Famous book – about Harry Potter

John Lennon ü Full name: John Winston Ono Lennon ü Born: 9 October 1940 ü Occupation: songwriter, singer, musician, graphic artist, author and peace activist ü One of the founders of The Beatles ü Died: 8 December 1980

Princess Diana ü Diana Frances; née Spencer ü 1 July 1961 ü Princess of Wales ü the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales ü two sons, Princes William and Harry ü took part in many Charities ü 31 August 1997 (aged 36)

David Beckham ü Full name: David Robert Joseph Beckham ü Born: 2 May 1975 ü Professional football (soccer) midfielder ü A member of the England national team ü Clubs: Manchester United Real Madrid Los Angeles Galaxy ü the world's highest-paid footballer