35 thoughts on “Who Am I – E?”

  7. Sheona

    That wasn’t very bright of me was it!

    1. Euclid of Alexandria (c.325-265 BC) was the most prominent mathematician of antiquity best known for his treatise on mathematics ‘The Elements’. The long lasting nature of  ‘The Elements’ must make Euclid the leading mathematics teacher of all time. However little is known of Euclid’s life except that he taught at Alexandria in Egypt. Proclus, the last major Greek philosopher, who lived around 450 AD wrote: ‘Not much younger than these [pupils of Plato] is Euclid… This man lived in the time of the first Ptolemy; for Archimedes, who followed closely upon the first Ptolemy makes mention of Euclid, and further they say that Ptolemy once asked him if there were a shorter way of studying geometry than ‘The Elements’, to which he replied that there was no royal road to geometry. Euclid was, therefore, younger than Plato’s circle, but older than Eratosthenes and Archimedes.
    Source

  8. John Mackie
    6. Edward VI (1537-1553) became King of England, King of France (in practice only the town and surrounding district of Calais) and Ireland in 1547, at just nine years of age. Edward, son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, was first Protestant monarch of England. Edward never ruled in his own right, since he never reached majority. The ruling council was first led by his uncle, Edward Seymour, and then by John Dudley. Edward’s reign was marked by increasingly harsh Protestant reforms and an economic downturn. A period of social unrest begun earlier intensified during his rule, and conflicts with the French increased.
    Edward became ill in January 1553 with a fever and cough that gradually worsened. He died at the age of 15 on 6 July 1553. The cause of death is not certain, but it is generally thought to have been tuberculosis.
    Source

  9. Sheona
    3. Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204) was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. She succeeded her father as Duchess of Aquitaine and Countess of Poitiers at the age of fifteen, and thus became the most eligible bride in Europe. Three months after her accession she married Louis VII, son and junior co-ruler of her guardian, King Louis VI of France. As Queen of the Franks, she participated in the unsuccessful Second Crusade. Soon after the Crusade was over, Louis VII and Eleanor agreed to dissolve their marriage, because of Eleanor’s own desire for divorce and also because the only children they had were two daughters – Marie and Alix. The royal marriage was annulled in 1152, on the grounds of consanguinity within the fourth degree. Their daughters were declared legitimate and Louis was awarded custody. Eleanor’s lands were restored to her.
    Some eight weeks after the annulment of her first marriage, Eleanor married Henry, Duke of Normandy. In 1154 Henry ascended the English throne. Over the next thirteen years, Eleanor bore Henry eight children. However, Henry imprisoned Eleanor 1173 and 1189 for supporting their sons’ revolt against him. By the time of her death in 1204 Eleanor had outlived all of her children except for King John and Eleanor, Queen of Castile.
    Source

  10. Sheona
    5. Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536) was a Dutch humanist and theologian. Although Erasmus remained a Roman Catholic throughout his lifetime, he harshly criticised what he considered excesses of the Roman Catholic Church and even turned down a Cardinalship when it was offered to him. In his ‘Treatise on Preparation For Death’ he made clear his position, that faith in the atonement of Christ, and not in the sacraments and rituals of the church, is the only guarantee of eternal life. He prepared Latin and Greek editions of the New Testament and wrote The Praise of Folly, Handbook of a Christian Knight, and On Civility in Children.
    Source

  11. <Araminta
    7. Olaudah Equiano also known as Gustavus Vassa (1745-1797), was one of the most prominent Africans involved in the British movement of the abolition for the slave trade. His autobiography depicted the horrors of slavery and helped influence British lawmakers to abolish the slave trade through the Slave Trade Act of 1807. Despite his enslavement as a young man, he purchased his freedom and worked as a seaman, merchant and explorer in South America, the Caribbean, the Arctic, the American colonies and the United Kingdom. Olaudah was converted to Christianity and baptised at St Margaret’s Church Westminster. He married Susannah Cullen, a local girl, in St Andrew’s Church, Soham. The couple had two daughters. Susannah died in February 1796 aged 34, and Equiano died a year after that on 31 March 1797.
    Source

  15. Tocino
    4. Jan van Eyck (1385-1441), was the most famous and innovative Flemish painter of the 15th century. Van Eyck has been credited traditionally with the invention of painting in oils, and, although this is incorrect, there is no doubt that he perfected the technique. He used the oil medium to represent a variety of subjects with striking realism in microscopic detail. He was employed (1422-24) at the court of John of Bavaria, count of Holland, at The Hague, and in 1425 he was made court painter and valet de chambre to Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy. He became a close member of the duke’s court and undertook several secret missions for him, including a trip (1428-29) to Spain and Portugal in connection with negotiations that resulted in the marriage (1430) of Philip of Burgundy and Isabella of Portugal
    Source

  16. Jan
    9. Best known for his poems and short fiction, Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) deserves more credit than any other writer for the transformation of the short story from anecdote to art. He virtually created the detective story and perfected the psychological thriller. He also produced some of the most influential literary criticism of his time – important theoretical statements on poetry and the short story – and has had a worldwide influence on literature.
    Source

  21. OMG

    2. Leif Ericson (970-1020) was a Norse explorer known to be the first European to have landed in North America, presumably in Newfoundland, Canada. It is believed that Leif was born about 970 in Iceland, the son of Erik the Red, a Norwegian explorer and outlaw. Erik the Red had founded two Norse colonies in Greenland, which he named the Western Settlement and the Eastern Settlement.
    Source

  22. OMG
    10. An engineer by training, Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923) founded and developed a company specializing in metal structural work, whose crowning achievement was the Eiffel Tower. His outstanding career as a constructor was marked by work on the Porto viaduct over the river Douro in 1876, the Garabit viaduct in 1884, Pest railway station in Hungary, the dome of the Nice observatory, and the ingenious structure of the Statue of Liberty. It culminated in 1889 with the Eiffel Tower.
    After the end of his career in business, marred by the failure of the Panama Canal, Eiffel began an active life of scientific experimental research in the fields of meteorology, radiotelegraphy and aerodynamics.
    Source

  23. Hi, Boa.

    In re Eleanor of Aquitaine, where is that particular effigy of her?

    It does not seem to be the one on her tomb at Fontevraud Abbey.

    First attempt at posting an image in a post, following Bearsy’s FAQ’s. Probably not got it right.

  28. John & Tocino

    It’s a photo of the cast in the V & A… it was the only one I could find of her on her own!

  29. Araminta

    8. Colonel Sir George Everest (1790-1866) was a Welsh surveyor, geographer and Surveyor-General of India from 1830 to 1843. Sir George was largely responsible for completing the section of the Great Trigonometric Survey of India along the meridian arc from the south of India extending north to Nepal, a distance of approximately 2400 kilometres. The survey was started by William Lambton in 1806 and lasted several decades. Mount Everest was named in his honour and surveyed by his successor, Andrew Waugh.
    Source

  31. Glad you enjoyed it Araminta. 🙂

    I know I shouldn’t say it – but I was most impressed with you knowing Olaudah Equiano. 🙂

  32. Ara, wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Besides, I was watching the cricket so had to be in for that.

    I knew Erasmus and van Eyck as well, by the way, and thought it was Eleanor until I checked my photos of Fontevraud and could not match the two images. Never done the V&A but will be diving in there next time I invade the Capital.

  34. Can I add one small item to your biography of Eleanor, Boadicea? Contributed by one of my professors when I was a student was his opinion that she was an absolute bitch!

  35. Can’t accept that Sheona – she was an exceptionally intelligent woman, well educated, and extremely able. She also knew her own worth – she took vast lands to both her marriages. She most certainly was not meek or mild – and she gained, as so many women did, who didn’t always behave as they were expected, something of a ‘reputation’. Bitch – no. Independent minded – yes.

    Perhaps your professor had a problem with strong women…. 🙂

Add your Comment