These Famous Historic People were born/lived in the City
While many of us mainly think of the City as a place where people go to work, back in the day – say, around 300 years ago – it was pretty much all London consisted of. There are lots of guided tours that offer a peek inside the City during different periods, offering insights of London during the Tutor reign as well as in the Victorian era. And we’ve also given away some of our secrets to exploring history in the City right here. In this article, we’d like to take a slightly different approach, however: with the City being the cultural heart for poets, politicians and other artists, what famous historic people were actually born or once lived in the City? Let’s take a look.
Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784)
Johnson was an English writer who in his heydays was considered a leading figure in the world of English poetry and literature. He was the son of a bookseller and born in Lichfield, but moved to London in 1737. Allegedly, he’s had a total of 18 London residences in his life, out of which no. 17 Gough Square (now a writer’s museum called Dr Johnson’s House) is the only one to have survived. Johnson was a big fan of city life, even claiming that “you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to live London, as when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.”
Samuel Pepys (1633-1703)
Mainly known for the diary he kept as a young member of the parliament between 1660 and 1696, Pepys worked as an administrator of the navy of England. His published diary, including personal experiences and first-hand observations of important events, is still considered a key source of the English Restoration period. Pepys was born at Salisbury Court, in the heart of the City.
John Keats (1795-1821)
At Moorgate no. 85, you’ll find this blue plaque, an official memorial for English poet John Keats. Not much else is known about the time and place in which he was born, but what we do know is that, during his very short life, he was seen as a key figure of English Romantic poetry. His career was remarkable, with an oeuvre that was small yet incredibly innovative and original. Not a typical Romantic poet (he often received criticism for being vulgar and incongruous), but instead a perfect example of the young, unfortunate poet. Between 1818 and 1820, near his final years, Keats lived in a villa in Hampstead, which now houses a beautiful museum on his fascinating career.
Robert Hooke (1635 – 1703)
As one of the architects responsible for rebuilding the City after the Great Fire, Robert Hooke more than deserves a spot on this list. Originally a scientist, Hooke was a teacher of geometry at St. Gresham’s College near Chancery Lane, which was also his residence. Just six months after the Great Fire he, together with leading man Wren and a small number of architects was asked to rebuild the entire City.
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