Thomas Henry Cotton was a Golf champion. He became a professional at Langley Park in 1927. He won the Kent Professional Championship 1926-30; British Open, 1934, 1937; also Italian, German and Czechoslovak Open. He also represented Great Britain v. America in 1929 and 1937. He was born in 1907.
David Herbert Lawrence was an English author and poet, best known for his works: The White Peacock (1911) Sons and Lovers (1913) The Rainbow (1915 suppressed by the police) The Plumed Serpent (1926) and Lady Chatterley’s Lover (1928 banned in England) He was born in 1885.
Virginia Woolf was a writer and critic. In 1912 she married Leonard Woolf an author and publisher, and with him controlled the Hogarth Press, which he founded in 1917. Her works include The Voyage Out (1915) A Room of One’s Own (1929) and The Waves (1931) She was a member of The Bloomsbury Group, and was born in 1882.
Alexander Alekhine was a Russian chess player. After taking a law degree, entered the Russian Foreign Office, and served in the Red Cross in the First World War. He won the world record for blindfold chess and held championships of the world record from 1927 until his death, except for 1935-37. He was born in 1892 and wrote many books on chess. He died in 1946.
Francis Dodd (R.A.) Artist. He studied at the Glasgow School of Art, and was an official artist of the First World War. His portraits of generals and admirals on active service were published in 1917, and two of his works are in the Tate Gallery, of which he was a trustee from 1929-35. He was born in 1874.
Myra Hess (later Dame) was born in London. She studied the piano at the Royal Academy of Music, passing her first examination at the age of seven. Later her fine renderings of some of the earlier classics, such as Bach, Mozart, and others, brought her world-wide success as a pianist. She was born in 1890.
Jan Ignaz Paderewski was a Polish patriot, politician and pianist. He made his musical debut at Vienna in 1887, and in London three years later. His brilliant technique won him world fame, and he made tours and raised funds for Polish sufferers in the First World War. He was born in 1860 and became premier of Poland in 1919.
Paavo Nurmi was a Finnish runner. He broke the world records for the mile, 1923: two miles, 1931: five miles, 1924: six miles, 1930: ten miles. He won many Olympic victories, but was barred from the Olympic games in 1932 owing to his professional status. He was born in 1897.
Anna Pavlova was a Russian ballet-dancer, born in St. Petersburg, and made her debut there at the Imperial Opera House, afterwards becoming the foremost ballet-dancer in Europe. Her London debut was in 1909, and later she toured America. In her lifetime she appeared many times with the Diaghileff Ballet Company. She was born in 1885.
Upton Sinclair was an American author who in 1906 caused a sensation when he exposed in his book, The Jungle, the conditions in the U.S. canning industry. He continued to expose other industrial evils in his later books, among them being Oil, Mountain City, King Midas and Bill Porter. He was born in 1878.
Dame Edith Sitwell was a Poetess who made a name with her book The Mother and other Poems in 1915, followed by an anthology of poems each year until 1921. She gave poetry recitals to a musical accompaniment. Her later works include Green Song, A Song of the Cold, and Fanfare for Elizabeth. She was born in 1887.
Tom Walls was an actor, racehorse owner and trainer. He made his stage debut in 1905, and toured the U.S.A. and Canada in 1906. He was joint manager of the Shaftesbury Theatre in 1922, acting in Tons of Money which had a two year run. He appeared in many stage productions and movies, and won the Derby in 1932. He was born in 1883.
Lord Edward Mauger Iliffe entered his father’s publishing business and during the First World War was appointed Controller of the Machine Tool Department at the Ministry of Munitions. In 1923 he became he became the Unionist member for Tamworth, he also owned provincial newspapers in addition to his London publishing house. He was born in 1877.
Bobby Howes was an English stage comedian who began as a boy at the Battersea Palace, and later in a stage dancing team for two years, then spent three years with the Royal Gotham Quartette. He served in the First World War, later appearing in various revues and plays. He was born in 1895.
Capt. Robert Falcon Scott was an Antarctic explorer who commanded the ship Discovery on the National Antarctic Expedition of 1901. He discovered and named Ross Island and King Edward VII Land. In 1910 he headed the British Expedition that reached the South Pole, but was forestalled by Amundsen. His body was found in 1912.
Sir Richard Acland was a wealthy landowner who in 1943 gave his 16,000-acre English Devonshire estate, valued at the time to be worth 250,000 to the nation. He was a Liberal MP for Barnstaple in 1935, then later became an Independent. He founded the Common Wealth Party in 1943 but left it two years later, and in 1947 became a Labour MP for Gravesend in Kent. He was born in 1906.
W. T. Thomson “Will Hay” was apprenticed to the engineering trade, but adopted instead a stage career in 1909. In 1923 he went on a world tour in his comic role of a not-too-knowledgeable schoolmaster. In real-life he was a talented astronomer. He was born in 1888 and died in 1949.
Alan Alexander Milne was an author and playright, and began a journalistic career in London in 1903, later becoming assistant editor for Punch in 1906. He made his reputation with his book, When We Were Very Young and its sequels. He also wrote plays including Mr. Pim Passes By. He was born in 1882.
Admiral of the Fleet the Earl of Cork and Orrery; William Henry Boyle, was Rear Admiral Commanding the 1st Cruiser Squadron from 1926-28, and afterwards commanded the Reserve Fleet and then the Royal Naval War College 1928-32. He was First and Principal A.D.C. to the King from 1936-38.
Count Maurice Maeterlinck was a Belgian poet and dramatist. He was born in Ghent in 1862 and began practising law until success followed his first poetical works Serres Chaudes in 1889. His play The Blue Bird aroused wide interest, and he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1911. By 1914 his works had been recorded on the papal index.
Eden Phillpotts was a novelist and dramatist, who worked firstly in an insurance office then studied for the stage, but in fact became an author. He specialized in scenes of English life in Devonshire, particularly that of Dartmoor, and wrote many poems, plays, and novels. His works included The Human Boy, Children of the Mist, and Widecombe Fair. He was born in 1862.
Sir Charles Laughton. He was first a Scarborough hotel manager, then made his stage debut in 1926 in The Inspector-General. He was a Gold medalist of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and excelled in strong character parts particularly Shakespearean. His major film successes have been as Henry VIII in 1933, and as Captain Bligh in Mutiny on the Bounty. He was born in 1899.
Sir Laurence Olivier first appeared at the Shakespeare Festival at Stratford-on-Avon and played with the Birmingham Repertory Company from 1925-28. He appeared at the Old Vic in 1936, and was Actor-producer in Romeo and Juliet. His many films included Wuthering Heights, Henry V, and Hamlet. He was born in 1907.
Sir Arthur Pinero was an actor from 1874 until 1881, when he became a dramatic author. He produced clever comedies at the Court Theatre, London from 1885-93 notably Sweet Lavender. Other plays included The Second Mrs. Tanqueray, The Gay Lord Quex, and Trelawney of the Wells. He was born in 1855.
Admiral of the Fleet the Earl of Cork and Orrery; William Henry Boyle, was Rear Admiral Commanding the 1st Cruiser Squadron from 1926-28, and afterwards commanded the Reserve Fleet and then the Royal Naval War College 1928-32. He was First and Principal A.D.C. to the King from 1936-38.
Count Maurice Maeterlinck was a Belgian poet and dramatist. He was born in Ghent in 1862 and began practising law until success followed his first poetical works Serres Chaudes in 1889. His play The Blue Bird aroused wide interest, and he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1911. By 1914 his works had been recorded on the papal index.
Eden Phillpotts was a novelist and dramatist, who worked firstly in an insurance office then studied for the stage, but in fact became an author. He specialized in scenes of English life in Devonshire, particularly that of Dartmoor, and wrote many poems, plays, and novels. His works included The Human Boy, Children of the Mist, and Widecombe Fair. He was born in 1862.
Earl of Halifax, Edward Frederick Lindley Wood. After holding various Government posts, he was given a peerage in 1925 as Baron Irwin and in the following year was appointed Viceroy of India. After again returning to Government posts in England, he was made the British Ambassador to the US from 1941 until 1946. He was born in 1881.
Sir Alan P. Herbert. Writing for Punch as a freelance, he joined the staff of the paper in 1924. In 1918 he had been called to the bar, following his legal studies, but kept to writing humorous prose and verse, and as an independent MP introduced the Marriage Bill in 1938. He was born in 1890.
Sir H. Walter Gilbey (Baronet). He was a wine merchant, prominent sportsman and agriculturist. He became a notable figure in social London of the ‘nineties, a racehorse owner, and a member of the Jockey Club. Also he was chairman of the Royal Agricultural Hall Company. He was born in 1859 and sadly died in 1945.
