Frederick North (Earl of Guildford and known as Lord North) was a British statesman. He was born in 1732 and died in 1792. He entered parliament in 1754, and became Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1767, and was Prime Minister. in a government of Tories and 'King's Friends' in 1770. Throughout his premiership his policy was largely dictated by George III, and it was against his better judgment that he carried on the war with America - in 1765 he advocated the Stamp Act and maintained the right of England to tax the colonies, he proposed the enforcement of the tea duty in 1773 and the Boston port bill in 1774. He resigned in 1782, returned to office in 1783 in a coalition with Fox, and after its defeat retired from politics. Research Frederick North
George Abbot was an English archbishop. He was born in 1562 at Guildford, Surrey and died in 1633. Educated at Balliol College, Oxford, he became Master of University College and Vice-Chancellor. In 1599 he was made Dean of Winchester and was entrusted with the translation of the Gospels. In 1611 he was promoted to the Primacy under the patronage of the King, James I. After retiring to Guildford in 1619, in 1621 he accidentally killed Peter Hawkins, a gamekeeper while shooting deer in Lord Zouch's Bramshill Park, Hampshire. He founded a hospital in Guildford. Research George Abbot
John Dudley was Duke of Northumberland. He was born in 1502 and died in 1553. The son of Sir Edmund Dudley, minister of Henry VII he was left by Henry VIII one of the executors named in his will, as a kind of joint-regent during the minority of Edward VI. Under that prince he manifested the most insatiable ambition, and obtained vast accessions of honours, power, and emoluments. The illness of the king, over whom he had gained complete ascendency, aroused his fears, and he endeavoured to strengthen hia interest by marrying his son LordGuildford Dudley to Lady Jane Grey, descended from the younger sister of Henry VIII, and persuaded Edward to settle the crown on his kinswoman by will, to the exclusion of his two sisters, the Princesses Mary and Elizabeth. The death of the king, the abortive attempts to place Lady Jane Grey on the throne, and the ruin of all those concerned in the scheme, are among the most familiar events in the annals of England. Research John Dudley
Lady Jane Grey was a Queen of England. She was born in 1537 and died in 1554. The daughter of Henry Grey, marquis of Dorset, afterwards duke of Suffolk, by Frances, daughter of Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, and Mary, younger sister of Henry VIII. She displayed much precocity of talent; and under the tuition of Aylmer, afterwards bishop of London, she acquired a knowledge of the learned languages, as well as French and Italian. She was married to LordGuildford Dudley, fourth son of the Duke of Northumberland, in 1553. Edward VI, who died in 1553, was induced on his death-bed to settle on her the succession to the crown. The council endeavoured to keep his death secret, with a view to secure the persons of the princesses, Mary and Elizabeth, and when Mary discovered the design the council proclaimed Lady Jane Grey queen. On the approach of Mary, however, the council deserted Lady Jane, and Mary was proclaimed queen. Jane was now confined to the Tower. She and her husband were arraigned, and pleaded guilty of high treason; but their doom was suspended, and it was not until after the suppression of the rebellion of Sir Thomas Wyatt, in which the Duke of Suffolk, Lady Jane's father, had participated, that the sentence was executed. She was beheaded on Tower Hill on February the 12th, 1554, her husband having previously suffered the same day. Research Lady Jane Grey
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse was an English humorous novelist. He was born in 1881 at Guildford, Surrey and died in 1975. Educated at Dulwich College he worked for the Hong Kong and Shanghai bank for two years before becoming a journalist and writer of short stories. Originally famous for his 1917 'Piccadilly Jim' during the Second World War he was captured by the Germans and agreed to make radio broadcasts for them. Branded a traitor, he settled in the USA after the war. Among the many books he wrote he invented the comic characters 'Jeeves and Wooster'. Research P.G. Wodehouse
Thomas Robert Malthus was an English economist. He was born in 1766 near Guildford and died in 1834. He wrote 'Essay on the Principle of Population as it Affects the Future Improvements of Society' in which he reviewed the question of man in relation to food, worrying that population was growing too fast for the available food supplies. He was an influencer of Charles Darwin, who was impressed by his question of how the world comes to be peopled with a multiplicity of ever-changing forms of life. Research Thomas Malthus
Celia Imrie is an English actress. She was born in 1952 at Guildford, Surrey. A regular supporting comedyactress along side Victoria Wood, she played the role of 'Philippa Moorcroft' in the 1998 television series 'Dinnerladies', but also plays straight roles including the matron in the 2007 film 'St Trinians'. Research Celia Imrie
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