Joseph Bazalgette may not be a name that immediately comes to mind when you think of the city’s greatest citizens, but people use his biggest contribution every day–the sewer system. During the 19th Century, he was London’s chief engineer for the Metropolitan Board of Works and used his position to ease the city’s sanitation […]
Great Londoners: Benjamin Franklin – When London Was America’s Capital
You might be reading this article and think we got it wrong. While Benjamin Franklin was many things (inventor, author, publisher, diplomat, statesman, Founding Father), he was neither born in London nor was someone who helped build the city. I mean, he wasn’t even British (well certainly not after 1776…). *However*, he was unquestionably one […]
Great Londoners – Inigo Jones – The Hero of Palladian Architecture
One of the first great architects of modern times, Inigo Jones was one of the instigators of the Palladian style of design, introducing the classical style of Venetian architect Andrea Palladio to Britain. Several of his building projects can be seen today all over the country, and many of them are found in London, where […]
Great Londoners: Michael Faraday – Electricity Pioneer
What we know today about electricity owes much to English scientist Michael Faraday. While his focus of studies was in the fields of chemistry and physics, he is primarily responsible for principles governing electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, and electrolysis. These principles made it possible for transformers and generators to produce power, maglev trains to run at […]
Great Londoners – Sir Giles Gilbert Scott – Designer of the Red Phone Box
Giles Gilbert Scott may not be the first person you think of when it comes to architecture in London, but he has certainly made his mark on the city. In fact, most people might consider his greatest design to be that of Liverpool Cathedral, but they walk past his most iconic creation every day. He […]
Great Londoners – Ken Livingstone – The First Mayor of London
Ken Livingstone has arguably been one of the most influential London mayors in the City’s history and at the very least, one of the biggest figures in London’s government in the past century. Often a controversial figure in his own Labour Party as well as with the Conservatives, he shepherded London’s destiny for several decades […]
Great Londoners – Harry Gordon Selfridge – The Man Behind the Department Store
One of the city’s greatest men and founders of one of its biggest department stores wasn’t actually born in the United Kingdom at all. He was born in Ripon, Wisconsin on 11 January 1858, though only stayed there for a few months until his family moved to Jackson, Michigan. It could be said that Selfridge […]
Ten Great Londoners From History Every Londonphile Should Know
A great city is possessed by the men and women who make it so. London, as we know it, would not have transformed from the tiny settlement it once was to the towering metropolis it is today without them. Some on the list were a benefit to the city, while others were a detriment, but […]
Great Londoners – Joseph Paxton – Landscape Architect and Designer
Born in Bedfordshire and a gardener by trade, like his 18th Century predecessor Capability Brown, Joseph Paxton would become known for more than just his care of plants. Born in 1803, some materials listed his birth year as 1801, which Paxton himself later admitted was made up so that he could enroll in Chiswick Gardens […]
Great Londoners: Sir Robert Peel – The Founder of the Metropolitan Police
Sir Robert Peel was born in Bury, Lancashire to Sir Robert Peel, the 1st Baronet Peel, and Ellen Yates in 1788. His father’s status and wealth from being one of the Industrial Revolution’s most successful cotton mill owners meant that Peel grew up in relative luxury. He attended Bury Grammar School and then Harrow School […]
Great Londoners: Samuel Johnson – Author of the Most Important English Dictionary
Dr. Samuel Johnson is one of the most prolific writers in British history. While his most famous contribution to language and literature was “The Dictionary of the English Language”, he was also a poet, essayist, biographer, critic, and editor. At the age of twenty-eight when he realised that the life of a teacher wasn’t for […]
Great Londoners: Samuel Pepys – The Londoner Who Kept a Famous Diary Chronicling Plague, Fire and London Life
Samuel Pepys is one of the greatest writers in British literary history—and all because he kept a diary. Today, Pepys’ Diary is considered to be the greatest personal account of life and events in 17th Century England. It is a work revered both by literary and historical scholars as a first-hand account of such important […]
Londontopia is simply the website for people who love London. It was founded by Jonathan & Jackie Thomas from Anglotopia.net as a place to post articles solely focused on London and its environs. Keep up with all the latest London news at Londontopia! This site is geared towards people who love to visit London and our primary audience is North American but everyone is welcome!
