Regency People

The Royal Circle

Mrs. Fitzherbert (1756 – 1837)

A Catholic widow, Maria Anne Fitzherbert was married to George, Prince of Wales in 1785, though the marriage was considered invalid under the Royal...

 

Princess Charlotte (1796 – 1817)

The only child of the tempestuous marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Charlotte was second-in-line to the throne after her father and...

 
 

Leaders of Society

Emma Hamilton (1765 – 1815)

Born Amy Lyons, the daughter of a blacksmith, she later changed her name to Emma Hart when she entered the world of prostitution in...

 

Harriet Wilson (1786 – 1846)

An infamous courtesan who took London by storm with her sisters Amy and Sophia, Harriet was the daughter of a humble Swiss clock maker....

 
 

Leaders in Politics and the Military

Spencer Perceval (1762 – 1812)

Spencer Perceval was Prime Minster from October 4, 1809 until his murder on May 11, 1812. He is the only British Prime Minster to...

 

William Wilberforce (1759 – 1833)

Politician and philanthropist, Wilberforce is best known for leading the British campaign against the slave trade. Following the lead of his politically-minded friend William...

 
 

Leaders in Literature and the Arts

Humphry Repton (1752 – 1818)

Humphry Repton was the last great landscape architect of the 18th century, though his style is what we think of today as pure Regency...

 

William Wordsworth (1770 – 1850)

William Wordsworth helped launch the Romantic movement in poetry with the publication, with Samuel Coleridge, of Lyrical Ballads in 1798. A second edition, with...

 
 

Leaders in Science and Industry

James Watt (1736 – 1819)

A Scottish inventor and engineer, Watt developed improvements for the steam engine, changing it into a source of power that changed the world and...

 

John MacAdam (1756 – 1836)

MacAdam is credited with changing coach travel by improving roads. He first began experimenting with road construction on his own estate in Scotland. When...

 
 

Stars of the Stage

Joseph Grimaldi (1778 – 1837)

Son of the ballet master at Drury Lane and a ballet dancer, Grimaldi was a celebrated clown and master of the art of pantomime...

 

Angelica Catalani (1780 – 1849)

The famous Italian opera singer was already a huge star when she came to England in 1806, where she reigned as an unrivalled prima...

 
 

The Sporting Life

James Belcher (1781 – 1811)

Another of the famous boxers of the period, Belcher held the English title from 1800 to 1803. He is more likely to be remembered...

 

Henry Angelo (1756 – 1835)

The son of a famous Italian sword master,  Henry Angelo inherited his father’s Fencing Academy in Bond Street, London in 1785. It was there,...