Famous and Infamous People

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Introduction:

The Victorian Era lasted from 1837 through 1901. This is the time period in which Queen Victoria ruled. It was the time of prosperity. The Victorian Era was the start of modern times. During the Victorian Era there was also scientific progress and ideas. There were also many famous people that contributed a lot to this this time period that are still remembered today. Even though there were many great people there were some infamous people that still remain scandalous in our society today. Continue on to find out who some of these people were!

Famous People Of the Victorian Era

~Queen Victoria~

Alexandrina Victoria was born on May 24, 1819 in Kensington Palace, in London. She was known as Princess Victoria, niece of King William the fifth. Her father was Edward, Duke of Kent. He was the fourth son of George III. Shortly after Victoria’s birth Edward died. Her three uncles, George the fifth, Fredrick, Duke of York, and William the fifth, had no legitimate children, so she became heir to the throne. When she was 18 years old her Uncle William died, and she was crowned queen, at Westminster Abbey in 1838. Victoria had something that the royal family previously did not have, respect from her people. She immediately won the hearts of her subjects, after being crowned queen.

In 1840 she proposed to her cousin Albert, a prince in Germany, and he accepted and they were married shortly after. Between 1840 and 1857, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert gave birth to nine children, Victoria, Edward, Alice, Alfred, Helena, Louise, Arthur, Leopold, and Beatrice. Most of her children married into other royal families around Europe. Her reign was generally used to support peace and reconciliation. While Victoria ruled there was much industrial expansion and economic progress. England also grew more socially and economically. On January 22, 1901, Queen Victoria died at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, after her 64 years of ruling. She had the longest reign in British history.

~Thomas Edison~

Thomas Edison was born on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio. When Thomas Edison was a child he had scarlett fever, which caused him to become deaf. He was the inventor of over a thousand ideas which transformed life in the late 19th century. Two devices that Thomas invented were the phonograph and the light bulb. These inventions greatly influenced life all around the world. Another device that Edison invented was the electric carbon filament lamp. This eventually became the modern light bulb. Between 1877-1878 Thomas Edison invented the carbon microphone, which is used in all telephones with the Bell receiver until the 1980's. The carbon microphone was also used in radio broadcasting and public address work in the 1920's. The key to all of Thomas Edison's inventions was telegraphy. He gained years of knowledge working as a telegraph operator. While he worked, he learned the basics of electricity. Unfortunately, Thomas Edison died on October 18, 1931 in his home in Llewellyn Park in West Orange, New Jersey.

~Elizabeth Garrett Anderson~

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was born on June 9, 1836. She was educated at home and at a private school. Elizabeth was an English physician and a feminist. She was the first woman to gain a medical qualification in Britain. In 1860 Elizabeth began to study medicine, for that time period that was an uncommon thing for women to do. The Middlesex Hospital in London would not let Elizabeth become a student there. Many other hospitals that she applied to would not allow her to practice medicine either. Elizabeth was finally able to study anatomy privately at the London Hospital, and with some of the professors at the University of St. Andrews, and at the Edinburgh Extra-Mural School. In 1866, Elizabeth became a general medical attendant at St. Mary's Dispensary, which was to help poor women obtain medical help. The dispensary was later turned into the New Hospital for Women and she worked there for over 20 years. In 1870, she received the University of Paris degree of MD. In 1873, Elizabeth gained membership to the British Medical Associatian. She was the only woman there for 19 years. Elizabeth also created the London School of Medicine for Women. One of her other accomplishments was that she was elected mayor of Aldeburgh on November 9, 1908. She was the first female mayor in England. She died in 1917 and is buried in Aldeburgh.

Old Ambulance

Infamous People of the Victorian Era

*Jack the Ripper*

Jack the Ripper is an unidentified serial killer and rapist of the 19th century in London, England. His victims were women earning income as prostitutes. His murders took place in public or semi-public places near the end of the day. Jack the Ripper first cut the victims' throat and then he mutilated or disfigured the bodies. Some people believe that the victims' were first strangled in order to silence them. This explained the lack of blood at the crime scene. He also removed some of his victims' internal organs. Some officials believe that he had to have some kind of anatomical or surgical knowledge, because in one case he removed a kidney from the front rather than the side, and did not damage any of the surrounding organs. It is also known that most of his victims' were drunk at the time of their murder. It is said that he killed five or more prostitutes. It has been over a hundred years and still to this day no one has found out the identity of Jack the Ripper.

Victims

*Lizzie Borden*

"Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty wacks when she saw what she had done she gave her father forty one"

Lizzie Borden was born on July 19, 1860. It is said that she murdered her parents on August 4, 1892. Still to this day, no one knows for sure who killed her parents. The murder weapon was a hatchet. There was also a dress found with brown stains. Lizzie claimed the brown stains were paint (Note that brown is also the color of dried blood). There was also very little blood found near her parents dead bodies. Which comes to the question, how could there be no blood if she wacked her parents with a hatchet? You would assume that there would be blood all over the place. Lizzie was the only person home at the time of the murders except for the maid Bridget, who was cleaning the windows. So people thought that Lizzie had to be the one who did it. It was said that the day before the murders, Lizzie attempted to buy prussic acid, a deadly poison. At the trial ,she was found innocent just because there was very little evidence. It could not be determined if she in fact actually did kill her parents. A theory was that Lizzie suffered from petit mal epileptic seizures, in which she entered a dreamlike state and unknowingly committed the murders. No one will ever know if it was Lizzie or someone else that murdered her parents.

*George Sayers*

George Sayers was just 13 years old and was a criminal. He was small for his age because of malnourishment. He stole hankerchiefs, shirts, skirts, and rugs from the Newcastle shop where he was employed as an errand boy. All of the items he stole were worth three pounds and 10 shillings. His father left his mother with fourteen children to clothe and feed. His mother admitted that she had told him to steal. George and his mother were then accused of the stealing. One of their methods was to steal the clothing off of their neighbors' washing lines. George's punishment was to be beaten for his crimes. The picture above shows a mug shot of George Sayers. The person accused of a crime would hold up a slate where their name would be written in chalk.

Conclusion:

During the Victorian Era many famous and infamous contributed both positive and negative effects on society. I've highlighted just a few of the famous and infamous people during the Victorian Era. There are many more. If you found the Victorian Era intriguing, then feel free to research the many more. I'm sure that some of the famous and infamous people that you will find are still influencing our life today.

~* Works Consulted*~

1. Roberts, Glenys. " Victorian 'hoodies' truly deserved a hug". July 19, 2006.

<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/newscomment.html?in_article_id=39664/&in_page_id=1787>

2.Nettlesworth Primary School. "Some important people of Victorian times".

<http://www.nettlesworth.durham.sch.uk/time/victorian/vpeople.html>

3. Stephen P. Ryder, Johno, & Thomas Schachner." Casebook: Jack the Ripper".

<http://www.casebook.org/intro.html.>

4. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. " Elizabeth Garrett Anderson".

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Garrett_Anderson>

5. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia." Jack the Ripper".

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the_Ripper>

6. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia." Lizzie Borden".