Statues in London - Pioneers, artists and explorers

These are the statues of men and women who are remembered for their various achievements.
They are shown in chronological order


Shakespeare
"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts..."
Tyndale
Printed bibles in English in defiance of Catholic Rome and smuggled them into the country. Arrested, charged with heresy, and burnt at the stake.
Raikes
Introduced schooling for children. Sundays only, because children were working in the factories during the week.
Samuel Johnson
Dr Johnson, writer and poet, led an impoverished life while compiling his definitive 'A Dictionary of the English Language'.
James Cook
Naval officer who accurately charted the entire coast of New Zealand and the east coast of Australia.

Robert Burns
Scotland's cherished poet and writer of traditional Scottish folk songs. 'Auld Lang Syne' (meaning long long ago) is often heard on New Year's Eve.
Franklin
Led the expedition to find a route to the Pacific Ocean by sailing to the North-West, but ended in failure with the mysterious loss of all men.
Scott
Explorer who died of starvation and exposure along with his five companions as they attempted to be the first to reach the South Pole.
Pankhurst
Led the fight for equality for women. To acheive just partial voting rights, the suffragettes organised violent protests, and when arrested went on hunger strike.
Florence Nightingale
Reorganised the army hospitals in Crimea, where ten times the number of men had been dying from disease as from battlefield injury.

Henry Irving
Actor and manager of the Lyceum Theatre, with Shakespeare and melodramas providing a more 'upmarket' entertainment than the popular music halls.
Brunel
Victorian railway, tunnel, and bridge engineer. At 27 he was in charge of the Great Western line from London to Bristol. The railways soon replaced canals as a quicker way to transport goods and materials.
Faraday
Seen here carrying an iron ring used in the study of electro-magnetism. Leads to the invention of the dynamo which is used for electricity generation.
Charlie Chaplin
Comedy actor of the silent movies. His films were often a social commentary of the times, which led to his being investigated by the FBI for 'un-American activities'


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