Haakon VII
Haarlem Ostade
Hadley
Hadrian
Haggard
Hahn
Haig
Haile Selassie
Hakluyt
Halley
Hals
Han
Handel
Hannibal
Hans Holbein
Hans Memling
Hans Sachs
Hardicanute
Hardie
Hardy
Hargreaves
Harmonists
Harold
Harold Macmillan
Harold Pinter
Harold Wilson
Haroun-Al-Raschid
Harriet Stowe
Harry Furniss
Harry S. Truman
Harry Vardon
Harte
Hausa
Hawkins
Hawthorne
Hazlitt
Hector Munro
Hegel
Heine
Heinrich Hertz
Heinrich Ruhmkorff
Heitor Villa-Lobos
Hellene
Helmholtz
Helmuth Von Moltke
Helot
Helvetii
Hendrik Conscience
Henri Barbusse
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Henri Duparc
Henri Fantin-Latour
Henri Matisse
Henri Sainte-Claire Deville
Henrik Ibsen
Henry Cavendish
Henry Fielding
Henry Ford
Henry Fuseli
Henry Hudson
Henry I
Henry II
Henry III
Henry IV
Henry James
Henry Moore
Henry Palmerston
Henry Purcell
Henry Shrapnel
Henry Thoreau
Henry V
Henry Vaughan
Henry VI
Henry VII
Henry VIII
Henryk Sienkiewicz
Herbert Morrison
Herbert Spencer
Herman Melville
Hernando Cortes
Herodotus
Heruli
Hesiod
Hieronymus Fabricius
Hilaire Belloc
Hipparchus
Hippocrates
Hispanic
Hittites
Hmong
Homer
Honore Daumier
Hopewell
Hopi
Horace Saussure
Horace Walpole
Horatio Bottomley
Horatio Kitchener
Horatio Nelson
Hottentot
Hovas
Hubert Van Eyck
Hugh Falconer
Hugh Latimer
Huguenots
Hui
Huron
Hutu
Hycsos
Hyder Ali
Hykshos
Iban
Ibo
Ifugao
Ignance Paderewski
Igor Stravinsky
Immanuel Kant
Ina
Inca
Indulf
Inigo Jones
Inuit
Irish
Iroquois
Isaac Singer
Haakon VII was King of Norway from 1905 to 1957. He was born in 1872, dying in 1957. He was a brave man who resisted the nazi occupation of Norway during the second world war.
Haarlem Ostade was a Dutch painter born in 1610, he died in 1685. He was a pupil of Franz Hals and was later influenced by Rembrandt. Isaac Ostade was a Dutch painter born in 1621 and died in 1649.
George Hadley developed Halley's theory of trade winds by taking into account the earth's rotation and the displacement of air by tropical heat. He was born in 1685, dying in 1768.
Hadrian was a Roman emperor. He was born in 76, dying in 138. He visited England in 121 and built a protective wall to separate England from Scotland.
Sir Henry Rider Haggard was an English novelist. He was born in 1856 and died in 1925. He wrote King Solomon's Mines.
Otto Hahn was a German physical chemist who discovered nuclear fission. He was born in 1879 and died in 1968.
Douglas Haig was a British soldier. He was born in 1861 and died in 1928. He was commander-in-chief of the British troops in France during the Great War.
Haile Selassie was Emperor of Ethiopia and figure head of the Rastafarian movement, although he knew nothing about that! He was born in 1891.
Richard Hakluyt was an English geographer. He was born in 1552 and died in 1616.
Edmund Halley was Astronomer Royal from 1720. He was born in 1656 and died in 1742. He calculated the orbit of the comet named after him.
Franz Hals was a Dutch portrait painter. He was born in 1580 and died in 1666.
The Han are the majority ethnic group in China, numbering about 990 million. The Hans speak a wide variety of dialects of the same monosyllabic language, a member of the Sino-Tibetan family. Their religion combines Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and ancestor worship.
George Frederick Handel was an Anglo-German composer. He was born in 1685 and died in 1759.
Hannibal was a Carthaginian leader. He was born in 247 BC and died in 183 BC after taking poison to avoid capture by the Romans.
Hans Holbein was a German portrait and religious painter. He was born in 1497 at Augsburg and died in 1543.
Hans Memling was a Flemish religious painter. He was born in 1430 and died in 1494.
Hans Sachs was a German poet. He was born at Nuremberg in 1494, dying in 1576.
Hardicanute was a son of Canute and King of England from 1040 to 1042.
James Keir Hardie was a British labour leader. He was born in 1856 and died in 1915. He founded the Independent Labour Party in 1893.
Thomas Hardy was an English author. He was born in 1840 at Dorchester and died in 1928. He wrote The Mayor of Casterbridge.
James Hargreaves was a Lancashire weaver who invented the spinning-jenny.
The Harmonists were a religious sect founded at Wurtemberg in 1788 by George and Frederick Rapp. They endeavoured to re-establish the social practices of the early Christian church, practising celibacy and holding all goods in common. They were persecuted and so moved to America in 1805.
Harold was son of Canute and was King of England from 1035 to 1040.
Harold Macmillan was a British Conservative statesman. He was born in 1894. He became an MP in 1924. He became Prime Minister in 1957 following Eden's resignation over the Suez canal crisis.
Harold Pinter is a British playwright. He was born in 1930 in London. His plays include The Caretaker and The Birthday Party.
James Harold Wilson was a British labour statesman and Prime Minister. He was born in 1916. He entered parliament in 1945. He became Prime minister in 1964.
Haroun-Al-Raschid was Caliph of Baghdad. He was born in 764 and died in 809.
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American author. She was born in 1811, dying in 1896. Her book uncle tom's cabin was published in 1852 in which she exposed slavery.
Harry Furniss was a British caricaturist. He was born in 1854 at Wexford and died in 1925. He went to London as a young man where his drawings appeared in many leading illustrated periodicals.
Harry S. Truman was an American politician and President. He was born in 1884 in Missouri. In 1934 he was elected to the senate for the Democrats. In 1945 he became President when Roosevelt died. In 1948 he was re-elected President and in 1952 he retired from politics.
Harry Vardon was an English professional golfer. he was born in 1870 and was six times Open Champion in 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911 and 1914 and American Open Champion in 1900.
Francis Bret Harte was an American poet. He was born in 1836 and died in 1902.
The Hausa are a Muslim people of north Nigeria.
Sir John Hawkins was an Elizabethan sailor. He was born in 1532 and died in 1595.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American writer. He was born in 1804 and died in 1864.
William Hazlitt was an English writer. He was born in 1778 at Maidstone and died in 1830.
Hector Hugo Munro (Saki) was a British novelist. He was born in 1870 and died in 1916.
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher. He was born in 1770 at Stuttgart and died in 1831.
Heinrich Heine was a German lyric poet. He was born in 1797 at Dusseldorf and died in 1856.
Heinrich Rudolf Hertz was a German physicist. He was born in 1857, dying in 1895. He confirmed Maxwell's electromagnetic theory of waves and discovered information about their behaviour. The measurement of the frequency of radio waves is named after him.
Heinrich Daniel Ruhmkorff was a German electrician. He was born in 1803 and died in 1877. He invented a thermo-electric battery in 1844.
Heitor Villa-Lobos was a Brazilian composer. He was born in 1887 and died in 1959.
Hellene is an alternate name for a Greek.
Hermann von Helmholtz was a German scientist. He was born in 1821 at Ptsdam and died in 1894. He discovered the law of the conservation of energy in 1847.
Helmuth Johannes Ludwig Von Moltke was a Prussian general. He was born in 1848 and died in 1916. He invented the German plan of campaign for the Great War.
The helot were a class of slaves in ancient Sparta.
The Helvetii were a people living in the area now called Switzerland around Roman times. They were persecuted by the Romans under Vitellius for refusing to acknowledge him as Emperor and were almost wiped out.
Hendrik Conscience was a Flemish novelist. He was born in 1812 at Antwerp and died in 1883. He wrote novels mainly dealing with the history of his country and provide accounts of everyday life in Belgium.
Henri Barbusse was a French writer. He was born in 1874 and died in 1935.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French painter. He was born in 1864 at Albi and died in 1901.
Henri Duparc was a French composer. He was born in Paris in 1848. He died in 1933.
Henri Fantin-Latour was a French painter. He was born in 1836 at Grenoble and died in 1904.
Henri Matisse was a French painter. He was born in 1869 at Le Cateau and died in 1954.
Henri Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville was a French chemist. He was born in 1818 and died in 1881. His principal works included the sodium method of preparing aluminium and researches on the platinum metals. His experiences with high temperature methods in this connection led to pioneering work on the artificial preparation of minerals and to his discovery of thermal dissociation.
Henrik Ibsen was a Norwegian dramatist. He was born in 1828 at Skien and died in 1906.
Henry Cavendish was an English scientist who investigated the nature of gases. He was born in 1731, dying in 1810.
Henry Fielding was an English writer. He was born in 1707 near Glastonbury and died in 1754. He wrote the novel Tom Jones.
Henry Ford was the founder of the Ford motor car company and the pioneer of the cheap motor car.
Henry Fuseli was a Swiss artist. He was born in 1741 at Zurich and died in 1825. He was a friend to William Blake, and was keeper of the Royal Academy from 1804 until 1825.
Henry Hudson was an English sailor and explorer. He discovered the Hudson river and Hudson straight.
Henry was a son of William The Conqueror and King of England from 1101 to 1135.
Henry II was King of England from 1154 to 1189.
Henry III was King of England from 1216 to 1272.
Henry IV was King of England from 1399 to 1413.
Henry James was an American writer. He was born in 1843 and died in 1916.
Henry Moore is an English sculptor. He was born in 1898 at Castleford.
Henry John Temple Palmerston was an English statesman. He was born in 1784 in Hampshire and died in 1865. He became Conservative MP for Newport in 1807 but in 1828 switched sides to the Liberals.
Henry Purcell was an English composer born in London in 1659. He died in 1695.
Henry Shrapnel was an English inventor. He was born in 1761 and died in 1842. He invented the shrapnel shell which was adopted by the British army in 1803.
Henry David Thoreau was an American naturalist and writer. He was born in 1817 at Concord and died in 1862. He wrote Walden.
Henry V was King of England from 1413 to 1422.
Henry Vaughan was a Welsh religious poet. He was born in 1622 and died in 1695.
Henry VI was son of Henry V and King of England from 1422 to 1461.
Henry VII was King of England from 1485 to 1509.
Henry VIII was King of England from 1509 to 1547.
Henryk Sienkiewicz was a Polish novelist. He was born in 1846 and died in 1916.
Herbert Morrison was a British labour statesman. He was born in 1888, dying in 1965. He was home secretary during the second world war.
Herbert Spencer was a British philosopher. He was born in 1820 at Derby and died in 1903.
Herman Melville was an American writer. He was born in 1819 at New York and died in 1891. He wrote Moby Dick.
Hernando Cortes was a Spanish adventurer. He was born in 1488, dying in 1547. In 1511 he took part in the conquest of Cuba and in 1518 he captured Mexico for Spain, and destroyed the ancient civilisation there.
Herodotus was a Greek historian. He was born in 484 BC and died in 420 BC.
The Heruli were an ancient Germanic people, originally found on the northern shores of the Black Sea. Under the leadership of Odoacer they helped in the overthrow of the Western Empire. Around the end of the 6th century they ceased to exist as a separate people.
Hesiod was a Greek poet who lived around 730 BC.
Hieronymus d'Aquapendente Fabricius was an Italian anatomist and the founder of modern embryology. He was born in 1537 and died in 1619. His experiments on the veins influenced his pupil William Harvey.
Hilaire Belloc was a French author born in 1870. In 1902 he became a British subject. He died in 1953.
Hipparchus was a Greek astronomer. He was born in 190 BC and died in 120 BC. He compiled the first known star catalogue.
Hippocrates was a Greek doctor. He was born in 460 BC and died in 370 BC. He established medicine as a science.
A Hispanic is a person of Latin American descent from the Spanish-speaking nations, either native-born or an immigrant.
The Hittites were a civilisation in Syria and Asia Minor around 2000 BC until 700 BC.
A Hmong is a member of a south east Asian highland people. They are predominantly hill farmers, rearing pigs and cultivating rice and grain, and many are involved in growing the opium poppy. Estimates of the size of the Hmong population vary between 1.5 million and 5 million, the greatest number being in China. Although traditional beliefs remain important, many have adopted Christianity. Their language belongs to the Sino-Tibetan family. The Hmong wear distinctive costumes and elaborate silver jewellery. They are relatively recent arrivals on the south east Asian peninsula, many having moved south in order to avoid harassment by Chinese emperors. Today the Hmong live in China (Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan), Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar.
Homer was an ancient Greek poet.
Honore Daumier was a French painter and cartoonist. He was born in 1808 at Marseilles and died in 1879. He produced almost 4000 lithographs.
Hopewell is a North American Indian agricultural culture of the central USA, dating from about 200. The Hopewell built burial mounds up to 12 m high and structures such as Serpent Mound in Ohio.
The Hopi are a north American Indian tribe living in Arizona.
Horace Saussure was a Swiss physicist born at Conches in 1740 he died in 1799. He invented the hygrometer.
Horace Walpole was a British Politician. He was born in 1717 and died in 1797.
Horatio Bottomley was an English politician and financier. He was born in 1860, dying in 1933. He was imprisoned for fraud.
Horatio Herbert Kitchener was a British military leader. He was born in 1850 and died in 1916 on board the HMS Hampshire when the ship struck a mine and sank. He was commander-in-chief during the Boer war. He was secretary for war during the Great War.
Horatio Nelson was an English naval commander. He was born in 1758 and died in 1805 from a sniper's gunshot at the battle of Trafalgar. Oddly, he suffered from sea sickness!
The Hottentot are a south African tribe.
The Hovas are a native race of Madagascar.
Hubert Van Eyck was born in 1370 and died in 1426. With his brother Jan he founded the Flemish school of painting. Jan Van Eyck was born in 1390 and died in 1441.
Hugh Falconer was a British naturalist and palaeontologist. He was born in 1808 in Scotland and died in 1865.
Hugh Latimer was an English Protestant martyr. He was born in 1485 near Leicester and died in 1555. He was burnt at the stake in Oxford for being a heretic.
The Huguenots were French Protestants who suffered persecution from the Catholics for 200 years.
The Hui are one of the largest minority ethnic groups in China, numbering about 25 million. Members of the Hui live all over China, but are concentrated in the northern central region. They have been Muslims since the 10th century.
Huron is a nickname for a member of a confederation of five Iroquoian North American Indian peoples living near lakes Huron, Erie, and Ontario in the 16th and 17th centuries. They were almost wiped out by the Iroquois. In the 17th century, surviving Hurons formed a group called Wyandot, some of whose descendants now live in Quebec and Oklahoma.
The Hutu are the majority ethnic group of both Burundi and Rwanda, numbering around 9,500,000. The Hutu tend to live as peasant farmers. Traditionally they have been dominated by the Tutsi minority; there is a long history of violent conflict between the two groups. The Hutu language belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger-Congo family.
The Hycsos (Hykshos) or Shepherd Kings, were wandering tribes of Semitic descent who conquered Egypt in 2100 BC and were driven out some five hundred years later.
Hyder Ali was a distinguished Indian Prince. He was born in 1728 to a general in the service of the Rajah of Mysore. He died in 1782 during a war with the British.
see "Hycsos"
Iban is a replacement term for Dyak.
The Ibo are a west African culture group occupying south east Nigeria and numbering about 18,000,000. Primarily cultivators, they inhabit the richly forested tableland, bounded by the river Niger to the west and the river Cross to the east. They are divided into five main groups, and their languages belong to the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo family.
The Ifugao are an indigenous people of north Luzon in the Philippines, numbering approximately 70,000. In addition to practising shifting cultivation on highland slopes, they build elaborate terraced rice fields. Their language belongs to the Austronesian family. The Ifugao live in scattered hamlets and traditionally recognise a class of nobles, kadangya, who are obliged to provide expensive feasts on particular social occasions. Although indigenous beliefs remain, many Ifugao have adopted Christianity.
Ignance Jan Paderewski was a Polish musician. He was born in 1860 at Kurilowka and died in 1941.
Igor Stravinsky was a Russian composer. He was born in 1882, dying in 1971. He wrote several ballets.
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher. He was born at Konigsberg in 1724 and died in 1804. He wrote "Critique of Pure Reason" and "Critique of Practical Reason".
Ina was King of the West Saxons. He ascended to the throne in 689. In 728 he resigned his crown and went on pilgrimage to Rome.
The Inca were an Indian tribe of Peru.
Indulf was King of Scotland from 954 to 962.
Inigo Jones was an English architect. He was born in 1573 and died in 1652.
The Innuit are a people inhabiting the Arctic coasts of North America, the east islands of the Canadian Arctic, and the ice-free coasts of Greenland. Inuktitut, their language, has about 60,000 speakers; it belongs to the Eskimo-Aleut group. The Inuit object to the name Eskimos given them by the Algonquin Indians.
The Irish are people of Irish culture from Ireland or person of Irish descent. The Irish mainly speak English, though there are approximately 30,000-100,000 speakers of Irish Gaelic, a Celtic language belonging to the Indo-European family.
Celtic tribes, the ancestors of the Irish, migrated to Ireland about 300 BC. Later known as Gaels (Irishmen), they settled on the Isle of Man and south west Scotland, and established colonies in west Wales, Devon, and Cornwall.
The Iroquois were a confederacy of 6 north American Indian tribes including the Mohawks, Oneidas and Senecas. They lived on the shores of the Mohawk river, and spread through to the Mississippi. Their expansion was checked by white settlers who wiped out several of the tribes and imprisoned others on squalid reservations.
Isaac Merritt Singer was an American engineer. He was born in 1811 and died in 1875. He developed and patented a single-thread and chain-stitching sewing machine.