the best known of at least two South African Khoikhoi women who, due to their large buttocks, were exhibited as freak show attractions in 19th-century Europe under the name Hottentot Venus—"Hottentot" was the name for the Khoi people, now considered an offensive term, and "Venus" referred to the Roman goddess of love. In 1810, she went to England with her ...

the best known of at least two South African Khoikhoi women who, due to their large buttocks, were exhibited as freak show attractions in 19th-century Europe under the name Hottentot Venus—"Hottentot" was the name for the Khoi people, now considered an offensive term, and "Venus" referred to the Roman goddess of love. In 1810, she went to England with her employer, a free black man (a Cape designation for someone of slave descent) called Hendrik Cesars, and William Dunlop, an English doctor who worked at the Cape slave lodge. They sought to show her for money on the London stage. Sara Baartman spent four years on stage in England and Ireland.

a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, poet and entertainer. He is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a powerful influence in Swedish music, as well as in Scandinavian literature, to this day. He has been compared to Shakespeare, Ludw...

more

a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, poet and entertainer. He is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a powerful influence in Swedish music, as well as in Scandinavian literature, to this day. He has been compared to Shakespeare, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mozart, and Hogarth, but his gift, using elegantly rococo classical references in comic contrast to sordid drinking and prostitution—at once regretted and celebrated in song—is unique.

an English actor and biographer. There is very little information available concerning the details of his life. He was the author of Retrospections of the Stage (1830) and Retrospections of America, 1797-1811. He acted in a number of plays with Mary Ann Duff. His son, William Bayle Bernard, was a playwright and critic, and edited editions of h...

an English actor and biographer. There is very little information available concerning the details of his life. He was the author of Retrospections of the Stage (1830) and Retrospections of America, 1797-1811. He acted in a number of plays with Mary Ann Duff. His son, William Bayle Bernard, was a playwright and critic, and edited editions of his Retrospections

the leading male actor and theatre manager during Restoration England, son of an under-cook to King Charles I, was born in London. Betterton was born in August 1635 in Tothill Street, Westminster. He was apprenticed to John Holden, Sir William Davenant's publisher, and possibly later to a bookseller named John Rhodes, who had been wardrobe-keeper at the Blac...

the leading male actor and theatre manager during Restoration England, son of an under-cook to King Charles I, was born in London. Betterton was born in August 1635 in Tothill Street, Westminster. He was apprenticed to John Holden, Sir William Davenant's publisher, and possibly later to a bookseller named John Rhodes, who had been wardrobe-keeper at the Blackfriars Theatre. In 1659, Rhodes obtained a license to set up a company of players at the Cockpit Theatre in Drury Lane; and on the reopening of this theatre in 1660, Betterton made his first appearance on the stage.

a French tightrope walker and acrobat. At the age of five he was sent to the École de Gymnase at Lyon and, after six months training as an acrobat, made his first public appearance as "The boy Wonder". His superior skill and grace, as well as the originality of the settings of his acts, made him a popular favourite. He first married Marie Blancherie, and at...

a French tightrope walker and acrobat. At the age of five he was sent to the École de Gymnase at Lyon and, after six months training as an acrobat, made his first public appearance as "The boy Wonder". His superior skill and grace, as well as the originality of the settings of his acts, made him a popular favourite. He first married Marie Blancherie, and at the same time legitimised their son Aime Leopold. It is not known what happened to his French family after he went to America.

a champion fencer, a virtuoso violinist and conductor of the leading symphony orchestra in Paris. Born in Guadeloupe, he was the son of George Bologne de Saint-Georges, a wealthy planter, and Nanon, his African slave. During the French Revolution, Saint-Georges was colonel of the 'Légion St.-Georges,' the first all-black regiment in Europe, fighting on the ...

a champion fencer, a virtuoso violinist and conductor of the leading symphony orchestra in Paris. Born in Guadeloupe, he was the son of George Bologne de Saint-Georges, a wealthy planter, and Nanon, his African slave. During the French Revolution, Saint-Georges was colonel of the 'Légion St.-Georges,' the first all-black regiment in Europe, fighting on the side of the Republic. Today the Chevalier de Saint-Georges is best remembered as the first classical composer of African ancestry.

one of the leading chess players in France in the years between 1820 and 1840. Although he was one of the leading players of his time, not much is known about his life. The date of his birth can only be estimated. Rod Edwards gives 1765 as a reasonable birth date based on Walker's assertion that in 1839 Boncourt was about seventy years old. Although a contem...

one of the leading chess players in France in the years between 1820 and 1840. Although he was one of the leading players of his time, not much is known about his life. The date of his birth can only be estimated. Rod Edwards gives 1765 as a reasonable birth date based on Walker's assertion that in 1839 Boncourt was about seventy years old. Although a contemporary of Philidor, Boncourt never played with the French master, who had since emigrated to England, but was initiated to chess by some of Philidor's students and in particular Carlier, Bernard and Leger who frequented the Café de la Régence.

one of the most famous dramatic actors of the first part of the 18th century. Booth was the son of The Hon and Very Revd Dr Robert Booth and was educated at Westminster School, where his success in the Latin play Andria gave him an inclination for the stage. He was intended for the church, and to attend Trinity College, Cambridge; but in 1698 he ran away and...

one of the most famous dramatic actors of the first part of the 18th century. Booth was the son of The Hon and Very Revd Dr Robert Booth and was educated at Westminster School, where his success in the Latin play Andria gave him an inclination for the stage. He was intended for the church, and to attend Trinity College, Cambridge; but in 1698 he ran away and obtained employment in a theatrical company in Dublin, where he made his first appearance as the title character in Aphra Behn's Oroonoko. After two seasons in Ireland he returned to London, where Thomas Betterton, who had previously failed to help him, probably out of regard for Booth's family, now gave him all the assistance in his power.

an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. His first play, A Legend of the Devil's Dyke, opened in Brighton in 1838. Three years later he found immediate success as a dramatist with London Assurance. He rapidly followed this with a number of other plays, among the most successful of the early ones being The Bastile [sic], an...

an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. His first play, A Legend of the Devil's Dyke, opened in Brighton in 1838. Three years later he found immediate success as a dramatist with London Assurance. He rapidly followed this with a number of other plays, among the most successful of the early ones being The Bastile [sic], an "after-piece" (1842), Old Heads and Young Hearts (1844), The School for Scheming (1847), Confidence (1848) and The Knight Arva (1848, all at Her Majesty's Theatre), as well as his very successful The Corsican Brothers (1852, for Charles Kean) and Louis XI (1855). The last two plays were adaptations of French plays.

a French ballet dancer, actor, singer and a choreographer, active in the Royal Swedish Ballet and the Royal Danish Ballet and eventually ballet master in the latter. He is considered to have played a great role in the development of the ballet in Scandinavia. He was the father of August Bournonville. Bournonville was premier dancer and ballet instructor at t...

a French ballet dancer, actor, singer and a choreographer, active in the Royal Swedish Ballet and the Royal Danish Ballet and eventually ballet master in the latter. He is considered to have played a great role in the development of the ballet in Scandinavia. He was the father of August Bournonville. Bournonville was premier dancer and ballet instructor at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm until 1792. During his time in Sweden, he was described as beautiful as Apollo.

a Danish ballet master and choreographer. He was the son of Antoine Bournonville, a dancer and choreographer trained under the French choreographer, Jean Georges Noverre, and the nephew of Julie Alix de la Fay, née Bournonville, of the Royal Swedish Ballet. Bournonville was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, where his father had settled. He trained with his fathe...

a Danish ballet master and choreographer. He was the son of Antoine Bournonville, a dancer and choreographer trained under the French choreographer, Jean Georges Noverre, and the nephew of Julie Alix de la Fay, née Bournonville, of the Royal Swedish Ballet. Bournonville was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, where his father had settled. He trained with his father Antoine Bournonville as well he studied under the Italian choreographer Vincenzo Galeotti at the Royal Danish Ballet, Copenhagen, and in Paris, France, under French dancer Auguste Vestris. He initiated a unique style in ballet known as the Bournonville School.

an English bare-knuckle boxer. He was the first person to codify a set of rules to be used in such contests; prior to this the "rules" that existed were very loosely defined and tended to vary from contest to contest. His seven rules of how boxing would be conducted at his amphitheatre (the largest and most influential at that time) evolved later into the Lo...

an English bare-knuckle boxer. He was the first person to codify a set of rules to be used in such contests; prior to this the "rules" that existed were very loosely defined and tended to vary from contest to contest. His seven rules of how boxing would be conducted at his amphitheatre (the largest and most influential at that time) evolved later into the London Prize Ring rules which are widely regarded as the foundation stone of the sport that would become boxing, prior to the development of the Marquess of Queensberry rules in the 1860s.

a 19th-century Virginia slave who escaped to freedom at the age of 33 by arranging to have himself mailed in a wooden crate in 1849 to abolitionists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For a short time, Brown became a noted abolitionist speaker in the northeast United States. As a public figure and fugitive slave, Brown felt extremely endangered by passage of th...

a 19th-century Virginia slave who escaped to freedom at the age of 33 by arranging to have himself mailed in a wooden crate in 1849 to abolitionists in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For a short time, Brown became a noted abolitionist speaker in the northeast United States. As a public figure and fugitive slave, Brown felt extremely endangered by passage of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, which increased pressure to capture escaped slaves. He moved to England and lived there for 25 years, touring with an anti-slavery panorama, becoming a magician and showman.

a German artist, magician, calligrapher, and performer who was born without hands or feet and was 29 in (74 cm) tall. Buchinger was especially noted for his micrography, in which illustrations consist of very small text. Buchinger was born in Ansbach, Germany, without hands or lower legs. An artist and performer, he "traveled all over Northern Europe to ente...

a German artist, magician, calligrapher, and performer who was born without hands or feet and was 29 in (74 cm) tall. Buchinger was especially noted for his micrography, in which illustrations consist of very small text. Buchinger was born in Ansbach, Germany, without hands or lower legs. An artist and performer, he "traveled all over Northern Europe to entertain kings and aristocrats as well as hoi polloi with amazing feats of physical dexterity" and was known as “The Greatest German Living” and "Little Man from Nuremberg".

an English historian, the author of an unfinished History of Civilization, and a strong amateur chess player. He is sometimes called "the Father of Scientific History". Buckle's one year of formal education was in Gordon House School at age fourteen. When his father offered him a reward for winning a prize in mathematics, Buckle asked "to be taken awa...

an English historian, the author of an unfinished History of Civilization, and a strong amateur chess player. He is sometimes called "the Father of Scientific History". Buckle's one year of formal education was in Gordon House School at age fourteen. When his father offered him a reward for winning a prize in mathematics, Buckle asked "to be taken away from school". From then on he was self-taught. As such, Buckle said later, "I was never much tormented with what is called education, but allowed to pursue my own way undisturbed.... Whatever I may now be supposed to know I taught myself."

Thai-American conjoined twin brothers whose condition and birthplace became the basis for the term "Siamese twins". In 1829, Robert Hunter, a Scottish merchant who lived in Bangkok, saw the twins swimming and realized their potential. He paid their parents to permit him to exhibit their sons as a curiosity on a world tour. When their contract with Hunter was...

Thai-American conjoined twin brothers whose condition and birthplace became the basis for the term "Siamese twins". In 1829, Robert Hunter, a Scottish merchant who lived in Bangkok, saw the twins swimming and realized their potential. He paid their parents to permit him to exhibit their sons as a curiosity on a world tour. When their contract with Hunter was over, Chang and Eng went into business for themselves.

an English actor, theatre impresario, joiner, and theatre builder in the English Renaissance theatre. He built The Theatre, the first permanent dedicated theatre built in England since Roman times. Burbage took up acting and was the leader of Leicester's Men by 1572. Burbage had various talents, e.g. an actor, builder, and theatre owner; he was heavily invol...

an English actor, theatre impresario, joiner, and theatre builder in the English Renaissance theatre. He built The Theatre, the first permanent dedicated theatre built in England since Roman times. Burbage took up acting and was the leader of Leicester's Men by 1572. Burbage had various talents, e.g. an actor, builder, and theatre owner; he was heavily involved in groups concerning theater. He was said to be a theatre professional "who bridged the gap between late-medieval drama in England and the flowering of the great Elizabethan Theatre."

an English sailor, trader, and showman who became one of the first Europeans to live as a Pakeha Maori and to receive the full M?ori facial tattoo. He travelled to Australia and found employment as a trader of flax in New Zealand in the 1830s. Burns returned to Europe in 1835 and spent most of his remaining years as a showman giving lectures, where he descri...

an English sailor, trader, and showman who became one of the first Europeans to live as a Pakeha Maori and to receive the full M?ori facial tattoo. He travelled to Australia and found employment as a trader of flax in New Zealand in the 1830s. Burns returned to Europe in 1835 and spent most of his remaining years as a showman giving lectures, where he described the customs of the Maori, performed the haka, exhibited his Maori tattoos and recounted his adventures in New Zealand.