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William Shakespeare

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William Shakespeare

“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” – William Shakespeare.

  • William Shakespeare has no known birth date, but was baptised on 26 April, 1564, and died on 23 April, 1616, and spent most of his life at Stratford-upon-Avon in England.
  • William Shakespeare was a tragic and romantic genre playwright and poet, most active in 1589 to 1613, and is commonly said to be one of the best English writers of all time.
  • ‘William Shakespeare’ is also known as the ‘Bard of Avon’, the ‘Swan of Avon’ and ‘England’s native poet’.
  • William Shakespeare married at the age of 18 to 26 year old Anne Hathaway, and later had three children (one died young), who all had children that didn’t have any offspring.
  • William Shakespeare officially wrote 38 plays, 154 sonnets and many poems, and took part in writing many other works.

William Shakespeare, Portrait, Painting, Art, Playwrite, Ten Random Facts, Flickr

Shakespeare
Image courtesy of Books18/Flickr
  • William Shakespeare’s birth date is celebrated on Saint George’s Day, 23 April, coincidentally the same day he died, due to a scholar’s mistake in the 1700s.
  • According to William Shakespeare’s will, most of Shakespeare’s property was given to his eldest child.
  • William Shakespeare’s works have influenced many authors, including Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy, and Shakespeare’s language has influenced the modern English language.
  • Famous works of William Shakespeare include Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet.
  • William Shakespeare’s works grew in significant popularity in the 1800s, although the work was popular in his time.
Bibliography:
William Shakespeare, 2013, Bio, http://www.biography.com/people/william-shakespeare-9480323?page=1
William Shakespeare, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare

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Giant Panda

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Giant Panda

Munch, Munch, Munch… Munch, Munch, Munch…

  • Giant pandas are also known as ‘pandas’, or ‘panda bears’ and their scientific name is Ailuropoda melanoleuca meaning ‘black and white cat-foot’.
  • Giant pandas are native to China, northern Vietnam and Myanmar (also known as Burma), however they are now only found in a small area in central China.
  • Giant pandas are an endangered species, however there are many reports of growth in the panda’s numbers in the wild, partly due to the conservation and expansion of their forest habitat.
  • The giant panda’s diet consists mainly of bamboo, which makes up 99% of its diet, but sometimes they eat meat and grass.
  • Adult giant pandas grow from 1.2 to 1.8 metres (4 to 6 feet) in length, and generally weigh between 100 and 115 kg (220 to 250 lb), while females are normally 10% to 20% smaller than the males.

Giant Panda, Sitting, Flower, smell, Zoo America, National Zoo, washington DC, National Geographic, Foliage, Ten Random Facts

 

Giant Panda
Image courtesy of National Geographic
  • Giant pandas have one thumb and five fingers, on their front paws, and they have a tail that is 10 – 15 cm (4 – 6 in) long.
  • In their natural habitat, giant pandas live up to 20 years, although in captivity, they can live for another ten years, with the oldest panda in captivity reaching 34 years in age.
  • Giant pandas live by themselves most of the time, and they don’t hibernate like other bears that live in similar climate zones.
  • Giant pandas eat 9 to 18 kg (20 to 40 lbs) of bamboo every day, as their carnivorous style of digestive system does not convert the bamboo into significant amounts of usable energy and protein.
  • There are currently only two giant pandas that live in the Southern Hemisphere, both found at Adelaide Zoo, Australia, and both of them came from the 2008 earthquake devastated Wolong Giant Panda Research Centre in China which housed 280 giant pandas.
Bibliography:
Giant panda, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_panda>

C.S. Lewis

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C.S. Lewis

Read any of his works?

  • The full name of C.S. Lewis is Clive Staples Lewis.
  • C.S. Lewis was born on the 29 November 1898 in Belfast, Ireland and died on the 22 November 1963 at Oxford, England.
  • C.S. Lewis’ main writings were Christian apologetics (defending the Christian faith), and fantasy and children’s fictional literature.
  • C.S. Lewis was known as ‘Jack’ to his friends and family, after the loved “Jacksie”, a neighbourhood dog, which died when Lewis was four years old.
  • C.S. Lewis became an atheist when he was 15, and became a strong Christian at age 32, influenced by his close friend J.R.R. Tolkien and the writings of G. K. Chesterton.
C.S. Lewis, Author, Famous, Auther, Narnia, Balck and White, Photobucket, Man, Ten Random FactsCharles Dicken
Image courtesy of Photobucket
  • C.S. Lewis was a tutor at the Oxford University from 1925 to 1954.
  • C.S. Lewis married the American writer, Joy Davidman, in 1956, who died four years later.
  • C.S. Lewis shared ideas with J.R.R. Tolkien, and was part of a group called the Inklings, who discussed literature.
  • C.S. Lewis has written at least thirty books, and some have been translated into 30 languages and millions of copies have been sold.
  • C.S. Lewis is best known for his “Chronicles of Narnia” series, a set of fantasy books written for children.
Bibliography:
About C.S. Lewis, 2008 Harper One, <http://www.cslewis.com/about.aspx>

Charles Dickens

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Charles Dickens

Ever heard of Charles Dickens?

  • Charles Dickens was an English writer and became famous in 1836 from  his Pickwick Papers, which was first published as a serial.
  • The full name of Charles Dickens was Charles John Huffam Dickens, and early on in his career he used the pseudonymn Boz, a family nickname.
  • Charles Dickens was born on 7 February 1812 in Portsmouth, England and died on 9 June, 1870 in Kent, England.
  • Charles Dickens first started to write in 1832, when he was 20 years of age.
  • Charles Dickens was initially married to Catherine Thomson Hogarth, and had ten children.
    Charles Dickens, Books, Novel, Author, Popular, Penn State Special Collections, University Park, Mason & Co. (British), Flickr, Ten Random Facts, 1865
Charles Dickens
Image courtesy of Penn State Special Collections Library/Flickr
  • Charles Dickens’ novels have been made into at least 200 films and adaptations.
  • Charles Dickens was also a political journalist and a social critic.
  • Charles Dickens survived the major Staplehurst rail crash in 1865, and eventually died due to stroke exactly five years later, “on the ground” being his last words.
  • In 2003 in BBC’s Big Read, Charles Dickens had five books starring in the top 100; Great Expectations (no. 17), David Copperfield (no. 34), A Christmas Carol (no. 47), A Tale of Two Cities (no. 63) and Bleak House (no. 79).
  • Charles Dickens toured the United Kingdom and United States a number of times, for the purpose of undertaking a series of public readings, which were very popular.
Bibliography:
Charles Dickens 1 February 2013 , Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dickens>

Enid Blyton

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Enid Blyton

Ever heard of the Famous Five or Secret Seven?

  • Enid Blyton was born on the 11th of August 1897, in East Dulwich, England and died on the 28th of November, 1968, aged 71, in Hampstead, England.
  • Enid Blyton is estimated to have written over 800 books, in a period of approximately 40 years.
  • Enid Blyton used the pen name ‘Mary Pollock’ at times.
  • Enid Blyton typically wrote adventure, mystery and fantasy books for children.
  •  Enid Blyton has been most famous for her Famous Five, Secret Seven, and the Noddy series.

 Enid Blyton, Human, Lady, Female, author, Secret Seven, Famous Five, Noddy, Black and White, Ten Random Facts

Enid Blyton
Image courtesy of Photobucket
  • Enid Blyton worked as an author, a poet and a teacher.
  • Enid Blyton married two men: Hugh Pollock (from 1924 – 1942) whom she divorced, and Kenneth Waters (from 1943-1967).
  • Enid Blyton’s books have sold over 600 million copies.
  • Enid Blyton tried several times over a number of years to get her work broadcasted by BBC and eventually in 1954 some of her work was aired.
  • Even though Enid Blyton remains a popular children’s author, her work has been long scrutinised due to its sometimes racial insensitivity and gender stereotyping, and the suggestion that she was a second rate, long-winded author.

 

Bibliography:
Enid Blyton 19 December 2012, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enid_Blyton>

J.R.R. Tolkien

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J.R.R. Tolkien

Ever heard of the Lord of the Rings? Well, that is J.R.R. Tolkien’s work.

  • J.R.R. Tolkien’s full name is John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.
  • J.R.R. Tolkien was born on the 3rd of January, 1892 into a family of craftsmen, and died on the 2nd of September, 1973 at the age of 81.
  • J.R.R. Tolkien is best known for is works of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion.
  • J.R.R. Tolkien was a close friend to fellow author C.S. Lewis and were both members of the Inklings.
  • J.R.R. Tolkien worked at the Oxford English Dictionary after his years of service in World War I.

J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, Hobbit, Silmarillian, Poet, Author, Ten Random Facts, Photobucket

J.R.R. Tolkien
Image courtesy of Photobucket
  • In World War II, J.R.R. Tolkien was a codebreaker due to the high literature standards he had.
  • J.R.R. Tolkien was married to Edith Bratt, who lived from 1889-1971 and they had four children: John Francis Reuel Tolkien, Michael Hilary Reuel Tolkien, Christopher John Reuel Tolkien and Priscilla Mary Anne Reuel Tolkien.
  • J.R.R. Tolkien, a devout Roman Catholic, was said to be an atheist, but later became a Christian.
  • J.R.R. Tolkien had a road named after him (Tolkien Road), in Eastbourne, Sussex.
  • J.R.R. Tolkien rarely signed his work, meaning his autograph is highly valued by collectors.
Bibliography:
J. R. R. Tolkien 29 November 2012, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien>
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