Help These Great Brits Queue Up! Quiz

The exact date and location of Ealdred's birth is unknown though scholars believe he was from the western part of England. During his life Ealdred wore many hats including being the bishop of Worcester and York, a military leader, and a legate to Rome for Edward the Confessor. On Christmas Day 1066, it was Ealdred who placed the crown on William the Conqueror's head. Ealdred died in York on 11th September 1069.

Thomas Becket was born around 1120 in Cheapside, London. During his young adulthood, Becket was entrusted with many important duties for Archbishop Theobald of Bec. In 1155, Becket was appointed to the position of Lord Chancellor for King Henry II where he skillfully enforced taxation on the nobles and clergy.

When Theobald died, Henry was thrilled that Becket was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry hoped his ex-chancellor would continue to be an ally, but Becket adopted an absolute zeal for the church.

After causing Henry II much frustration, four royal guards went to Canterbury Cathedral and brutally murdered Becket. He died on 29th December 1170.

Henry of Winchester was born on 1st October 1207, as the oldest son of King John and Isabella of Angouleme. In October of 1216, John died leaving the nine-year-old Henry as the heir to the throne. Henry III's reign started in a difficult situation since his father had lost most of his French lands and half of the English territories were in control of rebellious barons. One advantage he did have was the support of the church which wanted to see Henry win the baron war.

Henry spent a fortune in taxes trying, unsuccessfully, to reclaim lost lands in France. Throughout his reign, he endured constant problems with the nobles and finally started falling into poor health at the end of his life.

He died on 16th November 1272, and his throne went to his eldest son Edward I, Longshanks.

Geoffrey Chaucer was thought to have been born in the 1340s in London, England. His family was a rare medieval example of upward mobility as the generations transitioned from tavern owner to vintner to royal appointee. Of course, in modern times we are aware of Chaucer because of his series of short stories called the "Canterbury Tales." However, Chaucer's work as a public servant both in parliament and for the nobility is why the events of his life are actually known.

The importance of the "Canterbury Tales" rests in their choice of middle English as their vernacular. Up until this time, Latin and French were the main languages of the arts. Plus the tales are still enjoyable to read over 600 years later. Chaucer's Westminster grave states he died on 15th October 1400, though the exact cause of death is unknown.

Thomas Wolsey was born to humble parents in March of 1473 in the town of Ipswich, England. At the age of 25 he was ordained a priest and within ten years found himself as a royal chaplain to Henry VII. A few years later Henry VIII became king and appointed Wolsey to the post of almoner placing him in charge of giving out alms to the poor.

The big advantage of being the royal almoner meant he was also on Henry VIII Privy Council allowing Wolsey a direct opportunity to talk to and influence the king.

Not long afterward, Wolsey was appointed as Lord Chancellor making him second only to Henry. He also was raised to the title of Cardinal by the Pope making him the highest-ranking cleric in England. All seemed well for a time until Wolsey was unable to secure an annulment for Henry to separate from Katherine to allow the king to marry Anne.

Henry removed Wolsey from his role as Lord Chancellor but allowed him to retain his role as Archbishop of York. Thomas Wolsey died on 29th November 1530, of an illness while on the way back to London to stand trial before Henry VIII.

William Shakespeare's birthday is traditionally believed to be 23rd April 1564, in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon. Much of Shakespeare's life is shrouded in mystery, calling to question if he actually wrote all or any of the plays attributed to him. Records do show that at the age of 18, he married 26-year-old Anne Hathaway and remarkably the couple had a daughter six months later. Most of the couple's marriage was a long-distance one with jokes about her inheriting his second-best bed in the will.

Shakespeare spent most of his prime in London both acting and writing. The first half of his career was focused on histories and comedies, while in the second half, he wrote tragedies. Three years before his death, Shakespeare moved back to Stratford-upon-Avon and died on 23rd April 1616, presumably on his birthday.

Isaac Newton was born in the county of Lincolnshire, England on 25th December 1642. Three months before Newton was born his father died. When Newton was three, his mother remarried and left him in the care of his grandmother. While at Cambridge, Newton developed a generalized binomial algebraic theorem leading him to develop his version of calculus. Due to the plague, the University temporarily closed in 1665, and Newton went to the countryside where he developed his laws on optics and gravity. Newton never married but rather spent his life on science.

He lived a long life and died at the age of 84 on 21st March 1727.

Horatio Nelson was born in Norfolk, England, on 29th September 1758. His family had modest wealth because his father was a preacher and he was related to Robert Walpole on his mother's side. His uncle was a high-ranking officer in the Navy and probably strongly encouraged Nelson to pursue this path. Nelson was gifted in all the ways necessary to become a great Naval leader and, by the age of twenty, he was in charge of his own ship. On top of brilliant and imaginative strategy, Nelson was very approachable as a leader.

He ruled his ship by his men's love for him rather than fear. Nelson had several successful battles during the Napoleonic War but finally lost his life during the battle of Trafalgar from a musket ball shot to the chest. He died on 21st October 1805, proud to know he had done his duty to God and his country.

Charles Dickens was born on 7th February 1812, in Portsmouth, England. Often regarded as one of the greatest writers of the Victorian era, Dickens wrote about the life around him. The experiences he had, especially in childhood, and the people that were in his life made their way into the vivid stories he told. One aspect of his work that made him relatively unique at the time was the immense popularity his stories had upon release. Dickens would write a chapter at a time and publish it in a magazine and get feedback from his fans which sometimes altered the story for the next installment.

He spent much of his later years touring both Europe and the US as a celebrity. Dickens died on 9th June 1870, of a stroke after spending his last day working on his unfinished novel Edwin Drood.

William Tutte was born on 14th May 1917, in Suffolk, England. He is perhaps less famous than most of the list though he was one of the greatest British heroes of WWII. Tutte grew up the son of a gardener and a housekeeper, but his brilliance in science and mathematics earned him a scholarship to Cambridge.

His role in the war was in deciphering the encryption code the Germans were using without having the machine the Germans were using. Tutte's work in cracking the code gave the Allies a huge advantage when it came time for the D-Day invasion.

His career eventually led him to the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. William Tutte lived to be 84 years old and passed away on 2nd May 2002.