Comma, Domencio da 1264-1316.The inventor of one of our most familiar punctuation marks was born in Mantua and entered the Dominican order sometime before 1300, devoting the remainder of his life to scholarship. He travelled extensively among the universities and monasteries of Europe arguing for the usefulness of his little mark. He was at one point arraigned before the Inquisition on charges of heresy, on the grounds that no such punctuation was to be found in the scriptures or even in classical literature, but he seems to have survived the experience unscathed.
Corset,Etienne c.1760-1832. French military tailor born in Strasbourg, who learned his trade making uniforms for the armies of Frederick the Great of Prussia but later moved to Paris. The boned and stiffened undergarments he designed and made helped to preserve the figures of French officers after they had passed their first youth. He was imprisoned as a Royalist lackey during the French Revolution, but survived to equip the officers of Napoleon's splendid cavalry and their successors after Bourbon restoration. His designs were later adapted by others for women's use.
Culvert, Sir Roderick 1801-1882. Civil engineer born in Manchester and largely self-educated, He early specialized in canal construction, and his experience in passing water under roads and tramways served him well when he threw himself into the problems created by the rapid expansion of railways in the 1840s. His work, both in Britain and the United States, was well-designed but often suffered from hasty execution and poor materials. He was knighted in 1865.
Curry, Sir George 1826-1890. British soldier, born in Berwick-in-Tweed. He spent his entire career in the service of the East India Company and later of the Indian Army and rose to the rank of general. He was the first officer of the of the British Raj to develop a taste for the highly spiced stews of the natives, and in consequence dined alone for many years. His attempt to introduce mutton vindaloo and chapatis into the mess of his own British Tommies resulted in one of the lesser known mutinies of the period. It was only when Queen Victoria was seen eating some of it at a luncheon for visiting rajahs in 1869 that the habit of eating what had become known as 'Curry' began to spread among the British community in general.
Debris, Jean 1325-1369. Gascon mercenary soldier, who fought mainly on the English side in the Hundred Years War, thought to have been born in Bayonne. Even in a periond of unusual savagery he gained a reputation for utter ruthlessness, especially in his treatment of towns under his command captured after a siege. It was a matter of pride with him to leave no stone standing upon another. His name entered the language due to a misunderstanding. Coming upon the ruins of a town Debris had recently visited an English knight pointed to the piles of rubble and enquired of his French companion what on earth it was. The Frenchman shrugged and replied 'C'st Debris'. When the tide of war turned Debris briefly transferred his services to the French, but died in a brawl over pay in a Paris tavern.
Denim, Oscar 1838-1899. Born in Linz, he emigrated to New York in 1862 and spent his life in the American West, peddling the hardwearing blue cloth to which he gave his name. Although his attempts to export the fabric were largely unsuccessful he made a considerable fortune. He devoted the last years of his life to many charitable causes, including the Denim Travelling Scholarships, which provided clothing and money to young Americans travelling in Europe and elsewhere. His autobiography, My Blue Heaven, was published posthumously in 1901.
Derrick, c.1565-1630. Public hangman, known only by that name, who was performing his duties at Tyburn in the early 1600s. Nothing is known of his life, save that he might have been of Dutch ancestry. He did his dreaful work either for so long or so strikingly well that he became identified with it in the public mind. It was probably sailors, with their love of gallows humour, who first gave his name to the crane-like contrivance used on board ships for lifting and moving weights, and so to similar machines on land
Diaper, Horace 1857-1922. Born in Minneapolis, he was obliged to drop out of medical studies at Harvard in order to run the family drapery business after the death of his father. It mas there that, starting from first principals, he used his scientific knowledge to develop the hygenic infants’ napkins that have been a boon to mankind. His considerable fortune was devoted to research and development in the area of family planning.
Doggerel, Matthew c.1330-1405. Medieval English poet, born it is thought in Oxford, whose work would have been entirely forgotten had he not been briefly mentioned by Geoffrey Chaucer, who is know to have borrowed and improved upon some of his verses. He was a member of the guild of candlemakers, and my well have contributed to some of the Mystery plays of the time. ~Only fragments of his work survive.
Doldrum, Frederick 1784-1839. English sailor. Though he rose to the ranks of post-captain in the Royal Navy, his career was beset by misfortune, chiefly in the form of long spells of windless calms to which he gave his name. He served almost exclusively on detached duty and arrived late at the battle of Trafalgar. Ironically, he died when his ship went down in a typhoon in the Azores.
Dudgeon, Miles 1541-1604. A one-time soldier, who later became an actor in the Lord Chamberlains’ company, he was proverbial in both professions for his readiness to take offence and to fly into a rage over apparrently trifling matters. There is a legend that Shakespeare knew him from the days when they both served in the Low Countries and based several of the characters on him, including Pistol in Henry IV and Henry V, but dared not use his name for fear of violent retaliation.
Duffel, George Henry ?-1843. Born probably in Chatham, he served as a purser in the Navy from 1795 to 1822. Suffering, as most pursers did, from complaints about the quality of the ‘slops’ he sold to the seaman as clothing, he bought a quantity of woollen cloth in Rotterdam that had been rejected by the citizens there as too heavy and coarse. Sewn into simple coats, it was greatly appreciated by sailors on watch in wintry seas and Duffel enjoyed both profit and popularity for the remainder of his career, though he did not live to see his coats worn by officers and gentlemen.
Easel, Matthias c.1410-1470. The man whose humble invention transformed the face of art in the western world was born in Nuremburg and apprenticed to a muralist there. An indifferent painter himself, he seems to have had a gift for carpentry which led him to develop his revolutionary device. This was at first condemned by the Church, which correctly saw that it would lead to the production of profane imagery, but it was taken up with enthusiasm by the artists of the time. No painting of his own survives, though a Bowl of Fruit with Wineglass in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is tentatively attributed to his studio.
Fahrenheit, Daniel Gabriel 1686-1736. Born in the Polish city of Gdansk. Fahrenheit spent most of his life in the Netherlands, where he devoted himself to the study of Physics and the manufacture of precision meteorological instruments. He discovered among other things, that water can remain liquid below its freezing point and that the boiling point of liquids varies with atmospheric pressure. He is best known for inventing the alcohol thermometer (1709) and the mercury thermometer (1714) and for developing the Fahrenheit temperature scale, still commonly used in the United States.
Firkin, Mathew 1620-1683. English brewer and tavern-keeper, born in Deptford, who had made for him the barrels of moderate size that bear his name, so that customers might conveniently carry home for their own use quantities of his renowned ale. Samuel Pepys mentions him in his diary for October l664 “and so liked Mr. Firkin’s ale that we had one of his small barrels brought with us to my house”. The Firkin barrel contained nine gallons.
Furlong, Giles c.1280-1347. Wealthy English peasant whose interminable boundary disputes led to the first rational system of land measurement since Roman Times. An inverate litigant, he died, unmourned by his neighbours, in the Black Death.
Furlough, George c.1600-1686. English private soldier, born near Taunton in Somerset, who joined the army at the age of sixteen and fought for the Royalist cause in the Civil War. A simple country lad, he was apt to leave his duties and return home to visit his mother whenever the impulse took him.. Whether because of the sheer amiability of his character, or because he served under kindly captains, this habit of his seemed to have been regarded as more endearing than felonious. Though he was never promoted, neither was he severely punished. The jocular expression ‘to grant a Furlough’ for compassionate leave soon entered army parlance, and Furlough himself became one of the first pensioners at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea.
Gadget, Walter 1848-1918. Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he also lived and died, Walter Gadget joined the long-defunct department store of Lewison-Murphy at the age of sixteen. A hard-working man, of no particular talent, he rose slowly but steadily in the company until at the age of twentynine he was made buyer in charge of the department selling small ingenious domestic tools and devices. Since there was no collective name for such marchandise it became known as Gadget's. Gadget remained at his post till retirement in 1908.
Galosh, Joseph 1839-1909. The inventor of the rubber overshoe was born in Manchester to family of Hungarian descent which emigrated to the USA in 1849. Although it bears his name, he did not succeed in patenting his invention which was rapidly imitated by several manufacturers. Other ventures of his were unsuccessful and he died in poverty.
Gasket, Alfred 1842-1913. Born in Plattsville, Pennsylvania, Gasket was self taught mechanic. After service in the Union artillery in the Civil War, he drifted into the railroad business developing in his spare time the simple device which revolutionized engineering and made possible the automotive industry. A simple, modest man, he took out no patents and died in poverty and obscurity.
Gingham, Martha c.1580-1648. English baudy-house keeper. Her brothel in the London Borough of Southwark specialized in young country girls, whom Mistress Gingham dressed at her own expense in clean petticoats and neat frocks of a striped or chequered pattern supplied to her by friendly sailors. She married respectably in 1622 and moved to Richmond where she opened a chop-house of impecable reputation that later became a tea-shop.
Gusset, Florence 1179-1845. English seamstress born in Islington. Her skill with the needle soon brought her a wealthy and fashionable clientele, but she owes her place in history to her invention of a simple, comfortable and above all, decorous insertion of fabric joining the legs of ladies' drawers or pantaloons. In 1839 she became drawer-maker to the young Queen Victoria.
Haberdasher, Richard c.1500-1567. English merchant, born in Saffron Walden, Essex. Of obscure parentage, he came to London in 1520 as a pedlar of small dress accessories, ribbons, trimmings etc. Unusually successful in this line, he had first a regular stall at St. Bartholomew's Fair and then a permanent shop in St. Aldgate's in the City of London. Because of the oddity of his name, (probably of North German origin) he was interrogated as a possible spy by agents of Sir Francis Walsingham, but satisfied them of his innocence, though he never quite recovered his health.
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