Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
Sir Isaac Newton was born in a small village in Lincolnshire (Линкольншир)in the family of a poor farmer. Since childhood the boy was fond of science. He began his first experiments at school. After school he studied at Cambridge University, where, still a student, he formulated the binomial theorem (бином Ньютона). Newton devoted all his life to scientific experimentation. Among his discoveries was the law of decomposition of light (закон разложения света). He proved that the white light of the sun is made up of rays of light of all the colours of the rainbow.
Newton's greatest discovery was certainly the Law of Universal Gravitation (Закон всемирного тяготения). It is described in his book Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy («Математические начала натуральной философии»). The fundamental principle of the book is that "every particle of matter is attracted by every other particle of matter with a force inversely proportional to the square of their distances apart?". (каждая частица материи притягивается каждой другой частицей материи с силой, обратно пропорциональной квадрату расстояния между ними)Applying the principle of gravitation, Newton proved that the power which guides the moon around the earth and the planets around the sun is the force of gravity (сила притяжения). The fact that the earth is flattened at the poles because of rotation was also explained by the law of universal gravitation.
Newton was highly honoured by his countrymen. In 1703 he was elected President of the Royal Society (Королевское научное общество).
Much later, is the 20th century, another great scientist, Albert Einstein, who had a very high opinion of Newton's scientific achievements, wrote these words about him: "Nature to him was an open book, whose letters he could read without effort."
Sir Isaac Newton died in 1727 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
James Cook (1728-1779)
James Cook (Джеймс Кук)was born in Yorkshire (Йоркшир)on October 27, 1728. At the age of eighteen he took his first voyage as an apprentice on board a ship. In 1755 he enlisted in the Royal Navy (Королевский военно-морской флот)as an able seaman and was sent to the American coast. While charting (нанося на карту) the coast of Newfoundland (Ньюфаундленд), Cook mastered the skills of a mapmaker.
Cook's first round-the-world voyage took place in 1768-1771. On board the Endeavour («Усилие») he sailed round Cape Horn (мыс Горн) and explored the South Pacific (южная часть Тихого океана). He discovered several islands in the South Pacific, sailed around both islands of New Zealand (Новая Зеландия) and explored the eastern coast of Australia (Австралия).
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The second voyage (1772-1775) was undertaken in search of the Southern Continent. There were two ships: the Resolution («Решение»)commanded by James Cook, and the Adventure («Приключение»)commanded by Tobias Furneaux (Тобиас Ферно). The second voyage demonstrated the outstanding skills and experience of Cook as a seaman and a captain. Cook did more than any other man of his time to promote the health of his crew. In those times lots of sailors on long voyages died of scurvy (цинга)because of the lack of vitamins in food and bad hygiene. Cook made his men wash every day and air their beds; he tried to get as much fresh food as he could; he made his men eat sauerkraut. His second voyage lasted three years and eighteen days, they sailed into the stormiest seas on earth, through uncharted (не нанесённые на карту) southern seas filled with ice. Out of 112 men Cook lost four, among whom only one died of an illness.
The purpose of Cook's third voyage (1776-1779) was to look for the Northwest Passage (Северо-западный проход) (between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans) from the Pacific side. Cook set out from England on the Resolution, in company with Captain Clerke (Кларк) on the Discovery («Открытие»). They sailed around Africa and across the Indian Ocean into the Pacific, then turned north to find the passage. They sailed round the tip of the Alaska Peninsula (полуостров Аляска), through the Bering Strait (Берингов пролив) and into the Arctic Ocean (Северный Ледовитый океан), where they were stopped by thick ice. After spending there as much time as he could, Cook turned south to reload and repair the ships for the next year.
But he never returned to the Bering Strait. Captain Cook met his death-on the Hawaiian Islands (Гавайские острова) where he and his crew were attacked by the natives on February 14, 1779.
James Watt (1736-1819)
James Watt (Джеймс Уатт) was born in Scotland. He moved to Glasgow (Глазго) in 1754, where he learned the trade of instrument maker, and also studied steam technology.
A primitive steam-engine (паровая машина) already existed in Watt's time. It had been invented by Thomas Newcomen (Томас Ньюкомен) at the beginning of the 18th century. But the Newcomen engine was not universal: it could work only as a pump.
In 1763, while repairing a Newcomen engine, James Watt found that he could greatly improve the machine. His invention of the separate condenser (отдельный конденсатор and the introduction of crank movements (коленчатые механизмы) made steam engines more efficient. He also made some other improvements, and the new steam engine was manufactured at Birmingham in 1774. Several other inventions followed, including the double-acting engine (машина двойного действия), the centrifugal governor for automatic speed controll (центробежный регулятор для автоматического управления скоростью), and the pressure gauge (манометр).
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With his inventions James Watt provided some most important components of early industrial revolution.
James Watt introduced the term "horse power" (лошадиная сила). The power unit, the watt (единица мощности, ватт), is named in his honour.
Robert Burns (1759-1796)
The great Scottish poet Robert Burns (Роберт Бернc)was born in the family of a poor farmer. He was the eldest of seven children. He spent his youth working on his father's farm, but in spite of his poverty he was extremely well-read: his father employed a tutor for Robert and his younger brother Gilbert (Гилберт).At 15 Robert wrote his first verse, My Handsome Nell.
When his father died in 1784, Robert and his brother became partners in the farm. However, Robert was more interested in the romantic nature of poetry than in the hard work of ploughing. He was thinking of leaving his farm and going away to the warmer and sunnier climate of the West Indie (Вест-Индия). At the same time he continued writing poetry. But he did not go to the West Indies. His first book Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect («Стихи главным образом на шотландском диалекте») (a set of poems essentially based on a broken love affair) («Стихи главным образом на шотландском диалекте») was published and was highly praised by the critics. This made him stay in Scotland. He moved to Edinburgh. The artists and writers of Scotland's capital enthusiastically received the "Ploughman Poet". In a few weeks he was transformed from a local hero to a national celebrity.
Robert Burns travelled much about Scotland collecting popular songs. He discovered long forgotten songs and wrote his own verses. Robert Burns's poetry was inspired by his deep love for his motherland, for its history and folklore. His beautiful poem My Heart's In The Highlands, full of colourful descriptions, is a hymn to the beauty of Scotland's nature and to its glorious past.
Burns's poetry is closely connected with the national struggle of the Scottish people for their liberation from English oppression, the struggle that had been going on in Scotland for many centuries. His favourite heroes were William Wallace (Уильям Уоллес), the leader of the uprising against the English oppressors, and Robert Bruce (Роберт Брюс), who defeated the English army and later became king of Scotland.
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Robert Burns died at the age of 37 of heart disease caused by the hard work he had done when he was young. On the day of his burial more than 10,000 people came to pay their respect to the great bard. On the anniversary of his birth, January 25, Scots both at home and abroad celebrate Robert Burns. And not only Scots. Robert Burns's birthday is celebrated annually by the lovers of poetry in many countries of the world.
Horatio Nelson (1758-1805)
Horatio Nelson (Горацио Нельсон) entered the Royal Naval College (Королевский военно-морской колледж) in January 1771 at the age of twelve. He studied excellently and passed his lieutenant's examination more than a year under the official age in 1777.
Nelson's bravery as a naval commander was never doubted by his contemporaries. He always led his men by his own example. He first made his name at the battle of St. Vincent (Сент Винсент) in February 1797, during which he captured two enemy ships. During the wars against France in the 1790s he took part in many sea battles and lost his right arm and the sight in his right eye.
Besides his personal bravery, Nelson was a skilful commander enjoying great love and devotion of the men who served under him: they were ready to die for him.
Nelson took daring but calculated risks. He openly disobeyed his superiors when he thought it necessary. At the battle of Copenhagen (Копенгаген) in 1801 the
Commander-in-Chief (главнокомандующий) Admiral Sir Hyde Parker (Гайд Паркер), thought that the British were losing, and he hoisted the signal (поднял сигнал) on his flagship (на своём флагманском корабле): "Stop fighting". Nelson, on his ship, put the telescope to his blind eye and exclaimed: " really do not see the signal He continued fighting until the Danish (датчане) surrendered.
Nelson sailed from England for the last time in 1805, as Commander-in-Chief of the British fleet to meet France and Spain at Cape Trafalgar (мыс Трафальгар), the most south-westerly point of Spain.
At Nelson's instruction, the famous signal was hoisted on the flagship: "England expects that every man will do his duty".
As the battle raged around, Nelson was on deck. A musket ball (мушкетная пуля) fired from a French ship struck him in the left shoulder and pierced one of his lungs. The wound was mortal. He died a few hours after that. But before
he died he learned that he had won a great victory.
Admiral Nelson is Britain's national hero. A tall column Crowned with his statue stands in Trafalgar Square in London, in memory of this great man.
George Gordon Byron (1788-1824)
George Gordon Byron (Джордж Гордон Байрон), one of the greatest poets of England, was born in London in an old aristocratic but poor family. After the death of his father in 1791, his mother took him to Aberdeen (Эбердин) in Scotland, where the boy spent his childhood. At the age of ten he inherited the title of Lord and returned to England. He lived in the family castle which was situated near Nottingham (Ноттингем) close to the famous Sherwood Forest. He studied at Harrow (Хэрроу (знаменитая школа, многие из выпускников которой стали впоследствии выдающимися личностями), then at Cambridge University. When he was 21, he became a member of the House of Lords. In 1809 he traveled abroad and visited Portugal, Spain, Albania, Greece (Греция) and Turkey (Турция). He returned home in 1811.
His speeches in the House of Lords in defense of the Luddites (луддиты) and the oppressed Irish people caused universal irritation. When he and his wife parted after an unhappy marriage, his enemies seized this opportunity and began to persecute him. The poet was accused of immorality and had to leave his native country.
In May 1816 Byron went to Switzerland (Швейцария), where he made friends with his great contemporary, the poet Percy B. Shelley (Перси Б. Шелли). At the end of 1816 he went to Italy, where he became actively engaged in the movement for the liberation of Italy from Austrian rule (австрийское владычество). In the summer of 1823 he went to Greece to fight for the liberation of that country from Turkish oppression.
Byron's creative work is usually divided into four periods.
During the London period (1812-1816) he wrote the first two cantos of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage («Паломничество Чайлд-Гарольда»), his famous lyrics Hebrew Melodies («Еврейские мелодии»), and Oriental (восточные) poems. In the Swiss (швейцарский) period (1816 May - October) Byron wrote the third canto of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, The Prisoner of Chillon («Шильонский узник»), and the philosophic drama Manfred (Манфред»).
During the Italian period (1816-1823), which is considered to be the most important and mature one, he wrote the last canto of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, and the novel in verse Don Juan («Дон Жуан»), in which he gave a great satirical panorama of the European social life of his time.
During the short months of the Greek period (1823-1824) Byron wrote little: just some lyrical poems, one of which is On this Day I Complete my Thirty-sixth Year5. The poet's thirty-sixth year was to be his last: he fell seriously ill and died on April 19, 1824. Deeply mourned all over Greece, he became a symbol of liberation struggle and a Greek national hero.
In the Swiss1 period (1816 May - October) Byron wrote the third canto of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, The Prisoner of Chillon («Шильонский узник»), and the philosophic drama Manfred.
During (1816-1823), which is considered to be the most important and mature one, he wrote the last canto of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, and the novel in verse Don Juan («Дон Жуан»),in which he gave a great satirical panorama of the European social life of his time.
During the short months of the Greek period (1823-1824) Byron wrote little: just some lyrical poems, one of which is On this Day I Complete my Thirty-sixth Year («В этот день я завершаю свой тридцать шестой год»). The poet's thirty-sixth year was to be his last: he fell seriously ill and died on April 19, 1824. Deeply mourned all over Greece, he becamea symbol of liberation struggle and a Greek national hero.
Walter Scott (1771-1832)
Sir Walter Scott (Вальтер Скотт), a Scottish writer a born story teller and master of.dialogue, one of the greatest historical novelists, was born in Edinburgh. His father was a lawyer and his mother'— the daughter о a professor of medicine.
In his childhood he heard from his grandparent: many stories and legends of the past. The boy had a great interest for these stories. He also learned many songs and legends of the Highlands. Some of his an cestors had fought on the side of Prince Charles Ed ward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) when he was trying to seize the throne. This gave the young boy that life-long love for the Highlanders and their country which is evident in much of his writing. Scott himself said, "I had a very strong prejudice in favour of the Stuart family, which I had originally got from the songs and tales of the Highlanders".
In 1778, at the age of seven, the boy went to the famous Royal High School of Edinburgh (Королевская средняя школа Эдинбурга), where he became very good at Latin. In 1783, when he was twelve, he entered Edinburgh University, where he remained for two years. During this time he learned Italian, Spanish and French. Later, in 1789-1792, he studied arts and law. Scott made himself famous as a poet and — to a much greater extent (в гораздо большей степени) — as the author of numerous historical novels.
Scott's work shows the influence of the 18th century Enlightenment. He believed that every human was basically decent, regardless of class, religion, politics or ancestry. Tolerance is a major theme in his historical works. His novels express the belief of the author in the need for social progress that does not reject the traditions of the past. He was the first novelist to portray peasant characters sympathetically and realistically, and was equally just to merchants, soldiers, and even kings.) Scott often wrote about the conflicts between different cultures. Ivanhoe («Айвенго») (1791) deals with the struggle between Normans and Saxons, and The Talisman («Талисман») describes the conflict between Christians and Muslims (мусульмане) The novels devoted to Scottish history deal with clashes between the new commercial English culture and the older Scottish culture.
Scott's knowledge of history is remarkable, and his descriptions of historical events are very talented. His works are translated into many languages of the world.
Queen Victoria (1819-1901)
Queen Victoria is the longest-reigning monarch in English history. She came to the throne as a young woman in 1837 and reigned until her death in 1901.
Victoria married her German cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg (принц Альберт Сакс-Кобургский) but he died at the age of forty-two in 1861. She could not get over her sorrow at his death, and for a long time refused to be seen in public.
This was a dangerous thing to do. Newspapers began to criticize her, and some people even doubted the value of the monarchy. Many radicals believed that as a result of developing democracy it was time for monarchy to die.
The Queen's advisers persuaded her to take more interest in the life of the kingdom. She did so, and she soon became extraordinary popular. At the time when monarchy was losing its place as an integral part of the British governing system, Victoria managed to establish it as a respected and popular institution.
One important step back to popularity was the publication in 1868 of the Queen's book Our Life in the Highlands. The book was the Queen's own diary of her life with Prince Albert and her family in her castle in the Scottish Highlands. It delighted the public, in particular the growing middle class. They had never before known anything of the private life of the monarch, and they enjoyed reading about it. They were impressed by the fact that the Queen wrote about her servants as if they were members of her family.
The democratic British liked and respected the example of family life which the Queen had given them; they saw that the Queen and her family shared their own moral and religious values. By her book Victoria touched people's hearts. She succeeded in showing the newly industrialized nation that the monarchy was a connection with the glorious history of the country. Quite suddenly, the monarchy was out of danger. It had never been safer than now, when it had lost most of its political power. "We have come to believe that it is natural to have a virtuous sovereign," wrote one of the critics.Queen Victoria was also popular in Europe. She became known as the Grandmother of Europe after marrying members of her family into many royal houses of Europe. Among her grandchildren were Emperor WilliamII ( император Вильгельм II ) of Germany, and Alexandra (Александра), wife of Tsar Nicholas II (царь Николай II)of Russia.
Charles Dickens (1812-1870)
Charles Dickens (Чарльз Диккенс) was born in 1812, in the family of a clerk. He got his primary education at a small school in Chatham (Чэтем), and from his mother who was a well-educated woman.
In the 1821 the Dickens family moved to London. Mr. Dickens was heavily in debt and finally was taken to a debtors' prison (долговая тюрьма). Charles got a job at a blacking factory (фабрика, изготавливающая ваксу (крем аля чистки обуви) in the East End of London. This was the most unhappy time of all his life. Later he learned shorthand and did some reporting in the House of
Commons for newspapers (занимался репортёрской работой в палате общин). Being a reporter, he went all over the country, getting news, writing stories and meeting people.
In 1833 Dickens wrote a number of sketches, which were published under the title Sketches by Boz («Очерки Боза»). And in 1836 he suddenly became famous. It happened like this. A firm of publishers (издательская фирма) had a number of pictures by a humorous artist. They wanted to get some short texts to illustrate them, so that the pictures and articles could appear together in a magazine in fortnightly parts. Someone suggested giving the job to the young newspaper reporter Charles Dickens. Dickens liked the job and took it, and that is how the book Pickwick Papers («Записки Пиквикскогоклуба») came into being. The book is about Mr. Pickwick and his three friends, who decide to travel about England and send to the Pickwick club in London an account of their journeys and their observations of the people they meet on these journeys. The humour of the book consists in the absurd situations which Mr. Pickwick and his friends get into. The book was a great success with the reading public, and Dickens at once became the most popular novelist of his time.
The rest of the writer's life is a story of work without rest. He wrote novel after novel. At the same time he was editing newspapers and magazines, visiting America, Italy, Switzerland (Швейцария), France; giving readings from his books to huge crowds of people. In Dickens's novels we find a sharp criticism of social injustice. He had seen so much evil as a child, that he burned with the desire to fight it. So, in Oliver Twist1 he attacks the cruel workhouse treatment of children, in Nicholas Nickleby («Николас Никльби») the evils of badly-run schools (плохо организованные школы), in Little Dorrit («Крошка Доррит») the tragedy of the debtors' prison, in Bleak House («Холодный дом») the slowness of the law.
Critics often say that Dickens made his characters unreal, strange, non-true to life. However, thanks to the writer's great talent, these characters become alive in his pages. They were real enough for Dickens. And so we believe in his characters because he believed in them himself. He shows us a great moving picture of everyday life and everyday people.
The strain of the writer's continual work brought about his sudden death in 1870. He lies buried in Westminster Abbey, hut as he wished it, with nothing on the stone except his name "Charles Dickens."
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)
Florence Nightingale (Флоренс Найтингейл) was born in a very rich family. She got a very good education. She knew music, art, literature, Latin and Greek. She fluently spoke Italian, French and German. But ever since she was a child, she had nursed the villagers and the sick dogs and cats and horses round her home and wanted to be a professional nurse. She read books on nursing, reports of medical societies, histories of hospitals. She spent some time working as a nurse in hospitals in France and Germany. Finally she became superintendent of an Establishment for Gentlewomen during Illness (Заведе
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во время болезни (больница) in Harley Street, the fashionable street of London's most famous doctors. During the Crimean War (Крымская война) (1853-1856) disturbing reports began to come to England of the terrible conditions in the hospitals where wounded soldiers were being treated. The chief hospital, at Scutari (Скутари) in Turkey (Турция), was an old, half broken building with a lot of rats and mice. But even this horrible place was overcrowded. There were not enough beds, and men were lying on the floor. There were no clean shirts or bedclothes.
In that terrible situation Sidney Herbert (Сидней Герберт), the Minister for War (военный министр), wrote to Florence Nightingale, asking her to go to the Crimea with a group of nurses. It took Florence Nightingale a week to get ready, and with thirty-eight nurses she sailed for Scutari.
When she arrived at Scutari, she found the conditions even worse than the reports had stated. She found that everything was lacking (была нехватка всего): furniture, clothes, towels, soap, knives, plates. There were no bandages, very few medicines, and almost no food. Luckily, she had brought with her large quantities of food and medical supplies. Everywhere she met with inefficiency and confusion; the officials in charge (администрация) could not, or did not want to help her. She often worked for twenty-four hours on end (сутками напролёт), dressing wounds (забинтовывая раны), helping surgeons in their operations. She and her nurses got down on their knees and scrubbed the floors and walls. She organized the cooking of the men's food and the washing of their clothes.
In 1855 she was made inspector of all the hospitals in the Crimea. It meant long, uncomfortable journeys in snow, rain and cold. She ruined her health, but refused to go home until the last soldier went. Only when peace was declared in 1856, she returned home — an invalid for life (пожизненный инвалид).
But she lived fifty-four years longer. Though she could not leave her house, she worked as much as she had done at Scutari. She changed the whole system of hospital organization of the army. She wrote books on nursing. She started the Nightingale Training School for Nurses (Школа
Флоренс Найтингейл для медсестёр) at St. Thomas's Hospital (Больница святого Томаса), now one of the finest in the world.
Florence Nightingale lived a long and glorious life. She died in 1910 at the age of 90.
Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937)
Ernest Rutherford (Эрнест Резерфорд) was born in South Island, New Zealand, in the family of English settlers. He was sent to primary school when he was five. During his studies in the secondary school, he distinguished himself in physics. Later he went to Cambridge, where he continued scientific research. After graduation he occupied a research chair in physics (занимал кафедру исследовательской физики) at Montreal University (Монреальский университет) in Canada (Канада) and lectured at leading universities in the United States and Britain. Later on he worked at Manchester University (Манчестерский университет).
Rutherford's famous work is The Scattering of Alpha arid Beta Particles of Matter and the Structure of the Atom («Рассеивание альфа и бета
частиц материи и структура атома»).
The atoms had always been regarded as the smallest indivisible units of which matter was composed (из которых состоит материя). Rutherford's research showed that the atom is made up of smaller parts and that its structure is very complex. The structure of the atom resembles the solar system, with a central nucleus and a number of electrons revolving around it. Rutherford showed that the atom can be bombarded by neutrons so that the electrons can be thrown off and the nucleus itself can be broken, or "split." In the process of splitting the nucleus, matter is converted into energy (материя преобразуется в энергию).
The splitting of the atom has opened to man a new and enormous source of energy. At the same time, however, it has brought about a threat of a destructive nuclear war, during which humanity can kill itself and destroy the planet. That is why it is so important for the people of the world to concentrate their efforts on establishing good understanding and lasting peace on earth.
Agatha Christie (1890-1976)
In St. Mary's Churchyard (кладбище при церкви святой Марии), Cholsey, Berkshire (Чолси, Беркшир), forty-seven miles west of London, lies Lady Mal-lowan (леди Мэллоуэн) — Dame Agatha Christie (кавалерственная дама Агата Кристи). She was, and is, known to millions of people throughout the world as the Queen of Crime or, as she preferred, the Duchess of Death.
Agatha Christie was born in 1890 in Torquay (Торкей) in England. Her father was called Frederick Miller (Фредерик Миллер), so she was born as Agatha Miller. In 1914 she married Archie Christie (Арчи Кристи).
During the First World War Agatha worked at a hospital, and that experience was useful later on when she started writing detective stories. Her first book was published in 1920. It was The Mysterious Affair at Styles («Таинственная история в имении Стайлс»), and was met by the reading public with interest. But Agatha's really great popularity came in 1926, when she published her masterpiece, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd («Убийство Роджера Экройда»).
In the same year, 1926, Agatha surprised the public by suddenly disappearing for a few days after her husband wanted a divorce. She was soon found to be staying in a hotel under an assumed name под вымышленным именем). Her disappearance is still a mystery!After the divorce she married a British archaeologist, Max Mallowan (Макс Мэллоуэн). This marriage proved to be a happy one. Agatha wanted to stop using her former husband's name. But her publishers said that it would not be wise because the name of Agatha Christie had already become well known to the public. So she remained Agatha Christie to her readers for the rest of her life.
Agatha Christie wrote nearly seventy novels in her career, and more than a hundred short stories. Her most famous characters are Hercule Poirot (Эркюль Пуаро) and Miss Marple (мисс Марпл).Hercule Poirot first appeared in 1920. Poirot has become a legend all over the world: the huge moustache, the egg-shaped head, his high opinion of himself, and his great ability to solve complicated mysteries thanks to his knowledge of human psychology.Miss Marple is an English spinster and lives in the English village of St. Mary Mead (Сент Мэри Мид). She does not look like a detective at all, but always succeeds where the police have failed. Instead of using a magnifying glass looking for clues, she uses her instinct and knowledge of human nature. As Miss Marple herself once said, "Human Nature is the same everywhere".
In March 1962 a UNESCO (ЮНЕСКО) report stated that Agatha Christie was now the most widely read British author in the world, with Shakespeare (Шекспир) coming second.
Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013)
Margaret Thatcher (Маргарет Тэтчер) is the second daughter of a grocer and a dressmaker, who became the first woman in European history to be elected Prime Minister. Then she became the first British Prime Minister in the twentieth century who won three consecutive terms (три последовательных
срока). At the time of her resignation in 1990, she was the longest-serving Prime Minister of Britain since 1827. Some people consider her a true political revolutionary because she broadened the base of the Conservative Party, including the middle class along with the wealthy aristocracy.
Margaret Thatcher was born on October 13, 1925, in Lincolnshire (Линкольншир), England. She was a clever child. Early in life she decided to become a member of Parliament. She was educated at Someruille College (Сомервильский колледж) and at Oxford University. She earned a master of arts degree (степень магистра гуманитарных наук) from Oxford in 1950 and worked for a short time as a research chemist. In 1950 she married Denis Thatcher (Денис Тэтчер), a director of a paint firm. After her marriage she specialized in tax law (налоговое законодательство).
In the 1959 elections Thatcher won a seat in Parliament. Because of her debating skills (полемическое искусство) she soon became prominent among other politicians. In 1974 she became the leader of the Conservative Party.
When the Conservatives won a decisive victory in the 1979 general elections, Thatcher became Prime Minister. As Prime Minister she limited government control, giving individuals greater independence from the state and ending government interference in the economy. Thatcher became known as the Iron Lady because of her strict control over her cabinet and the country's economic policies.
During her third term Thatcher continued the "Thatcher revolution" by returning education, health care and housing to private control.
Margaret Thatcher resigned from office in 1990. Margaret Thatcher is certainly an outstanding figure in Britain's political life. According to political observers, she brought long-needed changes to British government and society.