Biographies

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Sackville-West, Victoria Mary ('Vita'). Poet, novelist and gardener. Married Harold Nicolson 1913.

Sadleir, Michael, né Sadler (1888–1957). Author, publisher, and book collector, bibliographer of Trollope, and author of Fanny by Gaslight.

Sagan, Françoise: pen name of Françoise Quoirez (1935–2004). French playwright, novelist and screenwriter. Her first novel Bonjour Tristesse was published in 1954 while she was still in her teens. Her lifestyle was considered even more sensational than her novels.

Sainte-Beuve, Charles Augustin (1804–1869). French literary critic. According to the novelist Jules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly, Sainte-Beuve was 'a clever man with the temper of a turkey'.

Saintsbury, George Edward Bateman (1845–1933). Scholar and oenophile. Professor of Rhetoric and English Literature, Edinburgh University, 1895–1915; Publications include Essays in English Literature, 1890; books on Scott and Dickens; twenty one chapters of the Cambridge History of English Literature; and Notes on a Cellar Book, 1920.

Saltmarsh, John (1908–1974). Historian. Fellow of King's Cambridge, 1931–1974; Vice-provost, 1955–1961.

Samson (1135–1211). Abbot of Bury St Edmunds. Carlyle in Past and Present made Abbot Samson familiar to a wider public, but his portrait of Samson is at least as literary as historical.

Samuel, Herbert Louis (1870–1963). Viscount Samuel. Liberal politician. Party leader, 1931–1935.

Sancroft, William (1617–93) Anglican priest. As Dean of St. Paul's, he supervised Wren's rebuilding. As Archbishop of Canterbury (1678–1690) he crowned James II but resisted James's attempts to change the religious toleration laws, and later refused to take the oath of allegiance to William and Mary.

Sargent, John Singer (1856–1925). Italian-born painter of American parentage. One of the most famous portrait painters of his time.

Sargent, Sir (Harold) Malcolm Watts (1895–1967). Conductor, noted particularly in choral works. Famously debonair and a notorious ladies' man.

Sartre, Jean-Paul Charles Aymard (1905–1980). French philosopher and author.

Sassoon, George Thornycroft (1936–2006). Scientist, linguist and author. Son of Siegfried Sassoon and Hester Sassoon, née Gatty.

Sassoon, Siegfried (1886–1967). War poet, author. The article about him in the DNB was written by RH-D.

Savage, John (1929–2008). Cricketer, Lancashire and Leicestershire.

Savile, Sir Henry (1549–1622). Mathematician and classical scholar. Warden of Merton College, Oxford and Provost of Eton—both posts secured irregularly through royal patronage and pressure rather than according to the colleges' statutes.

Sayers, Dorothy Leigh (1893–1957). Author of the Peter Wimsey detective stories.

Schreiner, Olive (1855–1920). South African author, pacifist and political activist.

Schreyvogel, Joseph (1768 –1832) Austrian writer.

Scotland, Kenneth J F (1936–). Scottish Rugby player. He scored 12 tries in 22 appearances on the British Lions' 1959 tour. Captain of the Cambridge team in the 1960 University match.

Scott, Charles Prestwich (1846–1932). Editor (1872–1929) and proprietor (from 1905) of The Manchester Guardian.

Scott, Clement (1841–1904). Author and critic. Theatre critic of The Daily Telegraph, 1878–1897. Not an admirer of innovative playwrights, and especially offended by Ibsen. His books include From 'The Bells' to 'King Arthur' (1896), The Wheel of Life (1898); and a theatrical autobiography, The Drama of Yesterday and Today (1899).

Scott, Sir Walter (1771–1832). Novelist, poet and critic.

Scott-James, Anne Eleanor (1913–2009). Journalist, author and broadcaster. One of Britain's first women career journalists, editors and columnists, and later author of a series of books about gardens, including Sissinghurst and Glyndebourne. Married the cartoonist Osbert Lancaster in 1967.

Scotton, William Henry (1856–1893). Cricketer. Played for Nottinghamshire and England. Outstanding left hand batsman.

Searle, Ronald (1920–2011). Cartoonist and illustrator. Creator of the St Trinian's series of cartoons depicting feral schoolgirls.

Secker, Martin né Percy Martin Secker Klingender (1882–1978). Publisher. RH-D credited Secker with the improved design of general books in the early part of the twentieth century.

Sedgwick, Adam (1785–1873). Professor of Geology at Cambridge from 1818 to 1873.

Seely, John Edward Bernard ('Jack') (1868–1947). 1st Baron Mottistone. Soldier and Liberal politician, Secretary of State for War 1912–1914. Active service 1914–1918 in WWI.

Selfridge, Harry Gordon (1858–1947). American-born founder of Selfridge's department store in London.

Selincourt, Martin de – see de Selincourt.

Selous, Frederick Courteney (1851–1917). Explorer, hunter, and conservationist famous for his exploits in Southern Africa. Rider Haggard based Allan Quatermain on him.

Shakespeare, William (1564–1616). Needs no introduction.

Sharp, R A W. Rugby player; member of Oxford team in 1960 University match. (Blundell's and Balliol)

Shaw, Charlotte, née Payne-Townshend (1859–1943). Fellow Fabian who married Bernard Shaw in 1898.

Shaw, George Bernard (1856–1950). Irish dramatist, journalist and (as 'Corno di Bassetto') music critic. Author of more than sixty plays. The first, and until 2009 the only, person to receive both a Nobel Prize and an Oscar. A strong advocate of socialism and women's rights, a vegetarian and a teetotaller.

Shaw, James Coupe (1836–1888). Cricketer. Fast bowler for Nottinghamshire, 1865–1875

Shawcross, Hartley William (1902–2003). Baron Shawcross. Lawyer and Labour politician. Chief British prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Crimes tribunal. Married Joan Winifred Mather, 1944.

Shawe-Taylor, Desmond Christopher (1907–1995). Music critic of The Sunday Times, 1958–1983. Prominent contributor to The Gramophone magazine on 'The Gramophone and the Voice'. Co-author of The Record Guide (1951 with subsequent updates).

Shaw-Stewart, Patrick (1888–1917). Outstanding scholar at Eton and Balliol. Elected a fellow of All Souls, 1910. Killed in action in World War I.

Shearer, Moira (1926–2006). Scottish ballerina and, actress, famous for her role in the Michael Powell film The Red Shoes.

Sheen, Gillian (1928–). Olympic fencer. The UK's only Olympic gold medallist in the sport. Retired from fencing in 1963 and set up home with her family and a successful dental practice in New York.

Shelley, Percy Bysshe (1792–1822). Poet.

Shenstone, William (1714–1763). Writer. His 'The Judgement of Hercules' (1741), was addressed to George Lyttelton, whom he supported at the Worcester election in 1740.

Sheppard, David Stuart (1929–2005). Baron Sheppard of Liverpool. Anglican priest and Test cricketer. Played for England 1950–1963, with some breaks necessitated by pastoral duties. Bishop of Liverpool, 1975–1997, where he forged an important alliance with the R C Archbishop, Derek Worlock.

Sheppard, Sir John Tressider (1881–1968). Classical scholar. Provost of King's College, Cambridge, 1933–1954.

Sheppard, Hugh Richard Lawrie ('Dick') (1880–1937). Anglican priest. Dean of Canterbury, 1929–1931. Pacifist and social reformer.

Sherburn, George (1884–1962). American academic; taught English at Harvard and was known for his scholarship on Alexander Pope.

Sheridan, Clare Consuelo, née Frewen (1885–1970). British sculptress and writer, known for creating busts of famous sitters and for her travel writing.

Shirer, William Lawrence (1904–1993). American journalist and historian. He became known for his broadcasts from Berlin during the first year of WWII. His account of those years in his Berlin Diary was published in 1941 and his later The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (1960) has not been out of print since its publication.

Shorter, Clement King (1857–1926). Journalist and voracious literary collector. Editor of Illustrated London News, 1891–1900.

Shrewsbury, Arthur (1856–1903). Cricketer, widely considered to rank alongside W G Grace as the best batsman of the 1880s. Played county cricket for Nottinghamshire, and batted in 23 Test matches for England, seven as captain. He retired from cricket in 1902, and shot himself the next year, suffering from depression.

Shuckburgh, Nancy Mildred Gladys, née Brett (1918–1999), daughter of the third Viscount Esher and his American-born wife, Antoinette. Wife of Evelyn Shuckburgh.

Shuckburgh, Sir (Charles Arthur) Evelyn (1909–1994). Translator and diplomat. His daughter was Catherine Shuckburgh.

Sibelius, Jean Julius Christian (1865–1957). Finnish composer.

Siddons, Sarah, née Kemble (1755–1831). Actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century.

Sidney, Sir Philip (1554–1586). Poet, courtier and soldier. Author of Astrophil and Stella and The Defence of Poesie. Died in battle in a conspicuously chivalrous manner.

Silk, Dennis Raoul Whitehall (1931–2019). Schoolmaster, cricketer, and friend and chronicler of Siegfried Sassoon. Warden (headmaster) of Radley College 1968–1991. Chairman of the Test and County Cricket Board 1994–1996.

Silverman, Sydney (1895–1968). Labour MP, pacifist, opponent of capital punishment.

Simmons, Jack (1913–2001). Historian of wide-ranging interests, particularly transport, the railways of Oxford, the reclamation of Exmoor, industrial archaeology, English parish churches, St Pancras station, the Lakeland poets and Darkest Africa. Professor of History, Leicester University, 1946–73.

Simon (Winifred) Ruth (1905–1967). Partner and later third wife of RH-D. Daughter of Christopher Henry Ware, of Herefordshire. Married (1) 1926, Oliver Simon, with whom she had one daughter and one son.

Simon, Oliver Joseph (1895–1956). Printer. Associated with the Curwen Press, 1921–1956; chairman from 1949. Co-founder with Hubert Foss of the Double Crown Club for typographers, designers, artists, authors, and publishers. Among the artists who designed for the Curwen Press were Edward Ardizzone, Reynolds Stone, Rex Whistler, John Piper, and Graham Sutherland.

Singleton, Frank (1909–1978). Journalist and author.

Sitwell, Dame Edith (1887–1964). Poet.

Sitwell, Sir George Reresby (1860–1943). Antiquary; father of Edith, Osbert, and Sacheverell.

Sitwell, Sir (Francis) Osbert Sacheverell, 1892–1969. Writer; brother of Edith and Sacheverell Sitwell.

Sitwell, Sir Sacheverell (1897–1988). Writer; younger brother of Osbert, whom he succeeded in the baronetcy.

Skittles – see Walters, Catherine.

Slater, Edward Vere ('Sam') (d. 1933). Eton master for more than thirty years; died with three colleagues when climbing in the Swiss Alps.

Smart, Christopher (1722–1771) Poet. His works include A Song to David and Jubilate Agno, both of which were at least partly written during his confinement in an insane asylum suffering from religious mania.

Smith, F E – see Birkenhead.

Smith, George Joseph (1872–1915). Murderer. Married three women between 1910 and 1914 and killed them (drowning them in the bath) for their estates or insurance.

Smith, James Frederick Arthur (1906–?). Grandson of W H Smith and director of the family firm.

Smith, Sydney (1771–1845). Anglican priest, essayist and wit.

Smithers, Sir Peter Henry Berry Otway (1913–2006). Conservative MP 1950–1964. General Secretary of the Council of Europe 1964–1970. Became a Swiss citizen in the 1970s.

Smyth, Dame Ethel Mary (1858–1944). Composer and suffragette.

Snow, Charles Percy (1905–1980). Baron Snow. Physicist, novelist and public servant. Author of the semi-autobiographical series of novels Strangers and Brothers, and for The Two Cultures, a 1959 lecture on the gulf between practitioners of the humanities and science.

Sobers, Sir Garfield St Auburn ('Garry') (1936–). Cricketer. Outstanding all-rounder. Played for Barbados, Nottinghamshire and South Australia, and for West Indies, 1954–74. Selected by Wisden as one of its five greatest cricketers of the century in 2000.

Somervell, Donald Bradley (1889–1960). Baron Somervell of Harrow. Politician and lawyer. Attorney General, 1936–1945. Home Secretary 1945. Lord Justice of Appeal, 1946–54.

Somerville, Sir Annesley Ashworth (1858–1942). Eton master, 1885–1922. Conservative MP for Windsor, 1922–1942.

Southey, Robert (1774–1843) Poet, historian and biographer. Of the Romantic school of poetry, one of the Lake Poets. Poet Laureate, 1813–1843.

Spain, Nancy (1917–1964). Broadcaster, journalist and novelist.

Spanoghe, Pamela, née Gillilan. Married, 1938, Peter Alin Spanoghe, Eton master from 1934–1855.

Spark, Dame Muriel, née Camberg (1918–2006). Scottish novelist. Her novels include Memento Mori (1959), The Ballad of Peckham Rye (1960), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961), The Girls of Slender Means (1963), The Abbess of Crewe (1974), A Far Cry From Kensington (1988) and The Finishing School (2004).

Sparrow, John Hanbury Angus (1906–1992). Lawyer and scholar. Warden of All Souls, Oxford, 1952–1977. Publications include Renaissance Latin Verse, an anthology, 1979; Grave Epigrams and Other Verses, 1981; Words on the Air, 1981; Geoffrey Madan's Notebooks, 1981 (ed. with John Gere); Leaves from a Victorian Diary, 1985.

Speaight, Robert (1904–1976). Actor and writer. His biography of Belloc was published in 1957.

Spears, Sir Edward Louis (1886–1974). Soldier and politician. MP for Loughborough, 1922–1924 and Carlisle, 1931–1945.

Spedding, James (1808–1881). Authority on and editor of the works of Francis Bacon. He dismissed the idea that Bacon wrote the works of Shakespeare.

Spence, Sir Basil Urwin (1907–1976). Indian-born architect of Scottish descent. His works included Coventry Cathedral, Hyde Park cavalry barracks, the British embassy in Rome, and the executive wing of the New Zealand parliament in Wellington.

Spencer, (Charles) Terence (1931–2020) Cricketer, Leicestershire, 1952–1974.

Spencer, Herbert (1820–1903). Philosopher, political and sociological theorist. Radical in youth but increasingly conservative in his later years.

Spender, Sir Stephen Harold (1909–1995). Poet, novelist and essayist.

Spenser, Edmund (c. 1552–1599) Poet Laureate to Elizabeth I best known for The Faerie Queene, an epic poem celebrating Elizabeth through fantastical allegory.

Sprat, Thomas (1635–1713). Anglican priest, author and poet. Bishop of Rochester and Dean of Westminster. His poem on the death of Oliver Cromwell was published in Dryden's Miscellany (1659). Wrote History of the Royal Society (1667), of which he was one of the first members.

Spring, (Robert) Howard (1889–1965). Novelist and journalist.

Stanley, Sir Henry Morton, né John Rowlands (1841–1904). Welsh journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa and his search for David Livingstone.

Stanley, Margaret ('Molly') Cavendish, née Grosvenor (1883–1959). Cousin of GWL. Married, 1918, Col the Hon Algernon Stanley.

Stark, Dame Freya Madeline (1893–1993). Writer and traveller. Her first volume of autobiography, The Traveller's Prelude was published in 1950, followed by Beyond Euphrates (1951), The Coast of Incense(1953), and Dust in the Lion's Paw (1961). Her last book, Rivers in Time, was published in 1982.

Statham, (John) Brian (1930–2000). Cricketer. Fast bowler for Lancashire (1950–1968) and England (1951–1965).

Steegmuller, Francis (1906–1994). American biographer, translator and fiction writer, best known as a Flaubert scholar.

Steinbeck, John Ernst (1902–1968). American writer. Winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature. Works include Of Mice and Men (1937), The Grapes of Wrath (1939), Cannery Row (1945), The Wayward Bus (1947) and East of Eden (1952).

Stekel, Wilhelm (1868–1940). Austrian physician and psychologist. Early follower of Sigmund Freud.

Stephen, Adrian Leslie (1883–1948). Psychoanalyst. Author of The Dreadnought Hoax. Son of Sir Leslie Stephen.

Stephen, Sir Leslie (1832–1904). Author, literary critic, and first editor of the Dictionary of National Biography. His four children by his second marriage were Vanessa (1879–1961) (Vanessa Bell); Julian Thoby (1880–1906); (Adeline) Virginia (1882–1941) (Virginia Woolf); and Adrian Leslie (1883–1948).

Stephenson, Sir Guy (1865–1930). Lawyer. Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions from 1908. Married Gwendolen Talbot (daughter of the Rt Hon John Gilbert Talbot and the Hon Meriel Sarah Lyttelton) on 6 December 1905.

Sterry, Sir Wasey (1866–1955). Lawyer and diplomat. Published The Eton College Register, 1441–1698 in 1943.

Stevenson, Adlai Ewing (1900–1965). American politician of rare liberal and intellectual credentials. Governor of Illinois, 1949–53; Democratic candidate for president, 1952 and 1956; ambassador to the United Nations, 1961–1965.

Stevenson, Fanny, wife of Robert Louis Stevenson. Henry James's letter to her on RLS's death, mentioned by RH-D (29 January 1956) was included in Selected Letters of Henry James, published by Hart-Davis in 1956.

Stewart Cox, Mary Pamela, née Lyttelton (1929–). Daughter of GWL. Married Arthur George Ernest Stewart Cox, 1953.

Stewart, John Innes Mackintosh (1906–1994). Academic and crime novelist. Reader in English Literature, Oxford University, 1969–73; Student of Christ Church, Oxford, 1949–73. Publications include: Montaigne's Essays: John Florio's Translation, 1931; Character and Motive in Shakespeare, 1949; Thomas Hardy, 1971. Under the pen-name Michael Innes, wrote forty-nine detective books between Death at the President's Lodging, 1936 and Appleby and the Ospreys, 1986.

Stilwell, Joseph Warren ('Vinegar Joe') (1883–1946). American soldier. Deputy to Lord Mountbatten in S E Asia in WWII.

Stockmar, Christian Friedrich (1787–1863). Baron Stockmar. Physician and adviser of Queen Victoria.

Stocks, Mary, née Brinton (1891–1975). Baroness Stocks. Suffragette, Labour activist. A regular panellist on BBC radio's Any Questions? Described by The Times as 'a vigorous reforming spirit.'

Stoddart, Andrew Ernest (1863–1915). Cricketer and rugby player. Between 1888 and 1898 he played in sixteen cricket Test matches, eight as captain. Shot himself.

Stokes, Richard Rapier (1897–1957). Labour politician. MP for Ipswich 1938–1957. Lord Privy Seal in Attlee's government, 1951.

Stone, Alan Reynolds (1900–1979). Engraver, designer, typographer, and painter. Noted designer of typefaces and book jackets. He designed the fox motif for RH-D Ltd and redesigned the famous clock logo of The Times, and carved the memorial to Churchill in Westminster Abbey, and the gravestone of Benjamin Britten.

Stone, Christopher Reynolds (1882–1965). Author and broadcaster. Joint Founder of The Gramophone.

Stone, Lawrence (1919–1999) Historian, known for his work on the Civil War. Professor at the Universities of Oxford 1947–1963, and Princeton 1963–1990.

Storey, Graham (1920–2005). Successively Fellow, Senior Tutor, Vice-master and Honorary Fellow of Trinity Hall, Oxford. Edited the Pilgrim Edition of The Letters of Charles Dickens, in 12 volumes, which appeared between, 1965 and 2002.

Storrs, Sir Ronald Henry Amherst (1881–1955). Colonial governor and Middle Eastern specialist. Civil Governor of Jerusalem and Judaea, 1920–1926; Governor of Cyprus, 1926–1932; Governor of Northern Rhodesia, 1932–1934. Publications include, Orientations, 1937; A Quarterly Record of the War, The First and Second Quarters, 1940; Drawing the RAF, 1942.

Story, Willam Wetmore (1819–1895). American sculptor and writer.

Strachey, James Beaumont (1887–1967). Psychoanalyst, and, together with his wife Alix, the translator of all 24 volumes of the complete works of Sigmund Freud into English. Literary executor to his brother Lytton Strachey.

Strachey, (Evelyn) John St Loe (1901–1963). Labour politician. Member of Attlee's cabinet, 1946–1951.

Strachey, (Giles) Lytton (1880–1932). Essayist and biographer. Co-founder of the Bloomsbury Group.

Strafford, Cora, née Smith, Countess of Strafford (d. 1932). Married firstly, her fellow-American Samuel Colgate; secondly (1898) Henry William John Byng, 4th Earl of Strafford, who died the following year; and thirdly (1903) Martyn Thomas Kennard. There is a 1908 portrait of her by John Singer Sargent.

Streatfeild, (Mary) Noel Streatfeild (1895–1986). Author of children's books including Ballet Shoes (1936).

Streicher, Julius (1885–1946). Nazi propagandist.

Strong, Leonard Alfred George (1896–1958) novelist, journalist, poet and director of the publishing house Methuen. Married, 1926, Dorothea Sylvia Tryce (b. 1904/5), younger daughter of Hubert Brinton.

Strong, Thomas Banks (1861–1944). Anglican priest. Dean of Christ Church, 1901–20; Bishop of Ripon, 1920–1925; Bishop of Oxford, 1925–1937.

Sullivan, Sir Arthur Seymour (1842–1900). Composer, best known for his comic operas written in collaboration with W S Gilbert, but also a well-known church organist and composer of hymn tunes.

Summers, Augustus Montague (1880–1948). Author, pederast and Anglican deacon. Known primarily for his 1928 English translation of the medieval witch hunter's manual, the Malleus Maleficarum.

Summerskill, Edith Clara (1901–1980). Baroness Summerskill. Physician, feminist, Labour politician, broadcaster and writer. Married 1925 Dr Jeffrey Samuel.

Surrey, Henry Howard, (c. 1517–1547) Earl of.

Sutherland, Graham Vivian (1903–1980). Painter and printmaker. As well the notorious Churchill portrait he is remembered for the huge high altar tapestry of Christ the King in Coventry Cathedral.

Sutherland, Sir James (Runcieman) (1900–1996). Professor of Modern English Literature, University College, London, 1951–1967.

Swetman, Roy (1933–). Cricketer. Wicket– keeper for Gloucestershire, Nottinghamshire and Surrey between 1953 and 1974, and England (1959–1960).

Swift, Jonathan (1667–1745). Irish clergyman, satirist and essayist, author of Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal, A Journal to Stella, The Drapier's Letters, The Battle of the Books, and A Tale of a Tub.

Swinburne, Algernon Charles (1837–1909). Poet and literary reviewer. Rescued from self-neglect and alcoholism in his middle age by Theodore Watts-Dunton.

Swinnerton, Frank (1884–1982). Author and publisher's reader. Helped J M Dent launch Everyman's library. For Chatto and Windus he discovered Daisy Ashford's The Young Visiters. In the post-war era he was regarded as a link with the generation of writers including Arnold Bennett, H G Wells, John Galsworthy, Hugh Walpole and James Barrie.

Symons, Julian (1912–1994). Author—crime novelist, biographer, social historian, literary historian, military historian, poet and editor. Chairman of the Crime Writers' Association in 1958, and chairman of the Society of Authors in 1969. President of the Detection Club, in succession to Agatha Christie in 1972. President of the Conan Doyle Society, 1989.

Synge, John Millington (1871–1909). Irish playwright. His best-known work was The Playboy of the Western World. His short play Riders to the Sea was the basis of an opera by Ralph Vaughan Williams.