Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, ( /ˈpiːps/; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man. Although Pepys had no maritime experience, he rose by patronage, hard work and his talent for administration, to be the Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under both King Charles II and subsequently King James II.
His influence and reforms at the Admiralty were important in the early professionalisation of the Royal Navy.
The detailed private diary Pepys kept from 1660 until 1669 was first published in the 19th century, and is one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period. It provides a combination of personal revelation and eyewitness accounts of great events, such as the Great Plague of London, the Second Dutch War and the Great Fire of London.
Read more about Samuel Pepys: Early Life, The Diary, After The Diary, Pepys Library, Publication History of The Diary, Biographical Studies
Famous quotes containing the words samuel and/or pepys:
“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”
—Bible: New Testament Jesus, in Matthew, 5:5.
The third of the Beatitudes, from the Sermon on the Mount. The words recall those in Proverbs 37:11, “But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” In his Notebooks, the author Samuel Butler wrote, “I really do not see much use in exalting the humble and meek; they do not remain humble and meek long when they are exalted.” (Samuel Butler’s Notebooks, p. 220, 1951)
“I went out to Charing Cross to see Major-General Harrison hanged, drawn and quartered—which was done there—he looking as cheerful as any man could do in that condition.”
—Samuel Pepys (1633–1703)