List of minor off screen characters/Other historical figures

Archbishop of Canterbury

Randall Thomas Davidson 1st Baron Davidson of Lambeth GCVO PC (7 April 1848 – 25 May 1930) was an Anglican bishop of Scottish origin who served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1903 to 1928.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. From the time of Augustine in the 6th until the 16th century, the Archbishops of Canterbury were in full communion with the See of Rome and they usually received the pallium. During the English Reformation the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church.

Randall Davidson was succeeded in 1928 by William Cosmo Gordon Lang.

Appearances

• Episode 6.08 (Mentioned only)

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Archimedes

Archimedes of Syracuse (c. 287 BC – c. 212 BC) was an Ancient Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity.

Generally considered the greatest mathematician of antiquity and one of the greatest of all time, Archimedes anticipated modern calculus and analysis by applying concepts of infinitesimals and the method of exhaustion to derive and rigorously prove a range of geometrical theorems, including the area of a circle, the surface area and volume of a sphere, and the area under a parabola.

Appearances

• Episode 5.01 (Mentioned only)

Mrs. Hughes: "She won't always be a cook."

Mr. Carson: "Possibly not, but she won't be Archimedes either."

— Episode 5.01

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Duke of Argyll

The Duke of Argyll is a title, created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The Earls, Marquesses, and Dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerful, if not the most powerful, noble families in Scotland.

Sir Michael Reresby states that the Duke of Argyll is among the distinguished guests he has entertained at his estate. He could be referring to either the 2nd Duke, John George Edward Henry Douglas Sutherland Campbell (1845–1914), who married Princess Louisa, daughter of Queen Victoria, or the 3rd Duke, Niall Diarmid Campbell (1872–1949).

Appearances

• Episode 6.03 (Mentioned only)

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Baden-Powell

Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell (22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941), also known as B-P or Lord Baden-Powell, was a lieutenant-general in the British Army, writer, founder of the Scout Movement and first Chief Scout of The Boy Scouts Association.

Appearances

• Episode 3.01 (Mentioned only)

Isobel: "Are you all set for the wedding?"

Mary: "Of course he is. Carson's motto is "Be prepared.""

Violet: "I'm afraid Baden-Powell has stolen it. "

— Episode 3.01

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Sir Charles Barry

Sir Charles Barry FRS RA (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was an English architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also responsible for numerous other buildings and gardens. He is known for his major contribution to the use of Italianate architecture in Britain, especially the use of the Palazzo as basis for the design of country houses, city mansions and public buildings. He also developed the Italian Renaissance garden style for the many gardens he designed around country houses.

His most famous work is no doubt the clock tower for Big Ben at the Palace of Westminster. Other notable works include the country estates of Highclere Castle and Cliveden.

Appearances

• Episode 6.06 (Mentioned only)

Guest: "What about the architect?"

Edith: "Sir Charles Barry, yes. He built the Houses of Parliament, or at least he finished them. He built lots of lovely big buildings."

— Episode 6.06

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Adrienne Bolland

Adrienne Bolland, born Boland, (25 November 1895 – 18 March 1975) was a French test pilot and the first woman to fly over the Andes between Chile and Argentina. She was later described as "France's most accomplished female aviator", setting a woman's record for loops done in an hour. The French government eventually recognized her with the Legion of Honor and other awards. Since her death, she has been commemorated with a postage stamp.

Appearances

• Episode 6.03 (Mentioned only)

Violet: "Is it appropriate for a woman to be alone in a flat?"

Edith: "Granny, Adrienne Bolland flew alone over the Andes mountains four years ago. And anyway, I am not a young woman, I am staring middle age in the face."

— Episode 6.03

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Horace de Vere Cole

William Horace de Vere Cole (5 May 1881 – 25 February 1936) was an eccentric prankster and poet born in Ireland, which was then part of the United Kingdom. His most famous trick was the Dreadnought Hoax on 7 February 1910 when he fooled the captain of the Royal Navy warship HMS Dreadnought into taking Cole and a group of his friends, including Virginia Woolf, for an Abyssinian delegation.

His sister Anne married Neville Chamberlain.

Appearances

Episode 6.05 (Mentioned only)

Tom Branson: "I'd love to know how she did it."

Neville Chamberlain: "My wife has a brother, Horace de Vere Cole. You may have heard of him."

Tom Branson: "The prankster? Didn't he board a British warship pretending to be the leader of a Turkish delegation?"

— Episode 6.05

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Duchess of Connaught

Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia (Louise Margaret Alexandra Victoria Agnes; later Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn; 25 July 1860 – 14 March 1917) was a German princess, and later a member of the British Royal Family, the wife of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn. She also served as the Viceregal Consort of Canada, when her husband served as the Governor General of Canada from 1911 to 1916. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queens Margrethe II of Denmark and Anne-Marie of Greece are among her great-grandchildren.

The wife of Sir Michael Reresby was a Lady-in-waiting to the Duchess.

Appearances

Episode 6.03 (Mentioned only)

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Emily Davison

Emily Wilding Davison (11 October 1872 – 8 June 1913) was a militant activist who fought for women's suffrage in Britain. She was jailed on nine occasions and force-fed 49 times. She is best known for stepping in front of King George V's horse Anmer at the Epsom Derby on 4 June 1913, sustaining injuries that resulted in her death four days later. Emily Davison's funeral on 14 June 1913 organised by the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). Thousands of suffragettes accompanied the coffin and tens of thousands of people lined the streets of London.

Appearances

• Episode 1.06 (Mentioned only)

Unnamed speaker: "Last June saw Emily Davison crushed to death beneath the hooves of the king’s horse! Will the summer of 1914 prove as fatal for the hopes of women? It cannot! This historic by-election can be the first step of the journey to women’s equality!"

Unnamed woman: "If you’re so keen on women’s rights, let a woman speak!"

Unnamed man: "But why stop there? Let’s get the dogs up and listen to them bark!"

— Episode 1.06

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Reginald Dyer

Colonel Reginald Edward Harry Dyer CB (9 October 1864 – 23 July 1927) was a British officer who, as a temporary brigadier general, was responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar (in the British Indian province of Punjab). Dyer was removed from duty, but he became a celebrated hero in Britain, particularly among people with connections to the British Raj. Some historians argue the episode was a decisive step towards the end of British rule in India.

Appearances

• Episode 5.08 (Mentioned only)

Mention

Isobel: "We heard about that terrible Amritsar business."

Hugh MacClare: "Amritsar was a very unfortunate incident, ordered by a foolish man."

Lord Sinderby: "I can't agree. General Dyer was just doing his duty."

— Episode 5.08

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Escoffier

Georges Auguste Escoffier (28 October 1846 – 12 February 1935) was a French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer who popularized and updated traditional French cooking methods. He is a legendary figure among chefs and gourmets, and was one of the most important leaders in the development of modern French cuisine.

Appearances

• Episode 3.01 (Mentioned only)
• Episode 4.05 (Mentioned only)

Arsene Avignon: "In 1917 at our sister hotel in New York, the chef, M. [?], made a soup made popular by M. [?] and the great M. Escoffier. What did he do?"

Student: "He served it cold."

— Episode 4.05

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Guy Fawkes

Guy Fawkes (13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes, the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish in the Low Countries, was a member of a group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605.

Appearances

• Episode 1.07 (Mentioned only)
• Episode 6.01 (Mentioned only)

William: "There they go, Guy Fawkes and his assistant."

Gwen: "Which is which?"

— Episode 1.07

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The Fife Princesses

The Fife Princesses were the two daughters of Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife, daughter of King George V and her husband Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife. The daughters were Princess Alexandra (Princess Arthur of Connaught, 2nd Duchess of Fife) and Princess Maud (Princess Maud Alexandra Victoria Georgina Bertha later Countess of Southesk). Their only brother, Alastair was stillborn.

Appearances

• Episode 6.03 (Mentioned only)

Thomas: "But in your advertisement, you spoke of a position of trust, Sir Michael, in a prominant household."

Michael Reresby: "This is a very prominant household. Can you doubt it? We've entertained not just the Connaughts, but the Fife princesses, both of them. The Duke of Argyll. The Queen of Spain."

— Episode 6.03

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Maud Gonne

Maud Gonne MacBride (21 December 1866 – 27 April 1953) was an English-born Irish revolutionary, feminist and actress, best remembered for her turbulent relationship with poet William Butler Yeats. Of Anglo-Irish stock and birth, she was won over to Irish nationalism by the plight of evicted people in the Land Wars. She was also active in Home Rule activities.

Appearances

• Episode 3.04 (Mentioned only)

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Thomas Hobson

Thomas Hobson (1544–1631) was a livery stable owner in Cambridge, England. To rotate the use of his horses, he offered customers the choice of either taking the horse in the stall nearest the door or taking none at all. The phrase Hobson's Choice is said to have originated from him.

Appearances

• 2014 Christmas Special (Mentioned only)

Barrow: "I Felt for you and thought you showed great restraint."

Stowell: "For a servant in that situation, restraint is Hobson's choice."

— 2014 Christmas Special

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Jack Johnson

John Arthur "Jack" Johnson (March 31, 1878 – June 10, 1946), nicknamed the Galveston Giant. was an American boxer. At the height of the Jim Crow era, Johnson became the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion (1908–1915). In a documentary about his life, Ken Burns notes that "for more than thirteen years, Jack Johnson was the most famous and the most notorious African-American on Earth.

Appearances

• Episode 2.06 (Mentioned only)

Mary: "I shall have arms like Jack Johnson if I’m not careful."

Matthew: "I’m strong enough to wheel myself."

Mary: "I’ll be the judge of that. "

— Episode 2.06

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Rosa Luxemburg

Rosa Luxemburg (5 March 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a Marxist theorist, philosopher, economist and revolutionary socialist of Polish-Jewish descent who became a naturalized German citizen. She was successively a member of the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (SDKPiL), the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Independent Social Democratic Party (USPD), and the Communist Party of Germany (KPD).

In response to the uprising, Social Democratic leader Friedrich Ebert ordered the Freikorps to destroy the left-wing revolution. Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were captured in Berlin on 15 January 1919 by the Freikorps' Garde-Kavallerie-Schützendivision. Its commander, Captain Waldemar Pabst, along with Lieutenant Horst von Pflugk-Harttung, questioned them violently and then gave the order to execute them. Luxemburg was knocked down with a rifle butt by soldier Otto Runge, then shot in the head, either by Lieutenant Kurt Vogel or Lieutenant Hermann Souchon; her body was flung into Berlin's Landwehr Canal.

Appearances

• Episode 5.02 (Mentioned only)

Robert: "So everytime we entertain we must invite this tin pot Rosa Luxemburg?"

Rose: "Who's she?"

Cora: "A German Communist that was shot and thrown into the canal. We wouldn't wish that on Miss Bunting."

— Episode 5.02

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Mr. Molyneux

Mr. Molyneux is a designer from Paris with whom Cora has a fitting in London. It most likely refers to Edward Molyneux (5 September 1891 in Hampstead, London – 23 March 1974 in Monte Carlo), a leading British fashion designer whose salon in Paris was in operation from 1919 until 1950.

Appearances

• Episode 5.03 (Mentioned only)

Mention

Mary: "What are you going to do in London?"

Cora: "I have a fitting with Mr. Molyneux, he is over from Paris"

— Episode 5.03

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Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale, OM, RRC (12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was a celebrated English social reformer and statistician, and the founder of modern nursing.

She came to prominence while serving as a manager of nurses trained by her during the Crimean War, where she organised the tending to wounded soldiers. She gave nursing a highly favourable reputation and became an icon of Victorian culture, especially in the persona of "The Lady with the Lamp" making rounds of wounded soldiers at night.

Appearances

• Episode 2.03 (Mentioned only)
• Episode 6.08 (Mentioned only)

Matthew: "I hadn't cast you as Florence Nightingale."

Mary: "We can't leave all the moral high ground to Sybil. She might get lonely there."

— Episode 2.03

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Sylvia Pankhurst

Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst (5 May 1882 – 27 September 1960) was an English campaigner for the suffragist movement in the United Kingdom. She was for a time a prominent left communist who then devoted herself to the cause of anti-fascism.

During the First World War, Sylvia was horrified to see her mother, Emmeline, and her sister, Christabel, become enthusiastic supporters of the war drive and campaigning in favour of military conscription. She herself was opposed to the war. Her organization attempted to organize the defence of the interests of women in the poorer parts of London. It set up "cost-price" restaurants to feed the hungry without the taint of charity. It also established a toy factory in order to give work to women who had become unemployed because of the war.

Appearances

• Episode 2.05 (Mentioned only)

Branson: "I'm sorry. I'll not deny it. I never thought they'd do it. But sometimes a future needs terrible sacrifices. You thought that once. "

Sybil: "If you mean my politics, you know we've agreed to put that to one side until the war is won."

Branson: "Your lot did. But Sylvia Pankhurst was all for fighting on."

Sybil: "Don't badger me, please!"

— Episode 2.05

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Charles Ponzi

Carlo Pietro Giovanni Guglielmo Tebaldo Ponzi (March 3, 1882 – January 18, 1949), commonly known as Charles Ponzi, was an Italian businessman and con artist in the U.S. and Canada. His aliases include Charles Ponci, Carlo and Charles P. Bianchi. Born in Italy, he became known in the early 1920s as a swindler in North America for his money making scheme. Charles Ponzi promised clients a 50% profit within 45 days, or 100% profit within 90 days, by buying discounted postal reply coupons in other countries and redeeming them at face value in the United States as a form of arbitrage. In reality, Ponzi was paying early investors using the investments of later investors. This type of scheme is now known as a "Ponzi scheme". His scheme ran for over a year before it collapsed, costing his "investors" $20 million.

Appearances

• Episode 3.08 (Mentioned only)

"There's a chap in America. What's his name? Charles ... Ponzi, who offers a huge return after 90 days."

—Robert

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The Pope

Pope Benedict XV (21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, was the head of the Catholic Church from 3 September 1914 to his death in 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I and its political, social and humanitarian consequences in Europe.

Appearances

• Episode 3.06 (Mentioned only)

Mary: "Well you and granny are ganging up on Tom!"

Violet: "Not me! The Dowager Duchess of Norfork is a dear friend, and she is more Catholic than the Pope!"

— Episode 3.06

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Lord and Lady Powerscourt

Mervyn Richard Wingfield (16 July 1880 – 21 March 1947) and Sybil Pleydell-Bouverie were Irish peers where he was the 8th Viscount Powerscourt.

He was born to Mervyn Wingfield, 7th Viscount Powerscourt, whom he succeeded as Viscount Powerscourt in 1904. He was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Wicklow on 15 February 1910 and created a Knight of the Order of St Patrick on 18 April 1916. He died on 21 March 1947.

In 1903, he married Sybil Pleydell-Bouverie: they had three children, including Mervyn Patrick Wingfield, 9th Viscount Powerscourt. Lady Powerscourt served as the Girl Guides Deputy Chief Commissioner for Ireland.

They are great-grandparents of Sarah, Duchess of York through her mother Susan Barrantes, who is Powerscourt's granddaughter.

Appearances

• Episode 4.03 (Mentioned only)

Duchess of Yeovil: "I love Wicklow, of course you must know the Powerscourts?"

Tom Branson: "I know of Lord Powerscourt, yes."

Duchess of Yeovil: "Lady Powerscourt is my niece, have you met her?"

— Episode 4.03

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This Princip Fellow

Gavrilo Princip (25 July [O.S. 13 July] 1894 – 28 April 1918) was a Bosnian Serb who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. Princip and his accomplices were arrested and implicated a number of members of the Serbian military, leading Austria-Hungary to issue a démarche to Serbia known as the July Ultimatum. This was used as pretext for Austria-Hungary's invasion on Serbia, which then led to World War I.

Appearances

• Episode 1.07 (Mentioned only)

Gwen: "Anything in the paper, Thomas?"

Thomas: "They've arrested this Princip fellow and his gang. All Serbian and members of the Black Hand."

— Episode 1.07

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Mr Rolls

The Honourable Charles Stewart Rolls (27 August 1877 – 12 July 1910) was an English motoring and aviation pioneer. Together with Henry Royce he co-founded the Rolls-Royce car manufacturing firm. He was the first Briton to be killed in an aeronautical accident with a powered aircraft, when the tail of his Wright Flyer broke off during a flying display in the Southbourne district of Bournemouth. He was aged 32.

Appearances

• 2015 Christmas Special (Mentioned only)

"Mary, now is not the time to be snobbish. We'll set up a dealership for new cars when we can, and in time we will go into production. There is nothing wrong with being married to Mr Rolls or Mr Royce."

—Tom Branson 2015 Christmas Special

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Hannah de Rothschild

Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery (27 July 1851 – 19 November 1890) was the daughter of Mayer de Rothschild and his wife Juliana, née Cohen. Upon the death of her father in 1874 she became the richest woman in Britain.

During the final quarter of the 19th century her husband, the 5th Earl of Rosebery, was one of the most celebrated figures in Britain, an influential millionaire and politician, whose charm, wit, charisma and public popularity gave him such standing that he "almost eclipsed royalty." Yet his Jewish wife, during her lifetime regarded as dull, overweight and lacking in beauty, remains an enigmatic figure largely ignored by historians and often regarded as notable only for financing her husband's three ambitions: to marry an heiress, win the Epsom Derby, and become Prime Minister (the second and third of these possibly apocryphal ambitions were achieved after her death). In truth, she was her husband's driving force and motivation.

Appearances

• Episode 5.08 (Mentioned only)

Mention

Mary: "I dare say this is a first for you granny. To sample the joys of the registry office."

Violet: "Then you'd be quite wrong. No in 1878 I attended the wedding of Lord Rosebery and Hannah Rothschild. It was held in the Board of Guardians. It was very much the same."

— Episode 5.08

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Mr Royce

Sir Frederick Henry Royce, 1st Baronet, (27 March 1863 – 22 April 1933) was an English engineer and car designer who, with Charles Rolls, founded the Rolls-Royce company.

Appearances

• 2015 Christmas Special (Mentioned only)

"Mary, now is not the time to be snobbish. We'll set up a dealership for new cars when we can, and in time we will go into production. There is nothing wrong with being married to Mr Rolls or Mr Royce."

—Tom Branson 2015 Christmas Special

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Salome

Salome (c. AD 14 – between 62 and 71) was the daughter of Herod II and Herodias. Salome is often identified with the dancing woman from the New Testament (Mark 6:17-29 and Matthew 14:3-11, where, however, her name is not given). Christian faith depicts her as an icon of dangerous female seductiveness, notably in regard to the dance mentioned in the New Testament, which is thought to have had an erotic element to it, and in some later transformations it has further been iconized as the Dance of the Seven Veils. Other elements of the Christian faith concentrate on her lighthearted and cold foolishness that, according to the gospels, led to John the Baptist's death. (Mark 6:25-27; Matthew 14:8-11).

She is the daughter of Herod II.

Appearances

• 2015 Christmas Special (Mentioned only)

Isobel: "What was all that about?"

Violet: "In Denker's mind, she is Salome. You know, dancing rings around Spratt's Herod."

— 2015 Christmas Special

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Wat Tyler

Wat Tyler (died 15 June 1381) was a leader of the 1381 Peasants' Revolt in England. He marched a group of protesters from Canterbury to the capital to oppose the institution of a poll tax. While the brief rebellion enjoyed early success, Tyler was killed by officers of King Richard II during negotiations at Smithfield in London.

Appearances

• 2013 Christmas Special (Mentioned only)

Ethan: "Would you mind"

James: "I'm a footman, I don't have the right to mind"

Carson: "Thank you, Wat Tyler."

— 2013 Christmas Special

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References