William Wilkie Collins who was the son of William Collins, the painter. Born in London January 8, 1824, he studied law and was called to the Bar in 1851. He was already writing and in 1850 his novel Antonina had appeared but his high rank in literature stands on his two well-known mystery novels. Wilkie Collins was a close friend …

Harry Faversham is the hero of the novel The Four Feathers which was written by Alfred Edward Woodley Mason and first published with great success in 1902. When the story starts Harry Faversham is a young officer in the British army. He is tired of army life and wishes to settle down and marry his fiancee, Ethne Burroughs. Harry is …

Robert Southey was born at Bristol, August 12, 1774. When he was 20 years old, the French Revolution was in full swing and Southey was so inspired by this that he stupidly conceived the idea of founding a communal republic in the United States. He was ably abetted in this notion by Samuel Coleridge, also a poet. The two young …

He was Francois de Montcorbier, known as Villon, born in 1431. His father died when he was quite young and he was brought up by a relative, Guillaume de Villon, whose name he adopted. He was educated at the University of Paris from where he graduated in 1449. He soon fell into bad company and roistered through the seedy taverns …

The names that the famous swordsmen assumed when they joined the French King’s bodyguard of musketeers were Athos, Porthos and Aramis. By these names they are known throughout Alexandre Dumas’ magnificent novel The Three Musketters. It is not until the swashbuckling D’ Artangnan sets out twenty years later, that the true names of them all are revealed. D’ Artangnan, now …

A rat race is a term used for an endless, self-defeating or pointless pursuit. It conjures up the image of the futile efforts of a lab rat trying to escape while running around a maze or in a wheel. In an analogy to the modern city, many rats in a single maze expend a lot of effort running around, but …

It is Father Brown and his exiting adventures were written by Gilbert Keith Chesterton who was born in London, May 29, 1874. Next to Sherlock Holmes, Father Brown is probably the most original and eccentric detective in English fiction. He is timid and absent minded, and in his appearance is short and dumpy, with a round innocent face. He carries …

To William Shakespeare, the son of John Shakespeare, a dealer in wool and leather, who lived in Stratford-upon-Avon. In this town standing on the banks of the River Avon in Warwickshire, was born in April 1564, the boy who was to win immortal fame as the world’s greatest dramatist, the good friend of nobles and the wonder of his and …

I.K. Gujral — Indra Kumar Gujral Biography Born On: 4th December, 1919 Born In: Jhelum, Punjab (now in Pakistan) Career: Twelfth Prime Minister of India, Minister of Finance and Minister of External Affairs Died On: 30th November, 2012 I.K. Gujral is a famous political personality of India. He stepped into the field of politics when he was in college. He joined …

The earliest social networking site was classmates.com which was established in 1995. It introduced the concept of user profiles and of short messages sent and received by friends on the website. The basic purpose was to keep in touch with old friends. Sixdegrees.com which came in 1997 is considered to be the first social networking website to have all features …