Pepys, Samuel

Pepys, Samuel
(1633-1703)
   Diarist, s. of John P., a London tailor, but of good family and connected with Sir E. Montague, afterwards Earl of Sandwich, was ed. at St. Paul's School and at Camb. After leaving the Univ. he entered the household of Montagu, who became his life long patron. He held various Government posts, including that of Surveyor-General of the Victualling Office, in which he displayed great administrative ability and reforming zeal, and in 1672 he became Sec. of the Admiralty. After being imprisoned in the Tower on a charge in connection with the Popish plot, and deprived of his office, he was in 1686 again appointed Sec. of the Admiralty, from which, however, he was dismissed at the Revolution. Thereafter he lived in retirement chiefly at Clapham. P. was a man of many interests, combining the characters of the man of business, man of pleasure, and virtuoso, being skilled in music and a collector of books, manuscripts, and pictures, and he was Pres. of the Royal Society for two years. He wrote Memoirs of the Royal Navy (1690), but his great legacy to literature is his unique and inimitable Diary, begun January 1, 1660, and coming down to May 31, 1669, when the failure of his sight prevented its further continuance. As an account by an eye-witness of the manners of the Court and of society it is invaluable, but it is still more interesting as, perhaps, the most singular example extant of unreserved self-revelation--all the foibles, peccadilloes, and more serious offences against decorum of the author being set forth with the most relentless naïveté and minuteness, it was written in a cypher or shorthand, which was translated into long-hand by John Smith in 1825, and ed. by Lord Braybrooke, with considerable excisions. Later and fuller ed. have followed. P. left his books, MSS., and collections to Magdalene Coll., Camb., where they are preserved in a separate library.

Short biographical dictionary of English literature . . 2011.

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  • Pepys, Samuel — ► (1633 1703) Escritor inglés. Su Diario, es un interesantísimo documento psicológico e histórico. * * * (23 feb. 1633, Londres, Inglaterra–26 may. 1703, Londres). Autor de diarios de vida y empleado público inglés. Pepys nació en una familia… …   Enciclopedia Universal

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  • Pepys, Samuel —  (1633–1703) English Admiralty official, remembered for his diary; pronounced peeps …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

  • Pepys — Pepys, Samuel …   Enciclopedia Universal

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  • Samuel Pepys — Samuel Pepys, portrait de John Hayls (1666), National Portrait Gallery, Londres. Naissance …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Samuel Pepys — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys, presidente de la Royal Society (Londres, 23 de febrero de 1633 – Clapham, 26 de mayo de 1703) fue administador naval y miembro del parlamento inglés y au …   Wikipedia Español

  • PEPYS (S.) — PEPYS SAMUEL (1633 1703) Né à Londres le 23 février 1633 dans une famille modeste (son père était tailleur), Samuel Pepys obtint une bourse pour faire ses études à Magdalene College (Cambridge). Un cousin de son père, Edward Montagu, plus tard… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

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