Online honour for the city’s finest

Aug 11 2007 by Laura Davis, Liverpool Daily Post

Twenty-five Liverpool figures are being highlighted by the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Laura Davis reports

MOST lives, though precious to those who lived them, do not make it into the history books to be pored over by strangers with a common interest.

But the few that have their stories recorded for the interest of future generations achieve a sort of immortality through the ink printed on a crisp white page.

ŠAs Liverpool approaches its 800th anniversary, many names from the past are being remembered – city fathers, women’s rights campaigners, slavery abolitionists, political figures – people who all played their part in the growth of the port once known as “Lyrepool”.

To mark the anniversary, the Oxford DNB (Dictionary of National Biography) has selected 25 men and women from Liverpool’s history who, in their different ways, have shaped the city – in areas from sport to commerce, the arts to urban development. Biographies of the 25 city figures are available this month via the Oxford DNB’s online edition: www.oxforddnb.com

“We’re delighted to offer this selection of Liverpool lives to help celebrate the city’s 800th anniversary. Liverpudlians are very well represented in the pages of Oxford DNB which, in total, includes biographies of more than 350 people who came from the city and over 700 who spent some time in the city,” explains Lawrence Goldman, editor of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

“We hope our selection of 25 Liverpool figures captures the diversity of the city’s contribution to British, and world, history – and that our choice offers a few surprises, as well as some well-known names.” Š

The lives featured range from the old to the recent and from the familiar to the relatively unknown.

The eccentric Joseph Williamson (1769-1840), who spent over 10 years tunnelling under the city for reasons which remain a mystery, is included alongside political figures such as Eleanor Rathbone (1872-1946), Liverpool’s first female councillor.

ŠCultural figures include: the writer and anti-slavery campaigner, Edwards Rushton (1756-1814); entertainer Frankie Vaughan (1928-1999); and the poet Adrian Henri (1932-2000).

Businessmen Frank Hornby (1863-1936) and Sir John Moores (1896-1993) as well as sporting figures like footballer Dixie Dean (1907-1980) the English game’s most prolific goal scorer and Mirabel Topham (1891-1980), Aintree racecourse’s owner are featured.

ŠThe 25 featured lives are available during August to everyone via the Oxford DNB’s online edition www.oxforddnb.com

Online access to the complete dictionary – which includes life stories of more than 56,000 people from British history – is freely available in every public library in Merseyside, with direct home access for library members.

* Featured are edited versions of three Liverpool biographies taken from the Oxford DNB, written by Janet Adam Smith, John Langton and Andrew Roth.

THE Daily Post has joined with the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography to offer readers a chance to win one of three sets of 20 books in Oxford University Press’ Very Interesting People series, worth £100 each.

Sets include concise and accessible biographies of 20 famous people who shaped British history and culture, including James Joyce, Queen Victoria, Henry VIII and Oliver Cromwell.

To enter, simply answer the following questions.

1. Why, in his own words, did Joseph Williamson dig tunnels under Edge Hill?

2. Which female mountaineer from the city reached a summit with the help of Champagne and sponge?

3. Who was Liverpool’s “Mr Moonlight”?

4. What was hotelier William Lynn’s contribution to the city’s, and the nation’s, sporting life?

5. Meccano was the creation of which Liverpool manufacturer?

6. Why was Bessie Braddock a pioneer in Liverpool politics?

You’ll find all the answers in the Oxford DNB’s special Liverpool feature available at www.oxforddnb.com or via the complete Dictionary available free, in your local public library, with direct home access for library members.

Answers on a postcard please, giving your name, address and telephone number, to Oxford DNB Competition, Liverpool Daily Post, PO Box 48, Old Hall Street, Liverpool L69 3EB

lauradavis@dailypost.co.uk