I was surfing the Internet looking for information on Ira Aldridge, the famous black tragedian when I came across this website listing the 100 Famous Britons. By the way, that's not Ira Aldridge, you'll have to wait for tomorrow's post to see a picture of him.
The dapper dude to the left is Daley Thompson, two time Olympic Gold Medalist in the decathalon. I had a huge crush on Daley during the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984. I just thought he was so sexy and he had an English accent. Got to love a brother with an accent particularly one as fine as Daley.
I had no idea what a decathalon was until he appeared on the scene. Then I got up to speed quickly. Isn't he beautiful? I just have to say it again.
Anyway, this web-site is really interesting. Ira Aldridge is included because he became a naturalised British citizen like T.S. Eliot and Henry James. I once had an argument with an Englishman about whether or not T.S. Eliot and Henry James should be taught in American or English literature. Mind you this is the same guy who told me that T.S. Eliot spelled backwards is toilets. (Not really but close enough). But I digress.
As I was saying the web-site was fascinating for the people that I didn't know about. I mean, Naomi Campbell, Seal, Sade, Cleo Laine, Shirley Bassey, blah, blah, blah. We all know about them. We should know about Lenny Henry who did one of my favorite sit-coms called Chef. Do you know when they were shopping around an American version, all the networks complained that it was unrealistic because there were no black chefs? Hello Marcus Samuelsson anyone?
What was I talking about? Oh yeah. There were some interesting factoids, like the guy who taught Charles Darwin taxidermy and went with him on the maiden voyage of the Beagle, Samuel Johnson's assistant, the first black mayor in England, and the first black members of Parliament.
What was bizarre were the inclusions of hello? Elizabeth Barret Browning and Queen Charlotte, George III's wife. WTF? It's like saying Pushkin was black (although have you seen the portraits of him? He was only like 1/8 but it did stand out). Apparently even Saint George of Dragon fame and the patron saint of England was black. Do the Queen and Prince Philip know this?
Check out the website and see: http://www.100greatblackbritons.com/home.html
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