By Alex Mitias Samuel Pepys

Who was Samuel Pepys? Samuel Pepys (you say PEEPS) lived more than 300 years ago. He worked for the British government, and did much to make the Royal Navy better. However, he is famous because he wrote a diary. Pepys was born in He was a young man during the Civil War in England. He lived through two disasters - the Plague and the Great Fire of London. He died in 1703.

The young Samuel Samuel Pepys was born in London in February His father was a tailor, who had moved to the city from the country to find work. His mother was a butcher's daughter. The Pepys family was not rich. However, Pepys did have rich relatives, and that helped him later. Young Samuel went to St Paul's School, one of the best schools in London. When he was 17, he went to Cambridge University.

Pepys' life At first Samuel and Elizabeth were quite poor. Elizabeth did the washing and carried coal for the fire. Later when Samuel was well- paid, they had servants to do the housework. Pepys liked smart clothes. He wore a wig. He went to the theatre. He enjoyed music and singing. He played a flageolet. He loved meeting friends. Pepys did not always behave. He drank too much wine. Sometimes he chased pretty women. Afterwards he wrote in his diary how bad he felt when he misbehaved.

Pepys’ job Pepys’ job was to run the Navy - to make sure old ships were repaired, and new ships built properly. At first he was lazy, more interested in having fun! Sometimes Pepys went to sea himself. In 1660, Pepys sailed in one of the ships that brought King Charles II back to England. The Navy was in a mess. Many ships were too rotten to go to sea and fight. Pepys saw this, and made up his mind to change things. He worked hard. He went to dockyards to see how ships were built. He learned all about the Navy. He even learned his times tables! The Navy had only 30 battleships. When Pepys stopped work in 1689, it had 59 ships.

Pepys’ diary Why is his diary famous? Pepys started his diary in He went on writing it until It's full of information, because Pepys was interested in everything around him. He wrote about London, his home, his wife, his friends, about great events such as the Great Fire, and about himself.

The diary In January 1660 Pepys started his diary. He wrote in shorthand. It was like a secret code. He wrote with quills and a simple fountain pen. Pepys did not want people he knew to read his diary, so he kept his diary books safe. He was proud of a new watch. It had an alarm, a new thing at that time. Pepys wrote in his diary that he kept taking his watch out to check the time and to show off. He was so pleased with it!

Diary and daily life One day Pepys had a visitor from the country. Pepys wanted to show his friend the sights. But the visitor only complained. London was too crowded! Too noisy! Too far to walk! He would not go to the theatre, even in a coach. Pepys wrote crossly that he had never met anyone 'so little curious in the world...' One night the cat woke Pepys by miaowing and jumping on his bed. Unable to get back to sleep, he heard the night-watchman walk by outside, calling 'Past one of the clock and a cold and frosty windy morning'. He wrote this in his diary too. The diary takes us on a time-trip back over 300 years.

What was the Great Plague? Pepys wrote about the Great Plague of The Plague was a disease. It spread quickly. Many people were dying. One symptom was a ring of small spots, known as 'Ring- o'-Roses'. Some people carried flowers, a 'pocket full of posies', to keep the plague away. Fleas on black rats carried the disease, but people did not know that. Stray dogs and cats were blamed for carrying the plague. So cats and dogs were killed. A red cross marked houses where people had the plague. Carts took away the dead.

What Pepys saw and did during the Great Fire The Great Fire burned for four days. More than 13,000 houses were destroyed in the disaster, but very few people were killed. In his diary, Pepys describes how people escaped in boats on the River Thames. He watched pigeons that stayed in their nests in houses, and 'burned their wings and fell down'. When Pepys thought his own house was in danger, he dug a hole and buried a cheese! It was an expensive Parmesan cheese from Italy. He wanted to keep it safe.

What happened to the diaries? Pepys spent his last years quietly, adding books to his library. He left all his books to Cambridge University. Samuel Pepys died in Clapham in His diaries were decoded long after his death, and published in Today they can be found on the internet.