Samuel Pepys summary

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Samuel Pepys.

Diarist Samuel PepysSamuel Pepys, oil painting by John Hayls, 1666; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Samuel Pepys, (born Feb. 23, 1633, London, Eng.—died May 26, 1703, London), English diarist and public official. Born into a humble family, Pepys was appointed about 1659 as a clerk in the office of the Exchequer, where on Jan. 1, 1660, he began the diary for which he is chiefly known. He steadily improved his position, in time becoming secretary of the Admiralty, a member of Parliament, president of the Royal Society, trusted confidant of Charles II and James II, and friend of the great scholars of his age. His diary (published 1825), which he kept through 1669, presents a fascinating picture of the official and upper-class life in Restoration London, with vivid, honest accounts of ordinary as well as great events, including the Plague and the Great Fire of London.

government Summary

Government, the political system by which a country or community is administered and regulated. Most of the key words commonly used to describe governments—words such as monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy—are of Greek or Roman origin. They have been current for more than 2,000 years and have not

England Summary

England, predominant constituent unit of the United Kingdom, occupying more than half of the island of Great Britain. Outside the British Isles, England is often erroneously considered synonymous with the island of Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) and even with the entire United