Who Was Samuel Pepys? The Diary About the Great Fire of London
- May 4
- 3 min read
Who is Samuel Pepys?
Samuel Pepys (pronounced "peeps") was born in February 1633 and died in May 1703 when he was 70 years old. During his life, he studied at Cambridge University, married a French woman called Elizabeth St. Michel, worked in the Royal Navy and became a politician. Seems like a pretty ordinary guy right? So why are we so obsessed with him?
What is Samuel Pepys most famous for?
Samuel Pepys is well known for writing a diary. He started his diary around the year 1660 when he was around 26 years old and continued to write in it regularly for about 9 years (until 1669). This era was known as the Restoration in England and Samuel Pepys was living right at the heart of it, in London.
What did Samuel Pepys write about in his diary?
Samuel Pepys wrote about his entire life in his diary; where he went, what he did, who he met, what he thought, how he felt and what he saw and heard. He included gossip about his friends, many of whom were very famous, like the scientist Isaac Newton and the poet John Dryden. He would write the most secret information in a hidden code that he made up himself. He even included tiny details about his life like the clothes he and his wife wore and what he ate for dinner. But there were some other, more important events he wrote about too.
What important stuff did Samuel Pepys write about?
By living in London in the 1660's, Samuel Pepys was perfectly placed to witness many major events. This included:
Samuel Pepys and The Coronation of King Charles II - 1661
Samuel Pepys was actually on the ship that brought Charles II to England to be crowned King. He described him on the ship as being in a "sad, poor condition". A year later, Samuel Pepys went to the King's coronation and wrote in his diary about how the crowds were so huge, and were clapping and cheering so loudly, he could barely see or hear what was happening!
Samuel Pepys and The Great Plague - 1665-1666
The Great Plague spread across Europe through bacteria in fleas that lived on rats. The bacteria made people ill and many people died. When the Great Plague spread to London, Samuel Pepys described the terror that came with it. He wrote in his diary about the red crosses that were painted on the doors of houses where people were sick and how sad it was to see the streets of London so deserted.
Samuel Pepys and The Great Fire of London - 1666
The Great Fire of London was one of the worst disasters to happen in London. It burned for many days and destroyed a huge area of the city. Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary about how the fire was said to have started in a bakery on Pudding Lane. He describes going out on a boat, seeing damage to the city and watching people trying to get away from the flames. He wrote about his fear of the fire and how he buried his cheese and wine in the garden to save them from the flames!
Why is Samuel Pepys' diary so important?
Today, news and information is all written down, in newspapers, books and on the internet. People share photos of everything they do and see on social media. You can discover any information you want, in a heartbeat, by looking it up on your phone or computer. But phones and computers didn't exist in the time that Samuel Pepys lived and cameras wouldn't be invented for another 100+ years! Not only that, very few people could read and write. So how can we find out about what life was like at this time if there's no record of it in pictures or writing?
Luckily for us, Samuel Pepys was very good at writing. In his diary, he paints us a picture of what life was like in London in the 1660's. Samuel Pepys shares many small details of what it was like to actually live through the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London. Samuel Pepys diary is a primary resource - that means its an original first-hand account of what happened at the time. Without his diary, we wouldn't know very much about this era of history in the modern day. That's what makes it such an important historical document.
