Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys, (1633-1703). English diarist. The son of a tailor, he held various public offices, principally at the Admiralty, where he introduced important naval reforms. He became an MP in 1679 but spent some months in the Tower of London after a false accusation of treason. His famous diary, kept from 1659 to 1669, was written in a private code that remained unbroken until the 19th century. It contains valuable in-formation about life in 17th-century London, including a description of the Great Fire of London in 1666.
