Samuel Pepys

Lore & Background

Pepys was the son of a tailor and was educated at St Paul's School and Magdalene College, Cambridge. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree, he entered the service of his cousin Sir Edward Montagu and later worked as a teller in the Exchequer under George Downing. He began his diary in 1660, recording daily life and major events such as the Second Anglo-Dutch War, the Great Plague, and the Great Fire of London. He continued the diary until 1669, when concerns over fading eyesight forced him to stop.

In 1660, through Montagu's patronage, Pepys became Clerk of the Acts to the Navy Board. Despite lacking maritime experience, he rose to Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under Charles II and James II. His influence and reforms were important in the early professionalisation of the Royal Navy. He was later elected MP for Castle Rising in 1673 and for Harwich in 1679 and 1685, and served as President of the Royal Society from 1684 to 1686.

Pepys suffered from bladder stones from a young age and underwent a successful but painful surgery in 1658. The procedure may have left him sterile. He married Elisabeth de St Michel in 1655 when he was 22 and she was 14. His diary, written in shorthand and sometimes in code, was not intended for his contemporaries but was preserved for future generations.

Reader's Guide

Samuel Pepys is significant primarily for his diary, which provides an unparalleled detailed record of daily life in 17th-century London. The diary combines personal revelations—including his health, finances, and marital difficulties—with eyewitness accounts of major historical events such as the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London. Historians have used it to gain insight into the social, political, and cultural life of the Stuart Restoration. Beyond the diary, Pepys' administrative work at the Navy Board and Admiralty contributed to the early professionalisation of the Royal Navy. His legacy endures through the diary's status as one of the most celebrated and frequently consulted primary sources from the period.

Did You Know?

• Pepys attended the execution of Charles I in 1649.
• He underwent a successful but painful surgery for bladder stones in 1658.
• His diary contains over one and a quarter million words and mentions more than 3,000 individuals.
• Pepys served as President of the Royal Society from 1684 to 1686.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"January 4, 1660, and repeated on many later dates." — Samuel Pepys "I went out to Charing Cross, to see Major-general Harrison hanged, drawn and quartered; which was done there, he looking as cheerful as any man could do in that condition." — Samuel Pepys "Painful" here means "painstakingly written"." — Samuel Pepys "Methought it lessened my esteem of a king, that he should not be able to command the rain." — Samuel Pepys