Williams, Helen Maria, 1762-1827

English poet, novelist, translator, salonnière, radical social critic, and proponent of such causes as the French Revolution and abolitionism. A first-hand witness to much of the French Revolution, Williams published her account of events in a series of letters beginning with Letters Written in France in the Summer of 1790 (1790), followed by four more volumes of Letters from France (1792-1796).

William I, King of England, 1027 or 1028-1087

Known as "William the Conqueror," William I was the first Norman monarch of England, serving as Duke of Normandy before rising to the throne of England in 1066. Due to his illegitimacy as the son of a concubine, William faced massive challenge to his power. William came to rule England through the Battle of Hastings in 1066, in which his army of Normans defeated the Anglo-Saxon forces. As King of England, William struggled to secure and maintain his power in England and the continent.