Christopher Marlowe. It is the opening to his ‘Edward II’ (full title: ‘The Troublesome Reign and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England, with the Tragical Fall of Proud Mortimer’). The play opens with Piers Gaveston reading a letter from Edward recalling his friend to England from exile now that the old king has died. It is believed to be one of the first English “history plays” and was published in 1594, a few weeks after Marlowe was stabbed to death in a tavern brawl.

Francisco Franco. Hitler made the remark following a 1940 meeting in which he tried to persuade the Spanish dictator to enter the war on the Axis side. Franco was late and played for time by making a set of unreasonable demands for the spoils of any victory, leaving Hitler in a very bad mood.

Francis Galton. Galton (1822–1911) was a distant relative of Darwin’s and was one of the greatest polymaths of the Victorian era, interested in everything from statistics to anthropology and meteorology. Many of his observations on selective breeding were set out in his book ‘Inquiries into Human Faculty and its Development’. He called for financial incentives for men and women with desirable genetic characteristics to marry and have lots of children.

The Byzantine emperor. The name ‘Varangian’ derives from the Greek word for Vikings, who (either as Norsemen or Rus) made up the core of the guard when it was formally established in the 10th century. For some time after this, many recruits came from Norway, Sweden, Denmark and even Iceland. Following the Norman conquest of England there were also Anglo-Saxons. By the 13th century most members of the Guard, which was employed in battle as well as domestically, were Byzantine Greeks.

Customs officer. Rousseau’s distinctive naïve style of painting is said by many to have been ahead of its time, though it was often ridiculed during his lifetime. His nickname ‘Douanier (customs officer) Rousseau’ was not always used respectfully. Before he quit, his day-job had been collecting the Octroi, a tax on goods entering the city of Paris.

Harald ‘Blåtand’ Gormsson. ‘Blåtand’ translates as ‘Bluetooth’. Harald Bluetooth united various Danish clans, became king of Denmark and Norway, and converted to Christianity.

Harry Truman.