Herein is a list of important historical and fictional characters that have shaped, or are shaping the world's of Hive, Queen and Country. This is far from complete and will, I hope, see additions and corrections on a regular basis.

The Rulers of the Worlds

English Royalty and Politicians
Queen Victoria born 24-May-1819
The Queen and Empress gave her name to the era. Although she does not rule her already 64-year-long reign is one of tremendous expansion for her nation and her personal influence is just as wide spread. In matters of imperial expansion, social issues, and fashion the Queen is often the final arbiter. Mauve became a color to be coveted after she wore it in mourning for her beloved Prince Albert, high tea a new tradition because she favored it and Gordon was rescued because she shamed her Prime Minister into it. It is her wish that the British flag be planted upon alien worlds and her subjects can do no less than see that wish fulfilled.

Prince Albert born 26-Aug-1819, died 14-Dec-1861
The husband of Victoria, a Prince of German blood and a true gentleman in all ways, he was much beloved of both his wife and his adopted people. Albert was a patron of the arts and sciences. His death in 1861 devastated the queen. She lives still in mourning for him. He was a patron of the arts and sciences and the Crystal Palace exposition was largely his doing. That great building stands as a monument to his desire for his subjects to have a very best that human imagination could bring them. It was fitting that the first ship to reach Mars bore his name.

The Prince of Wales born 9-Nov-1841

Princes Maud

William Ewart Gladstone born 29-Dec-1809
A social reformer and man decidedly unconcerned with empire building--indeed even actively against it—Gladstone was a politician in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Russia Luna expedition, which Gladstone referred to as “That damned black eye on the moon”, caused his first government to collapse. Returning to power several years later his government continued with a focus on domestic social issues. The rescue of Gordon and its aftermath forced him from politics permanently. Gladstone’s governments have left a number of valuable legacies, topmost among them the Cardwell reforms of the British Army, and a huge number of social programs that have gone far in elevating the masses from abject poverty and ignorance.

Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield, Viscount Hughenden of Hughenden, born 21-Dec-1804, died 19-Apr-1881
As Prime Minister after the fall of Gladstone’s government in 1870 it was left to Disraeli to form a new cabinet and prepare to meet the Russians at Brussels. It was his able statesmanship that forged the Treaty of Brussels. Knowing that British industry and British science were far in advance of other nations he was in favor of an “open” policy for extraterrestrial colonization. It was the Disraeli government, with its Martian Exploration Act of 1870 that laid the foundation for Britain’s solar empire.

Robert Cecil, Marquess of  Salisbury Born 3-Feb-1830
Salisbury is the successor to Disraeli as leader of the Conservative Party. He has led the government since the 1885 collapse of Gladstone's Liberal Cabinet in the aftermath of the defeat in the Sudan. It has been upon him that the heavy burden of the Hive War has fallen. Through all the early reverses he has maintained the bearing one would expect from a British leader. The strain of this war however is beginning to show, as Lord Salisbury now looks considerably older than his 61 years would indicate.

Lord Randolph Churchill born 13-Feb-1849
Lord Randolph Churchill is a force to be reckoned with in conservative British politics. A firm believer in British Imperial Destiny and a charismatic leader of his party Lord Randolph Churchill is Lord Salisbury’s Secretary of State for War. As leader of the war cabinet Churchill is at his finest, fiery and brash he brooks no wastage of resources or fighting men. In recent months it has become apparent that Salisbury is leaving a greater share of responsibility to Lord Randolph.

Warriors of the Empire
H.R.H. Prince George, Duke of Cambridge born 26-Mar-1819
A member of the Royal Family the Duke of Cambridge had been the leader of the British Army, its Commander in Chief since 1856. By 1890 he had become a caricature of himself and of an army general. He is hidebound, reactionary, obstructive, and painfully blind to changes in society and technology. In every conceivable way he tries to keep the British Army in exactly the state that the Duke of Wellington had left it upon his death in 1851.
Garnet J. Wolseley, 1st Viscount, Baron Wolseley of Cairo and of Wolseley born 4-Jun-1833
Often called “our only general” by the British press Wolseley was a forward-looking progressive. He fully embraced the Cardwell reforms of the 1870s and looked to improving the lot of the average soldier in the ranks. He also looked to improve the technology of the Army, as new inventions and weapons appeared. It was his foresight that sent a detachment of Royal Engineers and their aerolyth vessel HMF Crusader to the Sudan and allowed the rescue of General Gordon. 

Admiral Lord George Tryon born 4-Jan-1832
One of the most forward thinking of all British Flag Officers Tryon is the Commander of the newly formed Royal Navy Aerial Squadron. This force, under Tryon’s leadership has proven to be a fighting force of unparalleled power and flexibility. Tryon has been an unconventional officer for much of his career. He seeks to educate his officers to be self reliant and capable of making decisions in battle without signals, guided only by an in depth knowledge of the commander’s intent. This has produced a schism within the Royal Navy as Tryon’s free fighting officers are replacing those comfortable in the safety of the “Signal Book”.

Commander John Jellicoe born 5-Dec-1859

Commander Christopher (Kit) Cradock born 2-Jul-1862
Cradock is on one hand a naval traditionalist; having entered the service as a boy yet on the other has a progressive outlook. Known as one of the best fox hunters in the fleet Cradock takes the spirit of adventure that following the hounds to the realms of naval action. The command of an aerial gunboat suits his temperament well, and few men can handle the fast moving and fluid nature of aerial combat as he can. His vessel was one of the first to engage the aliens and although he fought a number of successful actions during the initial phases of the invasion he was unable to rescue the Duke of Cambridge from Exeter.

John (Jackie) A. Fisher C.B.
Fisher (born 25-Jan-1841) was promoted to Captain 30-Oct-1874.
One of the rising stars of the Royal Navy, Fisher is technically strong, administratively brilliant, well connected, and politically ruthless. He has been moving upwards rapidly in the Royal Navy. Currently he commands one of the Royal Navy’s Aerial Squadrons. He is one of the most forward thinking officers in Her Majesty’s Navy. His papers on gunnery, torpedoes, fire control and the design, construction and tactical handling of aerial vessels are considered some of the most important yet written. He has seen extensive active service. With his good friend Lord Beresford he will continue to push the Royal Navy forward.

Rt. Hon. Lord Charles W. D. Beresford C.B. Captain Royal Navy (born 10-Feb-1846)
Beresford is another of the multitalented officers that keep the Royal Navy the most powerful military force on Earth. He has seen active service on several planets, commanding in combat both Naval Brigades and warships. He is known as a gallant and brave officer. Wolseley wrote of him “an officer whose readiness of resource, and whose ability as a leader, are only equaled by his daring”. He is exceptionally well connected, with a family history rife with naval heroes and admirals. Due to experiences in the Sudan he has been extremely active in acquiring armed and armoured aerial vessels for the Royal Navy. His other accomplishments include inventions and numerous papers on tactics and ship handling.

Commander Percy M. Scott
Commander Scott represents the versatility of the British naval Officer. He has seen active service both ashore and afloat, having been in several land campaigns as an officer in the Naval Brigades and as gunner officer of an ironclad during the bombardment of Alexandria. He is also one of the most forward looking and technically advanced officers in H.M. Navy. Scott is the father of modern gunnery within the Royal Navy and now the chief proponent of aerial forces for the service.

Explorers
Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton born 19-Mar-1821,
Although he has recently passed away Sir Richard Burton is one of the most famous explorers of the century. He was the first Christian to view Mecca, and the first Earthman to see the True Martians. He had the uncanny ability to blend in with any crowd and his facility with languages was legendary. His exploits in the name of the English Crown in particular and Earthmen in the more general sense will always be the stuff to inspire young lads. He was lost when The Etheria was posted missing in 1885

Robert Baden-Powell born 22-Feb-1857
Possibly the most talented scout in H.M. service Baden-Powell is commander of The Queen Æther Rangers. This elite group was formed to explore the outlands of Mars and Venus, but has most recently seen service in Devon and Cornwall. It was a Q.E.R. patrol that captured the first aliens alive, so that they might be studied to ascertain their weaknesses. Although it is not known for certain it is widely believed that Baden-Powell lead that raid personally. What is known is that no man can join this elite force without first being invited by a current or invalided member and then passing B-P’s close scrutiny. Many fine fighting men have failed the rigorous training and been returned to their regiments, disappointed but a better soldier for even such a short experience with this crafty and artful warrior.

Savants of Science
John Lubbock, Baron Avebury born 30-Apr-1834
One of the most brilliant men of the age Lord Lubbock has also been one of the most supremely lucky. It was pure blind chance that put him in the correct place to observe the properties of aerolyth. That being said it was his brilliance and steadfast scientific methodology that transformed and interested natural property into a technology that could be harnessed to allowed controlled manned flight. The Baron of Avebury was awarded over seventy patents for his work on aerolyth and flying machines. Lesser men might have seen the lighting strike, but few of them would have been able to harness the aerolyth. 

James Alfred Ewing Born 27-Mar-1855
Ewing was born in Dundee of a religious family but quickly showed a tremendous aptitude for science and engineering, graduating from the University of Edinburgh after studying under William Thomson (Baron Kelvin). He acquired practical experience laying undersea telegraph cable and assisting with the modernization of Japanese technical schools and Tokyo University. Although very young it was his novel ideas that lead to the discovery of the Ewing principal and the first advance on simple rockets for interplanetary propulsion, the Stuart-Ewing Engine.

James Stuart born 2-Jan-1843

Charles Babbage, born 26-Dec-1791, died 18-Oct-1871.
By creating a series of conceptual and engineering breakthroughs, first with mechanical calculations and then with automated analysis of abstract data Babbage solved many of the problems facing mathematics and engineering. No longer were lengthy numerical manipulations subject to human errors. Navigational tables could be calculated accurately and then printed without flaws. That was the original genesis of the machines, but far from the final impact. By the time of his death Babbage could look out at a world fundamentally changed by the products of his imagination and intellect. The company he had formed, Imperial Babbage and Maudsley became one of the most valuable and far ranging in the world. Its products were used in every nation, in most industries; British ships navigated with them, German factories were controlled by them, American railroads couldn’t function without them. The spinning of Babbage’s brass cogs reconfigured the fabric of society. In addition to the direct impact of the machines were indirect but no less critical ones such as improvements in machining and metallurgy required for so build such (finely tuned, tightly tolerant ???) machines.

Michael Faraday, born 22-Sep-1791, died 25-Aug-1867.
If any man can rightly claim the title of father of science in England it would be Michael Faraday. He investigated, wrote, educated and inspired. Generations of young men became entranced with science at his famous Christmas lectures. Konstantine Konstantino use of paraffin as rocket fuel for the first lunar voyage was a direct result of reading Faraday’s book “The Chemical History of a Candle”.

Engineers and Artisans
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, born 9-Apr-1806, died 15-April-1877.
Arguably the greatest of the Victorian Engineers his list of achievements includes bridges, tunnels, railways and ships. In 1859 he completed the Great Eastern, the largest seagoing vessel yet built. Her construction project was the first ever to be managed using a Babbage Accounting Engine. Brunel wrote “Without the marvelous ability of the Babbage Engine Great Eastern’s cost overruns would have been so ruinous as to force me into an early grave.” Even with that Great Eastern was never a commercial success as a passenger ship, the opening of the Suez Canal, for which she was far too large, saw an end to her value on the Australian route. She did lay the first transatlantic cable in 1867. Brunel’s greatest achievement was the rapid redesign of the interplanetary spacecraft Royal Albert to accept James Alfred Ewing’s and James Stuart’s revolutionary new engines. Even though well advanced in years it was known that no other engineer could envision and execute such a vast moveable structure. He died in the orbital shipyard, suffering a stroke just as Royal Albert was being fitted out. He had been ridiculed for the lateness of the project and its radical design. It is sad that he did not live to hear the accolades that The Royal Albert’s triumph brought him.

Louis Brennan born 28-Jan-1852
Born in Ireland but always claimed by his adopted home of Australia Brennan is known for a great many inventions, the first of which was his guided marine torpedo. The principle of this famous weapon was quickly adapted for use with aerially launched weapons as well, and then a sea-based version was developed to attack airships. By 1890 his fame and fortune were secure and he was Superintendent of the sprawling Royal Torpedo Factory in Gosport. He was extremely active in the design and construction of the Royal Marine Terrapin amphibious fighting vehicles. Much of the work he did was also used in the development of fighting vehicles for the British Army.

R.E.B. Crompton born 31-May-1845
Crompton is typical of the polymaths produced by the Empire, versed in several languages; a capable field soldier and leader of combat troops he is also a technically brilliant scientist and engineer. One of the most competent electrical engineers and a man of vast experience with road traction engines R.E.B. Crompton had pioneered steam traction in India and Britain. Crompton had vast experience, winning a Crimean medal as boy of twelve and seeing active service with the Rifle Brigade in India. His close connection to his former regiment lead him to designed and fabricated the road battle trains used by the Rifle Regiment during the late summer of 1890. It was these powerful engines of destruction that were responsible for defeating several swarm raids and on more than one occasion preventing the breaking of the Taunton Stop Line which would have resulted in annihilation of large British formations. He was granted a Major’s commission in the Royal Armored Engineers after the failure of the Christmas Assault. He worked closely with Brennan to design the British Army’s new Land Fighting Vehicles. During the spring of 1892 Crompton was both the commander of the RAE service troops and a squadron of combat vehicles. He was with the renamed Royal Armoured Regiment under General Charles Gordon during the successful summer campaign of 1892. 

Henry Maudslay, born 22-Aug-1771, died 14-Feb-1831.
If Babbage was the father of a new age Maudslay was the midwife. His shop was renowned as the finest and most precise in England; this reputation attracted Babbage and began the partnership that would change the world. By 18XX Imperial Babbage and Maudslay would be building difference engines for customers around the world. Although know more for his skill as a machinist Maudslay was not without his own inventive streak, micrometers and advanced lathe designed sprang from his imagination only to be made real by his skilled hands. As importantly his workshop was a training ground for many outstanding engineers such as David Napier, Sir Joseph Whitworth, and James Naismith. To this day his company is one of the most important British precision engineering firms.

Sir Joseph Whitworth, Bt., born 21-Dec-1803, died 22-Jan-1887.

Whitworth is another of the group of Manchester mechanics that helped usher in the new age. He was trained in Maudslay’s shop and assisted with the construction of the first Difference Engines. By 1833 he opened his own business manufacturing machine tools, especially lathes. From the very he was known for exceptional workmanship, and he invented a method of using three trial surfaces to produce accurate flat surfaces. The modern ability to produce precisely shaped surfaces all sprang from his shop. By the Great Exposition in 1851 Whitworth was able to demonstrate measurement to the accuracy of one millionth of an inch. Precise measurement and accurate cutting enabled Whitworth to propose a standard set of screw thread sizes which has revolutionized the construction and maintenance of all types of manufactured equipment. Like Armstrong he became active in the field of armaments after the Crimean War, developing rifles and artillery pieces, with his signature level of precision both in their manufacture and the accuracy of their fire. Whitworth’s currently produces small arms and other weapons for the Hive War. He helped found the Manchester School of Design and has been very active in defending England’s lead in technically trained persons. 

Writers

Arthur Conan Doyle born 22-May-1859
A physician by training Doyle is best known for his literary creations. After serving as a ship’s doctor on several interplanetary voyages he settled in Southsea. He began to concentrate on literature and soon made a name for himself with his creation of the Great Detective Sherlock Holmes. Doyle’s adventures on Mars and Venus have left him with a tremendous interest in past civilizations. For a man of scientific learning he shows a strange fascination for the more mystical explanations as yet unexplained events and phenomena.  

Rudyard Kipling, born 30-Dec-1865.
If any single writer expresses the hopes of all England in the war against the invaders it is Kipling. Born in India to English parents Kipling name was first made writing poetry and fiction set on the subcontinent. One of the first Britains to find anything decent and honorable in Tommy Atkins the common rankers in the British Army Kipling has been their voice since this war began. His articles and stories appear in papers throughout the lands and the vast sympathy he feels for the soldiers fighting the aliens had helped their lot immeasurably.

Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson of Aldworth and Freshwater, born 6-Aug-1809.
Born to be a poet and current poet laureate of the country Tennyson is best known for the works he wrote in the middle of the century, including “the Charge of the Light Brigade”. The Queen greatly admires his work and recently awarded him a Peerage for his contributions to literature. He is the first writer to be so honored. His best works appears to be behind him, but his “Fall of Exeter” and “Holding the Taunton Line” still stir the blood of English warriors.

Gentlemen but not English Gentlemen
Konstantine Konstantino

Dmetri Ivanovich Mendeleev born 7-Feb-1834
 Oxygen provided one two of the most vexing problems of spaceflight. Humans need it to survive and rockets need it to allow their fuel to combust and the vacuum of space provides none. Mendeleev was the genius who solved the problem of storing and transporting. He grew up poor in Russia and was lucky to get any education at all. After graduation he became a teacher for a small school but quickly rose to greater things. His achievements
Ladies and other Women

Lady Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, née Lady Byron, born 10-Dec-1815, died 29-Nov-1852.
One of the first and most important supporters of Babbage and his engines Lady Byron was a fine mathematician in her own right. Sometimes called the Enchantress of Numbers she has become a nearly mythical figure in the history of the age. Struck down before her time mathematicians lament the loss of so great an intellect. Her first major work “Sketch of the Analytical Engine” started as a translation of Menabrea’s article on the device from the original Italian. She also added a substantial section “Translator’s Notes.” In this she foresaw many of the uses for the engine and developed the concept of “programs”. With the production of Babbage’s first simple Analytical Engine in 1845 Lady Byron devoted the last years of her too short life to writing an artificial language that would allow the machine to handle not only numbers but other abstract information. Although her work was far from complete it has proved the basis for the several different systems of machine computation and analysis.

Sonya Kovalevsky. Born 15-Jan-1850, died 10-Feb-1891.
As a member of the Russian privileged class Kovalevsky was educated by a series of nannies and private tutors. Her interest in Science sprung from exposure to an eccentric uncle who fascinated her with mysterious tales of mathematics and science. When she was eleven she was introduced to calculus by her father’s university notes, which were being used as wallpaper in her bedroom. By two years later she was mastering algebra and geometry. Sadly her father did not believe in education for women and it would be several years before Sonya would be able to begin serious training. In her first winter in St Petersburg she mastered Calculus and analytical geometry. She and her sister became part of a youthful movement that believed in a loosening of the tsarist society.
Equality for women was still a very long way off even in the capital. It required a marriage of convenience to allow them to escape Russia and study abroad, finding opportunity in Heidelberg. Even in Germany she could not enroll in the university, but was able to attend lectures and study independently. She received additional private education from Karl Weierstrass at the University of Berlin.
While there she became interested in the theory of spaceflight. It was her elegant mathematics that allowed the Russians to reach the Moon before any other Great Power. It was only through the use of male associates that her ideas could be brought the Russian Army’s rocket experts. It wasn’t until practical solutions for some the theoretical issues had to be resolved that Sonya was forced to claim authorship for her works. By this time it was too late for the complaints. The Tsar himself made it clear that so long as the Russians reached space before any of his cousins did he was unconcerned about who did it and how.
The revelation that a young woman was an architect of the Russian Space voyage struck a huge blow for the woman’s cause. Girls the world over now had a new heroine. Since that achievement Sonya has been far from idle, authoring papers, accepting honorariums, editing journals and writing several works of fiction. For all that her life has not been without its tragedies; her husband could not live with her fame and committed suicide and it is rumored that both she and her sister are gravely ill.