History hero

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Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, was a British Conservative politician who served twice as prime minister. (Chris Hellier/Corbis via Getty Images)

My history hero: Benjamin Disraeli (1804–81) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Richard Buckminster standing next to his draft of a house of the 21st century. (Ullstein picture via Getty Images)

My History Hero: Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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A photograph of J Meade Falkner, c1915. He

My history hero: J Meade Falkner (1858-1932) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Landscape gardener, architect and writer John Loudon.

My history hero: John Loudon (1783–1843) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Sue Townsend admires Charles Dickens (pictured c1960) for his battles against social injustice. (Photo by London Stereoscopic Company/Getty Images)

My history hero: Charles Dickens (1812-1870) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Ernest Bevin

My history hero: Ernest Bevin (1881-1951) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Frederick Courteney Selous (1851-1917). (Alamy)

My history hero: Frederick Courteney Selous (1851-1917) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Mary Beard, professor of classics at the University of Cambridge. (David Levenson/Getty Images)

My history hero: Sir Moses I Finley (1912–86) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, the leader of a network of French resistance agents during the Second World War. (Photo by AFP/Getty Images)

My history hero: Marie-Madeleine Fourcade (1909–89) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

American golfer Bobby Jones practising his swing on the roof of the Savoy Hotel in London. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

My history hero: Robert Tyre Jones (1902–71)

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Clarence Harry Willcock MP, who refused to show his identity card to a policeman, 13 June 1951. (Photo by Walter Bellamy/Express/Getty Images)

My history hero: Clarence Willcock . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Kathleen Kenyon challenged biblical accounts with her pioneering work at the ancient city of Jericho. (Photo by Bettmann/contributor via Getty Images)

My history hero: Kathleen Kenyon (1906–78) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Portrait of physician Elizabeth Blackwell. (Photo by Time Life Pictures/Timepix/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

My history hero: Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Field Marshal Harold Alexander, pictured in 1943. (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)

My history hero Field Marshal Harold Alexander (1891–1969) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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Sir Alec Clegg was the founder of Bretton Hall College (pictured), a West Yorkshire college specialising in arts and performance. (Photo by Memitina/Getty Images)

My history hero: Sir Alec Clegg (1909-86) . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.