Samuel Pepys PRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man. Although Pepys had no maritime experience, he rose by patronage, hard work, and his talent for administration to be the Chief Secretary to the Admiralty under both King Charles II and subsequently King James II.
His influence and reforms at the Admiralty were important in the early professionalisation of the Royal Navy.
The detailed private diary Pepys kept from 1660 until 1669 was first published in the 19th century and is one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period. It provides a combination of personal revelation and eyewitness accounts of great events, such as the Great Plague of London, the Second Dutch War, and the Great Fire of London.
Saw a wedding in the church. It was strange to see what delight we married people have to see these poor fools decoyed into our condition. wedding
Mighty proud I am that I am able to have a spare bed for my friends. friendship
As happy a man as any in the world, for the whole world seems to smile upon me! smile
Strange to see how a good dinner and feasting reconciles everybody. New Year's Day