Thomas Arne
Composer
Wrote the version of "God Save the King" that became the British national anthem. He also wrote "Rule, Britannia!" and "A-Hunting We Will Go."
He was educated at Eton College. His passion for music drove him to great lengths, such as dressing up as a liveryman in order to gain admittance into the Italian Opera gallery.
He was honored with a blue plaque that was unveiled at 31 King Street in Covent Garden in 1988.
His father and grandfather were skilled upholsterers who were prominent in the City Company of Upholsterers. He married Cecilia Young in 1737.
He and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart were both their 18th-century European composers.