c. 1027-1087

Norman-English Military Leader and King

Although he did not personally invent a single item or develop any specific piece of technology, William the Conqueror had more impact on the material culture of the English-speaking world than all but a handful of individuals. He is best known, of course, as the leader of the Norman invasion that in 1066 supplanted the Anglo-Saxon kings who had ruled England for some six centuries. The Norman invasion—the watershed event in all of English history—brought with it innovations in warfare, political organization, record-keeping, taxation, architecture, and most of all language that are still felt today.

William descended from a line of Vikings or "Northmen"—hence the name Normans—that had lived in northern France for about two centuries prior to his birth. The illegitimate son of Duke Robert I of Normandy (d. 1035) and a tanner's daughter...