Sir Christopher Wren

Hello! My name is Christopher Wren. I was born a very long time ago, on October 20th, 1632, in a village in England. When I was a boy, I was often sick, so I spent a lot of time indoors reading and drawing. I loved learning about everything, especially science and the stars. I would spend hours looking at the moon and planets through telescopes and drawing what I saw. I also loved making models of buildings out of wood and cardboard. I didn't know it then, but all this practice would help me with a very important job one day.

When I grew up, I went to the famous University of Oxford. I became a professor of astronomy, which is the study of stars and planets. I was very good at math and science, and I even helped start a special club for scientists called the Royal Society in 1660. We would meet and share our exciting new ideas. Even though I loved looking up at the sky, I also became very interested in the buildings all around me. I wondered how I could use my math skills to design big, beautiful, and strong buildings.

Then, something sad and enormous happened. In 1666, a huge fire swept through the city of London. It was called the Great Fire of London. It burned for days and destroyed thousands of homes and churches, including the city's main cathedral, called St. Paul's. The city was a mess of ash and rubble. The king, Charles II, knew that London had to be rebuilt, and he needed someone with big ideas to help.

The king asked me to help rebuild London! It was the biggest job of my life. I was put in charge of designing 52 new churches. But my most important project was the new St. Paul's Cathedral. I wanted to build something magnificent that would make everyone in London feel hopeful again. I drew up plans for a giant, beautiful church with a huge dome on top. Construction started in 1675, and it took 35 years to finish! It was a lot of hard work, but seeing that amazing dome rise above the city made it all worth it.

I designed many other important buildings too, like the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, where scientists could study the stars. I lived a very long and busy life and was 90 years old when I passed away. Today, hundreds of years later, my buildings are still standing all across London. If you ever visit and see the giant, beautiful dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, you will be looking at my greatest dream come true. People say that if you want to see my monument, all you have to do is look around you in London.