who was samuel pepys. >> they called it pep-ys that we know that it was pronounced pepys. he was born in 1633 and of a poor family. again i always right from people that come from humble background and make their way. i find that an interesting thing to do. so his father was a taylor and his mother did of washing in london. he was clever. he went to cambridge. when crumble was running the country and they took them out of oxford and cambridge and appointed his own men because he knew if he were to run the country you needed to have your people teaching the clever young people so he was at cambridge for a long time. and he had a cousin that was a friend and fought with cromwell, but then after he died, she was one of those who supported the charles ii she was given every opportunity and his young cousin got a very good job in the needy and in the office and made his career. the most interesting thing about him is that he had learned shorthand at cambridge and started keeping a diary in the 16 sixties when they came back. for nine and a half years this young man wrote a diar