Nicholas Simon Lyndhurst (born 20 April 1961) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Rodney Trotter in Only Fools and Horses, Gary Sparrow in Goodnight Sweetheart, and as Adam Parkinson in Carla Lane's series Butterflies. Lyndhurst also prominently starred as Ashley Philips in The Two of Us, as Fletch's son Raymond in Going Straight, the sequel to the classic British sitcom Porridge, Jimmy Venables in After You've Gone, and Freddie 'The Frog' Robdal in the Only Fools and Horses prequel Rock & Chips.

Career[link]

Born on 20 April 1961, Nicholas was a child student at Corona Theatre School. He appeared in a succession of television commercials and children's films in the late 1970s. Lyndhurst first gained national recognition at the age of seventeen in the sitcom Butterflies written by Carla Lane, in which he played the character Adam Parkinson. He then played Raymond Fletcher the teenage son of Norman Stanley 'Fletch' Fletcher played by Ronnie Barker in Going Straight before achieving national stardom in the series Only Fools and Horses in which he played Rodney Trotter, the younger brother of the main character Derek "Del Boy" Trotter. In Only Fools and Horses Nicholas was immortalised by the catchphrase aimed at his character 'Rodney, "you plonker".

This programme started as a small comedy in 1981 and rapidly grew in popularity until it reached its peak in 1996 with its Christmas Day show in the UK. Lyndhurst has appeared in the show since the very start, right up to its most recent airing at Christmas 2003. '[Only Fools and Horses reached No.1 British sitcom ever in the BBC poll in 2003/04.

During the 1990s, Lyndhurst also appeared in ITV's The Two of Us with Janet Dibley and The Piglet Files, as well as in a number of stage performances.

Between 1993 and 1999, he played the complex lead character of Gary Sparrow in the fantasy sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart. At around the same time, he was the face and voice on the TV and radio commercials for the telecommunications chain People's Phone. In 1997, he was offered the role in The Full Monty playing lead role Gary but declined.

Between 1997 and 1999, Nicholas Lyndhurst was the public face of the stationery chain store WH Smith, starring in their adverts as all four members of one family. He won a BAFTA for his acting in the adverts. In 1999, he played the villainous Uriah Heep opposite Daniel Radcliffe and Maggie Smith in David Copperfield.

In 2006, he appeared as Cruella de Vil's chauffeur, Reg Farnsworth, at the Children's Party at the Palace.

In 2007, Lyndhurst returned to the BBC with his first new sitcom in thirteen years, After You've Gone, in which he plays a divorced dad moving back into the marital home to look after his daughter (Dani Harmer) and son (Ryan Sampson) together with his mother in law, played by Celia Imrie, after his ex wife goes to work as a recovery nurse on a third world disaster relief mission.

Lyndhurst played Freddie Robdal, the 1960s gangster father of Rodney Trotter in the prequel to Only Fools and Horses - Rock & Chips. The show centres around Del Boy, Robdal and Joan Trotter in early 1960s Peckham. It was first broadcast on 24 January 2010, with another special transmitted on 29 December 2010, and the final episode in Easter 2011.

Personal life[link]

He lives in West Sussex with his wife Lucy, a former ballet dancer (married in Chichester, West Sussex, 1999). They have a son, Archie Bjorn Lyndhurst (born Westminster). Lyndhurst has a passion for outdoor activities, including flying aeroplanes, surfing and deep sea diving. He is also a keen beekeeper.^[1][2]

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

Film[link]

• Bequest to the Nation
• Bullshot
• Endless Nights
• Gunbus
• Lassie

References[link]

External links[link]

• Nicholas Lyndhurst at the Internet Movie Database
• Nicholas Lyndhurst at the British Film Institute's Screenonline

John Sullivan
3rd & 5th Governor of New Hampshire
In office 1786 – 1788 1789–1790
Preceded by	John Langdon (1786 & 1789)
Succeeded by	John Langdon (1788) Josiah Bartlett (1790)
Personal details
Born	February 17, 1740 Somersworth, New Hampshire
Died	January 23, 1795(1795-01-23) (aged 54) Durham, New Hampshire
Political party	Federalist
Signature

John Sullivan (February 17, 1740 – January 23, 1795) was a American General in the Revolutionary War, a delegate in the Continental Congress and a United States federal judge.

Sullivan, the third son of Irish settlers, served as a major general in the Continental Army and as Governor (or "President") of New Hampshire. He commanded the Sullivan Expedition in 1779, a scorched earth campaign against the Iroquois towns that had taken up arms against the American revolutionaries. As a member of Congress, Sullivan worked closely with the French Ambassador the Chevalier de la Luzerne.

Early career[link]

Born in Somersworth, New Hampshire, Sullivan was the third son of a schoolmaster. He read law with Samuel Livermore of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and began its practice in 1764 when he moved to Durham. He annoyed many neighbors in his early career, when he was the only lawyer in town, with numerous suits over foreclosures. But by 1772, he was firmly established and began work to improve his relations with the community. In 1773 Alexander Scammel joined John Sullivan's law practice.

He was sent by Durham to the colony's general assembly, and built a friendship with the royal governor John Wentworth. As the American Revolution grew nearer, he began to side more with the radicals. In 1774 the first Provincial (or rebel) Congress sent him as a delegate to the First Continental Congress. After Paul Revere alerted the Portsmouth militia of a rumored British movement toward Fort William and Mary in December 1774, Sullivan was one of the leaders of the militia force who raided the fort for its military provisions on December 14.

In 1775 he was returned to the Second Continental Congress, but when they appointed him a brigadier general in June, he left to join the army at the siege of Boston.

Revolutionary War[link]

After the British evacuated Boston in the spring of 1776, Washington sent General Sullivan north to replace the fallen John Thomas as commander in Quebec. He took command of the sick and faltering invasion force, sent some of those forces on an unsuccessful counterattack against the British at Trois-Rivières, and withdrew the survivors to Crown Point. This led to the first of several controversies between Congress and General Sullivan, as they sought a scapegoat for the failed invasion of Canada. He was exonerated and promoted to major general on August 9, 1776.

Long Island[link]

Sullivan rejoined Washington and was placed in command of the troops on Long Island to defend against British General Howe's forces about to envelop New York City. But then, on August 23, Washington split the command between Sullivan and General Israel Putnam. Confusion about the distribution of command contributed to the American defeat at the Battle of Long Island four days later. Sullivan's personal bravery was unquestioned, as he engaged the Hessian attackers with a pistol in each hand; however, he was captured.

General Howe and his brother, Admiral Richard Howe, managed to convince Sullivan that a conference with members of the Continental Congress might lead to peace, and released him on parole to deliver a message to the Congress in Philadelphia,^[1] proposing an informal meeting to discuss ending the armed conflict between Britain and its rebellious colonies. After Sullivan's speech to Congress, John Adams cynically commented on this diplomatic attempt, calling Sullivan a "decoy-duck" and accusing the British of sending Sullivan "to seduce us into a renunciation of our independence"; others noted that it appeared to be an attempt to blame Congress for prolonging the war.^[2][3] Congress did agree to a conference, which accomplished nothing.

New Jersey and Pennsylvania[link]

General Sullivan was released in a prisoner exchange in time to rejoin Washington before the Battle of Trenton. There his division secured the important bridge over the Assunpink Creek to the north of the town. This prevented escape and ensured the high number of Hessian prisoners captured. This route is now the main road in Ewing Township, New Jersey and is called "Sullivans Way". In January 1777, Sullivan also performed well in the Battle of Princeton.^{[citation needed]}

In August, he led a raid on Staten Island. Again Congress found fault, but he was exonerated by the court of inquiry. This was followed by American losses at Brandywine and Germantown. Congress was frustrated by the continued British occupation of Philadelphia, but since Washington was the only man holding the army together, they made Sullivan the scapegoat.

Rhode Island[link]

A 1778 French military map showing the positions of generals Lafayette and Sullivan around Newport Bay on August 30 during the Rhode Island campaign.

In early 1778 he was transferred to the post of Rhode Island where he led Continental troops and militia. It was intended he work together with a French Navy fleet to assault or besiege British- heldNewport which was regarded as extremely vulnerable since France's entry into the war. The attempt was called off when the French fleet of Admiral d'Estaing was scattered and damaged by a storm. Owing to the damage to his ships, and discouraged by the arrival of a British fleet under Lord Howe, D'Estaing withdrew to Boston. The British garrison of Newport then sortied, forcing Sullivan into retreat after fighting the inconclusive Battle of Rhode Island in August 1778.

The failure to defeat what appeared to be a very vulnerable garrison, and the manner in which the campaign collapsed provoked a major rift in Franco-American relations. Sullivan wrote a letter to D'estaing protesting what he saw as treachery and cowardice and describing it as "derogatory to the honor of France".^[4] The failed campaign sparked an international incident between the two allies, and was followed a year later by another unsuccessful attack on a British garrison at the Siege of Savannah. Sullivan's career wasn't badly affected by the debacle, and he was considered as a potential commander for a speculative invasion of Canada.

Expedition against Iroquoia[link]

James Clinton and John Sullivan

In the summer of 1779, Sullivan led the Sullivan Expedition, a massive campaign against the Iroquois in western New York. During this campaign, troops destroyed a very large Cayuga settlement, called Coreorgonel, on what is now the southwest side of Ithaca, New York. To reach the enemy homeland, Sullivan's army took a southerly route to western New York through northeast Pennsylvania, which required creating a new road through lightly inhabited areas of the Pocono Mountains, which still exists and is known as Sullivan's Trail.

He pushed his troops so hard that their horses became unusable, and killed them on this campaign, creating the namesake for Horseheads, New York. The lukewarm response of the Congress was more than he could accept. Broken, tired and again opposed by Congress, he retired from the army in 1779 and returned to New Hampshire. Around this time, Sullivan was approached by British agents who tried to persuade him to switch sides. This was part of a concerted effort of approaches to other Generals such as Moses Hazen, Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold who it was believed were unhappy with their treatment by Congress and had lost their faith in the goal of American independece. It was a strategy with mixed results - but which produced the notable defection of Arnold.^[5]

Congress[link]

At home Sullivan was a hero. New Hampshire returned him as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1780. But he still had opponents there. In 1781 when he borrowed money from the French minister to Congress, they accused him of being a foreign agent.^{[citation needed]} He resigned from the Congress in August 1781.

Later life[link]

Returning home to New Hampshire, he was named the state's attorney general in 1782 and served until 1786. During this same time he was elected to the state assembly, and served as speaker of the house. He led the drive in New Hampshire that led to ratification of the United States Constitution on June 21, 1788. He was elected President of New Hampshire (now Governor) in 1786, 1787 and 1789.

When the new federal government was created, President George Washington nominated him on September 24, 1789, to be the first federal judge for the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire, created by 1 Stat. 73. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 26, 1789, and received his commission the same day. Although his health prevented his sitting on the bench after 1792,^{[citation needed]} he held the post until he died on January 23, 1795, aged 54, at his home in Durham. He was interred in the family cemetery there.

He was first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire and had been a member of St. John's Lodge, Portsmouth, New Hampshire since 1767.^[6]

Legacies[link]

Counties in New York, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Tennessee, and Missouri were all named for him, as was Sullivan Street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan.^{[citation needed]} The General Sullivan Bridge spanning Little Bay near his home town of Durham, New Hampshire, as is Sullivan's Trail, a road through northeast Pennsylvania that in many areas follows the road made by Sullivan's army in 1779. Towns in Illinois, New Hampshire, and New York are named after him.

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Everest, Allan S. Moses Hazen and the Canadian Refugees in the American Revolution. Syracuse University Press, 1976.
• Fischer, David Hackett (2004). Washington's Crossing. New York: Oxford University Press US. ISBN 978-0-19-518159-3. OCLC 186017328. 
• Golway, Terry. Washington's General: Nathanael Greene and the Triumph of the American Revolution. Owl Books, 2006.
• Gruber, Ira (1972). The Howe Brothers and the American Revolution. New York: Atheneum Press. OCLC 1464455. 
• Trevelyan, Sir George Otto (1903). The American Revolution: 1766-1776. London & New York: Longmans, Green. OCLC 8978164. http://books.google.com/books?id=Dad2AAAAMAAJ&dq=Trevelyan%20%22intitle%3AThe%20American%20Revolution%22%20howe%20adams%20-princeton&pg=PA263#v=onepage&q&f=false. 

External links[link]

	United States Army portal
	New Hampshire portal
	Biography portal

• John Sullivan at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• John Sullivan at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• State Builders: An Illustrated Historical and Biographical Record of the State of New Hampshire. State Builers Publishing Manchester, NH 1903

v t e Governors of New Hampshire Weare Langdon Sullivan Langdon Sullivan J. Bartlett Gilman Langdon J. Smith Langdon Plumer Gilman Plumer S. Bell Woodbury Morril Pierce J. Bell Pierce Harvey Dinsmoor Badger Hill Page Hubbard Steele Colby Williams Dinsmoor Jr. Martin Baker Metcalf Haile Goodwin Berry Gilmore Smyth Harriman Stearns Weston Straw Weston Cheney Prescott Head C. Bell Hale Currier Sawyer Goodell Tuttle J. B. Smith Busiel Ramsdell Rollins Jordan Bachelder McLane Floyd Quinby Bass Felker R. Spaulding Keyes J. H. Bartlett A. Brown F. Brown Winant H. Spaulding Tobey Winant Bridges Murphy Blood Dale Adams H. Gregg Dwinell Powell King Peterson Thomson Gallen Roy Sununu J. Gregg Merrill Shaheen Benson Lynch

Not to be confused with Canadian ice-hockey player Rod Gilbert.

Rhodri "Rhod" Gilbert, (born 18 October 1968) is a Welsh comedian who was nominated in 2005 for the Perrier Best Newcomer Award. In 2008, he was nominated for the main if.comedy (as the Edinburgh Comedy Awards were then branded).^[1]

He appears on television and radio panel shows, has performed stand-up on the Royal Variety Performance, and hosts a weekly show on BBC Radio Wales.^[2]