Ralph Allen (1693 – 29 June 1764) was an entrepreneur and philanthropist, and was notable for his reforms to the British postal system. He was baptised at St Columb Major, Cornwall on 24 July 1693. As a teenager he worked at the Post Office. He moved in 1710 to Bath, where he became a post office clerk, and at the age of 19, in 1712, became the Postmaster of Bath. In 1742 was elected Mayor of Bath, was the Member of Parliament for Bath between 1757 and 1764.

At the age of 27 Allen took control of the Cross and Bye Posts in the South West under a seven-year contract with the General Post Office, although he had no official title. At the end of this period he had not made a profit, only breaking even. But he had the courage to continue – with breathtaking success.

Over the next few years he reformed the postal service. He realised that post boys were delivering items of mail along their route without them being declared and that this was lost profit. He introduced a "signed for system" that prevented the malpractice. He also improved efficiency by not requiring mail to go via London.

Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Swift moved to Nashville, Tennessee at the age of fourteen to pursue a career in country music. She signed to the independent label Big Machine Records and became the youngest songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house. The release of Swift's self-titled debut album in 2006 established her as a country music star. "Our Song", her third single, made her the youngest sole writer and singer of a number one song on the country chart. She received a Best New Artist nomination at the 50th Grammy Awards.

Swift's second album, Fearless, was released in late 2008. Buoyed by the chart success of the singles "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me", Fearless attracted a crossover audience and became the top-selling album of 2009. The record won four Grammy Awards, with Swift becoming the youngest ever Album of the Year winner. Fearless also received Album of the Year plaudits at the American Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards and Country Music Association Awards, making it the most awarded album in country music history. In 2010, Swift released her third album, Speak Now, which sold over one million copies in its first week. She then embarked on the 111-date Speak Now World Tour, which was attended by over 1.6 million fans and has become one of the highest-grossing concert tours of all time. The album's third single, "Mean", won two Grammy Awards for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance. Swift is currently recording her fourth studio album, due for release in the fall of 2012.

John Mayers (1801 — April 1865) was an English cricketer who played for Kent. He was born in Benenden and died in Hawkhurst.

Mayers made a single first-class appearance for Kent, in 1827, against Sussex. Batting in the tailend, he scored a duck in the first innings before being bowled out by William Lillywhite, and a single run in the second innings, before being run out.

David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American alt-country/rock singer-songwriter, from Jacksonville, North Carolina. Initially part of the group Whiskeytown, which was earlier considered one of the leaders of the alt-country genre, Adams left the band and released his first solo album Heartbreaker in 2000. The album was nominated for the Shortlist Music Prize. Adams has released six additional solo albums, including the UK certified-gold Gold, and five albums with The Cardinals.

Adams has also produced albums for Jesse Malin and Willie Nelson and collaborated with the Counting Crows, Weezer, Norah Jones, America, Minnie Driver, Cowboy Junkies, Leona Naess, Toots & the Maytals, Beth Orton and Krista Polvere. He has written a book of poems, Infinity Blues, and Hello Sunshine, a collection of poems and short stories. In 2009 Adams married singer-songwriter and actress Mandy Moore, left The Cardinals and announced that he was taking a break from music.

Adams resumed performing in October 2010 and released his thirteenth studio album, Ashes & Fire, on October 11, 2011. The album peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200.

Alexander George Clare (born 14 September 1985 in Southwark, London, England) is a British singer-songwriter. His debut album, The Lateness of the Hour, was released in the UK on 11 July 2011 on Island Records and was produced by Mike Spencer and Major Lazer.

Clare adopted his current stage name, Alex Clare, in 2010, replacing Alexander G. Muertos, a pseudonym he first used whilst still at school.

Clare was born in Southwark, London. He grew up listening to his father’s jazz records and was drawn to blues and soul (Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder), which eventually led to interests in drum and bass and UK garage. Though Clare took up the trumpet and drums as a youngster, he eventually placed an emphasis on guitar and songwriting, playing open mike nights with original material.^{[citation needed]}

A demo earned him a deal with the Island label in the UK. His debut album, The Lateness of the Hour, produced by Mike Spencer and Major Lazer was released in July 2011. The first single from the album was "Up All Night", followed by "Too Close" and "Treading Water".