Writer besides being a columnist, is also an architecture critic and author of books. Writers who record their experiences, thoughts or feelings in a sequential form over a period of time in a diary are known as diarists. Their writings can provide valuable insights into historical periods, specific events or individual personalities. Examples include Samuel Pepys (1633–1703), an English administrator and Member of Parliament, whose detailed private diary provides eyewitness accounts of events during the 17th century, most notably of the Great Fire of London. Anne Frank (1929–1945) was a 13-year-old girl whose diary from 1942 to 1944 records both her
John Byng, 5th Viscount Torrington assessment that "The Torrington Diaries" or "Rides Round Britain" have no enduring historical value. Like Samuel Pepys, Byng conveys a most vivid impression of what it was like for the diarist to live from day to day in the society of his own period. John Byng, 5th Viscount Torrington John Byng, 5th Viscount Torrington (18 February 1743 – 8 January 1813), styled for most of his lifetime "The Hon. John Byng" (before 1812), was a notable English diarist. His fifteen extant diaries, covering the years 1781–1794, describe his travels on horseback throughout England and Wales during twelve summers. He was