English chess player Joseph Henry Blackburne was born on 10 December 1841 in Manchester. As a child he played draughts but after he had learnt about Paul Morphy’s success all over the Continent, he switched to chess. He learnt endgame theory from Bernard Horwitz. His peak World Ranking is 2nd (in 77 different months between September 1873 and February 1889). He was considered one of the ten best chess players between 1865 and 1892. According to Chessmetrics his highest rating is 2748.

He never held a World Champion title and never played World Championship matches. He also never participated in any Chess Olympiads.

Interesting facts: 

Blackburne is the iconic figure of the romantic chess, as his playing style was very tactical and open. His long black beard and aggressive play earned him the nickname “der Schwarze Tod”, “the Black Death”, referring to the common name of the plague. He gained this name based on his achievement in the Vienna chess tournament in 1873. 

He died of a heart attack on 1 September 1924 at the age of 82 in London.