Famous English People

Boudicca was a Royal Member of the Iceni tribe (modern-day

Boudicca (1st Century AD) Norfolk). She was chosen as leader of the Britons in their revolt
against the Roman occupation. Initially successful, her army of
100,000 sacked Colchester and then London.
Her army was later defeated.

Legendary King of the Britons who defended Britain against

King Arthur (6th Century). Saxon invaders, uniting the country. Sources are vague, but he
may have been based in Wales.

Born in Wantage, Alfred was King of Wessex and also titled

King Alfred  himself king of the Anglo-Saxons. An educated and enlightened
King, who defended Britain against the Vikings.

Danish prince who became King of England and Denmark. Canute

ruled England for 19 years and was widely regarded as a wise
King Canute ruler who succeeded in ending Viking invasions and brought a
degree of peace and stability to England. He was also famed for
displaying to his courtiers the limitations of an earthly king when
the tide rose to his throne.

A legendary figure who owes as much to popular fiction as

historical accuracy. Considered by legend to be a heroic outlaw
Robin Hood based around the Forest of Sherwood, near Nottingham, during
the reign of Richard III.

Archbishop of Canterbury during the time of Henry II. Initially a

Thomas Beckett friend of Henry II, his opposition to King Henry II as Archbishop of
Canterbury made him an opponent of the King. Beckett was
murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by supporters of the king.

Second monarch from the House of Lancaster.

King Henry V Henry V is most famous for leading the English to a decisive
victory at the Battle of Agincourt during the ongoing one
hundred years war with France.

John Dunstable English composer of polyphonic music.

Right-hand man of Henry VIII – Helped Henry to marry Anne

Thomas Cromwell Boleyn and split the Church of England from Rome.
Cromwell led the dissolution of the monasteries and played a key
role in the English Protestant Reformation.

Tudor English King. To marry his 2nd wife – Anne Boleyn, Henry
King Henry VIII  VIII split the Church of England from Rome, a key element in the
English Protestant Reformation.

Tyndale, was one of the first persons to print the Bible in

 William Tyndale English. He worked on translating the Bible into English even
when it was deemed to be an illegal act.
He was executed for blasphemy after years of evading capture.

Anne Boleyn 2nd wife to Henry VIII.

Anne Boleyn was influential in forcing Henry VIII to break with
Rome and set up the Church of England.
Anne Boleyn refused to be Henry’s mistress – only Queen.
She was crowned Queen in 1533, but after failing to produce a
male heir, Boleyn was executed

Sir Walter Raleigh  Raleigh was an English explorer, adventurer, historian and poet.
He was an influential figure at the court of Elizabeth I, and a
noted explorer of the New World.
He was a key figure in the English settlements and colonisation in
North America – especially in Virginia.

Daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn.

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth took the throne after a period of turmoil.
However, her reign proved a stabilising influence, and
importantly saw the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the
emergence of England as a global power. During her reign, an
increased number of explorations were made to the ‘New
World’ in America.

English composer of the Renaissance. He helped the

William Byrd development of Anglican church music, and also secular vocal
music.

English admiral and explorer, born in Tavistock, Devon.

Sir Francis Drake He made several voyages to the Americas and carried out the
second circumnavigation of the world.

Born in Stratford  Upon Avon –  the foremost writer and poet of

William Shakespeare the English language. His plays, such as Macbeth, Romeo and
Juliet, and Hamlet have had a huge impact on culture, language
and literature around the world.

Born in York, Fawkes was a Catholic conspirator in the great

Guy Fawkes  ‘Gun Powder Plot’ in which dissidents planned to blow up
Parliament and King James. However, the plot was discovered
and Fawkes executed.

English physician. He was the first known doctor to describe in

William Harvey detail the circulation and properties of blood being pumped to
the brain and body by the heart.
 Oliver Cromwell Cromwell was an English military and political leader of the
Parliamentarians during the English civil war.
After the defeat of the monarchy, Cromwell became Lord
Protector. Follower of a puritanical Protestantism

Physicist, mathematician, alchemist, and philosopher.

Newton studied at Univ of Cambridge. He is widely considered
Sir Isaac Newton the greatest scientist of all time. His scientific breakthroughs led
to significant increases in our understanding of gravity, optics
and mathematics.

Locke was a leading philosopher and political theorist, who had

a profound impact on liberal political thought. He is credited
John Locke  with ideas, such as the social contract – the idea government
needs to be with the consent of the governed.

John Harrison  Clockmaker and inventor of measuring longitude.

Born in Foulby, Yorkshire.

Captain James Cook Born Middlesborough, Cook was an English seaman who led
many ground-breaking voyages into uncharted seas in the Pacific.
Cook mapped islands and lands from New Zealand to Hawaii.

Thomas Paine Paine was an English-American writer and political activist.

His republican writings proved very influential in encouraging
Americans to join the American revolution.

Jenner was the pioneer of a smallpox vaccine. Jenner’s

Edward Jenner breakthrough also enabled many other vaccines to be developed.

English poet, engraver, artist and mystic. Born in Soho, London.

William Blake Blake held radical views for his time and was a seminal figure in
the Romantic period of the Nineteenth Century.

Lord Nelson Nelson was a British naval officer who gained fame after dying
during the Battle of Trafalgar (1 – one of Britain’s greatest naval
victories

William Wilberforce Wilberforce was an MP, evangelical Christian, philanthropist and

a principal figure in the movement to abolish slavery.
His life’s goal was achieved shortly before his death.
 Mary Wollstonecraft Mary was an author who wrote novels and historical treatises.
She is best known for her “A Vindication of the Rights of
Women”  which was an early argument for the equality of men
and women.

Thomas Malthus Malthus was an English rector who was an influential economist
in the early nineteenth century. Best known for his book An
Essay on the Principle of Population, which had the prophecy
that the population would grow faster than food production.

Duke of Wellington Born in Ireland, to a wealthy Anglo-Irish family.

Wellington defeated Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo (1815).
He twice served as Prime Minister for the UK.

William Wordsworth Wordsworth was a major English romantic poet, with much of
his poetry inspired by his native Lake District. Helped usher in the
Romantic Age of English literature. English poet laureate.

Novelist from Hampshire. Jane Austen’s novels included Pride

Jane Austen  and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and  Emma. Austen is one of the
most widely read novelists in the English language

Mathematician and inventor. He is best remembered for being

Charles Babbage the ‘father of computers’
Although many of his early models were not finished, his work
laid the foundation for later computers.

Faraday was a scientist who contributed in the fields of

Michael Faraday electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, electrolysis and
electrochemistry. Discovered Carbon and Chlorine

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Mechanical and civil engineer. Brunel played a key role in
building the early railway network and built many ground-
breaking ships and bridges.

Charles Darwin Naturalist and geologist. Darwin wrote ‘On the Origin of Species‘
which explained how humans evolved from more primitive
animal forms in a process known as evolution and natural
selection. Its publication created a storm of debate as it
challenged the literal word of the Bible.

Victorian novelist. Dickens created some of the most memorable

Charles Dickens characters in English Literature, whilst also criticising the worst
excesses of Victorian society.
 Novels included Oliver Twist and David Copperfield.

Novelist and poet from Haworth, Yorkshire.

Emily Bronte Along with her sisters, she had a significant influence on English
novels and poetry.
She is best remembered for her classic ‘Wuthering Heights‘

Queen Victoria Queen of England to her death in 1901.

During her reign, the British Empire spread across the globe.
Victoria herself was made Empress of India.
She came to epitomise a century

although born in Italy, she spent many years working in England

Florence Nightingale helping to establish the nursing profession. She used her
experiences working as a nurse in the Crimean war to establish
better medical practices.

Lister was a surgeon. He pioneered the use of antiseptic

Joseph Lister (Carbolic acid) and antiseptic surgery which dramatically
improved survival rates.

Fawcett was a leading suffragist and campaigner for equal rights

for women.
Millicent Fawcett She led Britain’s biggest suffrage organisation, the non-violent
(NUWSS)
She also helped found Newnham College, Cambridge.

Born in Clapham London, Besant was a socialist and campaigner

for social justice.
Annie Besant  She was an advocate of women’s rights and later member of the
Theosophist society. She also actively campaigned for Indian
independence.

Music composer.
Famous works include Enigma Variations  and Symphony No. 2.
Edward Elgar Elgar wrote significant works of English musical identity,
e.g. Pomp and Circumstance, (including unofficial English
national anthem – Land of Hope and Glory)

Lord Baden Powell Powell was the founder of the World Scouting Movement and
Chief Scout of the world.
He was also a member of the British army and was involved in
the Siege of Mafeking.

Emmeline Pankhurst Pankhurst was an influential leader of the British suffragette

movement. Emily Pankhurst dedicated her life to the promotion
of women’s rights including violent protest.
 Born Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, Churchill was Prime
Winston Churchill Minister,
successfully leading Great Britain against Nazi Germany.
Churchill held many ministerial posts in Liberal and Conservative
governments

Keynes was the outstanding economist of his generation.

His classic work ‘The General Theory of Employment, Interest
John M Keynes and Money  offered solutions to the Great Depression and led to
the creation of macroeconomics. He was also involved in the
Versailles Peace Treaty , resigning in protest at its harsh terms.

Bernard Montgomery  Montgomery was a British General during World War Two.
Montgomery led the successful British action at El-Alamein.
He also led British divisions during the liberation of Europe

Lawrence grew up in Oxford. An archaeologist who, as a British

T.E. Lawrence  officer, led the Arab revolt against Ottoman Empire in Arabia
during the First World War.

Comic and actor.

Chaplin was one of the first media stars of the Twentieth
Sir Charlie Chaplin Century. Chaplin moved to Hollywood where he became famous
for his silent movies and comic talent.

Author, philologist and poet born in South Africa, and brought up

J R R Tolkien in Birmingham.
He became an Oxford don who wrote The Hobbit, and the epic
trilogy ‘Lord of the Rings‘.
Lord of the Rings made him one of the best-selling authors of the
Twentieth Century, spawning a new genre of fantasy
Born in Cairo, Egypt. Hodgkin studied at Sommerville College,
Oxford University.
Dorothy Hodgkin She was awarded the Nobel prize for chemistry for her work in
developing X-ray crystallography. She also discovered the
structure of both penicillin and later insulin.

Franklin was a British Chemist who made significant

Rosalind Franklin contributions to understanding the structure of DNA and RNA.

Born in Grantham, Thatcher was British Prime Minister.

Margaret Thatcher She oversaw a period of rapid social and economic change in
Britain. She was a conviction politician unafraid to speak her
mind and pursue her ideology.

Born Mayfair, London, first daughter of King George VI and

Queen Elizabeth II (1926 – ) Queen Elizabeth.
She ascended to the throne in 1952 and is the longest serving
 British monarch.

English broadcaster and wildlife presenter.

David Attenborough Attenborough has been the lead presenter for BBC Wildlife
programmes for several decades.
Advocate for environmental protection.

doctor and athlete. Bannister was the first athlete to break the
Sir Roger Bannister four-minute mile at Iffley Road track, Oxford.

Actor and writer. Caine has featured in over 100 films, including
Sir Michael Caine  some of the most famous films of his generation, such
as Zulu, The Italian Job, and A Bridge too far.

Singer and actress.

Julie Andrews Famous for her lead role in ‘Mary Poppins‘ Awarded Academy
Award for best actress.
She also starred in the classic film ‘The Sound of Music’ 

Born in Liverpool, England, Lennon was a key member of the

John Lennon Beatles, writing many songs and being a key personality of the
band. After the Beatles broke up, Lennon continued with a highly
successful solo career, until his murder .

Singer and musician. Born in India.

Cliff Richard Richard spent most of his life in the UK.
He has led one of longest rock ‘n’ roll careers in show-business

Moore was a footballer who played for West Ham and England.
Bobby Moore He captained England during World Cup triumph.
He was widely regarded as a true gentleman on and off the pitch.

Musician from Liverpool. McCartney wrote many of the Beatles

Paul McCartney hit singles with John Lennon. After the split of the Beatles, he
continued his music career with The Wings and solo.

He is an English theoretical physicist.

Stephen Hawking Despite suffering from motor-neurone disease, Hawking has
made many important scientific discoveries and helped to
explain science to the general public.

Musician from Liverpool. One of four key members of the

George Harrison Beatles. George Harrison also led a solo career and had an
interest in Hindu meditation.

Elton John is a pianist and singer.

Elton John One of the best-selling artists of all time.
His single “Candle in the Wind” sold over 33 million copies in
1997 – one of the best-selling singles of all time.
 Businessman and entrepreneur.
Richard Branson A high school drop out, Richard Branson founded the
multinational Virgin group of more than 400 companies,
including Virgin Mobile, Virgin Airways and Virgin Trains.

Born in Scotland, Blair was British Prime Minister.

Tony Blair Blair was elected on a platform of great optimism after 18 years
of Conservative rule.
His leadership became controversial after supporting the US-led
invasion of Iraq.

Tim Berners-Lee Computer scientist

Berners-Lee is credited with the creation of the world wide web
(WWW) which enabled transfer of documents across the
internet.

Athlete. Coe was a British Olympic medalist winner at 800m.

Sebastian Coe Sebastian Coe also became a Conservative MP and later led
London’s successful bid for the 2012 Olympics

Diana married Prince Charles and gained a high profile for her
Princess Diana humanitarian work and the support she gave to various
charities. After her marriage broke down, she continued to
remain in the public limelight until her untimely death, whilst
chased by the paparazzi in Paris.

Born New York, Johnson became Mayor of London and one of

Boris Johnson the best-known politicians in the country.
He is famous for his slightlyeccentric behaviour, which hasn’t
inhibited his political career. PM!

He was leader of the Conservative party and Prime Minister.

David Cameron Cameron led the UK into a referendum on EU membership and
resigned as PM after the UK voted to leave in June 2016.

David Beckham Footballer, who is one of England’s most capped players.

He won many domestic honours with Manchester United and
Real Madrid. He is equally as famous off the pitch due to his
showbiz lifestyle with his wife Victoria Beckham.