Great Britons- an alternative selection

1. David Attenborough

Self | Blue Planet II

Born 8 May 1926, the younger brother of actor Lord Richard Attenborough. He never expressed a wish to act and, instead, studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge University, graduating in 1947, the year he began his two years National Service in the Royal Navy. In 1952, he joined BBC Television at ...

2. Tony Benn

Self | Folk Britannia

Tony Benn is the son, grandson and father of MPs, he retired from the House of Commons in May 2001, after fifty years in Parliament making him the longest serving Labour MP in the history of the party. His service in the House of Commons was not continuous: he lost his Bristol seat in 1983 and was ...

3. Aneurin Bevan

Self | This Week

Aneurin Bevan was born on November 15, 1897 in Tredegar, South Wales, UK. He is known for This Week (1956), Panorama (1953) and Small World (1958). He was married to Jennie Lee. He died on July 6, 1960 in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK.

4. James Dean Bradfield

Soundtrack | Sweet Sixteen

James Dean Bradfield was born on February 21, 1969 in Newport, Gwent, South Wales, UK. He is an actor and composer, known for Sweet Sixteen (2002), I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007) and Dirty Weekend (1993). He has been married to Mylene Halsall since 2004.

5. Vera Brittain

Writer | Testament of Youth

Vera Brittain was born on December 29, 1893 in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, UK. She was a writer, known for Testament of Youth (2014), Testament of Youth (1979) and The First World War (2003). She was married to George Catlin. She died on March 29, 1970 in Wimbledon, Surrey, ...

6. Charles Chaplin

Writer | The Great Dictator

Considered to be one of the most pivotal stars of the early days of Hollywood, Charlie Chaplin lived an interesting life both in his films and behind the camera. He is most recognized as an icon of the silent film era, often associated with his popular character, the Little Tramp; the man with the ...

7. John Constable

Actor | Romantic Versus Classical Art

John Constable is known for Romantic Versus Classical Art (1973).

8. Princess Diana

Self | Charles & Diana: Never Meant to Be

Princess Diana was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, and the mother of Prince William and Prince Harry. Diana's activism and glamour made her an international icon and earned her an enduring popularity.

Diana was born into the British nobility ...

9. Charles Dickens

Writer | Great Expectations

Charles Dickens' father was a clerk at the Naval Pay Office, and because of this the family had to move from place to place: Plymouth, London, Chatham. It was a large family and despite hard work, his father couldn't earn enough money. In 1823 he was arrested for debt and Charles had to start ...

10. Michael Faraday

Michael Faraday was an English scientist who contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism and electrolysis.

Although Faraday received little formal education, he was one of the most ...

11. Norman Foster

Self | How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr Foster?

Norman Foster was born on June 1, 1935 in Manchester, England, UK. He is married to Elena Ochoa. They have one child. He was previously married to Sabiha Rumani Malik and Wendy Cheesman.

12. Thomas Hardy

Writer | Far from the Madding Crowd

Thomas Hardy was born on June 2, 1840 in Upper Bockhampton, Dorset, England, UK. He was a writer, known for Far from the Madding Crowd (2015), Tess (1979) and Maiden No More. He was married to Florence Emily Dugdale and Emma Lavinia Gifford. He died on January 11, 1928 in Dorchester, Dorset, ...

13. Stephen Hawking

Actor | Star Trek: The Next Generation

Stephen William Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 on Oxford, Oxfordshire, England. He was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author and Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology within the University of Cambridge.

His scientific works include a collaboration with ...

14. Alfred Hitchcock

Director | Psycho

Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born in Leytonstone, Essex, England. He was the son of Emma Jane (Whelan; 1863 - 1942) and East End greengrocer William Hitchcock (1862 - 1914). His parents were both of half English and half Irish ancestry. He had two older siblings, William Hitchcock (born 1890) and ...

15. Elton John

Soundtrack | Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Sir Elton John is one of pop music's great survivors. Born 25 March, 1947, as Reginald Kenneth Dwight, he started to play the piano at the early age of four. At the age of 11, he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. His first band was called Bluesology. He later auditioned (...

16. John Keats

Director | The Cavern Club: The Beat Goes On

John Keats is known for The Cavern Club: The Beat Goes On (2019) and Hollyoaks (1995).

17. Stewart Lee

Writer | Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle

Stewart Lee was born on April 5, 1968 in Wellington, Shropshire, England, UK. He is a writer and producer, known for Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle (2009), This Morning with Richard Not Judy (1998) and Kombat Opera Presents (2007). He has been married to Bridget Christie since 2006. They have two ...

18. John Lennon

Actor | A Hard Day's Night

John Winston (later Ono) Lennon was born on October 9, 1940, in Liverpool, England, to Julia Lennon (née Stanley) and Alfred Lennon, a merchant seaman. He was raised by his mother's older sister Mimi Smith. In the mid-1950s, he formed his first band, The Quarrymen (after Quarry Bank High School, ...

19. Caroline Lucas

Self | Dogspiracy

Caroline Lucas was born on December 9, 1960 in Malvern, Worcestershire, England, UK. She has been married to Richard L. Savage since July 1991. They have two children.

20. Mairead Maguire

Self | Restiamo umani: The Reading Movie

Mairead Maguire was born on January 27, 1944 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.

21. Paul McCartney

Soundtrack | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sir Paul McCartney is a key figure in contemporary culture as a singer, composer, poet, writer, artist, humanitarian, entrepreneur, and holder of more than 3 thousand copyrights. He is in the "Guinness Book of World Records" for most records sold, most #1s (shared), most covered song, "Yesterday," ...

22. John Milton

Writer | Paradise Lost

John Milton was an English poet and intellectual who served as a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under its Council of State and later under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote at a time of religious and political instability, and is best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost (1667). Written in ...

23. Wilfred Owen

Writer | The Burying Party

British poet Wilfred Owen was born in 1893 in Oswestry, Shropshire, England. He attended London University, but moved to France in 1913 to escape the harsh English winters, which were bad for his health. He secured a job in Bordeaux as a tutor for a wealthy family and wrote a poetry book, "Minor ...

24. Thomas Paine

Writer | The Complete History of U.S. Wars 1700-2004

Thomas Paine was an English-born American political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary. He authored Common Sense (1776) and The American Crisis (1776-1783), two of the most influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution, and helped inspire the Patriots in ...

25. Michael Palin

Writer | Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Michael Palin is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter. He was one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python.

After the Monty Python television series ended in 1974, the Palin/Jones team worked on Ripping Yarns, an intermittent television comedy series broadcast over ...

26. Sylvia Pankhurst

Self | Pathé's Weekly, No. 47

Sylvia Pankhurst was born on May 5, 1882 in Manchester, England, UK. She died on September 27, 1960 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

27. Bertrand Russell

Writer | Reductio: Adventures in Ideas

Bertrand Russell was born on May 18, 1872 in Ravenscroft, Trelleck, Monmouthshire, Wales, UK. He was a writer, known for Reductio: Adventures in Ideas (2019), Filosofix (2018) and Aman (1967). He was married to Edith Finch, Patricia Spence, Dora Russell and Alys Pearsall. He died on February 2, ...

28. William Shakespeare

Writer | The Tragedy of Macbeth

William Shakespeare's birthdate is assumed from his baptism on April 25. His father John was the son of a farmer who became a successful tradesman; his mother Mary Arden was gentry. He studied Latin works at Stratford Grammar School, leaving at about age 15. About this time his father suffered an ...

29. Alfred Lord Tennyson

Writer | The Lady Clare

Alfred, Lord Tennyson was a popular English poet. He served as Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom for 42 years (term 1850-1892). He often wrote poetry based on mythology. Among his most famous works was the "Idylls of the King" (printed in updated versions, 1859-1885), a collection of narrative ...

30. Alan Turing

Writer | Turochamp

Alan Turing was born on June 23, 1912 in Maida Vale, London, England, UK. He was a writer, known for Turochamp (1948). He died on June 7, 1954 in Wilmslow, Cheshire, England, UK.

31. Joseph Mallord William Turner

Art_department | Romantic Versus Classical Art

Joseph Mallord William Turner was born on April 22, 1775 in Maiden Lane, London, England. He is known for Romantic Versus Classical Art (1973). He died on December 19, 1851 in Chelsea, London, England, UK.

32. Ralph Vaughan Williams

Soundtrack | Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Dr. Ralph Vaughan Williams was perhaps the most important English composer of the 20th Century. His influence on the development of 20th Century music was immense. Benjamin Britten and numerous film composers (Jerry Goldsmith, etc.) owe a lot to him. He created a truly contemporary idiom whose ...