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List of English people

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Lists of
Britons

by constituent country

English

Northern Irish

Scottish

Welsh

by ethnicity or nationality:

White European

Armenian | Croatian | French | German

Gibraltarian | Greek | Hungarian | Irish

Italian | Polish | Portuguese

Russian | Scandinavian | Serbian

Spanish | Turkish | Ukrainian | Swiss

White Other

American | Australian | Canadian

Australian | South African

Mixed Race

South Asian

Bangladeshi | Indian

Pakistani | Romani | Sri Lankan

Black African and Caribbean

Barbadian | Ghanaian | Jamaican

Kenyan | Nigerian

Somali | Zimbabwean

Oriental

Burmese | Chinese

Filipino | Japanese

Singaporean | Thai

Arab

Iranian | Iraqi | Moroccan

Yemeni

Latin American

Argetine | Brazilian | Chilean

Colombian | Cuban | Ecuadorian

Mexican | Nicaraguan

Peruvian | Venezuelan

Other

Jewish

This is a partial list of English people of note and of some notable individuals born in England, alphabetically within categories.

Actors and actresses

Alan Rickman (born 1946)
Dame Julie Andrews (born 1935)
Naveen Andrews (born 1969)
Helena Bonham Carter (born 1966)
Gabrielle Anwar (born 1970)
Rowan Atkinson (born 1955)
Mischa Barton (born 1986)
Tom Baker (born 1934)
Sean Bean (born 1959)
Kate Beckinsale (born 1973)
Richard Beckinsale (1947–1979)
Steven Berkoff (born 1937)
Brian Blessed (born 1937)
Orlando Bloom (born 1977)
Richard Briers (born 1934)
Kathy Burke (born 1964)
Sir Michael Caine (born 1933)
Kim Cattrall (born 1956)
Sacha Baron Cohen (born 1971)
Daniel Craig (born 1968)
Michael Crawford (born 1942)
Tim Curry (born 1946)
Daniel Day-Lewis (born 1957)
Roger Delgado (1918–1973)
Dame Judi Dench (born 1934)
Sarah Douglas (born 1952)
Rupert Everett (born 1959)
Craig Fairbrass (born 1964)
Tom Felton (born 1987)
Ralph Fiennes (born 1962)
Colin Firth (born 1960)
Dexter Fletcher (born 1966)
Jamie Foreman (born 1958)
George Formby (1904–1961)
Anna Friel (born 1976)
Stephen Fry (born 1958)
Sir Michael Gambon (born 1940)
Sir John Gielgud (1904–2000)
Stephen Graham (born 1973)
Cary Grant (1904–1986)
Hugh Grant (born 1960)
Leslie Grantham (born 1947)
John Gregson (1919–1975)
Rupert Grint (born 1988)
Sir Alec Guinness (1914–2000)
Brian Hall (1937–1997)
Frank Harper (born 1962)
Jack Hawkins (1910–1973)
Will Hay (1888–1949)
Dame Wendy Hiller (1912–2003)
Stanley Holloway (1890–1982)
Bob Hoskins (born 1942)
Nicholas Hoult (born 1989)
Leslie Howard (1893–1943)
John Hurt (born 1940)
Sir David Jason (born 1940)
Ben Kingsley (born 1943)
Keira Knightley (born 1985)
Charles Laughton (1899–1962)
Hugh Laurie (born 1959)
Jude Law (born 1972)
Joanna Lumley (born 1946)
Margaret Lockwood (1916–1990)
Roy Marsden (born 1941)
Sir Ian McKellen (born 1939)
Wentworth Miller (born 1972)
Sienna Miller (born 1981)
Hayley Mills (born 1946)
Sir John Mills (1908–2005)
Dame Helen Mirren (born 1945)
Dominic Monaghan (born 1976)
Sir Roger Moore (born 1927)
Nick Moran (born 1969)
Kenneth More (1914–1982)
Billy Murray (born 1941)
Parminder Nagra (born 1975)
Anthony Newley (1931–1999)
Sophie Okonedo (born 1969)
Gary Oldman (born 1958)
Sir Laurence Olivier (1907–1989)
Clive Owen (born 1964)
Cecil Parker (1897–1971)
Simon Pegg (born 1970)
Dominic Purcell (born 1970)
Daniel Radcliffe (born 1989)
Oliver Reed (1938–1999)
Joely Richardson (born 1965)
Miranda Richardson (born 1958)
Sir Ralph Richardson (1902–1983)
Tim Roth (born 1958)
Dame Margaret Rutherford (1892–1972)
Peter Sellers (1925–1980)
Dame Maggie Smith (born 1934)
Terence Stamp (born 1939)
Patrick Stewart (born 1940)
Kiefer Sutherland (born 1966)
Dame Elizabeth Taylor (born 1932)
Emma Thompson (born 1959)
Sir Peter Ustinov (1921–2004)
Julie Walters (born 1950)
Jack Warner (1896–1981)
Emily Watson (born 1967)
Emma Watson (born 1990)
Rachel Weisz (born 1971)
Michael Wilding (1912–1979)
Ray Winstone (born 1957)

Archaeologists and anthropologists

Mick Aston (born 1946)
Richard Atkinson (1920–1994)
Churchill Babington (1821–1889)
Howard Carter (1874–1939)
Grahame Clark (1907–1995)
David Clarke (1937–1976)
Barry Cunliffe (born 1939)
Glyn Daniel (1914–1986)
John Disney (1779–1857), barrister and archaeologist
E. E. Evans-Pritchard (1902–1973), social anthropologist
Cyril Fox (1882–1967)
Dorothy Garrod (1892–1968)
William Greenwell (1820–1918)
Kathleen Kenyon (1906–1978)
John Leland (1502–1552), antiquary
John Lubbock (1834–1913), banker, politician, naturalist and archaeologist
John Robert Mortimer (1825–1911)
Colin Renfrew (born 1937), archaeologist
E.B. Tylor (1832–1917), anthropologist
Mortimer Wheeler (1890–1976)

Architects

Charles Barry (1795–1860), architect (Houses Of Parliament)
George Basevi (1794–1845), architect
Graham Wright,
William Burges (1827–1881), architect and interior designer
William Butterfield (1814–1900), leader in Gothic revival movement
William Chambers (1723–1796), (Kew Gardens pagoda and Somerset House)
Sir Norman Foster (born 1935), architect
Derek Walker (born 1929), architect
Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661–1736), architect
Inigo Jones (1573–1652), architect
Denys Lasdun (1914–2001), architect
Edwin Lutyens (1869–1944), architect
William Morris (1834–1896), architect, author
John Nash (1752–1835), (Regent's Park, St. Jame's Park, Trafalgar Square)
Joseph Paxton (1801–1865), (Great Exhibition Building, London)
August Pugin (1812–1852), architect (Houses Of Parliament)
Richard Rogers (born 1933), (the Pompidou Centre)
Gilbert Scott (1880–1960), Waterloo Bridge, also supervised rebuilding of House Of Commons, London)
John William Simpson (1858–1933), architect
John Vanbrugh (1664–1726), Baroque architect (Blenheim Palace)
Alfred Waterhouse (1830–1905), (National History Museum, London)
William Wilkins (1778–1839), (National Gallery, London)
Christopher Wren (1632–1723), architect

Artists

Sophie Gengembre Anderson (1823–1903), painter.
Banksy (born c. 1974), graffiti artist
William Blake (1757–1827), painter, poet
John Constable (1776–1837), landscape painter.
Frederick Deane (born 1924), portrait painter
Tracey Emin (born 1963), conceptual artist
Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788), painter
Elizabeth Gaskell (1810–1865), novelist
Andy Goldsworthy (born 1956), sculptor (Land Art)
Jamie Hewlett (born 1968), comic book artist and designer
Damien Hirst (born 1965), sculptor/ conceptual artist
David Hockney (born 1937), painter
Sir Edwin Landseer (1802–1873), animal painter.
Henry Moore (1898–1986), sculptor
George Passmore (born 1942), arist (Gilbert & George)
Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792), portrait painter.
Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775–1851), landscape and marine artist
Flora Twort (1893–1985), painter

Businessmen

Sir Richard Branson (born 1950)
Sir John Brunner (1842–1919), chemicals
Joseph Crosfield (1792–1844), soap and chemicals
Abraham Darby (c. 1678 – 1717), ironmaster
Philip Green (born 1952), retail
James Hanson, Baron Hanson (1922–2004), Industrialist
Thomas Hazlehurst (1779–1842), soap and alkali
Robert Spear Hudson (1812–1884), soap powder
Peter Jones (born 1966)
Sir Freddie Laker (1922–2006), Pioneer of cheap air travel
William Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield (1877–1963)
Titus Salt (1803–1876), Industrialist
Sir Ivan Stedeford (1897–1975), Industrialist
Sir Alan Sugar (born 1947), Electronics
Josiah Wedgwood (1730–1795), Industrialist

Clergy

Pope Adrian IV (c. 1100 – 1159), only English Pope
Richard Bancroft (1544–1610), Archbishop of Canterbury
Richard Barnes (1532–1587), bishop
Gildas (c. 510 – c. 570), monk
Trevor Huddleston (1913–1998), anti-Apartheid activist
John Henry Newman (1801–1890), Catholic cardinal
William Smyth (c. 1460 – 1514), bishop
Joshua Toulmin (1740–1815), radical Dissenting minister
William Noyes (born 1568, date of death unknown), Reverend Rector Church at Cholderton

1606 Wiltshire England ab. 20 years until his death

Roland Meyrick (born c. 1500) First Protestant Bishop Bangor buried under Bangor Cathedral

Economists

William Beveridge (1879–1963), economist and social reformer
John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946), economist
Thomas Malthus (1766–1834), demographer
Alfred Marshall (1842–1924), economist
John Stuart Mill (1806–1873), economist, philosopher

Engineers

Sir Benjamin Baker (1840–1907), civil engineer
William Baker (1817–1878), railway engineer
James Beatty (1820–1856) railway engineer
Sir Henry Bessemer (1813–1898), metallurgy engineer
James Brindley (1716–1772), canal engineer
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859), transport engineer
Sir Sydney Camm (1894–1966), aeronautical engineer
Donald Campbell, railway engineer
William Tierney Clark (1783–1852), civil engineer
Sir Geoffrey de Havilland (1882–1965), aeronautical engineer
Sir John Ambrose Fleming (1848–1945), electrical engineer
Tommy Flowers (1908–1998), engineer
Eric Laithwaite (1908–1998), engineer
R.J. Mitchell (1895–1937), aeronautical engineer
Sir Henry Royce (1863–1933), engineer
George Stephenson (1781–1848), railway engineer
Nevil Shute (1899–1960), aeronautical engineer and author
Thomas Telford (1757–1834), engineer
Sir Barnes Wallis (1887–1978), engineer
John Webster (1845–1914), engineer
Sir Joseph Whitworth (1803–1887), engineer

Explorers

Gertrude Bell (1868–1926), traveller in Iraq
Capt. James Cook (1728–1779), sailor explorer
Charles Montagu Doughty (1843–1926), explorer in the Middle East
Sir Francis Drake
Sir Ranulph Fiennes (born 1944), listed as the "greatest explorer ever" by the Guinness Book of Records
Sir Walter Raleigh
Robert Falcon Scott (1868–1912) Antarctic explorer
Freya Stark (1893–1993), Middle East explorer
Wilfred Thesiger (1910–2003), explorer in East Africa and the Middle East
Michael Palin (born 1943)

Filmmakers

Lindsay Anderson (1923–1994)
Richard Attenborough (born 1923)
John Boorman (born 1933)
John and Roy Boulting (1913–1985 and 1913–2001)
Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977)
Alan Clarke (1935–1990)
Mike Figgis (born 1948)
Lewis Gilbert (born 1920)
David Hare (born 1947)
Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980)
Peter Howitt (born 1957)
Humphrey Jennings (1907–1950)
Stan Laurel (1890–1965)
David Lean (1908–1991)
Mike Leigh (born 1943)
Ken Loach (born 1936)
Nick Love (born 1969)
Anthony Minghella (born 1954)
Mike Newell (born 1942)
Nick Park (born 1958)
Michael Powell (1905–1990)
Guy Ritchie (born 1968)
Ken Russell (born 1927)
Ridley Scott (born 1942)
Tony Scott (born 1948)

Humorists

Chesney Allen (1893-1982)
Rowan Atkinson (born 1955)
Ronnie Barker (1929–2005)
Sacha Baron Cohen (born 1971)
Roy 'Chubby' Brown (born 1945)
Alan Carr (born 1976)
Jimmy Carr (born 1972)
Jasper Carrott (born 1945)
Graham Chapman (1941–1989)
John Cleese (born 1939)
Joe Clift (born 1912)
Steve Coogan (born 1965)
Peter Cook (1937–1995)
Tommy Cooper (1921–1984)
Ronnie Corbett (born 1930)
Barry Cryer (born 1935)
Jim Davidson (born 1953)
Les Dawson (1931–1993)
Angus Deayton (born 1956)
Ken Dodd (born 1929)
Adrian Edmondson (born 1957)
Lee Evans (born 1964)
Bud Flanagan (1896-1968)
Dawn French (born 1957)
Stephen Fry (born 1958)
Ricky Gervais (born 1961)
Tony Hancock (1924–1968)
Lee Hurst (born 1963)
Eric Idle (born 1943)
Eddie Izzard (born 1962)
Nathan Jeavons (born 1990)
Leo Jeff (born 1992)
Jethro (born 1948)
Peter Kay (born 1973)
Hugh Laurie (born 1959)
Matt Lucas (born 1974)
Bernard Manning (1930–2007)
Rik Mayall (born 1958)
Rory McGrath (born 1956)
Patrick McGuinness (born 1973)
Paul Merton (born 1957)
Eric Morecambe (1926–1984)
Bob Mortimer (born 1959)
Frank Muir (1920–1998)
Denis Norden (born 1922)
Michael Palin (born 1943)
Vic Reeves (born 1959)
Mike Reid (1940–2007)
Jennifer Saunders (born 1958)
Peter Sellers (1925–1980)
Adam Shewan (born 1991)
Frank Skinner (born 1957)
Arthur Smith (born 1954)
Freddie Starr (born 1944)
David Walliams (born 1971)
Norman Wisdom (born 1915)
Ernie Wise (1925–1999)

Inventors

Hubert Cecil Booth (1871-1955), inventor of the vacuum cleaner
Christopher Cockerell (1910–1999), inventor of the hovercraft
William Congreve (1772–1828) rocketry pioneer
Abraham Darby (c. 1678 – 1717), ironmaster
James Dyson (born 1947), inventor
James Hargreaves (1720–1778), weaver and inventor
Sir John Harington (1561–1612), poet and inventor of the first water closet
John Harrison (1693–1776), clockmaker
Rowland Hill (1795–1879), inventor of the modern postal service
Archibald Low (1888–1956), radio guidance
Thomas Newcomen (1664–1729), inventor
Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727), founder of modern physics, inventor of the reflector telescope
James Starley (1831–1881), bicycle pioneer
George Stephenson (1781–1848), engineer
Joseph Wilson Swan (1823–1914), inventor of the light bulb
Charles Wheatstone (1802–1975), inventor
Sir Frank Whittle (1907–1996), inventor of the jet engine
Sir Timothy Berners-Lee (1955-present), inventor of the World Wide Web

Military: Soldiers/Sailors/Airmen

Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester (c. 1208 – 1265). English statesman and soldier.
Sir Francis Drake (1540–1596), sailor
Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658), Lord Protector of England
George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle (1608–1670), Civil War era General
Robert Blake (1599–1657), reforming Royal Navy Admiral
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (1650–1722), soldier
James Wolfe (1727–1759), General, hero of Quebec
Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (1721–1765), Captain-General, victor of Culloden
John Ligonier, 1st Earl Ligonier (1680–1770), General
John Manners, Marquess of Granby (1721–1770), General
Henry Seymour Conway (1721–1795), General
Jeffrey Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst of Montreal (1717–1797), General
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe (1726–1799), Admiral
William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe (1729–1814), General in American Revolutionary War
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (1738–1805), General
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson of the Nile (1758–1805), sailor, Admiral
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Field Marshall, victor of Waterloo, politician
Sir Alexander John Ball (1759–1809), admiral, governor of Malta
Prince Frederick, Duke of York (1763–1827), son of King George III, commander in French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey (1768–1854), General, Hero of the Napoleonic Wars
Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich (1782–1859)
Fitzroy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855), British commander in the Crimean War
James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan (1797–1888), Commander of the Light Brigade
George Charles Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan (1800–1888), Commander of cavalry at the Battle of Balaclava
William McMurdo (1819–1894), general
Horatio Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener of Khartoum (1850–1916), Field Marshal
Charles George Gordon (1833–1885), "Chinese Gordon", killed at Khartoum
Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts of Kandahar (1832–1914), Field Marshal, last Commander in Chief of the Forces
Prince George, Duke of Cambridge (1819–1904), Commander in Chief
Sir Winston Churchill (1874–1965), British prime minister
Robert Baden-Powell (1857–1941), soldier
Siegfried Sassoon (1886–1967), war poet
William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood (1865–1951), General, World War I
John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe (1859–1935), Admiral, World War I
Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien (1858–1930), General, World War I
John French, 1st Earl of Ypres (1852–1925), World War I general and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard (1873–1956), father of the RAF and first Chief of the Air Staff
Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein ("The Desert Rat"), (1887–1976), Field Marshal and hero of World War II
Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding (1882–1970), RAF Commander in World War II
Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell (1883–1950), World War II general, second to last Viceroy of India
Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke (1883–1963), Field Marshal, CIGS during World War II
Sir Douglas Bader (1910–1982), fighter pilot
Sir Claude Auchinleck (1884–1981), World War II commander
Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis (1891–1969), Field Marshal, World War II hero
William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim (1897–1970), Commander in Burma during World War II, Governor-General of Australia.
Sir Arthur Travers Harris (1892–1984), Marshal of the Royal Air Force, airman
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (1900–1979), statesman, sailor
Andy McNab (born 1959), former Special Air Service soldier and commander of the infamous Bravo Two Zero mission during the first Iraq Gulf War.
Chris Ryan (born 1961), Former Special Air Service soldier and member of the infamous Bravo Two Zero mission during the first Iraq Gulf War.

Monarchs

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Further information: List of the monarchs of the Kingdom of England

Alfred the Great (c. 849 – 899), King of the Anglo-Saxons.
Queen Anne (1665–1714), also Queen of Scotland, then Queen of Great Britain after 1707
Charles II (1660–1685), also King of Scotland
Edward I (1272–1307), English monarch
Edward II (1307–1327), English monarch
Edward III (1327–1377), English monarch
Edward IV (1461–1470 and 1471–1483), English monarch
Edward V (1470 – c. 1483), English monarch
Edward VI (1547–1553), first English Protestant monarch.
Elizabeth I (1558–1603), Protestant queen and first Supreme Governor of the Church of England
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (1926), English-born British monarch
Henry III (1207–1272), English monarch
Henry IV (1367–1413), English monarch
Henry VI (1421–1471), English monarch
Henry VIII (1491–1547), separated English Catholicism from link with the Roman Catholic Church
Mary I (1553–1558), Roman Catholic queen
Mary II (1662–1694)
Richard III (1483–1485). Last Plantagenet King, and last British monarch to die in Battle.
William the Conqueror (1066–1087)
William IV (1765–1837)

Murderers

Myra Hindley (1942–2002) and Ian Brady (1938-), Moors murderers
Ian Huntley (born 1974), Soham murderer
Jack the Ripper
The Kray twins (Ronald 1933–1995, Reginald 1933–2000), East London gangsters
Harold Shipman (1946–2004), possibly the most prolific serial killer worldwide - convicted of 15 - probably killed over 250 [1]
Peter Sutcliffe (born 1946), Yorkshire Ripper
Fred West (1941–1995) and Rosemary West (1953-), serial killers
Graham Young (1947–1990), The Teacup Poisoner

Musicians

Lily Allen (born 1985)
Damon Albarn (born 1968), singer-songwriter
David Arnold (born 1962), composer, musician and film scorer (notably four James Bond films)
Malcolm Arnold (1921–2006), composer
Rick Astley, musician with the hit single Never Gonna Give You Up
Bryan Balkwill (1922–2007), conductor
John Barbirolli (1899–1970), conductor
David Bedford (born 1937), composer and musician
Thomas Beecham (1879–1961), conductor
Harrison Birtwistle (born 1934), composer
James Blunt (born 1977)
Adrian Boult (1889–1983), conductor
David Bowie (born 1947)
Havergal Brian (1876–1972), composer
Benjamin Britten (1913–1976), composer and pianist
Kate Bush (born 1958), singer, songwriter, musician and record producer
William Byrd (1543–1623), composer
Justin Chancellor, Tool bassist
Eric Clapton (born 1945)
Adam Clayton, U2 bassist
Andrew Davis (born 1944), conductor
Colin Davis (born 1927), conductor
Dido (Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong) born 1971, singer and songwriter
Frederick Delius (1862–1934), composer
John Dowland (c. 1563 – c. 1626), composer of songs
John Dunstaple (c. 1383 – 1453), composer
Edward Elgar (1857–1934), composer
Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625), composer
Ron Goodwin (1925–2003) composer and conductor
George Harrison (1943–2001), composer, member of The Beatles
Gustav Holst (1874–1934), composer
Saul Hudson aka 'Slash', (born 1965), guitarist, member of Guns N' Roses, Slash's Snakepit and Velvet Revolver
John Ireland (1879–1962), composer
Sir Elton John (born 1947), pop star and composer
Davy Jones (born 1945), Singer/Percussionist The Monkees
Nigel Kennedy (born 1956), violinist
Melanie Laccohee singer
Adrian Lambert, bassist
Albert Lee (born 1945), guitarist
John Lennon (1940–1980), pop star, co founder of The Beatles
Andrew Lloyd Webber (born 1948), composer of musicals
Peter Maxwell Davies (born 1934), composer
Sir Paul McCartney (born 1942), pop star, co-founder of The Beatles
Thomas Morley (c. 1557 – 1602), consort composer
Gareth Morris (1920–2007), flautist
Morrissey (born 1959), composer, member of The Smiths
Olivia Newton-John (born 1948), pop star
Mike Oldfield (born 1953), composer and instrumentalist
Ozzy Osbourne (born 1948)
Jimmy Page (born 1944), guitarist
Peter Pears (1910–1986), tenor
Robert Plant (born 1948), singer, member of Led Zeppelin
Jacqueline du Pré (1945–1987), cellist
Henry Purcell (1659–1695), composer
Simon Rattle (born 1955), conductor
Malcolm Sargent (1895–1967), conductor
Joss Stone (born 1987)
Ringo Starr (born 1940), composer, member of The Beatles
Rod Stewart (born 1945)
Joe Strummer (1952-2002), singer, member of The Clash
Connie Talbot (born 2000), child singer and reality star
Thomas Tallis (c. 1505 – 1585), composer
Lionel Tertis (1876–1975), violist
Michael Tippett (1905–1998), composer
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958), composer
William Walton (1902–1983), composer
Thomas Weelkes (c. 1575 – 1623), composer
John Wilbye (1574–1638), composer
Henry Wood (1869–1944), conductor
Roger Waters (born 1943) founder of Pink Floyd
Robbie Williams (born 1974)
Tamsin Warley (singer-Composer)

Philosophers

G.E.M. Anscombe (1919–2001), philosopher
A.J. Ayer (1910–1989), philosopher
Francis Bacon (1561–1626), philosopher and essayist
Roger Bacon (1214–1294), medieval philosopher, alchemist, and theologian
Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832), philosopher
R.M. Hare (1907–2002), philosopher
H.L.A. Hart (1907–1992), legal philosopher
Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679), philosopher
William Godwin (1756–1836), political philosopher
John Locke (1632–1704), philosopher
John Stuart Mill (1806–1873), economist, philosopher
William of Ockham (c. 1285 – 1349), philosopher
Thomas Paine (1737–1809), theorist
Derek Parfit (born 1942), philosopher
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970), philosopher
Henry Sidgwick (1838–1900), philosopher
Peter Strawson (1919–2006), philosopher
William Whewell (1794–1866), philosopher
Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947), mathematician
Bernard Williams (1929–2003), philosopher

Politicians

H. H. Asquith (1852–1928), British prime minister
Clement Attlee (1883–1967), British prime minister
Stanley Baldwin (1867–1947), British prime minister
Ernest Bevin (1881–1951), Labour politician
Tony Benn (born 1925), Labour politician
Margaret Bondfield (1873–1953), Labour politician & first female Cabinet Minister
John Bright (1811–1889), liberal politician
Rab Butler (1902–1982), Conservative politician
George Canning (1770–1827), politician
Barbara Castle (1910–2002), politician
Sir Austen Chamberlain (1863–1937)
Joseph Chamberlain (1836–1914)
Neville Chamberlain (1869–1940), British prime minister
Lord Randolph Churchill (1849–1895)
Winston Churchill (1874–1965), British prime minister
Kenneth Clarke (born 1940), Conservative politician
Sir Stafford Cripps (1889–1952), Labour politician
George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (1859–1925), Viceroy of India
Archibald Dalzel (1740–1811), Governor of the Gold Coast
William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire (c. 1720 – 1764)
Spencer Compton Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire (1833–1908)
Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (1799–1869)
Edward Henry Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby (1826–1893)
Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881), British prime minister
Alec Douglas-Home (1903–1995), British prime minister
Anthony Eden (1897–1977), British prime minister
Hugh Gaitskell (1906–1963), Labour politician
William Ewart Gladstone (1809–1898), British prime minister
Augustus Henry Fitzroy, 3rd Duke of Grafton (1735–1811)
Michael Foot (born 1913), Labour leader
Hugh Gaitskell (1906–1963), Labour leader
Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville (1815–1891)
George Grenville (1712–1770), British prime minister
William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Lord Grenville (1759–1834)
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (1764–1845)
Denis Healey (born 1917), Labour politician
Edward Heath (1916–2005), British prime minister
John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley (1826–1902)
George Lansbury (1859–1940)
Nigel Lawson (born 1932), Conservative politician
Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool (1770–1828)
John Lubbock (1834–1913), banker, politician, naturalist and archaeologist
Harold Macmillan (1894–1986), British prime minister
John Major (born 1943), British prime minister
Reginald Maudling (1917–1979), Conservative politician
Herbert Morrison (1888–1965), Labour politician
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (1779–1848)
Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle (1693–1768)
Frederick North, Lord North (1732–1792)
Sir Robert Peel (1788–1850), British prime minister
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1784–1865), British prime minister
Henry Pelham (1694–1754)
Spencer Perceval (1762–1812), British Prime Minister
William Pitt (the Elder), 1st Earl of Chatham (1708–1778)
William Pitt the Younger (1759–1806), British prime minister
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (1738–1809)
Enoch Powell (1912–1998)
Cecil Rhodes (1853–1902), imperialist
Frederick John Robinson, 1st Earl of Ripon (1782–1859), politician
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (1730–1782)
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (1792–1878)
Michael Hicks-Beach, 1st Earl St Aldwyn (1837–1916)
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (1830–1903), British Prime Minister
Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth (1757–1844)
John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon (1873–1954)
Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden of Ickornshaw (1864–1937)
Margaret Thatcher (born 1925), British prime minister
Sir Robert Walpole (1676–1745), British prime minister
William Wilberforce (1759–1833), abolitionist
Shirley Williams (born 1930), SDP founder
Henry Willink (1894–1973), politician
Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington (c. 1674 – 1743)
Harold Wilson (1916–1995), British prime minister

Scientists

Arthur Aikin (1773–1854), chemist and mineralogist
Nathan Alcock (1707–1779), doctor
Charles Babbage (1791–1871), mathematician
Joseph Banks (1743–1820), naturalist
Isaac Barrow (1630–1677), mathematician
Thomas Bayes (c. 1702 – 1761), mathematician
Tim Berners-Lee (born 1955), computer scientist - inventor of the WorldWideWeb
George Boole (1815–1864), mathematician
Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett (1897–1974), physicist
Richard Bright (1630–1677), doctor, founder of Bright's Disease (form of kidney disease)
Henry Cavendish (1731–1810), scientist
Sir George Cayley (1773–1857), polymath and aviator
Francis Crick (1916–2004), molecular biologist
John Dalton (1766–1844), chemist and physicist
Charles Darwin (1809–1882), Founder of The Theory of Evolution
Richard Dawkins (born 1941), evolutionary theorist
Horace Donisthorpe (1870–1951), entomologist, myrmecologist and coleopterist
Paul Dirac (1902–1984), physicist
Arthur Eddington (1882–1944), physicist
Michael Faraday (1791–1867), scientist
Ronald Fisher (1890–1962), geneticist and statistician
Rosalind Franklin (1920–1958), chemist and x-ray crystalographer
J. B. S. Haldane (1892–1964), geneticist
Stephen Hawking (born 1942), cosmologist
Oliver Heaviside (1850–1925), physicist
C. A. R. Hoare (born 1934), computer scientist
John Herschel (1792–1871), mathematician and astronomer
Robert Hooke (1635–1703), scientist
Edward Jenner (1749–1823), doctor
R. V. Jones (1911–1997), physicist
James Prescott Joule (1818–1889), physicist
Joseph Lister (1827–1912), surgeon
Bernard Lovell (born 1913), astronomer
James Lovelock (born 1919), scientist
Martin Lowry (1874–1936), chemist
John William Lubbock (1803–1865), banker, mathematician and astronomer
Sir Charles Lyell (1797–1875), geologist
John Maynard Smith (1920–2004), geneticist
James Moriarty (1844–1891), mathematician and criminal mastermind.
Desmond Morris (born 1928), zoologist
Roger Needham (1935–2003), computer scientist
Isaac Newton (1642–1727), founder of modern physics, last of the alchemists
Roger Penrose (born 1931), cosmologist
Joseph Prestwich (1812–1896), geologist
Joseph Priestley (1733–1804), chemist
Adam Sedgwick (1785–1873), geologist
John Snow (1813–1858), epidemiologist
Joseph Wilson Swan (1828–1914), physicist and chemist
J. J. Thomson (1856–1940), physicist
Henry Tizard (1885–1959), chemist and inventor
Alan Turing (1912–1954), mathematician
Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913), naturalist
Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947), mathematician
Maurice Vincent Wilkes (born 1913), computer scientist
James H. Wilkinson (1919–1986), mathematician
William Hyde Wollaston (1766–1828), chemist
Thomas Young (1773–1829), scientist

Sportsmen and sportswomen

Harold Abrahams (1899–1978), athlete, one of the two subjects of Chariots of Fire
Chris Adams (1955–2001), pro wrestler and judoka
Neil Adams (born 1958), judoka and two-time silver medalist in Judo (1980 and 1984). Younger brother of Chris Adams
Tony Adams (born 1966), football player
Alan Ball (1945–2007), 1966 football World Cup winner
Gordon Banks (born 1937), goalkeeper of 1966 World Cup winning team
Sir Roger Bannister (born 1929), first sub-four-minute miler
Lord Frederick Beauclerk (1773–1850) cricket player and administrator
David Beckham (born 1975), football player
Sir Ian Botham (born 1955), cricketer
Geoffrey Boycott (born 1940), cricketer
Eric Bristow (born 1957), world champion darts player
Jenson Button (born 1980), F1 Driver
Sir Bobby Charlton (born 1937), 1966 football World Cup winner
Jack Charlton (born 1935), 1966 football World Cup winner
Avril Chew (born 1955) - Energetic Rider
Sir Francis Chichester (1901–1972), yachtsman
Don Cockell (1928–1983), heavyweight boxer
Paul Collingwood (born 1976), cricket player
Sir Henry Cooper (born 1934), heavyweight boxer
Lawrence Dallaglio (born 1972), world cup winning rugby footballer
Laura Davies (born 1963), golfer
Steve Davis (born 1957), six times world snooker champion
Matt Dawson (born 1972), world cup winning rugby footballer
John Deacon (1962–2001), motorcycle endurance racer
Christopher Dean (born 1958), figure skater
Jonathan Edwards (born 1966), athlete (triple jump)
Godfrey Evans (1920–1999), cricketer (wicket-keeper)
James Figg (1695–1734), first English bare-knuckle boxing champion
Bob Fitzsimmons (1863–1917), boxing's first world champion in three divisions
Andrew Flintoff (born 1977), cricket player
C B Fry (1872–1956), cricketer and all-round athlete
Paul Gascoigne (born 1967), football player
Steven Gerrard (born 1980), football player
Graham Gooch (born 1953), cricketer
Pete Goss (born 1961), Around the world yacthsman
W G Grace (1848–1915), cricketer
Will Greenwood (born 1972), rugby footballer
Naseem Hamed (born 1974), featherweight boxer
Lewis Hamilton (born 1985), F1 Driver
Ricky Hatton (born 1978), world champion boxer
David Haye (born 1980), world champion boxer
Damon Hill (born 1960), F1 world champion
Graham Hill (1929–1975), Two times F1 world champion
Jack Hobbs (1882–1963), cricketer
Glenn Hoddle (born 1957), footballer
Sir Geoff Hurst (born 1941), 1966 football World Cup winner
Nasser Hussain (born 1968), cricket player
Len Hutton (1916–1990), cricketer
Martin Johnson (born 1970), world cup winning rugby footballer
Trish Johnson (born 1966), golfer
Amir Khan (born 1986), lightweight boxer
Dougie Lampkin (born 1976), Motorcycle Trials World Champion
Lennox Lewis (born 1965), world champion heavyweight boxer
Josh Lewsey (born 1976), rugby footballer
Gary Lineker (born 1960), football player
Dame Ellen MacArthur (born 1976), sailor who holds the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe
George Mallory (1886–1924), mountaineer
Nigel Mansell (born 1953), racing driver, F1 and CART champion
Terry Marsh (born 1958), world champion boxer
Alan Minter (born 1951), world champion boxer
Bobby Moore (1941–1993), captain of 1966 football World Cup winning team
Alfred Mynn (1807–1861), cricketer
Alison Nicholas (born 1962), golfer
Ronnie O'Sullivan (born 1975), two times World Champion Snooker player
Michael Owen (born 1979), football player
Rachel Parish (born 1981), markswoman and fencer
John Parrott (born 1964), world champion snooker player
Fred Perry (1909–1995), Wimbledon champion tennis player
Martin Peters (born 1943), 1966 football World Cup winner
Kevin Pieterson (born 1980), cricket player
Paula Radcliffe (born 1973), athlete (distance runner)
Sir Steve Redgrave (born 1962), rower, winner of gold medal in five consecutive Olympics
Sir Gordon Richards (1904–1988), jockey
Wayne Rooney (born 1985), football player
Alan Shearer (born 1970), football player
Teddy Sheringham (born 1966), football player
Nobby Stiles (born 1942), football World Cup winner
Andrew Stoddart (1863–1915), rugby and cricket player
Karen Stupples (born 1973), golfer
Phil Taylor (born 1960), multi world champion darts player
Jayne Torvill (born 1957), figure skater
Marcus Trescothick (born 1975), cricket player
Phil Tufnell (born 1966), cricket player
Randolph Turpin (1928–1966), middleweight boxer
Michael Vaughan (born 1974), cricket player
Virginia Wade (born 1945), tennis player
Frank Warren (born 1952), boxing promoter
Dan Wheldon (born 1978), racing driver
Jimmy White (born 1962), snooker player
Sir William Wavell Wakefield (1898–1983) rugby footballer and politician
Jonny Wilkinson (born 1979), world cup winning rugby footballer
Justin Wilson (born 1978), Champ Car Racer

Writers

See List of English writers

Other notables

Douglas Adams (1952–2001), author, comic and radio dramatist
Michael E Adams (Sep-1952) English-Patriot
David Attenborough (born 1926), naturalist and broadcaster
Edward Betts (1815–1872), civil engineering contractor
Thomas Brassey (1805–1870), civil engineering contractor
Jacob Bronowski (1908-1974), mathematician
Capability Brown (1715–1783), landscape gardener
William Camden (1551–1623), historian
William Caxton (c. 1422 – c. 1491), printer
Sir Malcolm Campbell (1885–1949), automobile and speedboat racer.
Sir John Chesshyre (1662–1738), lawyer
Jeremy Clarkson (born 1960), T.V. Presenter, broadcaster and writer.
James Cook (1728–1779), British explorer
Simon Cowell (born 1959), T.V. personality, record producer
Grace Darling (1815–1842), heroine
William Emes (c. 1729 – 1803), landscape gardener
Elizabeth Fry (1780–1845), prison reformer
Edward Gibbon (1737–1794), historian
Thomas Grissell (1801–1874), public works contractor
Hilda Hewlett (1864–1943), pioneer aviator and aviation entrepreneur
Ebenezer Howard (1850–1928), urban planner
Ray Mears (born 1964), Author, T.V. presenter and survival expert
Sir Patrick Moore (born 1923), Writer, TV Presenter, Astronomer.
Florence Nightingale (1820–1910), nursing reformist
Joshua A. Norton (1811–1880), Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico
George Ormerod (1785–1873), historian and antiquary
Michael Parkinson (born 1935), Presenter of British television chat show Parkinson
Sir Samuel Morton Peto (1809–1889), civil engineering contractor
John Reith (1889–1971), broadcaster
John Speed (1542–1629), historian and cartographer
Wat Tyler (died 1381), leader of the Peasants' Revolt (1381)
William Wakefield (1801–1848), founder of Wellington, New Zealand
Harriet Shaw Weaver (1876–1961), political activist and suffragist
Joseph Williamson (1769–1840), philanthropist, merchant and tunneler
Samuel Baker, (born 1991), actor, mathematician, comic sketch-writer, composer and student

The following were born English, but changed nationality later in their life.

John Alden (c. 1599 – 1687), one of the leaders of the Pilgrims to North America ^[1]
John F. Allen (1829–1900), inventor of Porter-Allen engine and 2 pneumatic riveting systems^[1]
George Alsop, noted author^[1]
James Anderson, noted 19th century, especially remembered for his performance as Othello^[1]
Anthony Aston (died 1731), noted actor and dramatist^[1]
Joe Calzaghe (born 1972), world champion boxer
Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977)
Cary Grant (1904–1986), film actor.
Alistair Cooke (1908–2004)
Bob Hope (1903–2003)
Stephen Hough (born 1961), concert pianist, became Australian citizen
Stan Laurel (1890–1965)
Thomas Paine (1737–1809)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e (1963) Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607–1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who.