100 Greatest Britons
In 2002, the BBC conducted a vote to determine whom the general public considers the 100 Greatest Britons of all time.
Some notable non-British entrants include three Irish nationals, (Bono, Bob Geldof and James Connolly), and Freddie Mercury, who was born in Zanzibar to Indian Parsi parents. Alfred the Great and Boudica are from an era where "Britishness" was a concept of the future.
The top 19 entries were exclusively of self-declared English origin (though Sir Ernest Shackleton and Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, were both born into English families settled in Ireland when that country was still part of the UK.). The highest-placed Scottish entry was Alexander Fleming in 20th place, with the highest Welsh entry, Owain Glyndwr, at number 23. None were from Northern Ireland. Over half (60) had lived in the twentieth century.
The resulting series, Great Britons, included individual programmes on the top ten, with viewers having further opportunities to vote after each programme. It concluded with a debate.
Ringo Starr is the only Beatle not on the list.
The Greatest Britons List
Due to the nature of the poll used to select and rank the Britons, the results do not pretend to be an objective assessment. They are as follows: (People marked (*) also appeared on the 100 Worst Britons list compiled by Channel 4.)
- Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister during the Second World War, statesman, solider, author, orator
- Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859), engineer, creator of Great Western Railway and other significant works
- Diana, Princess of Wales (1961-1997), first wife of HRH Charles, Prince of Wales (1981-1996) and mother of Princes William and Henry of Wales.
- Charles Darwin (1809-1882), naturalist, originator of the theory of evolution through natural selection and author of The Origin of Species
- William Shakespeare (1564-1616), English poet and playwright, thought of by many as the greatest of all writers in the English language
- Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727), physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, and alchemist, regarded by many as the greatest figure in the history of science
- Queen Elizabeth I of England (1533-1603), monarch, (reigned 1558-1603)
- John Lennon (1940-1980), musician with The Beatles, philanthropist, political activist, painter
- Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (1758-1805), naval commander
- Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), Lord Protector
- Sir Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922), polar explorer
- Captain James Cook (1728-1779), explorer
- Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell (1857-1941), founder of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides
- Alfred the Great (849?-899), King of Wessex, (reigned 871-899)
- Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), military commander, statesman and Prime Minister 1828-1830 and 1834
- Margaret Thatcher (*3) (born 1925), Prime Minister (1979-1990)
- Michael Crawford (born 1942), actor
- Queen Victoria (1819-1901), monarch (reigned 1837-1901)
- Sir Paul McCartney (born 1942), musician with The Beatles
- Sir Alexander Fleming (1881-1955), pharmaceutical innovator
- Alan Turing (1912-1954), pioneer of computing
- Michael Faraday (1791-1867), scientist
- Owain Glyndwr (1359-1416), Prince of Wales
- Queen Elizabeth II (*10) (born 1926), reigning monarch (1952-present)
- Professor Stephen Hawking (born 1942), theoretical physicist
- William Tyndale (1494-1536), English translator of the Bible
- Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928), suffragette
- William Wilberforce (1759-1833), humanitarian
- David Bowie (born 1947), musician
- Guy Fawkes (1570-1606), English revolutionary
- Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire (1917-1992), aviator and charity organiser
- Eric Morecambe (1926-1984), comedian
- David Beckham (*91) (born 1975), footballer
- Thomas Paine (1737-1809), political philosopher
- Boudica (died c.60), leader of Celtic resistance to the Roman Empire
- Sir Steve Redgrave (born 1962), Olympic rower
- Sir Thomas More (1478-1535), English lawyer and politician
- William Blake (1757-1827), author and printer
- John Harrison (1693-1776), clock designer
- King Henry VIII of England (1491-1547), monarch (reigned 1509-1547)
- Charles Dickens (1812-1870), author
- Sir Frank Whittle (1907-1996), jet engine inventor
- John Peel (1939-2004), broadcaster
- John Logie Baird (1888-1946), television pioneer
- Aneurin Bevan (1897-1960), politician
- Boy George (born 1961), musician with Culture Club
- Sir Douglas Bader (1910-1982), aviator and charity campaigner
- Sir William Wallace (c.1270-1305), Guardian of Scotland
- Sir Francis Drake (c.1540-1596), English naval commander
- John Wesley (1703-1791), founder of Methodism
- King Arthur, legendary Celtic monarch
- Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), nurse and charity campaigner
- T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) (1888-1935), Arabist and soldier
- Robert Falcon Scott (1868-1912), polar explorer
- Enoch Powell (1912-1998), politician
- Sir Cliff Richard (*29) (born 1940), musician
- Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), telephone pioneer, placed 9th in the Canadian version
- Freddie Mercury (1946-1991), musician with Queen
- Dame Julie Andrews (born 1935), actress and singer
- Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934), composer
- Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (1900-2002), Queen consort
- George Harrison (1943-2001), musician with The Beatles
- Sir David Attenborough (born 1926), broadcaster
- James Connolly (1868-1916),The Scottish born leader of the Irish revolution
- George Stephenson (1781-1848), railway pioneer
- Sir Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977), comic actor
- Tony Blair (*1) (born 1953), Prime Minister (1997-2007)
- William Caxton (c.1415~1422-c.1492), English printer
- Bobby Moore (1941-1993), footballer and Captain of England 1966 World Cup winning team
- Jane Austen (1775-1817), author
- William Booth (1829-1912), founder of Salvation Army
- King Henry V of England (1387-1422), monarch (reigned 1413-1422)
- Aleister Crowley (1875-1947), occultist, writer, and social provocateur; founder of Thelema
- Robert the Bruce (1274-1329), King of Scots
- The Unknown Warrior, soldier of the Great War
- Robbie Williams (*17) (born 1974), musician and former member of Take That
- Edward Jenner (1749-1823), pioneer of vaccination
- David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd George (1863-1945), Prime Minister (1916-1922)
- Charles Babbage (1791-1871), mathematician and pioneer of computing
- Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1343-1400), English author
- King Richard III of England (1452-1485), monarch (reigned 1483-1485)
- J.K. Rowling (born 1965), author
- James Watt (1736-1819), developer of the steam engine
- Sir Richard Branson (*86) (born 1950), businessman and adventurer
- John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) (born 1956), musician
- Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (1887-1976), military commander
- Donald Campbell (1921-1967), water speed world record challenger
- King Henry II of England (1133-1189), monarch (reigned 1154-1189)
- James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879), physicist
- J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), author and philologist
- Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618), English explorer
- King Edward I of England (1239-1307), monarch (reigned 1272-1307)
- Sir Barnes Wallis (1887-1979), aviation technology pioneer
- Richard Burton (1925-1984), actor 1
- Tony Benn (born 1925), politician
- David Livingstone (1813-1873), missionary and explorer
- Sir Tim Berners-Lee (born 1955), Internet pioneer and inventor of the World Wide Web
- Marie Stopes (1880-1958), promoter of birth control
- John Cleese (born 1939), Comedian and actor.
- Sir Clive Sinclair (born July 30, 1940), Entrepreneur and inventor
Several of these also appear in the list of 100 Worst Britons, due to strongly polarised views on their works, lives or legacies.
¹ There is some question as to whether the Richard Burton listed is the actor or the explorer. A BBC press release makes it clear that the Burton so honoured is in fact the actor.
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