United Kingdom

Famous British People: Canadian Artists, Scientists, Leaders, Musicians, Politicians and Athletes

The United Kingdom produced throughout the years a large number of notable people worthy of attention. Thinkers, explorers, kings and queens, writers, musicians, scientists and many other are well known around the world as the celebrities of U.K. or as famous Britons. They have one thing in common: are not easy to stereotype.

The following people made their mark on both the local and international scenes. They are just some of many famous Britons who have lifted United Kingdom’s name worldwide and made a difference in our world. Their purpose and stories inspired awe if not greatness.

:: List of Famous People from United Kingdom ::

William Shakespeare

“It is not only the crowning glory of England but also the crowning glory of all mankind that such a man as William Shakespeare should ever have been born”.

William Shakespeare quotes such as “To be, or not to be”, “This above all: to thine own self be true”, “O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?”, “I’ll not budge an inch”, “We have seen better days” represent some of literature’s most famous and celebrated lines, people are fascinated by the words of Shakespeare and they have become catch phrases in the daily speech. „The Bard of Avon” is widely regarded by many to have been the greatest writer the English language has ever known, the world’s preeminent dramatist, not merely for his the lyrical grandeur, extraordinary genius and gift for language, but because “he was also the world’s greatest psychologist, with an uncanny ability to see and describe people’s most subtle emotional states,” as George Weinberg states.

His works consist of more than 35 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems and several other poems (more than 400). The exact figures are not known. Some of Shakespeare’s plays, such as Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and King Lear are among the most famous literary works of the world. William Shakespeare has enduring fame, not only because he wrote extraordinary plays, but because he dared to be different and his everlasting works have the virtue of being fresh. Hence there is no emotion or activity or situation in the human condition that is not found in his plays.

Why should Shakespeare’s timeless work be regarded as the topmost achievement of man, the fulfillment of long centuries of human civilization and culture? Because…

– The Bard employed 9,360,433 words in his writings, out of which 27,780 are different words. An average individual uses less than 1,000 words in writing, a little more than that in speech and has a recognition vocabulary of about 5,000 words. Some of the greatest writers may have twice this capability.
– Today, English has a total vocabulary of two million words followed by German with 1,860,000 words, Russian with 1,360,000 words, and French with 1,260,000 words. Thus Shakespeare in the 16th Century used five times the number of words in modern German!
– Shakespeare is the most quoted writer in history. His plays have been translated into 50 languages. In the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations containing about 20,000 quotations, Shakespeare alone monopolizes a staggering 60 pages (10 per cent). He coined 1700 new words.
– More people visit the place of Shakespeare’s birth than that of any other human being. More books and articles have been written about him and his works than about any other individual or even any other single subject (at least till the age of computers!). Entire libraries and major sections of many famous libraries whether in Washington D.C or London are devoted to him”.

(Source: http://kinkazzoburning.blogspot.com/2006/11/polling-genius-shakespeare-dante-and.html)

Sir Winston Churchill

Was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II, politician, radical, noted statesman and orator, soldier, artist, and the twentieth century’s most famous and celebrated PM. Churchill became First Lord of the Admiralty in 1911, moreover he helped modernize the navy. Churchill was one of the first people to grasp the military potential of aircraft and in 1912 he set up the Royal Naval Air Service. He served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1955. He was renowned as a great character and a great leader, but as he was possessed of astonishing vision, he also made fatal mistakes that brought only failure.

Churchill won in 1953 the Literature Nobel Prize for his numerous published works, especially for his six-edition set The Second World War. In the 2002 BBC poll of the “100 Greatest Britons”, that was mentioned also in the introduction, he was proclaimed “The Greatest of Them All”. Even Time Magazine rated Churchill as one of the most influential leaders in history.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

One of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history ISAMBARD KINGDOM BRUNEL (1806-1859) built twenty-five railways lines, he engineered over 1,200 miles of railway, including lines in Ireland, Italy and Bengal, he built over a hundred bridges, five suspension bridges, eight pier and dock systems, three ships and a pre-fabricated army field hospital, he assisted in the building of the first tunnel under a navigable river.

The designs of the great British engineers of the 19th century revolutionized public transport and modern day engineering. “The commercial world thought him extravagant; but although he was so, great things are not done by those who sit down and count the cost of every thought and act.”

Of all of Brunel’s railway bridges, his last, and greatest, was to be the Royal Albert bridges, crossing the river Tamar at Saltash near Plymouth. Other works are: The Thames Tunnel, the Windsor Railway Bridge, which was built in 1861 – 1865, Hungerford Bridge, a suspension footbridge across the River Thames, the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol spanning over 213 m, and 61 m above the River Avon and many others.

Diana, Princess of Wales

“Anywhere I see suffering that is where I want to be, doing what I can. I think the biggest disease the world suffers from in this day and age is the disease of people feeling unloved. I know that I can give love for a minute, for half an hour, for a day, for a month, but I can give. I am very happy to do that, I want to do that.”

Diana, Princess of Wales, is one of the most loved women in the world. She was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. Their sons, Princes William and Henry, are second and third in line to the thrones of the United Kingdom and fifteen other Commonwealth Realms.
Lady Di was famous for using her position and power to help the ones in need. “People’s Princess” touched the lives of the sick, the homeless and everyday people with her warmth and humanity. She worked tirelessly for charity and spent even her last days working on behalf of AIDS victims being a leader supporter of the Red Cross. Dubbed the “Queen of Hearts” by then Prime Minister of England, John Major, Diana, of one of the most fabled women of the century, “revived a staid monarchy with her vitality, charm, and glamour and ushered in a new age for the British monarchy”.

Diana’s compassion, grace, and kindness, altruism still live on among us and her story continues to touch and inspire people from all walks of life. She reached more people and touched more lives in her short life than any of us could imagine.

Charles Darwin

Darwin, the eminent British naturalist, geologist, biologist, and author is the first of the evolutionary biologists, the originator of the concept of natural selection. He demonstrated that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors through the process called natural selection and he became famous for these theories of evolution and natural selection. “Darwin’s scientific discovery remains the foundation of biology, as it provides a unifying logical explanation for the diversity of life.”

His monumental works, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859) and The Descent of Man (1871) marked a new epoch, are works that changed the world. His works were violently attacked, had a tremendous impact on religious thought, and energetically defended. Darwin’s idea of evolution conflicted with many religious convictions and caused a firestorm of controversy.
Darwin ranks as one of the most influential scientific thinkers of all time!

John Lennon

One of the most well-known entertainment industry figures of the 20th century is the rock musician, singer, writer, songwriter, artist, actor and peace activist John Lennon. He gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles. Lennon was considered the leader of the Beatles, due to his superior age and also his astonishing musical abilities. There is no question that one of the world’s most beloved figures in music was John Lennon and the music he composed so mythic, so laced with legend. He is particularly famous across the globe for his messages of peace and love. John Lennon was a figurehead for the anti war Movement. Lennon used his popularity for fund raisers, voter-registration drives, and anti-war rallies and concerts.

John Lennon was shot dead in 1980 by an obsessed fan. His death shocked the world. Lennon remains an everlasting idol being considered by many to be amongst the world’s most prolific musicians.

David Beckham

Many of the world’s famous sports began in Britain, including cricket, football, lawn tennis, golf and rugby. David Beckham is a leading English footballer and a former star of the legendary team Manchester United. He is famous for the quality of his passing and his crosses, and he has scored many goals direct from special free kicks. He has twice been runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year and in 2004 he was the world’s highest-paid footballer.

The David Beckham Academy in London was opened in 2005 and it is the largest sporting facility of its kind in Europe. “The mission of the David Beckham Academy is to provide excellence in pursuit of development.”

The football superstar is an elite advertising brand and a top style icon. David Beckham’s collaboration with the legendary Armani for the Emporio Armani Underwear Ad Campaign was told to worth over $46 million. Beckham is an icon of modern masculinity who inspired with his athletic prowess and devilish good looks the most famous designers like Dolce&Gabbana and even regular people worldwide.

Sir Isaac Newton

The British physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, theologian is acclaimed as one of the foremost scientific intellects of all time, one of the most influential men in human history.

One of the most influential books in the history of science is Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, published in 1687. Newton described universal gravitation and the three laws of motion. His great works on optics and gravitation laid the groundwork for classical mechanics and served also as basis for modern engineering.

Naomi Campbell

The 1980s and 1990s were known as the supermodel era, because so many supermodels became famous in this period. Among them, Naomi Campbell, a supermodel, singer, actress, and fashion designer, was the first black cover girl for Vogue Paris and first black model to appear on the cover of Vogue UK and Nippon. She did numerous fashion and beauty campaigns for big brands like Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, Burberry, Guess, H&M, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, Valentino and Victoria’s Secret.

Naomi has been a prominent fashion model on the catwalk since the late 1980s; she is one of the world’s most in-demand and highly paid models. Her wealth from modeling is estimated to US$28 million. In the year 1991, Campbell was selected by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world.

Sir Alexander Graham Bell

A pioneer in the field of telecommunication, Sir Alexander Graham Bell, born in Edinburgh, Scotland was an eminent British scientist, inventor and innovator who is widely credited with the invention of the telephone. In 1877, he formed the Bell Telephone Company. Since his death in 1922, the telecommunication industry has undergone an amazing revolution. His invention changed the way people communicate.

Bell produced many other inventions, among these a vacuum jacket, an electric probe, and a hydrofoil which traveled above the water. It was the fastest boat at that time.

Sir Alexander Fleming

Sir Alexander Fleming was a preeminent Scottish biologist and pharmacologist. Sir Alexander wrote numerous papers on bacteriology, immunology and chemotherapy, including original descriptions of lysozyme and penicillin. His remarkable discovery of the enzyme lysozyme in 1922 and the discovery of the antibiotic substance penicillin from the fungus Penicillium notatum in 1928 saved millions of lives. Fleming received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945, which he shared with Howard Florey and Ernst Chain who finished Fleming’s work.