Additional Names which have been suggested for inclusion on Britain Unlimited
As you are probably aware by now Britain Unlimited covers 250 of the most famous names in Britain, however from time to time its readers recommend other people who they think should be on the list. Who knows when we expand the list they might even make it. What do you think? The criteria is that they should have died in or before the year 2000.
A I B I C I D I E I F I G I H I I J I K I L I M I N I O I P I Q I R I S I T I U I V I W I X I Y I Z
A
Sir George Biddell Airy: (1801-1892) Astronomer Royal and mathematician who established Greenwich as the Prime Meridian.
Sir Kingsley Amis: (1922-95) Novelist and poet famous for “Lucky Jim”.
Lancelot Andrewes: (1555-1626) Bishop and scholar who oversaw the translation of the Authorized Version (or King James Version) of the Bible.
Matthew Arnold: (1822-88) Poet and literary critic.
Thomas Arundel: (1353-1414) Prelate and statesman famous for his opposition to King Richard the Second.
Roger Ascham: (1515-1568) Tudor Humanist and scholar famous for “The Schoolmaster”.
Herbert Asquith: (1852-1928) Statesman. Served as the Liberal Prime Minister from 1908 to 1916.
John Aubrey: (1626-1697) Biographer and folklorist famous for “Brief Lives”.
B
Roger Bacon: (1214-1294) Philosopher famous for his work on optics.
J.M. Barrie: (1860-1937) Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered for creating Peter Pan.
Gertrude Bell: (1868–1926) Writer, traveller, administrator, and archaeologist who explored and mapped much of the Middle East.
Thomas Bewick: (1753–1828) Engraver and natural history author from Northumberland.
George Boole: (1815-1864) English mathematician and philosopher whose Boolean logic was the progenitor of digital computing devices.
Havergal Brian: (1876–1972) Classical composer.
James Brindley: (1716-1772) Canal engineer.
William Byrd: (1540-1623) Sacred composer of motets and songs famous for his polyphony.
C
Henry Cavendish: (1731-1810) Scientist and discoverer of the properties of Hydrogen.
Sir James Chadwick: (1891-1974) Physicist and discoverer of the neutron.
Charlie Chaplin: (1889–1977) Comic actor, filmmaker, and composer best known for his work in the silent era.
Thomas Chatterton: (1752-1770) Poet. Famous for the Rowley Poems.
William Congreve: (1670-1729) Dramatist and Poet. Famous for “The Mourning Bride”.
D
Erasmus Darwin: (1773-1802) Physician and evolutionist. Famous for “Zoonomia”.
Emily Wilding Davidson: (1872–1913) Suffragette who was killed by the King’s horse during the Epsom Derby.
Frederick Delius: (1862–1934) English composer from Bradford the son of a prosperous German family.
F
William Henry Fox Talbot: (1800-1877) Pioneer of photography.
Sir Martin Frobisher: (c1535– 1594) Seaman and privateer who made voyages to the New World looking for the North West Passage.
G
John Gay: (1648-1721) Poet and Dramatist. Famous for “The Beggar’s Opera”
Sir Alfred Gilbert: (1854-1934) Sculptor. Famous for the Popularly called Eros statue in Piccadilly Circus.
Grinling Gibbons: (1648-1721) Woodcarver.
Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach): (1904–1986) Actor who later became a major Hollywood film star.
H
Timothy Hackworth: (1786-1850) Steam locomotive engineer born in Wylam, Northumberland. He was the first locomotive superintendent of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
James Hargreaves: (1720-1778) Weaver and carpenter in Lancashire, credited with inventing the “Spinning Jenny” cotton spinning machine in 1764.
Warren Hastings: (1732-1818) First Governor General of India.
Sir Alfred Hitchcock: (1899–1980) Influential film Director and Producer. Nicknamed “the Master of Suspense”.
Alfred Edward Housman: (1859-1936) Classical scholar and poet.
James Hutton: (1726-1797) Scottish geologist, physician, naturalist and chemist.
K
John Maynard Keynes: (1883–1946) Economist who influenced government’s macro-economic policies.
L
William Langland: (1332-1386) Poet. Famous for “Piers Plowman”.
Stan Laurel: (1890-1965) Comic actor writer and director best known for his comedy partnership with Oliver Hardy.
C.S. Lewis (1898–1963) Poet, novelist and academic.
Ada Byron Lovelace: (1815-1852) Daughter of Lord Byron. She was a mathematician accredited as the first computer programmer.
M
Andrew Marvell (1621-1678) Metaphysical Poet.
R.J. Mitchell: (1895-1937) Designer of the Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft.
N
John Nash: (1752-1835) Architect who created much of Regency London and remodelled the Royal Pavilion at Brighton.
O
Robert Owen: (1771-1858) Welsh social reformer and founder of the cooperative movement.
P
Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey: (1768-1854) Officer at Waterloo and politician.
William Penn: (1644-1718) Founder of Pennsylvania, USA from lands given to him by King Charles the Second to repay debts to his father.
Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin: (1812-1852) Architect and theorist of the gothic revival style, notable for designing the “Elizabeth (Big Ben) Tower” and elaborate interiors at the Houses of Parliament, London.
R
Eric Ravilious (1903– 1942) Twentieth Century war artist and watercolourist.
Samuel Richardson (1689–1761) Eighteenth Century writer, printer and father of the English novel.
William Heath Robinson: (1872-1944) Cartoonist and illustrator of eccentric machines.
Ernest Rutherford: (1871-1937) Nuclear Physicist famous for splitting the atom. (Born in New Zealand of Scottish and English Parents).
S
Sir Titus Salt: (1803–29 1876) Manufacturer, politician, and philanthropist in Bradford best known for building Salt’s Mill and the village of Saltaire.
Mary Seacole: (1805-1881) Nurse during the Crimean War. Her father was a Scottish soldier and her mother a Jamaican.
Sir Giles Gilbert Scott: (1880-1960) Architect. Notable for Liverpool Cathedral and Battersea Power Station.
Sir John Soane: (1753-1837) Architect in neo-classical style, notable for the Bank of England and his collections, now the Sir John Soanes Museum in London.
Sir Basil Urwin Spence: (1907-1976) Architect notable for Coventry Cathedral.
Sir Joseph Wilson Swan: (1828-1914) Physicist and chemist, who, amongst other things, is credited with the invention of the incandescent light bulb.
T
Thomas Tallis: (1648-1721) Composer. Famous for “Spem in Allium” and other large choral works.
Alan Turing: (1912-1954) Mathematician, cryptanalyst and computer scientist.
William Tyndale: (c1494-1536) Reformation scholar and translator of the bible into English.
W
Alfred Russell Wallace: (1823-1913) Naturalist, biologist, geographer, and anthropologist. Famous for proposing evolution independently to Darwin.
Sir William Walton: (1902–1983) Classical, opera and film composer.
Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt: (1892-1973) Scientist and inventor of radar.
Sir Charles Wheatstone: (1802-1875) Scientist and sound engineer.
Sir Joseph Whitworth: (1803-1887) Engineer and Inventor. Famous for standardised screw threads especially in firearms.
Ken Wood: (1911-1997) Founder of the food mixer company.