Notable UK university alumni
13,528 people who studied at a UK university and have Wikipedia coverage. Ranked by international notability (number of language Wikipedias they appear in). Sourced from Wikidata.
Alfred North Whitehead
philosopher · 1861–1947
English mathematician and philosopher (1861–1947)
University of Cambridge
Edmond Halley
mathematician · 1656–1742
English astronomer, mathematician, geophysicist, meteorologist and physicist (1656–1742)
University of Oxford
James Chadwick
nuclear physicist · 1891–1974
English physicist (1891-1974), who discovered the neutron in 1932
University of Cambridge · University of Manchester
Mick Jagger
rock singer · b. 1943
British singer and songwriter; vocalist of The Rolling Stones
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin
university teacher · 1824–1907
British physicist and engineer (1824–1907)
University of Cambridge · University of Glasgow
J. M. Barrie
television writer · 1860–1937
Scottish writer and playwright (1860–1937)
The University of Edinburgh
Liam Neeson
film actor · b. 1952
actor from Northern Ireland (born 1952)
Queen's University Belfast
William Makepeace Thackeray
prose writer · 1811–1863
British novelist (1811–1863)
University of Cambridge
William of Ockham
Catholic theologian · 1287–1349
English Franciscan friar and theologian (c.1287–1347)
University of Oxford
Anthony Eden
foreign minister · 1897–1977
British soldier, diplomat and politician (1897–1977)
University of Oxford
Derek Walcott
prose writer · 1930–2017
Saint Lucian–Trinidadian poet and playwright (1930–2017)
ARU London
Francis Crick
biophysicist · 1916–2004
British molecular biologist, biophysicist, neuroscientist; co-discoverer of the structure of DNA
University of Cambridge
Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck
monarch · b. 1980
fifth and reigning King of Bhutan
University of Oxford
Judi Dench
film actor · b. 1934
English actress (born 1934)
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London
Orlando Bloom
film producer · b. 1977
English actor and model
Guildhall School of Music & Drama · University of Kent
Sting
lutenist · b. 1951
British musician (born 1951)
Northumbria University, Newcastle · University of Warwick
W. H. Auden
literary historian · 1907–1973
British-American poet (1907–1973)
University of Oxford
John William Strutt
university teacher · 1842–1919
English physicist (1842–1919)
University of Cambridge
Peter Higgs
theoretical physicist · 1929–2024
British physicist and Nobel Prize winner (1929–2024)
King's College London, University of London
Hans Bethe
nuclear physicist · 1906–2005
German-American nuclear physicist
University of Cambridge
Laurence Olivier
film screenwriter · 1907–1989
English actor and director (1907–1989)
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London
Roger Bacon
music theorist · 1220–1292
English polymath, philosopher and friar (c.1219/20–c.1292)
University of Oxford
William Ramsay
archaeologist · 1852–1916
Scottish chemist (1852–1916)
University of Glasgow
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
diplomat · 1928–1979
4th President and 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan (1928–1979)
University of Oxford
Susan Sontag
women's rights activist · 1933–2004
American writer and filmmaker, professor, and activist (1933–2004)
University of Oxford
Pyotr Kapitsa
inventor · 1894–1984
Soviet physicist
University of Cambridge
Rachel Weisz
audiobook narrator · b. 1970
British actress (born 1970)
University of Cambridge
Roger Penrose
philosopher · b. 1931
English mathematical physicist, recreational mathematician and philosopher
University of Cambridge
Rupert Murdoch
financier · b. 1931
Australian-American business magnate (born 1931)
University of Oxford
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
university teacher · 1910–1995
Indian-American astrophysicist
University of Cambridge
Thomas Young
linguist · 1773–1829
English polymath (1773-1829)
The University of Edinburgh
William Lawrence Bragg
Nobel Prize winner · 1890–1971
Australian-born British physicist and X-ray crystallographer
University of Cambridge · University of Leeds
Brian May
YouTuber · b. 1947
British musician (born 1947)
ARU London · Imperial College London
Charles Thomson Rees Wilson
meteorologist · 1869–1959
Scottish physicist and meteorologist (1869-1959)
University of Cambridge · University of Manchester
Ghil'ad Zuckermann
lexicographer · b. 1971
Linguist, language revivalist, professor, author, hyperpolyglot
University of Cambridge · University of Oxford
Henry Cavendish
chemist · 1731–1810
English natural philosopher, and scientist (1731–1810)
University of Cambridge
Sonia Gandhi
politician · b. 1946
Indian politician
University of Cambridge
Albert II, Prince of Monaco
bobsledder · b. 1958
Prince of Monaco (born 1958)
University of Bristol
Gary Lineker
broadcaster · b. 1960
English football pundit and former player
King's College London, University of London
Jomo Kenyatta
journalist · 1893–1978
first Prime Minister (1963 to 1964) and President (1964 to 1978) of self-governing Kenya
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Julius Nyerere
linguist · 1922–1999
Tanzanian politician and writer, first Prime Minister and President of Tanzania (1922–1999)
The University of Edinburgh
Queen Camilla
activist · b. 1947
Queen consort of the United Kingdom since 2022
University of London Institute in Paris
Benedict Cumberbatch
film actor · b. 1976
English actor (born 1976)
LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art) · University of Manchester
Emma Thompson
film screenwriter · b. 1959
British actress and screenwriter (born 1959)
University of Cambridge
Ewan McGregor
film actor · b. 1971
Scottish actor
Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Pierre Trudeau
law professor · 1919–2000
Prime Minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and 1980 to 1984 (1919–2000)
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Abdulrazak Gurnah
philologist · b. 1948
Tanzanian-born British writer, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (2021) (born 1948)
ARU London · University of Kent
Frederick Sanger
conscientious objector · 1918–2013
British biochemist (1918–2013)
University of Cambridge
Jean-Paul Marat
journalist · 1743–1793
politician and journalist during the French Revolution (1743-1793)
University of St Andrews
Tarō Asō
head of government · b. 1940
Prime Minister of Japan from 2008 to 2009
ARU London · London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Ben Kingsley
film actor · b. 1943
English actor (born 1943)
University of Salford
Edward Victor Appleton
university teacher · 1892–1965
English physicist (1892–1965)
The University of Edinburgh · University of Cambridge
G.H. Hardy
university teacher · 1877–1947
British mathematician (1877–1947)
University of Cambridge
Michael D. Higgins
political scientist · b. 1941
President of Ireland (2011–2018; 2018–2025)
University of Manchester
Richard von Weizsäcker
jurist · 1920–2015
President of Germany from 1984 to 1994
University of Oxford
Christopher Wren
anatomist · 1632–1723
English architect (1632–1723)
University of Oxford
John Napier
theologian · 1550–1617
Scottish mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (1550–1617)
University of St Andrews
Frederick Soddy
researcher · 1877–1956
English radiochemist (1877–1956)
Aberystwyth University
John Cale
autobiographer · b. 1942
Welsh composer, singer-songwriter and record producer (born 1942)
Goldsmiths, University of London
Kate Beckinsale
film actor · b. 1973
English actress
University of Oxford