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.
Tarō Asō
head of government · b. 1940
Prime Minister of Japan from 2008 to 2009
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
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
essayist · 1938–2025
Kenyan writer (1938–2025)
University of Leeds
Sadiq Khan
politician · b. 1970
British politician, Mayor of London (born 1970)
London Metropolitan University
Bob Hoskins
film actor · 1942–2014
English actor (1942–2014)
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London
Edsger W. Dijkstra
programmer · 1930–2002
Dutch computer scientist (1930–2002)
University of Cambridge
Georges Lemaître
Catholic theologian · 1894–1966
Belgian astrophysicist and Catholic priest (1894–1966)
University of Cambridge
Iron Man
superhero
fictional character in Marvel Comics
University of Cambridge
Malcolm McDowell
video game actor · b. 1943
British actor (born 1943)
LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art)
Annie Besant
theosophist · 1847–1933
British socialist, theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator (1847-1933)
Birkbeck, University of London
Christopher Hitchens
autobiographer · 1949–2011
English American author and journalist (1949–2011)
University of Oxford
Oliver Goldsmith
polygraph · 1728–1774
Anglo-Irish writer, poet, and physician (d. 1774)
The University of Edinburgh
Andy Serkis
producer · b. 1964
English actor (born 1964)
Lancaster University
Charles Glover Barkla
university teacher · 1877–1944
English physicist (1877-1944)
University of Cambridge · University of Liverpool
John Douglas Cockcroft
nuclear physicist · 1897–1967
British physicist (1897–1967)
University of Cambridge
Owen Willans Richardson
theoretical physicist · 1879–1959
British physicist (1879-1959)
ARU London
Susan Boyle
singer · b. 1961
British singer
Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh
Tom Hiddleston
film actor · b. 1981
English actor (born 1981)
University of Cambridge
Germaine Greer
broadcaster · b. 1939
Australian writer and public intellectual (born 1939)
University of Cambridge · University of Warwick
Igor Yevgenyevich Tamm
theoretical physicist · 1895–1971
Soviet physicist (1895–1971)
The University of Edinburgh
Roger Waters
recording artist · b. 1943
English musician, co-founder of Pink Floyd (born 1943)
University of Westminster, London
A. A. Milne
short story writer · 1882–1956
British author known for creating Winnie-the-Pooh (1882–1956)
University of Cambridge
Danny Boyle
producer · b. 1956
English filmmaker
Bangor University
Elizabeth Blackburn
molecular biologist · b. 1948
Australian-American biological researcher
University of Cambridge
Ellie Goulding
pop musician · b. 1986
British singer (born 1986)
University of Kent
Joseph Lister
botanical collector · 1827–1912
British surgeon and antiseptic pioneer (1827–1912)
ARU London
Arthur Eddington
philosopher · 1882–1944
British astrophysicist (1882-1944)
University of Cambridge
Brian David Josephson
university teacher · b. 1940
Welsh physicist
University of Cambridge
Dian Fossey
ethologist · 1932–1985
American zoologist, gorilla researcher (1932–1985)
University of Cambridge
Duns Scotus
philosopher · 1266–1308
Scottish Franciscan friar and philosopher (c. 1265/66–1308)
University of Oxford
Edmund Spenser
translator · 1552–1599
English poet (c. 1552 – 1599)
University of Cambridge
Emmerson Mnangagwa
minister · b. 1942
President of the Republic of Zimbabwe
ARU London
John Cleese
autobiographer · b. 1939
English comedian and actor (born 1939)
University of Cambridge
John Logie Baird
inventor · 1888–1946
Scottish inventor, demonstrating the world's first working television (1888–1946)
University of Glasgow · University of Strathclyde
Lee Hsien Loong
head of government · b. 1952
3rd Prime Minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2024
University of Cambridge
Martin Ryle
researcher · 1918–1984
English radio astronomer (1918–1984)
University of Oxford
Najib Razak
politician · b. 1953
former 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia
University of Nottingham
Óscar Arias Sánchez
politician · b. 1941
President of Costa Rica (1986–1990, 2006–2010)
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Ramsay MacDonald
journalist · 1866–1937
British prime minister in 1924 and 1929 to 1935 (1866–1937)
Birkbeck, University of London
Samia Suluhu Hassan
economist · b. 1960
President of Tanzania since 2021
University of Manchester
Stanley Baldwin
politician · 1867–1947
British statesman (1867–1947)
ARU London · University of Birmingham
David Gilmour
rock musician · b. 1946
English musician, member of Pink Floyd (born 1946)
Anglia Ruskin University
Francis William Aston
chemist · 1877–1945
British chemist (1877-1945)
ARU London · University of Birmingham
Har Gobind Khorana
geneticist · 1922–2011
Indian-American molecular biologist (1922-2011)
University of Cambridge · University of Liverpool
Luc Montagnier
virologist · 1932–2022
French virologist and joint recipient of the Nobel Prize of Physiology or Medicine (2008)
University of Oxford
Michelle Yeoh
beauty pageant contestant · b. 1962
Malaysian actress (born 1962)
Manchester Metropolitan University
Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett
nuclear physicist · 1897–1974
British physicist (1897-1974)
University of Cambridge
Richard Griffiths
film actor · 1947–2013
British actor
Manchester Metropolitan University
Hassan II
military leader · 1929–1999
King of Morocco from 1961 to 1999
Imperial College London
John Evans Atta Mills
university teacher · 1944–2012
sixth President of the Republic of Ghana (1944–2012)
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London · SOAS University of London
Alfred Marshall
philosopher · 1842–1924
British economist (1842–1924)
University of Cambridge