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.
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Catholic bishop · 1100–1155
Historian and Bishop of St Asaph, Wales (c.1095–1155)
University of Oxford
Mary McAleese
journalist · b. 1951
8th President of Ireland
Queen's University Belfast
Monica Lewinsky
designer · b. 1973
American activist and writer (born 1973)
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
university teacher · b. 1943
Icelandic politician, 5th President of Iceland
University of Manchester
Richard Harris
rugby union player · 1930–2002
Irish actor, singer, film director and writer (1930–2002)
LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art)
Zygmunt Bauman
opinion journalist · 1925–2017
Polish philosopher and sociologist (1925-2017)
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Andrew Lloyd Webber
producer · b. 1948
British theatre composer (born 1948)
Royal College of Music
Arthur Harden
biochemist · 1865–1940
British biochemist
University of Manchester
Bjarne Stroustrup
programmer · b. 1950
Danish computer scientist, creator of C++ (born 1950)
University of Cambridge
John Knox
Christian minister · 1514–1572
Scottish clergyman, writer and historian (1514–1572)
University of Glasgow · University of St Andrews
Kim Campbell
autobiographer · b. 1947
19th Prime Minister of Canada in 1993
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Nevill Francis Mott
university teacher · 1905–1996
English physicist, Nobel prize winner
University of Cambridge
Norman Foster
film actor · b. 1935
British architect (born 1935)
University of Manchester
Vincent Kompany
association football coach · b. 1986
Belgian association football player and manager
University of Manchester
William Crookes
psychic · 1832–1919
British chemist and physicist (1832-1919)
Imperial College London
Yun Po-sun
journalist · 1897–1990
2nd President of South Korea (1897-1990)
The University of Edinburgh
Archibald Hill
biophysicist · 1886–1977
English physiologist and biophysicist (1886-1977)
University of Cambridge
Bill Paxton
film actor · 1955–2017
American actor and filmmaker (1955–2017)
Richmond American University London
Frederick Hopkins
biochemist · 1861–1947
English biochemist
ARU London · King's College London, University of London
Giorgos Papandreou
foreign minister · b. 1952
Greek politician, president of the Socialist International
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
James Horner
orchestrator · 1953–2015
American film composer and conductor (1953-2015)
Royal College of Music
John James Rickard Macleod
physiologist · 1876–1935
Nobel prize-winning Scottish physician and physiologist; co-discoverer of insulin
University of Aberdeen
John L. Hall
university teacher · b. 1934
American physicist (born 1934)
University of Glasgow
Martin Freeman
film actor · b. 1971
English actor
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London
Robert Brown
scientific collector · 1773–1858
Scottish botanist (1773-1858), discoverer of the cell nucleus and of Brownian Motion (1773–1858)
University of Aberdeen
Sarojini Naidu
freedom fighter · 1879–1949
Indian poet, politician, governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh from 1947 to 1949
King's College London, University of London
Vincent Price
film actor · 1911–1993
American actor (1911–1993)
Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London
William John Macquorn Rankine
civil engineer · 1820–1872
civil engineer (1820–1872)
The University of Edinburgh
Aaron Klug
molecular biologist · 1926–2018
British chemist and biophysicist
University of Cambridge
Annalena Baerbock
jurist · b. 1980
German politician (born 1980)
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Bonar Law
chess player · 1858–1923
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1922 to 1923
University of Glasgow
Duncan Haldane
physicist · b. 1951
professor of physics at Princeton University
University of Cambridge
James George Frazer
folklorist · 1854–1941
Scottish social anthropologist (1854–1941)
University of Cambridge · University of Glasgow
Kathleen Turner
film actor · b. 1954
American actress (born 1954)
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London
Leonid Hurwicz
university teacher · 1917–2008
Polish-American economist and mathematician (1917–2008)
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Marcus Garvey
religious leader · 1887–1940
Jamaica-born British political activist, Pan-Africanist, orator, and entrepreneur (1887-1940)
Birkbeck, University of London
Mwai Kibaki
economist · 1931–2022
3rd President of Kenya (1931–2022)
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Naomi Klein
climate activist · b. 1970
Canadian author and activist (born 1970)
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Norman Foster Ramsey
nuclear physicist · 1915–2011
American physicist (1915–2011)
University of Cambridge
Richard Owen
paleoanthropologist · 1804–1892
English biologist and paleontologist (1804–1892)
The University of Edinburgh
Robbie Coltrane
television actor · 1950–2022
Scottish actor (1950–2022)
Glasgow School of Art · The University of Edinburgh
Ronald Fisher
biostatistician · 1890–1962
British statistician, evolutionary biologist and geneticist (1890–1962)
University of Cambridge
Alex Salmond
autobiographer · 1954–2024
Alba Party leader and First Minister of Scotland 2007–2014 (1954–2024)
University of St Andrews
Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens
adviser · b. 1938
British sociologist (born 1938)
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London · University of Hull
Brian Eno
conceptual artist · b. 1948
British musician, music producer, music theorist and visual artist (born 1948)
University of Southampton
Bronisław Malinowski
social anthropologist · 1884–1942
Polish anthropologist and ethnographer based in England and the USA (1884–1942)
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Daisy Ridley
film actor · b. 1992
English actress (born 1992)
Birkbeck, University of London
Frank Macfarlane Burnet
virologist · 1899–1985
Australian virologist (1899-1985)
ARU London
Jocelyn Bell Burnell
astrophysicist · b. 1943
British astrophysicist (born 1943)
University of Glasgow
John Kufuor
politician · b. 1938
fifth President of the Republic of Ghana and Lawyer
University of Oxford
John Lithgow
film actor · b. 1945
American actor (born 1945)
LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art)
Mia Mottley
politician · b. 1965
prime minister of Barbados since 2018
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Philip Reeve
young adult author · b. 1966
English children's writer and illustrator
Anglia Ruskin University
Ricky Gervais
television actor · b. 1961
British comedian
ARU London
Ronald Coase
university teacher · 1910–2013
British economist and Nobel laureate (1910–2013)
ARU London · London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Stephen Jay Gould
evolutionary biologist · 1941–2002
American biologist and historian of science (1941–2002)
University of Leeds
Thom Yorke
dancer · b. 1968
English musician and singer for Radiohead
University of Exeter
Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli
anti-apartheid activist · 1898–1967
South African politician (1898–1967)
University of Glasgow
Atifete Jahjaga
police officer · b. 1975
President of Kosovo from 2011 to 2016
University of Leicester
Bonnie Wright
YouTuber · b. 1991
British actress and filmmaker
University of the Arts London