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.
Ronald Coase
university teacher · 1910–2013
British economist and Nobel laureate (1910–2013)
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
Chiwetel Ejiofor
film actor · b. 1977
British actor (born 1977)
LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art)
David Trimble
university teacher · 1944–2022
First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002
Queen's University Belfast
Harry Kroto
university teacher · 1939–2016
British chemist (1939-2016)
University of Sheffield
Ian McEwan
film screenwriter · b. 1948
British author (born 1948)
University of East Anglia UEA · University of Sussex
John Kendrew
crystallographer · 1917–1997
English biochemist and crystallographer (1917–1997)
University of Cambridge
Max Theiler
virologist · 1899–1972
South African-American virologist and doctor (1899-1972)
King's College London, University of London
Paetongtarn Shinawatra
entrepreneur · b. 1986
Businesswoman and former Prime Minister of Thailand
University of Surrey
Peter Medawar
autobiographer · 1915–1987
English-brazilian biologist (1915–1987)
University of Oxford
Thomas Cranmer
canon law jurist · 1489–1556
leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury
University of Cambridge
Tim Curry
memoirist · b. 1946
British actor
University of Birmingham
Vivienne Westwood
activist · 1941–2022
British fashion designer (1941–2022)
Middlesex University · University of Westminster, London
Cyril Norman Hinshelwood
physical chemist · 1897–1967
English physical chemist (1897-1967)
University of Oxford
James Hutton
industrialist · 1726–1797
Scottish geologist, physician, chemical manufacturer, naturalist, and experimental agriculturalist; (1726-1797)
The University of Edinburgh
Joseph Black
university teacher · 1728–1799
Scottish physicist and chemist (1728–1799)
The University of Edinburgh · University of Glasgow
Lawrence Lessig
non-fiction writer · b. 1961
American academic, political activist
University of Cambridge
Luis Arce
economist · b. 1963
Bolivian politician and president of Bolivia from 2020 to 2025
University of Warwick
Max Perutz
crystallographer · 1914–2002
Austrian-born British molecular biologist (1914-2002)
University of Cambridge
Necmettin Erbakan
university teacher · 1926–2011
23rd Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey (1926–2011)
ARU London
Peter Mutharika
President of the Republic · b. 1940
President of Malawi
ARU London
Roger Y. Tsien
cell biologist · 1952–2016
American biochemist (1952-2016)
University of Cambridge
Sam Mendes
film producer · b. 1965
British stage and film director (born 1965)
University of Cambridge
Yanis Varoufakis
non-fiction writer · b. 1961
Greek economist and politician
University of Birmingham
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim
botanist · b. 1959
scientist and president of Mauritius
University of Exeter · University of Surrey
Cecilia Helena Payne Gaposchkin
university teacher · 1900–1979
British-born American astronomer
University of Cambridge
David Brewster
civil engineer · 1781–1868
Scottish astronomer and mathematician (1781–1868)
The University of Edinburgh
Dr. Watson
military physician
fictional character of Sherlock Holmes
ARU London
George Porter
chemist · 1920–2002
British chemist (1920–2002)
University of Cambridge · University of Leeds
J.B.S. Haldane
scientific collector · 1892–1964
Geneticist and evolutionary biologist (1892-1964)
University of Oxford
Jagadish Chandra Bose
short story writer · 1858–1937
Bengali polymath, physicist, and biologist (1858–1937)
ARU London
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
politician · 1792–1878
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1846–1852 and 1865–1866 (1792–1878)
The University of Edinburgh
K. R. Narayanan
diplomat · 1920–2005
President of India from 1997 to 2002
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Matt Smith
film actor · b. 1982
English actor (born 1982)
University of East Anglia UEA
Michel Barnier
foreign minister · b. 1951
former Prime Minister of France (2024)
ESCP Business School
Sebastian Coe
autobiographer · b. 1956
British athlete and politician (born 1956)
Loughborough University
Walter Gilbert
molecular biologist · b. 1932
American biochemist
University of Cambridge
Eckhart Tolle
philosopher · b. 1948
German spiritual teacher and author
ARU London
Greer Garson
television actor · 1904–1996
British-American actress (1904-1996)
King's College London, University of London
Gustav Holst
librettist · 1874–1934
British composer (1874–1934)
Royal College of Music
James Black
cardiologist · 1924–2010
Scottish doctor and pharmacologist (1924–2010)
University of Dundee · University of St Andrews
John Cornforth
university teacher · 1917–2013
Australian-British chemist
University of Oxford
John Deacon
guitarist · b. 1951
British musician, bassist and songwriter (born 1951)
King's College London, University of London
Joseph Rotblat
physicist · 1908–2005
Polish-born British-naturalised physicist
ARU London · University of Liverpool
Michael Levitt
biophysicist · b. 1947
biophysicist and Professor of Structural biology
King's College London, University of London · University of Cambridge
Mika
songwriter · b. 1983
British-Lebanese musician, singer and songwriter
Royal College of Music
Norman Haworth
chemist · 1883–1950
British chemist (1883-1950)
University of Manchester
Talcott Parsons
sociologist · 1902–1979
American sociologist (1902 – 1979)
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Alan MacDiarmid
university teacher · 1927–2007
New Zealand chemist (1927–2007)
University of Cambridge
David Rockefeller
commissioned armed forces officers · 1915–2017
American banker and philanthropist (1915–2017)
London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London
Eric Idle
television actor · b. 1943
British comedian, actor and writer (born 1943)
University of Cambridge
Ginnifer Goodwin
film actor · b. 1978
American actress
LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art)
James Hopwood Jeans
university teacher · 1877–1946
British mathematician and astronomer (1877 – 1946)
University of Cambridge
James Lovelock
mythographer · 1919–2022
English scientist (1919–2022)
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, University of London · University of Manchester
Jon Lord
organist · 1941–2012
English composer, pianist, and Hammond organ player (1941–2012)
Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London
Mark Knopfler
rock musician · b. 1949
British musician
University of Leeds