Notable alumni of Birkbeck, University of London

Alfred Russel Wallace

zoological collector · 1823–1913

British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist (1823–1913)

Annie Besant

theosophist · 1847–1933

British socialist, theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator (1847-1933)

Ramsay MacDonald

journalist · 1866–1937

British prime minister in 1924 and 1929 to 1935 (1866–1937)

Marcus Garvey

religious leader · 1887–1940

Jamaica-born British political activist, Pan-Africanist, orator, and entrepreneur (1887-1940)

Daisy Ridley

film actor · b. 1992

English actress (born 1992)

Kemi Badenoch

author · b. 1980

British politician and Leader of the Opposition to the British Government (2024–present) and Leader of the Conservative Party since 2024 (born 1980)

Helen Sharman

Research Cosmonaut · b. 1963

British chemist who became the first Briton in space

William Joyce

radio personality · 1906–1946

British fascist and propaganda broadcaster (1906-1946)

Sidney Webb

sociologist · 1859–1947

English socialist economist, 1859–1947 (1859–1947)

Arthur Wing Pinero

theatre director · 1855–1934

British writer (1855-1934)

Chris Abani

activist · b. 1966

Nigerian-born American author (born 1966)

Prince Louis of Luxembourg

aristocrat · b. 1986

third son of the Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg

John Walter Gregory

explorer · 1864–1932

British geologist and explorer (1864–1932)

Simon Bird

film actor · b. 1984

British actor and comedian

Dutch architect (born 1959)

Jennifer Donnelly

novelist · b. 1969

American writer of young adult fiction

Jah Wobble

recording artist · b. 1958

British bass guitarist and music producer (born 1958)

Indian poet (1924–2004)

Amina Mama

non-fiction writer · b. 1958

Nigerian-British writer, feminist and academic

Kwaku Ampratwum-Sarpong

consultant · b. 1958

Ghanaian politician

Eyal Weizman

opinion journalist · b. 1970

Israeli-born British architect

Bisi Alimi

HIV/AIDS activist · b. 1975

Nigerian LGBTQ+ activist and executive director of Wikimedia LGBT+

British mathematician (1901–1992)

Cyril Ponnamperuma

chemist · 1923–1994

Sri Lankan scientist (1923–1994)

Kostas Lapavitsas

university teacher · b. 1961

Greek economist

Brittany Kaiser

executive · b. 1987

former Director of Business Development at Cambridge Analytica

Romesh Ranganathan

presenter · b. 1978

British comedian

German physicist (1927–2001)

Previous Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus

J. H. Kwabena Nketia

ethnomusicologist · 1921–2019

ethnomusicologist (1921-2019)

Donald Sassoon

historian · b. 1946

historian

John Altman

jazz musician · b. 1949

British film composer

Anita Pollack

politician · b. 1946

British politician

British investigative journalist, author and academic

Ada Aharoni

translator · b. 1933

Israeli poet, writer, lecturer, sociologist and peace researcher (born 1933)

Pierre Adolphe Valette

painter · 1876–1942

French painter (1876-1942)

Claudia Webbe

council member · b. 1965

British politician (born 1965)

Nick Smith

politician · b. 1960

Welsh politician (born 1960)

English Tolkien scholar

German biologist (1924–2006)

Cyrus Chothia

bioinformatician · 1942–2019

English biochemist (1942–2019)

New Zealand mycologist (1934–1972)

British inorganic chemist

Irene Lozano

journalist · b. 1971

Spanish writer and journalist

Ian Blatchford

art historian · b. 1965

museum director

British scientist

Mohammed Al-Ghabban

politician · b. 1961

Iraqi politician

Jan Toporowski

university teacher · b. 1950

Polish economist

Claude Ambrose Rogers

mathematician · 1920–2005

British mathematician (1920–2005)

German physicist (1921–2008)

Mercedes Cebrián

columnist · b. 1971

Spanish writer

English politician (1955-2014)

writer

Stephen Gaukroger

philosophy historian · 1950–2023

British philosopher and intellectual historian

Nigerian academic (1932–2015)

University teacher and historian of cartography (1915–1994)

Carlos Antonio Anderson Ramírez

economist · 1960–2025

Peruvian economist and politician

Tale Heydarov

editor · b. 1985

Azerbaijani entrepreneur

British Labour politician and life peer (1915-2007)

British philosopher

Mark Lowcock

accountant · b. 1962

British civil servant

Richard Burchett

painter · 1815–1875

British artist (1815-1875)

Topsy Ojo

rugby union player · b. 1985

English rugby union footballer

Greek historian και writer (1934–2022)

Finnish philosopher

Elizabeth Esteve-Coll

curator · 1938–2024

British academic and museum director

British biologist

political activist

British paleomalacologist

German philosopher (1927-2005)

Paul Ekins

economist · b. 1950

British academic and economist

British–Australian mathematician

British author

British feminist historian

Cynthia Umezulike

activist

Nigerian human rights lawyer and activist

Palestinian activist and businesswoman

Wai Hnin Pwint Thon

human rights defender · b. 1989

Wai HninPwint Thon ( ဝေနှင်းပွင့်သုန်)

British journalist

British writer (1931-2014)

political scientist

Clement Edwards

trade unionist · 1869–1938

British politician (1869-1938)

British literary critic

British economist

British civil servant and charity founder

Ehud Adiv

activist · b. 1946

Israeli anti-Zionist activist and socialist

British politician (born 1949)

James Hemsley

mathematician · b. 1941

Conference founder and organizer

British academic

British writer and artist

Edith Lanchester

women's rights activist · 1871–1966

English socialist and feminist

British surgeon and socialist activist (1893-1977)

Wilkinson, Jeannette Gaury (1841–1886), trade unionist and suffragist

British poet, journalist, and travel writer (1924-2018)

Elizabeth Fremantle

novelist · b. 1962

English novelist

William Pett Ridge

short story writer · 1859–1930

English novelist (1859–1930)

British diplomat

Vincent Chao

diplomat · b. 1988

Taiwanese politician

Andrej Šali

computational biologist · b. 1963

American biologist

British scientist and scientific writer

Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco

b. 1970

10th Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization

Markus Campbell-Savours

politician

British politician