Notable alumni of University of Birmingham

Neville Chamberlain

politician · 1869–1940

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1937 to 1940

Stanley Baldwin

politician · 1867–1947

British statesman (1867–1947)

Francis William Aston

chemist · 1877–1945

British chemist (1877-1945)

Maurice Wilkins

biophysicist · 1916–2004

New Zealand-born English physicist and biologist

Tim Curry

memoirist · b. 1946

British actor

Yanis Varoufakis

non-fiction writer · b. 1961

Greek economist and politician

Paul Nurse

neurobiologist · b. 1949

Nobel prize winning British biochemist

John Vane

biochemist · 1927–2004

English pharmacologist (1927-2004)

Hakainde Hichilema

President of the Republic · b. 1962

7th President of Zambia

English writer (1935–2025)

John Stewart Bell

translator · 1928–1990

Northern Irish physicist (1928–1990)

Christine McVie

keyboardist · 1943–2022

British musician (1943–2022)

Matthew Goode

film actor · b. 1978

English actor (born 1978)

American novelist (1921-1994)

English playwright (1971-1999)

Wavel Ramkalawan

parson · b. 1961

Seychellois politician

Simon Le Bon

songwriter · b. 1958

British singer; lead vocalist of Duran Duran

William Lane Craig

Protestant theologian · b. 1949

American Christian apologist and theologian

Perry Christie

athletics competitor · b. 1943

Bahamian politician

Madeleine Carroll

film actor · 1906–1987

English actress (1906–1987)

Kenny Anthony

university teacher · b. 1951

Prime Minister of Saint Lucia

Elizabeth Henstridge

film actor · b. 1987

English actress

American mathematician (1880–1949)

Philip Kerr

science fiction writer · 1956–2018

British novelist (1956–2018)

Sefi Atta

novelist · b. 1964

Nigerian author and playwright

British zoologist

Austrian–Australian–American astrophysicist (1924–2008)

Rodolfo Neri Vela

politician · b. 1952

Mexican astronaut

British Formula One team owner

Victoria Wood

stand-up comedian · 1953–2016

British comedian (1953–2016)

Jim Ratcliffe

chief executive officer · b. 1952

British chemical engineer turned financier and industrialist

Anna Soubry

journalist · b. 1956

British politician

Tamsin Greig

film actor · b. 1966

British actress (born 1966)

Phyllida Lloyd

opera director · b. 1957

British film and theatre director

Tom Riley

film actor · b. 1981

English actor

Spencer Davis

guitarist · 1939–2020

British musician (1939–2020)

Adam Osborne

non-fiction writer · 1939–2003

American writer and software publisher (1939-2003)

Granville Bantock

choreographer · 1868–1946

British composer and conductor (1868-1946)

Marleen Gorris

women's rights activist · b. 1948

Dutch writer and director (born 1948)

Governor-General of Belize from 1981 to 1993

Jonathan Miller

producer · 1934–2019

British theatre director (1934-2019)

Paul Manning

track cyclist · b. 1974

English cyclist

British Engineer and Technical Director

Ann Widdecombe

politician · b. 1947

British politician (born 1947)

Irving Finkel

ancient Near Eastern scholar · b. 1951

British archaeologist

British author of crime fiction (1952–2024)

Edward Bach

bacteriologist · 1886–1936

British physician/homeopath/bacteriologist/spiritual writer (1886–1936)

U. R. Ananthamurthy

literary critic · 1932–2014

Indian writer and critic in the Kannada language

Mo Ibrahim

entrepreneur · b. 1946

Sudanese-British businessman

Elliott H. Lieb

university teacher · b. 1932

American mathematical physicist and professor of mathematics and physics at Princeton University

Zarah Sultana

politician · b. 1993

British politician

Nana Kagga

chemical engineer · b. 1979

Ugandan screenwriter, filmmaker and actress

British scientist and authority on biological warfare (1944-2003)

Sophie Bray

field hockey player · b. 1990

British field hockey player

Fernando Zavala

economist · b. 1971

Peruvian economist and politician

American physicist (1928-2016)

Jess Phillips

politician · b. 1981

British politician (born 1981)

Jim Crace

short story writer · b. 1946

English novelist, short story writer and playwright (born 1946)

Sarah Ladipo Manyika

essayist · b. 1968

British writer

Michael David Jackson

autobiographer · 1944–2024

British Army officer (1944–2024)

Judith Herrin

hellenist · b. 1942

British archaeologist

Ghanaian physicist

David Gill

accountant · b. 1957

British football executive (1957-)

Eman al-Nafjan

activist · b. 1950

Saudi Arabian blogger, writer and women's rights activist

Herbert Austin, 1st Baron Austin

car designer · 1866–1941

British politician (1866-1941)

Ciara Horne

sport cyclist · b. 1989

former Irish, current British racing cyclist

British actress

Celia Rees

young adult author · b. 1949

English author

Nanjala Nyabola

political historian

Kenyan scientist and author specialising in digital media and society

Hannah England

middle-distance runner · b. 1987

British middle-distance runner

British archer

Mark Billingham

stand-up comedian · b. 1961

English actor and writer

British metallurgist and physicist (1919-2012)

Elliot Cowan

film actor · b. 1976

British actor

Pratibha Parmar

director · b. 1955

British filmmaker (born 1955)

Peter Brock

racing automobile driver · 1945–2006

Australian racing driver (1945–2006)

Nigerian geophysicist

Valerie Amos, Baroness Amos

sociologist · b. 1954

British diplomat (born 1954)

Chrissie Wellington

triathlete · b. 1977

triathlete

Shaktikanta Das

Indian Administrative Service · b. 1957

Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

Uzoamaka Aniunoh

film director

Nigerian female actor

Richard Horton

journalist · b. 1961

British medical editor

Indian social worker and trade unionist

Sope Dirisu

stage actor · b. 1991

British actor

Femi Oke

broadcaster · b. 1966

British journalist and television presenter

Ian Morris

anthropologist · b. 1960

American historian

American screenwriter (1925-2019)

Angela McRobbie

communication scholar · b. 1951

British academic

author

Hadley Fraser

stage actor · b. 1980

British actor

Philip Egan

Catholic bishop · b. 1955

British bishop

Evan Parker

recording artist · b. 1944

English saxophonist

Li Siguang

geologist · 1889–1971

Chinese geologist and politician (1889-1971)

former member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party

British paleontologist (1916–2010)

British writer (1912–1998)

Mick Aston

anthropologist · 1946–2013

English archaeologist (1946–2013)

James Heappey

politician · b. 1981

British politician (born 1981)

Sister Bliss

musician · b. 1970

British musician

Constance Naden

philosopher · 1858–1889

English writer, poet and philosopher (1858-1889)

James McIlroy

explorer · 1879–1968

British surgeon (1879–1968)

American dancer, choreographer and actress

Julian Smith

politician · b. 1971

Member of United Kingdom Parliament (born 1971)

Mary Lee Woods

programmer · 1924–2017

British mathematician and computer programmer (1924-2017)

Ugandan organic farmer and women's rights activist

British biochemist and theologian (1924–2006)

Ghanaian zoologist (1925–2023)

Peggy Antrobus

feminist · b. 1935

Grenadian activist, author, scholar

British writer

Chris Addison

television actor · b. 1971

British comedian

Joe Bossano

trade unionist · b. 1939

Chief Minister of Gibraltar (born 1939)

British computer scientist (1918-2009)

Samar Samir Mezghanni

children's writer · b. 1988

Tunisian children's writer

British historian of Byzantine history (1948-)

Non Stanford

triathlete · b. 1989

Welsh triathlete

Researcher, Bamboo Expert from Indonesia | Indonesian botanist and botanical collector

Ghanaian politician

Christian Burgess

association football player · b. 1991

English association football player (born 1991)

Chris Nurse

association football player · b. 1984

English footballer (born 1984)

Paul Gilroy

music historian · b. 1956

Scholar of the Black diaspora and culture

Fatima Denton

climatologist · b. 1966

Gambian Director of the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA)

Terry Hands

theatre director · 1941–2020

English theatre director (1941–2020)

Prince Seeiso of Lesotho

diplomat · b. 1966

Younger brother of Lesotho's king, Letsie III of Lesotho

Yang Chin-long

economist · b. 1953

Taiwanese economist

British assyriologist

Hisayoshi Takeda

explorer · 1883–1972

Japanese botanist (1883–1972)

Tim Plester

television actor · b. 1970

British actor and playwright

Edward Downes

oboist · 1924–2009

British conductor (1924–2009)

F. J. M. Stratton

parapsychologist · 1881–1960

British astronomer (1881–1960)

Hilary Armstrong

politician · b. 1945

British politician (born 1945)

Robert Thomson Leiper

physician · 1881–1969

British parasitologist and helminthologist (1881–1969)

Akbar S. Ahmed

anthropologist · b. 1943

Anthropologist, bureaucrat, scholar, writer

Faisal Naseem

politician · b. 1973

Maldivian politician and 7th Vice President of the Maldives

American film and television director (1923-2003)

British sociologist

John Milbank

political theorist · b. 1952

British philosopher

Louise Hazel

athletics competitor · b. 1985

British heptathlete

Farid Esack

activist · b. 1955

South African activist

Li Lin

physicist · 1923–2002

Chinese physicist

American physicist

Nigerian catholic priest (1956-2015)

Abd El Aziz Muhammad Hegazi

economist · 1923–2014

Egyptian Prime Minister (1923-2014)

Craig Williams

politician · b. 1985

British Conservative politician

Nia Roberts

actor · b. 1972

Welsh actress

Natasha Barrett

composer · b. 1972

British composer and performer of electroacoustic music

Chris Tarrant

radio personality · b. 1946

English radio and television broadcaster

English physicist (1917-1983)

Kumar Bhattacharyya, Baron Bhattacharyya

engineer · 1940–2019

British engineer and political adviser (1940-2019)

Phil Bennion

politician · b. 1954

British politician (born 1954)

Babatunde Osotimehin

pathologist · 1949–2017

Health minister of Nigeria (1949-2017)

Kenneth Murray

molecular biologist · 1930–2013

British biologist (1930-2013)

Jude Kelly

theatre director · b. 1954

English theatre director

Taras Kuzio

university teacher · b. 1958

Academic in Ukrainian politics and Economy of Ukraine

Nazir Afzal

lawyer · b. 1962

British lawyer

Jed Mercurio

novelist · b. 1966

British television writer, producer and director

Glanis Changachirere

activist · b. 1983

Zimbabwean women’s rights activist

Phil Willis, Baron Willis of Knaresborough

politician · b. 1941

British politician (born 1941)

Australian historian

Anthony Karbo

quantity surveyor · b. 1979

Ghanaian politician

Dee-Ann Kentish-Rogers

model · b. 1993

Athlete and winner of the British Beauty Contest

Teodor Shanin

sociologist · 1930–2020

Polish sociologist (1930–2020)

Zimbabwean politician, activist and educator

Benito Owusu Boo

general manager · b. 1968

Ghanaian politician

Stephen Gill

political scientist · b. 1950

British political scientist

British actor

Sven Giegold

economist · b. 1969

German politician, economist

Gerald E. Brown

nuclear physicist · 1926–2013

American theoretical physicist (1926-2013)

Girish Chandra Murmu

civil servant · b. 1959

Indian civil servant, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir

Mohamed Ali Alhakim

diplomat · b. 1952

Iraqi politician and diplomat

Noreen Murray

molecular biologist · 1935–2011

British molecular biologist

David Phillips

chemist · b. 1939

British Chemist

philosopher, Unitarian minister and Marxist from Great Britain

Mohammad Marandi

foreign agent · b. 1966

Iranian politician

Karl Willetts

singer · b. 1966

English vocalist

Karren Brady

autobiographer · b. 1969

British businesswoman (born 1969)

Luciana Berger

politician · b. 1981

British politician

British historian (1916-1978)

Andrew Turner

politician · b. 1953

British politician (born 1953)

James Rodwell

rugby sevens player · b. 1984

English rugby union footballer

Rose Hudson-Wilkin

Anglican priest · b. 1961

Bishop of Dover

British anthropologist and anatomist (1901-1975)

Faik Öztrak

statesperson · b. 1954

Turkish economist and statesperson (born 1954)

Doreen Massey, Baroness Massey of Darwen

politician · 1938–2024

British politician (1938–2024)

Singaporean politician (1926–2023)

British skeleton racer

writer (1961–2011)

Honey Ogundeyi

businessperson

fashion entrepreneur in Nigeria

British pictorial archivist and parapsychologist (1929–2011)

Ernest William Titterton

nuclear physicist · 1916–1990

British-Australian nuclear physicist (1916–1990)

Cyril Stanley Smith

metallurgist · 1903–1992

British metallurgist (1903–1992)

Jessica Morden

politician · b. 1968

Welsh politician (born 1968)

Arthur Lapworth

university teacher · 1872–1941

British chemist (1872–1941)

Temur Iakobashvili

political scientist · b. 1967

Georgian diplomat

Colin Charvis

rugby union player · b. 1972

English rugby union player

Ghanaian dean

English astronomer (1928-2018)

British photographer (1912-2001)

Nigerian academic

English racing cyclist

Bangladeshi writer (1936–2011)