Notable alumni of University of Cambridge

Isaac Newton

philosopher · 1643–1727

English mathematician and physicist (1642-1727)

Charles Darwin

scientific collector · 1809–1882

English naturalist and biologist (1809-1882)

Lord Byron

philhellene · 1788–1824

English Romantic poet and lyricist (1788–1824)

Stephen Hawking

theoretical physicist · 1942–2018

British theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author (1942–2018)

Bertrand Russell

autobiographer · 1872–1970

British philosopher and logician (1872–1970)

John Maynard Keynes

non-fiction writer · 1883–1946

British economist (1883–1946)

Peter Paul Rubens

printmaker · 1577–1640

Flemish painter (1577–1640)

Ernest Rutherford

nuclear physicist · 1871–1937

New Zealand physicist (1871–1937)

Ludwig Wittgenstein

architectural theoretician · 1889–1951

Austrian philosopher and logician (1889–1951)

James Clerk Maxwell

theoretical physicist · 1831–1879

Scottish physicist (1831–1879)

Erasmus

essayist · 1466–1536

Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, and theologian (1466-1536)

Vladimir Nabokov

autobiographer · 1899–1977

Russian-American novelist, lepidopterist, professor (1899–1977)

Milton Friedman

essayist · 1912–2006

American economist and statistician (1912–2006)

Robert Oppenheimer

science administrator · 1904–1967

American theoretical physicist, known as "father of the atomic bomb" (1904–1967)

Karl Popper

philosopher of science · 1902–1994

Austrian-British philosopher of science and social and política e falsificationism and for criticism of Plato, Hegel and Marx as totalitarian opponents of open society (1902-1994)

Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac

theoretical physicist · 1902–1984

British theoretical physicist (1902–1984)

Jane Goodall

primatologist · 1934–2025

English primatologist and anthropologist (1934–2025)

Lee Kuan Yew

autobiographer · 1923–2015

1st Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore (1923–2015)

Joseph John Thomson

university teacher · 1856–1940

British physicist (1856-1940)

Batman

philanthropist

fictional character in DC Comics

Rosalind Franklin

molecular biologist · 1920–1958

British chemist, biophysicist, and X-ray crystallographer (1920–1958)

Margrethe II of Denmark

textile artist · b. 1940

Queen of Denmark from 1972 to 2024 (born 1940)

Srinivasa Ramanujan

accountant · 1887–1920

Indian mathematician (1887–1920)

Muhammad Iqbal

children's writer · 1877–1938

British-Indian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician (1877-1938)

Rajiv Gandhi

politician · 1944–1991

Prime Minister of India (1984-1989)

Amartya Sen

Nobel Prize winner · b. 1933

Indian economist and philosopher (1933-)

Thomas Robert Malthus

political economist · 1766–1834

British political economist (1766–1834)

John Donne

librettist · 1572–1631

English poet and cleric (1572-1631)

Christopher Marlowe

translator · 1564–1593

English dramatist, poet and translator (1564–1593)

James Chadwick

nuclear physicist · 1891–1974

English physicist (1891-1974), who discovered the neutron in 1932

William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin

university teacher · 1824–1907

British physicist and engineer (1824–1907)

Alfred North Whitehead

philosopher · 1861–1947

English mathematician and philosopher (1861–1947)

William Makepeace Thackeray

prose writer · 1811–1863

British novelist (1811–1863)

Francis Crick

biophysicist · 1916–2004

British molecular biologist, biophysicist, neuroscientist; co-discoverer of the structure of DNA

John William Strutt

university teacher · 1842–1919

English physicist (1842–1919)

Hans Bethe

nuclear physicist · 1906–2005

German-American nuclear physicist

Roger Penrose

philosopher · b. 1931

English mathematical physicist, recreational mathematician and philosopher

William Lawrence Bragg

Nobel Prize winner · 1890–1971

Australian-born British physicist and X-ray crystallographer

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar

university teacher · 1910–1995

Indian-American astrophysicist

Rachel Weisz

audiobook narrator · b. 1970

British actress (born 1970)

Pyotr Kapitsa

inventor · 1894–1984

Soviet physicist

Ghil'ad Zuckermann

lexicographer · b. 1971

Linguist, language revivalist, professor, author, hyperpolyglot

Henry Cavendish

chemist · 1731–1810

English natural philosopher, and scientist (1731–1810)

Charles Thomson Rees Wilson

meteorologist · 1869–1959

Scottish physicist and meteorologist (1869-1959)

Sonia Gandhi

politician · b. 1946

Indian politician

Emma Thompson

film screenwriter · b. 1959

British actress and screenwriter (born 1959)

Frederick Sanger

conscientious objector · 1918–2013

British biochemist (1918–2013)

Edward Victor Appleton

researcher · 1892–1965

English physicist (1892–1965)

G.H. Hardy

university teacher · 1877–1947

British mathematician (1877–1947)

Iron Man

superhero

fictional character in Marvel Comics

Edsger W. Dijkstra

programmer · 1930–2002

Dutch computer scientist (1930–2002)

Georges Lemaître

Catholic theologian · 1894–1966

Belgian astrophysicist and Catholic priest (1894–1966)

Charles Glover Barkla

university teacher · 1877–1944

English physicist (1877-1944)

Tom Hiddleston

film actor · b. 1981

English actor (born 1981)

John Douglas Cockcroft

nuclear physicist · 1897–1967

British physicist (1897–1967)

Germaine Greer

broadcaster · b. 1939

Australian writer and public intellectual (born 1939)

A. A. Milne

short story writer · 1882–1956

British author known for creating Winnie-the-Pooh (1882–1956)

Elizabeth Blackburn

molecular biologist · b. 1948

Australian-American biological researcher

Arthur Eddington

philosopher · 1882–1944

British astrophysicist (1882-1944)

Dian Fossey

ethologist · 1932–1985

American zoologist, gorilla researcher (1932–1985)

Brian David Josephson

university teacher · b. 1940

Welsh physicist

John Cleese

autobiographer · b. 1939

English comedian and actor (born 1939)

Lee Hsien Loong

head of government · b. 1952

3rd Prime Minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2024

Edmund Spenser

translator · 1552–1599

English poet (c. 1552 – 1599)

Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett

nuclear physicist · 1897–1974

British physicist (1897-1974)

Har Gobind Khorana

geneticist · 1922–2011

Indian-American molecular biologist (1922-2011)

Constantine II of Greece

sailor · 1940–2023

King of Greece from 1964 to 1973

Freeman Dyson

theoretical physicist · 1923–2020

theoretical physicist and mathematician (1923–2020)

Alfred Marshall

philosopher · 1842–1924

British economist (1842–1924)

Antony Hewish

Nobel Prize winner · 1924–2021

English physicist and radio astronomer (1924–2021)

Cecil Frank Powell

nuclear physicist · 1903–1969

British physicist

Maurice Wilkins

crystallographer · 1916–2004

New Zealand-born English physicist and biologist

Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston

politician · 1784–1865

British statesman and prime minister (1784–1865)

Andrew Wiles

university teacher · b. 1953

English mathematician (1953–)

Bjarne Stroustrup

programmer · b. 1950

Danish computer scientist, creator of C++ (born 1950)

Nevill Francis Mott

university teacher · 1905–1996

English physicist, Nobel prize winner

Archibald Hill

biophysicist · 1886–1977

English physiologist and biophysicist (1886-1977)

Norman Foster Ramsey

nuclear physicist · 1915–2011

American physicist (1915–2011)

Ronald Fisher

biostatistician · 1890–1962

British statistician, evolutionary biologist and geneticist (1890–1962)

Aaron Klug

molecular biologist · 1926–2018

British chemist and biophysicist

Duncan Haldane

physicist · b. 1951

professor of physics at Princeton University

James George Frazer

folklorist · 1854–1941

Scottish social anthropologist (1854–1941)

Thomas Cranmer

canon law jurist · 1489–1556

leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury

John Kendrew

crystallographer · 1917–1997

English biochemist and crystallographer (1917–1997)

Max Perutz

crystallographer · 1914–2002

Austrian-born British molecular biologist (1914-2002)

Roger Y. Tsien

cell biologist · 1952–2016

American biochemist (1952-2016)

Lawrence Lessig

non-fiction writer · b. 1961

American academic, political activist

Sam Mendes

film producer · b. 1965

British stage and film director (born 1965)

George Porter

chemist · 1920–2002

British chemist (1920–2002)

Walter Gilbert

molecular biologist · b. 1932

American biochemist

Cecilia Helena Payne Gaposchkin

university teacher · 1900–1979

British-born American astronomer

Michael Levitt

biophysicist · b. 1947

biophysicist and Professor of Structural biology

Eric Idle

television actor · b. 1943

British comedian, actor and writer (born 1943)

Alan MacDiarmid

university teacher · 1927–2007

New Zealand chemist (1927–2007)

James Hopwood Jeans

university teacher · 1877–1946

British mathematician and astronomer (1877 – 1946)

Paul Langevin

philosopher of science · 1872–1946

French physicist, philosopher of science and pedagogue (1872-1946)

Peter D. Mitchell

biochemist · 1920–1992

British biochemist (1920-1992)

James Mason

autobiographer · 1909–1984

British actor (1909–1984)

John Pople

university teacher · 1925–2004

Nobel prize winning British chemist (1925-2004)

Naomie Harris

film actor · b. 1976

British actress

Imre Lakatos

philosopher · 1922–1974

Hungarian philosopher of mathematics and science (1922-1974)

Roger Scruton

philosopher · 1944–2020

English conservative philosopher and writer (1944–2020)

Carrie Lam

justice of the peace · b. 1957

former Chief Executive of Hong Kong

Demis Hassabis

technology entrepreneur · b. 1976

British artificial intelligence researcher (born 1976)

Richard Laurence Millington Synge

biochemist · 1914–1994

British biochemist (1914–1994)

Angus Deaton

university teacher · b. 1945

British microeconomist (born 1945)

Shankar Dayal Sharma

politician · 1918–1999

President of India from 1992 to 1997

J. G. Ballard

science fiction writer · 1930–2009

British novelist (1930–2009)

John Flamsteed

astronomer · 1646–1720

English astronomer and the first Astronomer Royal

Chaim Herzog

soldier · 1918–1997

6th President of Israel (1983–1993) – (born1918–1997)

Isaac Barrow

historian of mathematics · 1630–1677

English Christian theologian, and mathematician (1630-1677)

Michael Atiyah

topologist · 1929–2019

British mathematician

Thandiwe Newton

film actor · b. 1972

English actress (born 1972)

Karl Pearson

historian of mathematics · 1857–1936

English mathematician, biometrician, and eugenicist (1857–1936)

John Wallis

music theorist · 1616–1703

English mathematician (*1616 – †1703)

Peter II of Yugoslavia

king · 1923–1970

last King of Yugoslavia from 1934 to 1945 (1923-1970)

Osborne Reynolds

civil engineer · 1842–1912

Anglo-Irish innovator (1842-1912)

British economist, Nobel Memorial Prize winner (1913-1991)

Rodney Robert Porter

physiologist · 1917–1985

English biochemist and Nobel laureate (1917–1985)

James Mirrlees

university teacher · 1936–2018

Scottish economist (1936-2018)

Graham Chapman

autobiographer · 1941–1989

English actor, comedian and writer (1941–1989)

Homi Jehangir Bhabha

nuclear physicist · 1909–1966

Indian nuclear physicist (1909–1966)

Pedro Pablo Kuczynski

banker · b. 1938

Peruvian politician and economist; Prime Minister (2005–06), President (2016–18)

John Oliver

film actor · b. 1977

British-American comedian and television host

Dominic Raab

minister · b. 1974

British politician (born 1974)

Freddie Highmore

film actor · b. 1992

English actor

Tharman Shanmugaratnam

politician · b. 1957

President of Singapore since 2023

John Horton Conway

university teacher · 1937–2020

English mathematician (1937–2020)

Derek Jacobi

television actor · b. 1938

English actor (born 1938)

Tsitsi Dangarembga

film director · b. 1959

Zimbabwean author and filmmaker

William Kingdon Clifford

philosopher · 1845–1879

English mathematician and philosopher

John Clarke

materials scientist · b. 1942

British physicist (born 1942)

Dan Stevens

film actor · b. 1982

British actor

Nick Hornby

essayist · b. 1957

English novelist, screenwriter, essayist, and film producer (born 1957)

Daniel Rutherford

botanist · 1749–1819

British physician, chemist, botanist and physicist (1749–1819)

Irish scientist (1901-1971)

Richard Henderson

molecular biologist · b. 1945

Nobel prize winning British biochemist (born 1945)

Arianna Huffington

blogger · b. 1950

Greek and American businesswoman (born 1950)

Jerome Bruner

pedagogue · 1915–2016

American psychologist and scholar

Siegfried Sassoon

military personnel · 1886–1967

English war poet and writer (1886-1967)

Motilal Nehru

barrister · 1861–1931

Indian lawyer and politician (1861–1931)

Abba Eban

historian · 1915–2002

Israeli diplomat and politician (1915-2002)

Maurice Wilkes

university teacher · 1913–2010

British computer scientist (1913–2010)

Joan Robinson

university teacher · 1903–1983

English economist (1903–1983)

John Michael Jumper

computational biologist · b. 1985

American chemist and AI expert

Vikram Sarabhai

physicist · 1919–1971

father of Indian space programme (1919–1971)

Mulk Raj Anand

translator · 1905–2004

Indian English writer (1905–2004)

Seymour Papert

artificial intelligence researcher · 1928–2016

MIT mathematician, computer scientist, and educator (1928–2016)

British mathematician

Martin Rees

cosmologist · b. 1942

British cosmologist and astrophysicist (1942-)

Arthur Cecil Pigou

university teacher · 1877–1959

British economist (1877-1959)

Robert Recorde

philosopher · 1510–1558

Welsh mathematician and inventor of the symbol '='

Justin Welby

Anglican theologian · b. 1956

Archbishop of Canterbury from 2013 to 2025

Johann Ludwig Burckhardt

Africanist · 1784–1817

Swiss traveller and writer (1784-1817)

Mihajlo Pupin

university teacher · 1858–1935

Serbian-American physicist, physical chemist and philanthropist (1858–1935)

Enoch Powell

classical philologist · 1912–1998

British politician (1912–1998)

Alan Baker

university teacher · 1939–2018

English mathematician (1939-2018)

Joseph Needham

historian of science · 1900–1995

British biochemist, historian and sinologist (1900–1995)

Jayant Vishnu Narlikar

science fiction writer · 1938–2025

Indian astrophysicist and writer (1938–2025)

Nick Griffin

politician · b. 1959

British politician (born 1959)

George Howard Darwin

geophysicist · 1845–1912

English astronomer, mathematician (1845–1912)

Alfred Radcliffe-Brown

anthropologist · 1881–1955

British anthropologist (1881–1955)

Jin Yong

science fiction writer · 1924–2018

Hong Kong writer (1924-2018)

David Johnston

opinion journalist · b. 1941

Governor General of Canada from 2010 to 2017

Roger Williams

debater · 1603–1683

English Baptist theologian and author (1603–1683)

David Frost

broadcaster · 1939–2013

British television host, journalist, comedian and writer (1939–2013)

Salman bin Hamad, Crown Prince of Bahrain

politician · b. 1969

Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain

Ersin Tatar

politician · b. 1960

President of Northern Cyprus from 2020 to 2025

Michael Walzer

philosopher · b. 1935

American philosopher (born 1935)

John Henry Poynting

university teacher · 1852–1914

British physicist (1852-1914)

Françoise Gilot

draftsperson · 1921–2023

French painter, art critic, writer and beloved of Pablo Picasso (1921–2023)

Timothy Gowers

university teacher · b. 1963

British mathematician

Adam Sedgwick

abolitionist · 1785–1873

English geologist (1785–1873)

Hermann Bondi

university teacher · 1919–2005

Austrian-British mathematician and cosmologist

Peter Shaffer

literary critic · 1926–2016

English playwright and screenwriter (1926-2016)

Jennifer Egan

novelist · b. 1962

American novelist, short story writer

Erskine Hamilton Childers

politician · 1905–1974

4th President of Ireland (1905-1974)

Sophia Myles

television actor · b. 1980

English actress (born 1980)

British-American historian (1948–2010)

M. S. Swaminathan

administrator · 1925–2023

Indian agronomist (1925–2023)

Edward Waring

university teacher · 1736–1798

English mathematician

Richard Borcherds

university teacher · b. 1959

mathematician

British mathematician and physicist (1886-1975)

Miriam Margolyes

film actor · b. 1941

British-Australian actress

John Edensor Littlewood

university teacher · 1885–1977

English mathematician (1885–1977)

Kwasi Kwarteng

historian · b. 1975

British politician (born 1975)

Stephen Baxter

science fiction writer · b. 1957

British writer

British writer (1930-2017)

Joseph Larmor

university teacher · 1857–1942

Irish physicist and mathematician (1857-1942)

Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao

statistician · 1920–2023

Indian-American mathematician (1920–2023)

Arthur M. Schlesinger

university teacher · 1917–2007

American historian, social critic, and public intellectual (1917–2007)

William Paley

philosopher · 1743–1805

Christian apologist, natural theologian, utilitarian; (1743-1805)

Nevil Maskelyne

university teacher · 1732–1811

fifth Astronomer Royal (*1765 – †1811)

Richard Ayoade

television actor · b. 1977

British comedian and actor (born 1977)

Richard Blumenthal

editor-in-chief · b. 1946

United States Senator from Connecticut since 2011

Anna Kiesenhofer

sport cyclist · b. 1991

Austrian cyclist, mathematician

Austrian astrophysicist (1920-2004)

Rupert Sheldrake

parapsychologist · b. 1942

English biochemist, author and parapsychological researcher (*1942)

John Hersey

essayist · 1914–1993

American journalist, novelist, professor (1914-1993)

Mark Oliphant

governor · 1901–2000

nuclear physicist, Governor of South Australia (1901–2000)