Notable alumni of University of Manchester

James Prescott Joule

physicist · 1818–1889

English physicist and brewer (1818–1889)

Joseph John Thomson

university teacher · 1856–1940

British physicist (1856-1940)

James Chadwick

nuclear physicist · 1891–1974

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

Charles Thomson Rees Wilson

scholar · 1869–1959

Scottish physicist and meteorologist (1869-1959)

Benedict Cumberbatch

television actor · b. 1976

English actor (born 1976)

Michael D. Higgins

political scientist · b. 1941

President of Ireland (2011–2018; 2018–2025)

Samia Suluhu Hassan

economist · b. 1960

President of Tanzania since 2021

Andre Geim

inventor · b. 1958

Russian-born Dutch-British physicist

Melvin Calvin

biochemist · 1911–1997

American biochemist (1911–1997)

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson

university teacher · b. 1943

Icelandic politician, 5th President of Iceland

Norman Foster

film actor · b. 1935

British architect (born 1935)

Arthur Harden

biochemist · 1865–1940

British biochemist

Vincent Kompany

association football coach · b. 1986

Belgian association football player and manager

Norman Haworth

chemist · 1883–1950

British chemist (1883-1950)

James Lovelock

autobiographer · 1919–2022

English scientist (1919–2022)

Robert Robinson

chemist · 1886–1975

English chemist (1886-1975)

John Polanyi

university teacher · b. 1929

Hungarian-Canadian chemist

Michael Smith

geneticist · 1932–2000

Canadian Nobel laureate in chemistry

Haider Al-Abadi

electrical engineer · b. 1952

Prime Minister of Iraq from 2014 to 2018

Andrey Korotayev

demographer · b. 1961

Russian anthropologist, economic historian, comparative political scientist, and sociologist

Parineeti Chopra

film actor · b. 1988

Indian actress and singer

Milo Yiannopoulos

blogger · b. 1984

British political commentator

Alasdair MacIntyre

philosopher · 1929–2025

Scottish-American philosopher (1929–2025)

Abdalla Hamdok

official · b. 1956

Sudanese public administrator and former prime minister

Christabel Pankhurst

feminist · 1880–1958

suffragette, co-founder of the Women's Social and Political Union, editor (1880-1958)

Brian Cox

film actor · b. 1968

English physicist and musician

Toby Jones

television actor · b. 1966

British actor

Gaston Browne

politician · b. 1967

Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda since 2014

Abdul Latif Rashid

civil engineer · b. 1944

president of Iraq since 2022

Simon Johnson

university teacher · b. 1963

British-American economist (born 1963)

Alex Garland

television writer · b. 1970

British writer, scriptwriter and film director (born 1970)

Ralph Gonsalves

sociologist · b. 1946

former Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Joe Abercrombie

science fiction writer · b. 1974

British fantasy writer and film editor (born 1974)

Peter Maxwell Davies

opera composer · 1934–2016

English composer and conductor (1934-2016)

Tony Brooks

Formula One driver · 1932–2022

British racing driver

Rami Hamdallah

linguist · b. 1958

Palestinian politician (born 1958)

English actor, comedian and writer (1958–2014)

Carme Chacón

university teacher · 1971–2017

Spanish Defense Minister (1971–2017)

Peter Hammill

guitarist · b. 1948

English singer-songwriter

Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud

minister · 1938–2024

4th President of Somaliland

Said Musa

politician · b. 1944

3rd Prime Minister of Belize from 1998 to 2008

Sylvanie Burton

politician · b. 1956

Dominican politician

British cultural anthropologist (1920-1983)

Winnie Byanyima

aircraft pilot · b. 1959

20th and 21st-century Ugandan aeronautical engineer, politician and diplomat

Irene Khan

social activist · b. 1956

Bangladeshi academic

Ernest Marsden

nuclear physicist · 1889–1970

British–New Zealand physicist (1889–1970)

Osman Kavala

philanthropist · b. 1957

Turkish businessperson and philanthropist (born 1957)

Stella Kyriakides

clinical psychologist · b. 1956

Cypriot politician

Ben Elton

stand-up comedian · b. 1959

British comedian, author, playwright, actor and director

Jack Whitehall

stand-up comedian · b. 1988

British comedian, television presenter and actor

Ariel Ze'evi

judoka · b. 1977

Israeli judoka

British biologist

Roger Allam

radio drama actor · b. 1953

British actor

Liv Boeree

poker player · b. 1984

British model and poker player

Ellen Wilkinson

trade unionist · 1891–1947

British Labour Party politician (1891–1947)

David Oakes

television actor · b. 1983

English actor (born 1983)

British composer and conductor (born 1979)

Sophie Hannah

children's writer · b. 1971

British poet and novelist (born 1971)

Meera Syal

film actor · b. 1961

English author and actress

English astronomer (1881-1946)

Duncan Watmore

association football player · b. 1994

England association football player (born 1994)

British actress and Internet personality

Arthur Schuster

statistician · 1851–1934

Anglo-German physicist (1851-1934)

English novelist (1930–2012)

Jeff Noon

science fiction writer · b. 1957

British writer

John Lennard-Jones

theoretical physicist · 1894–1954

British scientist (1894-1954)

Ian Livingstone

video game developer · b. 1949

fantasy writer and entrepreneur

Mark Kermode

film critic · b. 1963

English film critic

John M. Allegro

linguist · 1923–1988

English archaeologist and Dead Sea Scrolls scholar (1923–1988)

Nadeem Aslam

writer · b. 1966

British writer

Michel Evgenij Chossudovsky

conspiracy theorist · b. 1946

Canadian economist and conspiracy theorist

Ali Mazrui

geopolitical analyst · 1933–2014

Kenyan academic (1933–2014)

Saudi Arabian professor

Indian-American mathematician

László Andor

economist · b. 1966

Hungarian politician, economist and European Commissioner (1966–)

English poet, academic, literary critic (1881-1938)

British philosopher (born 1950)

Ruth Ware

novelist · b. 1977

British author of crime thrillers

Bibha Chowdhuri

physicist · 1913–1991

Indian cosmic ray physicist

Lloyd Erskine Sandiford

head of government · 1937–2023

Prime minister of Barbados (1937–2023)

Sadie Plant

theorist · b. 1964

British writer (born 1964)

Sujoy Ghosh

film producer · b. 1966

Indian film director

Reynhard Sinaga

b. 1983

Indonesian rapist

Zohrab Mnatsakanian

diplomat · b. 1966

Armenian diplomat

Adrian Edmondson

television actor · b. 1957

British comedian, actor, writer, musician, television presenter and director

Marcy Kaptur

urban planner · b. 1946

American politician (born 1946)

Arnold Wolfendale

astrophysicist · 1927–2020

British physicist (1927–2020)

British actor

Giles Martin

songwriter · b. 1969

English record producer, songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist

Dima Tahboub

journalist · b. 1976

Jordanian writer

Alan R. Battersby

chemist · 1925–2018

British chemist (1925-2018)

Chuka Umunna

politician · b. 1978

British politician and lawyer (born 1978)

Beatrice Shilling

military flight engineer · 1909–1990

British aeronautical engineer

Jesse Armstrong

journalist · b. 1970

British comedy and television writer

Aderonke Adeola

film screenwriter · b. 1990

Nigerian film director,producer and fashion entrepreneur

Alfred Waterhouse

architect · 1830–1905

British architect (1830-1905)

Lorraine Ashbourne

film actor · b. 1961

British actress

British physicist (1905–1984)

David Aaronovitch

journalist · b. 1954

English journalist, television presenter and author

Vidi Aldiano

recording artist · 1990–2026

Indonesian singer

British-Australian philosopher of science

Chrissie Wellington

triathlete · b. 1977

triathlete

Tony Lloyd

politician · 1950–2024

British Labour politician (1950–2024)

Kathleen Mary Drew-Baker

scientific collector · 1901–1957

British phycologist (1901–1957)

Armeena Khan

model · b. 1987

Pakistani-Canadian actress and model

British swimmer

Nicola Wilson

event rider · b. 1976

British equestrian

Elgar Howarth

trumpeter · 1935–2025

English conductor, composer and trumpeter (1935–2025)

Theo Travis

saxophonist · b. 1964

British saxophonist

Philip Craven

athletics competitor · b. 1950

President of the IPC

British electrical engineer (1921–1997)

Tracy-Ann Oberman

film actor · b. 1966

English actress

Philippos Sachinidis

economist · b. 1963

Greek politician

Richard Dillane

film actor · b. 1964

British actor

British egyptologist

Wallace L. W. Sargent

university teacher · 1935–2012

American astronomer (1935–2012)

Shazia Mirza

stand-up comedian · b. 1978

British comedian

Fra Fee

stage actor · b. 1987

Irish actor and singer

Omobola Johnson

minister · b. 1963

Nigerian Cabinet Minister

Ghanaian politician and Member of parliament

Alexander Nix

director · b. 1975

British businessman

Craig Calhoun

social anthropologist · b. 1952

American sociologist

Alar Toomre

university teacher · b. 1937

American-Estonian astronomer and mathematician (born 1937)

English actor, playwright, scriptwriter

British actress

English engineer

Nick Brown

politician · b. 1950

British politician (born 1950)

Matt Smith

association football player · b. 1989

English association football player (born 1989)

American mathematician (1927-2014)

Jonathan Reynolds

trainee solicitor · b. 1980

British politician (born 1980)

Harry Marshall Ward

phytopathologist · 1854–1906

British botanist, mycologist and phytopathologist (1854-1906)

Seb Dance

politician · b. 1981

British politician (born 1981)

Frank Worrell

cricketer · 1924–1967

West Indian cricketer (1924–1967)

Jo Stevens

politician · b. 1966

Welsh politician and MP for Cardiff Central (born 1966)

climatologist, atmospheric physics, meteorologist, environmentalist

Austin Mitchell

television journalist · 1934–2021

British politician (1934–2021)

Montserratian politician (1936-2011)

T. S. Ashton

economic historian · 1889–1968

English economist, historian & scholar (1889-1968)

Rosi Sexton

taekwondo athlete · b. 1977

British mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter

British actor (1994–2020)

Omar Abu Risha

playwright · 1910–1990

Syrian poet and diplomat (1910–1990)

Tim Booth

film actor · b. 1960

British actor and singer

English physicist and radio astronomer (1909–2000)

English actor

British actress

James Ford

musician · b. 1978

English musical composer, record producer and musician

Nigerian triple jumper

Paula Cox

lawyer · b. 1964

Premier of Bermuda

Alan Yarrow

banker · b. 1951

British investment banker (born 1953)

Begoña Vila

astrophysicist · b. 1963

Spanish astrophysicist

Nigerian artist

Carole Goble

bioinformatician · b. 1961

British computer scientist

Nigerian movie writer and director

Tommy Thomas

lawyer · b. 1952

Malaysian barrister and the current Attorney General of Malaysia

Gerald Hawkins

anthropologist · 1928–2003

British astronomer (1928–2003)

Afsaneh Najmabadi

academic staff · b. 1946

American historian

Sinan Al Shabibi

academic · 1941–2022

Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (1941–2022)

Doon Mackichan

film actor · b. 1962

British comedian and actress

Paul-Gustave Froment

mechanician · 1815–1865

French engineer and inventor (1815–1865)

Geoffrey Hodgson

university teacher · b. 1946

British economist

Starry Lee

politician · b. 1974

President of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and member of the National People's Congress Standing Committee

British poet and author

Joe Lycett

LGBTQ rights activist · b. 1988

British comedian

American architect (1935-2020)

Jeff Paris

university teacher · b. 1944

British mathematician (born 1944)

Walton Newbold

journalist · 1888–1943

British politician (1888-1943)

British academic

John Mann

politician · b. 1960

British politician (born 1960)

British polymer chemist (1909-2000)

British theatre and film actor (1891-1966)

British composer

British theologian, Professor of Divinity

Yoav Ben-Tzur

manager · b. 1958

Israeli rabbi and politician

Bisila Bokoko

orator · b. 1974

Spanish-American businesswoman, entrepreneur, speaker and philanthropist

Jason Njoku

television producer · b. 1980

British-Nigerian entrepreneur

British political scientist (1943-2020)

David Bahati

accountant · b. 1973

Ugandan accountant and politician

Christine Burns

LGBTQ rights activist · b. 1954

British activist (born 1954)

David Wood

philosopher · b. 1946

British philosopher, born 1946

Lisa Harvey-Smith

astronomer · b. 1979

Australian astronomer

British physicist (1890–1958)

Jamie Peck

geographer · b. 1962

British geographer

British sociologist (1924–2013)

Shaheen Mistri

activist · b. 1971

Indian activist

Nick Hamm

film screenwriter · b. 1957

film director

Cricket player of England. (born 1976)

Nicholas Higham

university teacher · 1961–2024

British mathematician specialized in numerical analysis

Ann Coffey

politician · b. 1946

British politician (born 1946)

Pakistani nuclear physicist

Sally Davies

hematologist · b. 1949

British medical doctor and academic administrator

British playwright

English actor and writer

Martin Jacques

broadcaster · b. 1945

British journalist and lobby

Cherith Baldry

novelist · b. 1947

writer of fantasy fiction

Tony Hawks

traveler · b. 1960

British comedian and author

Peter Simons

philosopher · b. 1950

British philosopher

Canadian theologian (1937–2010)

Israel Sieff, Baron Sieff

entrepreneur · 1889–1972

English businessman (1889-1972)

David Nott

surgeon · b. 1956

Welsh consultant surgeon

Leo Smith

music educator · 1881–1952

English Canadian cellist, composer and music writer (1881–1952)