This document summarizes the results of a 2002 BBC poll to determine the 100 greatest Britons. It lists people from various professions including politicians like Winston Churchill at #1 and Queen Elizabeth I; scientists like Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton; authors like William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens; musicians like John Lennon and Paul McCartney; and others like Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Diana Princess of Wales, and Florence Nightingale. For many of the top individuals it provides a short biography highlighting their most notable achievements and contributions.

1. FAMOUS PEOPLE
FROM THE UNITED
KINGDOM
100 Greatest Britons

2. 100 GREATEST BRITONS
• "100 Greatest Britons" was a
programme broadcast in 2002 by the
BBC. It was based on a television poll
conducted to determine whom the
United Kingdom public considered
the greatest British people in history.
• The definition of a 'Great Briton‘ was
anyone who has played a significant
part in the life of the United Kingdom.

3. Politician Military figures
Historical figures Artist
Litterateur Scientist
Religious Figure Royal family
Revolutionist Athlete

4. Famous Political Figures
#7.Queen Elizabeth Ic #9.Horatio Nelson
Naval commander
#10.Oliver Cromwell
Military and political leader
#16.Margaret Thatcher
Prime Minister
#14.Alfred the Great
King of Wessex
#15.Arthur Wellesley,
1st Duke of Wellington
#34.Thomas Paine
Political philosopher.
#18.Queen Victoria

5. #1. SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL (1874-1965)
• Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill was a
British politician and author, best known as Prime
Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second
World War. (1940-1945, 1951–1955)
• Churchill was famous for his stubborn resistance to
Hitler during the darkest hours of the Second
World War.
• After winning the Second World War, he was
shocked to lose the 1945 general election to a
resurgent Labour party. But, under the
Conservatives he returned to power in the 1950
election - accepting much of the post war consensus
and end of the British Empire.

6. #3. DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES (1961–1997)
• Princess Diana is one of the most loved women in
the world.
• Lady Diana was famous for using her position and
power to help the ones in need. "People's Princess"
touched the lives of the sick, the homeless and
everyday people with her warmth and humanity.
• Dubbed the "Queen of Hearts" by then Prime
Minister of England, John Major, Diana, of one of
the most fabled women of the century, “revived a
staid monarchy with her vitality, charm, and
glamour and ushered in a new age for the British
monarchy”.

7. FAMOUS LITTERATEUR AUTHOR
#38.William Blake
Author, poet
#70.Jane Austen
Author
#26.William Tyndale
English translator of the Bible.
#41.Charles Dickens
Author.
#83.J.K. Rowling

8. #5.WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
(1564-1616)
• Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-
Avon. He was an English poet and playwright, widely
regarded as the greatest writer in the English
language.
• Shakespeare wrote historical plays which told the
history of England, but also showed the virtues and
vices of monarchs. He also wrote witty comedies, full
of fun and fantasy. But he is best known for his great
tragedies, in which he explores human weakness,
jealousy and ambition.
• Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s most
famous tragedies and it is still played in theatres the
world.

9. #41.CHARLES DICKENS (1812 - 1870)
• Charles Dickens, pen-name "Boz", was an
English novelist of the Victorian era.
• The popularity of his books during his
lifetime and to the present is
demonstrated by the fact that none of his
novels has ever gone out of print.

10. FAMOUS SCIENTIST
#2.Isambard Kingdom Brunel,
Engineer.
#20.Alexander Fleming
Biologist, pharmacologist
#21.Alan Turing
Pioneer of computing.
#25. Stephen Hawking
Theoretical physicist.
#22.Michael Faraday
Scientist.

11. #4.CHARLES DARWIN (1809–1882)
• Charles Robert Darwin, was an English naturalist
and geologist,best known for his contributions to
evolutionary theory. He established that all species of
life have descended over time from common ancestors,
and in a joint publication with Alfred Russel Wallace
introduced his scientific theory that this branching
pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he
called natural selection, in which the struggle for
existence has a similar effect to the artificial selection
involved in selective breeding.

12. #6.ISAAC NEWTON (1643 – 1727)
• Isaac Newton was an English physicist,
mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher,
alchemist, and theologian, and is considered by many
scholars and members of the general public to be one
of the most influential people in human history.
• Newton built the first practical reflecting telescope
and developed a theory of colour based on the
observation that a prism decomposes white light into
the many colours that form the visible spectrum.
• He also formulated an empirical law of cooling and
studied the speed of sound.

13. FAMOUS MUSICIANS ARTISTS ACTORS
#32.Eric Morecambe
Comedian.
#29.David Bowie
Musician.
#19.Sir Paul McCartney
Musician.
#58.Freddie Mercury
Musician
#59.Julie Andrews
Actress & singer.
#17.Michael Crawford
Actor & singer.
#96.Richard Burton
Actor.

14. #8.JOHN LENNON (1940-1980)
• John Lennon was a key member of the Beatles. He
went on to have a distinguished solo career, and
became an icon of the 1960s counter-culture revolution.
• In 1969 the Beatles had started to split up; it was John
Lennon who was the main factor behind this. After
1970, John Lennon created a very successful solo
career, often with the help of his second wife, Yoko
Ono.
• John Lennon was shot dead in 1980, by David
Chapman – an obsessed fan. The death shocked the
world, both musical and non musical.

15. #66.SIR CHARLIE CHAPLIN(1889 –1977)
• Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, was an
English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who
rose to fame in the silent era.
• Chaplin became a worldwide icon through his screen
persona "the Tramp" and is considered one of the
most important figures in the history of the film
industry.
His career spanned more than 75 years, from childhood
in the Victorian era until a year before his death in
1977, and encompassed both adulation and controversy.

16. #19.PAUL MCCARTNEY (1942- STILL ALIVE)
• Paul McCartney was a key member of the Beatles and also
pursued a very successful solo career. According to the
Guinness book of records he is the best selling artist of all
time.
• After the break up of the Beatles, Paul McCartney
successful pursued a new career path forming a new band -
The Wings and also recording many solos such as the most
covered song of all time - Yesterday. The Mull of Kintyre
performed by the Wings was the first single to sell more
than 2 million.
• Paul McCartney has produced over 60 gold discs and has
sold over 100 million singles.

17. #33.David Beckham
Footballer.
#52.Florence Nightingale
Nurse.
#85.Sir Richard Branson
Businessman.
#77.Robbie Williams
Musician
#12.Captain James Cook
Explorer
#31.Leonard Cheshire
Aviator
#30.Guy Fawkes
English revolutionary.
#43.John Peel
Broadcaster.