51.5071° N, 0.1297° W

LONDON

Most Famous People Born in London, United Kingdom

Notable people
15,663
Peak decade
1960s
Median birth year
1919
Most distinctive
Novelist 2.6×

Nine centuries of the British public eye. London's notables fan out across a longer continuous span than almost any other anglophone city, from medieval peers and antiquarians through Georgian solicitors and impresarios to a postwar wave of actors, footballers, and singers. The court and the stage have always been within walking distance of each other here, and the dataset shows it.

Standouts

What London Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Actor is London's biggest profession — 13% of all notables (2,038).

London over-indexes on novelist 2.6× the global rate.

London under-produces football — only 0.3× the global rate.

  1. Actor 2,038 2.5×
  2. Politician 1,102 0.6×
  3. Painter 769 1.9×
  4. Writer 646 1.3×
  5. Football 600 0.3×
  6. Singer 424 1.3×
  7. Film 350 1.8×
  8. Music 340 1.5×
  1. Novelist 163 2.6×
  2. Actor 2,038 2.5×
  3. Painter 769 1.9×
  4. Film 350 1.8×
  5. Composer 318 1.5×
  6. Music 340 1.5×
  1. Football 600 0.3×
  2. Politician 1,102 0.6×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of London's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

1550 1600 1650 1700 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000
  • Film & TV
  • Writing
  • Art & Design
  • Politics & Law
  • Music
  • Sports
  • Other
All15,663
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Showing 40 of 15,663 notable people

0017 QUEEN

Anne, Queen of Great Britain

1665 - 1714

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0043 QUEEN

Mary II of England

1662 - 1694

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0684 POLITICIAN

Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer

1661 - 1724

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0915 KING

Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton

1663 - 1690

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1418 POET

Matthew Prior

1664 - 1721

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1536 ARISTOCRAT

Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Cleveland

1662 - 1730

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1547 COMPOSER

Daniel Purcell

1664 - 1717

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1954 COMPOSER

John Eccles (composer)

1668 - 1735

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2123 DAUGHTER

Susanna Wesley

1669 - 1742

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2893 POET

George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne

1666 - 1735

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3388 COLLECTOR

Jonathan Richardson

1667 - 1745

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3413 POET

Ebenezer Cooke (poet)

1667 - 1732

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4005 TRANSLATOR

John Stevens (translator)

1662 - 1726

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4193 PAINTER

Henri de Favanne

1668 - 1752

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4665 PIRATE

John Quelch (pirate)

1666 - 1704

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5266 BOTANIST

Antoine-Tristan Danty d'Isnard

1663 - 1743

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5285 PUBLISHER

John Walsh (printer)

1665 - 1736

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5292 POET

George Stepney

1663 - 1707

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5495 PAINTER

Anne Killigrew

1660 - 1685

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5529 POLITICIAN

Samuel Shute

1662 - 1742

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5719 POLITICIAN

James Cecil, 4th Earl of Salisbury

1666 - 1694

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5922 GENEALOGIST

Peter Le Neve

1661 - 1729

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6128 DUKE

James Stuart, Duke of Cambridge

1663 - 1667

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6143 DAUGHTER

Anne Lennard, Countess of Sussex

1661 - 1721

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7290 ARISTOCRAT

Edgar Stuart, Duke of Cambridge

1667 - 1671

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7802 COMPOSER

John Ravenscroft (composer)

1665 - 1697

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7873 COMPOSER

Jean-Baptiste Prin

1669 - 1742

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8844 FATHER

Richard Bland (burgess)

1665 - 1720

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9862 ARISTOCRAT

William Herbert, 2nd Marquess of Powis

1660 - 1745

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10028 CARTOGRAPHER

Cyprian Southack

1662 - 1745

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10375 SCULPTOR

Francis Bird

1667 - 1731

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10629 SON

Charles Stuart, Duke of Kendal

1666 - 1667

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10897 POLITICIAN

Bevil Granville

1665 - 1706

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12209 WRITER

Lady Lucy Herbert

1669 - 1744

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13141 POLITICIAN

Sir Thomas Crosse, 1st Baronet

1663 - 1738

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13691 POLITICIAN

Sir Marmaduke Wyvill, 5th Baronet

1664 - 1722

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13791 PAINTER

Thomas Highmore

1660 - 1720

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14266 POLITICIAN

William Feilding (1669–1723)

1669 - 1723

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14406 SINGER

Catherine Cibber

1669 - 1734

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15326 SAILOR

Anne Chamberlyne

1667 - 1691

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