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 38 of 15,663 notable people

0424 PHILOSOPHER

Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury

1671 - 1713

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0635 COMPOSER

Jeremiah Clarke

1674 - 1707

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0659 PLAYWRIGHT

Colley Cibber

1671 - 1757

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0901 NOBLE

Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond

1672 - 1723

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1515 QUEEN

Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham

1670 - 1734

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1853 PLAYWRIGHT

Catharine Trotter Cockburn

1679 - 1749

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2254 POLITICIAN

Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin

1678 - 1766

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2303 COMPOSER

Henry Eccles

1670 - 1742

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2561 EXPLORER

John Lawson (explorer)

1674 - 1711

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3391 PRIEST

Thomas Sherlock

1678 - 1761

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3941 SINGER

Richard Leveridge

1670 - 1758

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4164 NOVELIST

Penelope Aubin

1679 - 1731

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4912 CARTOGRAPHER

John Senex

1678 - 1740

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5255 POLITICIAN

Henry Howard, 6th Earl of Suffolk

1670 - 1718

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5722 HISTORIAN

Daniel Neal

1678 - 1743

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5889 EARL

Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich

1670 - 1729

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5910 DUKE

Charles Stuart, Duke of Cambridge (1677)

1677 - 1677

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5980 PHILOSOPHER

Gershom Carmichael

1672 - 1729

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5984 DAUGHTER

Isabel Stuart

1676 - 1681

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6056 CHILD

Lady Barbara FitzRoy

1672 - 1731

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6126 MILITAR

Henry Hawley

1679 - 1759

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6193 ARCHITECT

John Talman

1677 - 1726

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6758 FATHER

Anthony de la Roché

1674 - 1675

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7292 PAINTER

Marcellus Laroon the Younger

1679 - 1772

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7357 POLITICIAN

Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon

1675 - 1740

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7366 ARISTOCRAT

Charlotte Lee, Lady Baltimore

1678 - 1721

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7535 RELIGIOUS

John Davies (Queens')

1679 - 1732

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7934 WRITER

Anthony Sayer

1672 - 1741

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8677 PRIEST

Hugh Boulter

1672 - 1742

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8855 HISTORIAN

Edmund Calamy (historian)

1671 - 1732

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9049 POLITICIAN

Sir James Lowther, 4th Baronet

1673 - 1755

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10408 CHURCH

John Le Neve

1679 - 1741

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10990 POLITICIAN

Edward Southwell Sr.

1671 - 1730

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11291 COMPOSER

William Williams (Komponist)

1675 - 1701

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11320 CLERIC

Samuel Knight (priest)

1678 - 1746

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12526 COMPOSER

Raphael Courteville

1670 - 1735

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13831 POLITICIAN

Henry Heron (MP)

1675 - 1730

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14303 ORIENTALIST

Dudleya North

1675 - 1712

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