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 35 of 15,663 notable people

0120 KING

James Francis Edward Stuart

1688 - 1766

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0647 OFFICER

Edward Vernon

1684 - 1757

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1336 POLITICIAN

Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton

1683 - 1757

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1420 POET

Henry Carey (writer)

1687 - 1743

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1960 EPIDEMIOLOGIST

James Jurin

1684 - 1750

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2026 PHYSICIST

George Hadley

1685 - 1768

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2640 PAINTER

Peter Monamy

1681 - 1749

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2886 ARTIST

Joseph Smith (art collector)

1682 - 1770

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2953 ENGRAVER

George Vertue

1684 - 1756

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3316 SAILOR

Robert Drury (sailor)

1687 - 1735

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3448 ACTOR

Anne Oldfield

1683 - 1730

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3924 POLITICIAN

John Conduitt

1688 - 1737

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3995 NOBLE

Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford

1680 - 1711

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4169 POLITICIAN

Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst

1684 - 1775

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4960 COMPOSER

William Corbett (composer)

1680 - 1748

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5635 PAINTER

Bernard Lens III

1682 - 1740

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5802 PAINTER

Joseph Goupy

1689 - 1769

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7050 POLITICIAN

Thomas Forster

1683 - 1738

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7622 PAINTER

George White (artist)

1684 - 1732

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8400 POLITICIAN

John Ashburnham, 1st Earl of Ashburnham

1687 - 1737

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8426 WRITER

George Payne (Freemason)

1685 - 1757

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9872 WRITER

John Durant Breval

1680 - 1738

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10054 POLITICIAN

Robert Darcy, 3rd Earl of Holderness

1681 - 1721

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10409 PAINTER

Thomas Gibson (artist)

1680 - 1751

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10669 ACADÉMIE

Armand-Louis de Vignerot du Plessis d'Aiguillon �

1683 - 1750

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10895 PHYSICIAN

William Rutty

1687 - 1730

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10923 COMPOSER

Edward Purcell (musician)

1689 - 1740

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11244 PAINTER

Richard Phillips (English painter)

1681 - 1741

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11998 ARTIST

Charles Christian Reisen

1680 - 1725

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12195 COLONEL

François de Bulkeley

1686 - 1756

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12588 ACTOR

Thomas Elrington (actor)

1688 - 1732

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12948 PAINTER

John Laguerre

1688 - 1748

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14505 WRITER

William Barrowby

1681 - 1758

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14790 POPE

John Robartes, 4th Earl of Radnor

1686 - 1757

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14800 TEACHER

James Allen (educator)

1683 - 1746

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