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 886 of 15,663 notable people

0040 PLAYWRIGHT

Harold Pinter

1930 - 2008

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0056 ACTOR

Joan Collins

Born 1933

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0064 SINGER

Dusty Springfield

1939 - 1999

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0125 NOVELIST

Michael Moorcock

Born 1939

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0131 ACTOR

Marty Feldman

1934 - 1982

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0135 AUTHOR

Ruth Rendell

1930 - 2015

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0171 ACTOR

Eileen Atkins

Born 1934

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0200 ACTOR

James Fox

Born 1939

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0201 FILM

David Hamilton (photographer)

1933 - 2016

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0220 WRITER

Diana Wynne Jones

1934 - 2011

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0235 ACTOR

Anthony Newley

1931 - 1999

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0280 SCREENWRITER

David Lodge (author)

Born 1935

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0283 ACTOR

Jill Ireland

1936 - 1990

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0299 WRITER

Corin Redgrave

1939 - 2010

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0318 PAINTER

Bridget Riley

Born 1931

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0380 PRODUCER

Peter Grant (music manager)

1935 - 1995

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0382 WRITER

Anne Perry

Born 1938

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0422 PLAYWRIGHT

Alan Ayckbourn

Born 1939

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0436 HISTORIAN

Perry Anderson

Born 1938

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0440 AUTHOR

Antonia Fraser

Born 1932

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0444 ACTOR

Virginia McKenna

Born 1931

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0448 PLAYWRIGHT

Michael Frayn

Born 1933

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0455 SINGER

Tony Jay

1933 - 2006

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0460 ESSAYIST

Allen Carr

1934 - 2006

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0466 ACTOR

Edward Hardwicke

1932 - 2011

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0486 SINGER

Matt Monro

1930 - 1985

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0501 ACTOR

Shirley Eaton

Born 1937

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0518 BOXER

Henry Cooper

1934 - 2011

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0529 WRITER

Martin Gilbert

1936 - 2015

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0542 GUITAR

Julian Bream

1933 - 2020

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0559 ACTOR

Susan Hampshire

Born 1937

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0563 FILM

Hugh Hudson

Born 1936

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0567 ACTOR

Noel Harrison

1934 - 2013

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0580 ARCHITECT

Glenn Murcutt

Born 1936

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0600 COMPOSER

Leslie Bricusse

Born 1931

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0617 MATHEMATICIAN

Alan Baker (mathematician)

1939 - 2018

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0640 WRITER

Edward Bond

Born 1934

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0677 SCREENWRITER

Caryl Churchill

Born 1938

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0686 ACTOR

Daniel Massey (actor)

1933 - 1998

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0698 POLITICIAN

John Negroponte

Born 1939

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0715 PAINTER

Howard Hodgkin

1932 - 2017

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0717 ECONOMIST

Israel Kirzner

Born 1930

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0721 SONGWRITER

Hamilton Camp

1934 - 2005

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0726 POLITICIAN

Shirley Williams

Born 1930

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0752 ACTOR

Jonathan Miller

1934 - 2019

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0757 ACTOR

Michael Gothard

1939 - 1992

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0766 ACTOR

John Standing

Born 1934

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0777 INVESTMENT

Jacob Rothschild, 4th Baron Rothschild

Born 1936

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0792 POLITICIAN

Norman Tebbit

Born 1931

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0799 PRODUCER

Verity Lambert

1935 - 2007

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0804 PRODUCER

Chris Blackwell

Born 1937

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0823 SONGWRITER

Don Black (lyricist)

Born 1938

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0830 BISHOP

George Carey

Born 1935

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0849 CINEMA

John Alcott

1930 - 1986

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0854 ACTOR

Kathryn Beaumont

Born 1938

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0863 PIANIST

Brian Auger

Born 1939

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0875 PHILOLOGIST

Martin Litchfield West

1937 - 2015

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0916 ACTOR

Alan Howard

1937 - 2015

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0951 WRITER

David Bellamy

1933 - 2019

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0956 PLAYWRIGHT

Ray Cooney

Born 1932

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0971 FOOTBALL

Johnny Haynes

1934 - 2005

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1011 ACTOR

Peter Bowles

Born 1936

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1014 LIEUTENANT

Gavin Menzies

1937 - 2020

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1028 SUSPECT

John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan

1934 - 1974

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1030 COMPOSER

David Bedford

1937 - 2011

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1080 FOOTBALL

George Cohen

Born 1939

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1115 DESIGNER

Matthew Carter

Born 1937

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1121 SCREENWRITER

David Seidler

Born 1937

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1126 FILM

Anthony Harvey

1931 - 2017

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1133 PHOTOGRAPHER

Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield

1939 - 2005

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1138 ACTOR

Barbara Shelley

Born 1932

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1146 WRITER

Henry Lincoln

Born 1930

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1149 WRITER

Peter Lovesey

Born 1936

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1151 ACTOR

Kate Reid

1930 - 1993

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1175 ACTOR

Carole Shelley

1939 - 2018

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1190 ACTOR

David Winters (choreographer)

1939 - 2019

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1208 ACTOR

Natasha Parry

1930 - 2015

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1267 MUSIC

Dee Palmer

Born 1937

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1273 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Anthony D. Smith

1939 - 2016

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1304 PAINTER

Patrick Caulfield

1936 - 2005

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1324 WRITER

Colin Thubron

Born 1939

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1348 ACTOR

Heather Sears

1935 - 1994

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1352 WRITER

John Harvey (author)

Born 1938

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1394 COMPOSER

Howard Blake

Born 1938

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1399 ACTOR

Jack Hedley

Born 1930

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1410 ACTOR

Nicolas Coster

Born 1934

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1411 WRITER

Nikolai Tolstoy

Born 1935

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1432 AUTHOR

Stella Rimington

Born 1935

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1450 BIOLOGIST

Steven Rose

Born 1938

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1453 FILM

Kevin Connor (director)

Born 1937

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1461 SCREENWRITER

David Yallop

1937 - 2018

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1490 ACTOR

Dorothy Tutin

1930 - 2001

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1531 SINGER

Gilli Smyth

1933 - 2016

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1565 ACADEMIC

Martin Bernal

1937 - 2013

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1620 FILM

Barry Norman

1933 - 2017

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1695 POLITICIAN

Christopher Tugendhat, Baron Tugendhat

Born 1937

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1708 WRITER

Derek Raymond

1931 - 1994

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1728 PAINTER

Malcolm Morley

1931 - 2018

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1758 DIPLOMAT

Efraim Halevy

Born 1934

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1759 WRITER

Tony Ross

Born 1938

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1800 ACTOR

Henry Jaglom

Born 1938

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1810 PHILOSOPHER

Brian Barry

1936 - 2009

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1820 COSTUME DESIGNER

John Mollo

1931 - 2017

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1832 ESSAYIST

Raymond Buckland

1934 - 2017

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1834 ACTOR

W. Morgan Sheppard

1932 - 2019

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1836 ACTOR

James Villiers

1933 - 1998

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1887 POLITICIAN

Caroline Cox, Baroness Cox

Born 1937

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1914 PAINTER

Pauline Boty

1938 - 1966

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1921 FILM

Michael Deeley

Born 1932

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1926 PHOTOGRAPHER

Terry O'Neill (photographer)

1938 - 2019

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1928 WRITER

Jill Paton Walsh

1937 - 2020

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1958 SONGWRITER

Tony Asher

Born 1939

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1965 ACTOR

Sarah Marshall (British actress)

1933 - 2014

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1971 FILM

Peter Barnes (playwright)

1931 - 2004

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1997 ACTOR

Terence Marsh

1931 - 2018

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2062 NOBLE

James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Abercorn

Born 1934

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2097 ACTOR

Vivian Pickles

Born 1931

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2099 WRITER

Diana Norman

1933 - 2011

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2113 SINGER

Cyril Davies

1932 - 1964

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2126 PAINTER

Euan Uglow

1932 - 2000

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2143 DESIGNER

David Gentleman

Born 1930

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2170 JUDGE

Rosalyn Higgins, Baroness Higgins

Born 1937

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2172 WRITER

John Barry (set designer)

1935 - 1979

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2173 ACTOR

Philip Saville

1930 - 2016

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2245 DRIVER

Lance Reventlow

1936 - 1972

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2280 ARTIST

Derek Meddings

1931 - 1995

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2360 ARTIFICIAL

Margaret Boden

Born 1936

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2372 FILM

Thom Noble

Born 1935

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2377 SCENOGRAPHER

Norman Reynolds

Born 1934

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2385 WRITER

Michael Korda

Born 1933

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2395 POET

Robert Nye

1939 - 2016

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2396 ACTOR

Stephen Lewis (actor)

1936 - 2015

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2416 ART CRITIC

Brian Sewell

1931 - 2015

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2443 SOCIOLOGIST

Denis McQuail

1935 - 2017

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2463 ACTOR

Mike Pratt (actor)

1931 - 1976

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2477 OLYMPIC

Robin Dixon, 3rd Baron Glentoran

Born 1935

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2482 FOOTBALL

Dave Sexton

1930 - 2012

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2484 POLITICIAN

Paul Channon

1935 - 2007

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2511 LYRICIST

Bamber Gascoigne

Born 1935

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2516 PHYSICIST

David Olive

1937 - 2012

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2546 FILM

John Bloom (film editor)

Born 1935

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2552 ACTOR

Garrick Hagon

Born 1939

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2557 NURSE

Claire Rayner

1931 - 2010

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2596 ACTOR

Jonathan Cecil

1939 - 2011

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2608 PHOTOGRAPHER

Robert Freeman (photographer)

1936 - 2019

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2626 ACTOR

Derren Nesbitt

Born 1935

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2633 DRIVER

Vic Elford

Born 1935

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2644 PEER

Angus Douglas-Hamilton, 15th Duke of Hamilton

1938 - 2010

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2683 ILLUSTRATOR

Angus McBride

1931 - 2007

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2722 GEOLOGIST

Frederick Vine

Born 1939

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2755 PHILOSOPHER

Myles Burnyeat

1939 - 2019

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2761 ACTOR

Virginia Maskell

1936 - 1968

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2812 POLITICAL SCIENTIST

J. Ann Tickner

Born 1937

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2822 FILM

John Daly (producer)

1937 - 2008

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2840 POET

Charles Higham (biographer)

1931 - 2012

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2844 SCREENWRITER

Penelope Gilliatt

1932 - 1993

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2851 WRITER

John Michell (writer)

1933 - 2009

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2852 ORIENTALIST

Richard Gombrich

Born 1937

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2898 FILM

Terry Rawlings

1933 - 2019

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2936 WRITER

Alex Miller (writer)

Born 1936

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2942 ACTOR

Frances Cuka

1936 - 2020

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2957 PHYSICIAN

Roy Yorke Calne

Born 1930

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2984 ACTOR

John Clark (actor)

Born 1932

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2997 MUSIC

William Bennett (flautist)

Born 1936

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3005 POLITICIAN

David Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford

Born 1936

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3043 CONSULTANT

Wally Olins

1930 - 2014

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3045 WRITER

Z'ev ben Shimon Halevi

Born 1933

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3068 DIPLOMAT

Rodric Braithwaite

Born 1932

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3072 BIOLOGIST

A. W. F. Edwards

Born 1935

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3076 SOLICITOR

Ian Gow

1937 - 1990

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3082 HISTORIAN

Barbara Levick

Born 1931

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3086 ACTOR

Ray Austin (director)

Born 1932

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3111 POLITICIAN

Nicholas Bethell, 4th Baron Bethell

1938 - 2007

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3113 JUDGE

Tom Bingham, Baron Bingham of Cornhill

1933 - 2010

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3125 BIOGRAPHER

Michael Holroyd

Born 1935

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3134 BOXER

Terence Spinks

1938 - 2012

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3161 DIPLOMAT

David Hannay, Baron Hannay of Chiswick

Born 1935

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3170 ART HISTORIAN

Anthony Snodgrass

Born 1934

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3171 FILM

Alan Marshall (producer)

Born 1938

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3173 HISTORIAN

Raphael Samuel

1934 - 1996

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3189 MUSIC

Peter Katin

1930 - 2015

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3202 ACTOR

Roddy Maude-Roxby

Born 1930

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3243 ATHLETIC

Don Thompson (racewalker)

1933 - 2006

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3256 DEPUTY

Don McKinnon

Born 1939

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3276 HISTORIAN

John C. G. Röhl

Born 1938

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3279 LORD

Richard Luce, Baron Luce

Born 1936

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3283 ART HISTORIAN

Camilla Gray

1936 - 1971

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3286 ACTOR

Paul Collins (actor)

Born 1937

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3301 WRITER

David Parlett

Born 1939

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3302 ACTOR

Lisa Davis (actress)

Born 1936

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3330 AUTHOR

Shirley Conran

Born 1932

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3342 POLITICIAN

Nicholas Edwards, Baron Crickhowell

1934 - 2018

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3371 ACTOR

John Nolan (British actor)

Born 1938

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3415 SCREENWRITER

Anthony Marriott

1931 - 2014

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3443 ACTOR

Paddi Edwards

1931 - 1999

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3449 FILM

Stanley Long

1933 - 2012

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3452 HISTORIAN

Maurice Keen

1933 - 2012

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3453 ACTOR

Melvyn Hayes

Born 1935

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3455 JOURNALIST

Samuel Brittan

1933 - 2020

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3524 ACTOR

Yvonne Romain

Born 1938

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3548 PAINTER

David Shepherd (artist)

1931 - 2017

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3554 WRITER

Richard Franklin (actor)

Born 1936

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3572 PHYSICIAN

David Barker (epidemiologist)

1938 - 2013

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3607 MATHEMATICIAN

Michael J. D. Powell

1936 - 2015

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3620 PHOTOGRAPHER

Jo Spence

1934 - 1992

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3624 ACTOR

Katherine Woodville (actress)

1938 - 2013

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3627 POLITICIAN

David Hennessy, 3rd Baron Windlesham

1932 - 2010

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3628 TENNIS

John Barrett (tennis)

Born 1931

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3665 BANK

Evelyn de Rothschild

Born 1931

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3673 POLITICIAN

Ferdinand von Bismarck

1930 - 2019

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3687 SCIENTIST

Sebastian Brock

Born 1938

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3697 ACTOR

Jack Purvis

1937 - 1997

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3700 FILM

Christopher Miles

Born 1939

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3708 CONDUCTOR

David Lloyd-Jones (conductor)

Born 1934

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3709 COMPOSER

Geoff Stephens

Born 1934

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3723 ACTOR

Tom Kempinski

Born 1938

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3753 POLITICIAN

Ashley Mote

1936 - 2020

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3826 PHILOSOPHER

Martin Hollis (philosopher)

1938 - 1998

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3829 WRITER

David G. Compton

Born 1930

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3834 PAINTER

Mary Frank

Born 1933

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3841 PAINTER

Robin Page

1932 - 2015

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3853 SCREENWRITER

Peter Wollen

1938 - 2019

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3873 FILM

Po-Chih Leong

Born 1939

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3909 WRITER

Jessica Mann

1937 - 2018

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3911 AUTHOR

Ron Herron

1930 - 1994

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3918 FILM

Brian Large

Born 1939

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3921 ACTIVIST

David Littman (activist)

1933 - 2012

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3922 CREATOR

Lady Annabel Goldsmith

Born 1934

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3942 ECONOMIST

Keith Pavitt

1937 - 2002

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3948 PHILOSOPHER

Charles Hampden-Turner

Born 1934

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3950 CINEMA

Tony Imi

1937 - 2010

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3967 ACTOR

Michael Graham Cox

1938 - 1995

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3987 WRITER

Antony Jay

1930 - 2016

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4022 MUSIC

John Chilton

1932 - 2016

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4051 PHOTOGRAPHER

Brian Duffy (photographer)

1933 - 2010

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4057 ACTOR

Diane Clare

1938 - 2013

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4064 PAINTER

Anthony Hill (artist)

Born 1930

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4070 MATHEMATICIAN

Ronald Brown (mathematician)

Born 1935

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4081 ENTREPRENEUR

Michael Jeffery (manager)

1933 - 1973

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4083 AUTHOR

Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath

1932 - 2020

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4096 NOVELIST

Emma Tennant

1937 - 2017

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4108 ACTOR

Christine Hargreaves

1939 - 1984

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4120 RUNNER

Ed Whitlock

1931 - 2017

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4125 PRÍNCIPE

Ronald Ferguson

1931 - 2003

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4132 ACTOR

P. H. Moriarty

Born 1939

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4139 SCREENWRITER

Ian Kennedy Martin

Born 1936

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4144 FOOTBALL

John King (footballer, born 1938)

1938 - 2016

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4160 ACADEMIC

Anthony Wilden

1935 - 2019

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4161 CHEMIST

Jack Edward Baldwin

1938 - 2020

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4165 DRIVER

Mike Taylor (racing driver)

1934 - 2017

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4208 SCREENWRITER

Bruce Lansbury

1930 - 2017

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4209 NOVELIST

Angela Huth

Born 1938

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4214 PHYSICIST

John G. Taylor

1931 - 2012

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4253 PHILOSOPHER

Timothy Sprigge

1932 - 2007

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4274 POET

Philip Hobsbaum

1932 - 2005

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4289 HISTORIAN

Philip A. Kuhn

1933 - 2016

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4299 ACTOR

John Stride

1936 - 2018

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4324 PEER

Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury

1938 - 2004

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4325 FILM

Robert Watts

Born 1938

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4344 POLITICIAN

John MacGregor, Baron MacGregor of Pulham Market

Born 1937

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4358 PHYSICIST

Neil Ashcroft

Born 1938

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4386 PHILOSOPHER

David Wiggins

Born 1933

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4400 ATHLETIC

John Davies (middle-distance runner)

1938 - 2003

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4417 GEOLOGIST

John G. Ramsay

Born 1931

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4426 TELEVISION

Graham Kerr

Born 1934

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4427 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Brian Randell

Born 1936

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4467 RUNNER

Joyce Smith

Born 1937

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4479 POLITICIAN

Robert Gavron, Baron Gavron

1930 - 2015

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4508 PSYCHOLOGIST

Jeffrey Alan Gray

1934 - 2004

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4563 ATHLETIC

David Segal (athlete)

Born 1937

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4600 RACER

Jim Redman

Born 1931

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4615 PHILOSOPHER

David Hugh Mellor

1938 - 2020

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4627 CINEMA

Alan Root

1937 - 2017

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4666 POET

Vera Rich

1936 - 2009

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4670 WRITER

John Hopkins (writer)

1931 - 1998

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4681 ECONOMIST

Maurice Peston, Baron Peston

1931 - 2016

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4693 PUBLISHED

Jon Silkin

1930 - 1997

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4695 PAINTER

Dennis Creffield

1931 - 2018

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4713 ASTROPHYSICIST

Victor Clube

Born 1934

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4716 ACTOR

Ben Aris

1937 - 2003

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4718 VISUAL EFFECTS

Kit West

1936 - 2016

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4719 NOVELIST

Hilary Bailey

1936 - 2017

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4750 CINEMA

Ian Wilson (cinematographer)

Born 1939

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4751 ACTOR

Tom Adams (actor)

1938 - 2014

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4759 TRANSLATOR

Royall Tyler (academic)

Born 1936

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4765 ECONOMIST

Charles Goodhart

Born 1936

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4772 ACTOR

Norman Bowler

Born 1932

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4806 BOTANIST

David Hunt (botanist)

1938 - 2019

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4822 MUSIC

Jeff Clyne

1937 - 2009

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4827 BIOLOGIST

Janet Kear

1933 - 2004

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4830 ACTOR

Roland Curram

Born 1932

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4874 JOURNALIST

L. J. K. Setright

1931 - 2005

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4883 ACTOR

Julia Blake

Born 1937

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4890 ACADEMIC

Annette Karmiloff-Smith

1938 - 2016

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4908 FENCER

Bill Hoskyns

1931 - 2013

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4939 FENCER

Allan Jay

Born 1931

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4955 PAINTER

Stephen McKenna (artist)

1939 - 2017

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4962 PAINTER

Timothy Behrens

1937 - 2017

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4974 CARTOONIST

Jim Unger

1937 - 2012

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5002 BUSINESS

Yotaro Kobayashi

1933 - 2015

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