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

5065 BOXER

Nicholas Gargano

1934 - 2016

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5077 COMPOSER

Patrick Gowers

1936 - 2014

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5078 MUSIC

Colin Tilney

Born 1933

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5092 JOURNALIST

Jeffrey Bernard

1932 - 1997

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5147 ACTOR

Larry Martyn

1934 - 1994

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5150 ACTOR

David Weatherley

Born 1939

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5153 SCULPTOR

Maurice Agis

1931 - 2009

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5156 JUDGE

Richard May (judge)

1938 - 2004

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5186 ZOOLOGIST

Juliet Clutton-Brock

1933 - 2015

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5189 ACTOR

Elizabeth Shepherd

Born 1936

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5198 WRITER

David Rees (author)

1936 - 1993

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5205 FILM

Geoffrey Jones

1931 - 2005

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5211 PRIEST

David Konstant

1930 - 2016

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5230 MUSIC

Spike Heatley

Born 1933

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5288 ACTOR

William Marlowe

1930 - 2003

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5291 COSTUME DESIGNER

Shirley Ann Russell

1935 - 2002

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5299 CONDUCTOR

Steuart Bedford

Born 1939

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5320 POLITICIAN

John Tomlinson, Baron Tomlinson

Born 1939

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5349 AUTHOR

Ashleigh Brilliant

Born 1933

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5356 FILM

Gerald Potterton

Born 1931

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5359 HISTORIAN

Harold Shukman

1931 - 2012

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5361 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Peter Ucko

1938 - 2007

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5362 WRITER

David Benedictus

Born 1938

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5366 BOTANIST

Barbara G. Briggs

Born 1934

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5374 FILM

John Jympson

1930 - 2003

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5394 ACTOR

Hildegarde Neil

Born 1939

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5431 BIOLOGIST

Michael Bigg

1939 - 1990

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5435 JOURNALIST

David Binder (journalist)

1931 - 2019

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5437 FILM

Derek Lamb

1936 - 2005

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5441 MINERALOGIST

Peter John Wyllie

Born 1930

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5477 BUSINESS

John Drummond (arts administrator)

1934 - 2006

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5493 COMEDIAN

Wizard of New Zealand

Born 1932

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5508 ACTOR

Robin Ray

1934 - 1998

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5518 CARTOONIST

Nicholas Garland

Born 1935

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5579 MUSIC

Derek Smith (musician)

1931 - 2016

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5583 FILM

Derek Vanlint

1932 - 2010

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5608 NOVELIST

Alan Isler

1934 - 2010

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5609 WRITER

David Henry Wilson

Born 1937

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5618 RADIO

Michael Jackson (radio commentator)

Born 1934

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5620 SINGER

Vi Subversa

1935 - 2016

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5647 LITERARY

John Sutherland (author)

Born 1938

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5661 JOURNALIST

Charles Douglas-Home (journalist)

1937 - 1985

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5674 JOURNALIST

Raymond Durgnat

1932 - 2002

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5711 WITCHCRAFT

Robert Cochrane (witch)

1931 - 1966

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5723 LINGUIST

Adam Kendon

Born 1934

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5725 SOCIOLOGIST

Eric Dunning

1936 - 2019

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5728 ACTOR

Jeremy Spenser

Born 1937

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5732 ACTOR

Rosalind Knight

Born 1933

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5753 HISTORIAN

Peter Stearns

Born 1936

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5756 POLITICIAN

Nicholas Luard

1937 - 2004

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5766 FILM

Bill Butler (film editor)

1933 - 2017

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5773 SCENOGRAPHER

John Graysmark

1935 - 2010

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5778 ACTOR

Joyce Blair

1932 - 2006

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5781 SCULPTOR

Tim Scott (artist)

Born 1937

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5783 ENTOMOLOGIST

Michael Chinery

Born 1938

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5785 POLITICIAN

Patricia Rawlings, Baroness Rawlings

Born 1939

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5808 ACTOR

Liz Fraser

1930 - 2018

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5813 PAINTER

Bernard Cohen (painter)

Born 1933

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5831 RESEARCH

Anthony Trewavas

Born 1939

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5861 ECONOMIST

Peter Jay (diplomat)

Born 1937

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5877 PEER

Julian Grenfell, 3rd Baron Grenfell

Born 1935

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5880 COMMENTATOR

David Selbourne

Born 1937

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5895 ACTOR

Simon Oates

1932 - 2009

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5898 WRITER

Gillian Tindall

Born 1938

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5932 POET

Jon Stallworthy

1935 - 2014

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5946 WRITER

Roy Peter Martin

1931 - 2014

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5959 ACTOR

Ann Emery

1930 - 2016

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5970 ACTOR

Trevor Baxter

1932 - 2017

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5978 SWIMMER

Margaret Edwards

Born 1939

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6016 BANK

David Li

Born 1939

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6042 FILM

Tom Priestley

Born 1932

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6044 CHEMIST

C. Robin Ganellin

Born 1934

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6050 SCREENWRITER

Michael A. Hoey

1934 - 2014

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6051 NUMISMATIST

Martin Price

1939 - 1995

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6052 SINGER

Terry Dene

Born 1938

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6062 ACTOR

Michael Robbins

1930 - 1992

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6097 WRITER

E. V. Thompson

1931 - 2012

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6130 ART HISTORIAN

Christopher White (art historian)

Born 1930

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6133 BANDLEADER

Vic Ash

1930 - 2014

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6142 PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Anthony D. G. Pratt

Born 1937

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6169 DESIGNER

David Lewis (designer)

1939 - 2011

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6195 ARTIST

Peter Hutchinson (artist)

Born 1930

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6214 COMPOSER

Carlo Martelli

Born 1935

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6226 CHURCH

Simon Barrington-Ward

1930 - 2020

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6235 MUSIC

Malcolm Cecil

Born 1937

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6261 POLITICIAN

Nicholas Lyell

1938 - 2010

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6298 COMPOSER

Anthony Gilbert (composer)

Born 1934

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6321 NOVELIST

Julia O'Faolain

Born 1932

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6330 GEOGRAPHER

Ian Simmons

Born 1937

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6338 ACTOR

Bill Treacher

Born 1930

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6394 MUSIC

Robin Douglas-Home

1932 - 1968

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6404 FILM

Derek Malcolm

Born 1932

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6462 PLAYWRIGHT

Barry England

1932 - 2009

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6472 HISTORIAN

David Keightley

1932 - 2017

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6485 OPERA

Patricia Johnson (mezzo-soprano)

Born 1934

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6517 BANK

Peter Hill-Wood

1936 - 2018

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6528 POLITICIAN

Brian Cotter, Baron Cotter

Born 1936

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6584 ACADEMIC

Derek S. Pugh

1930 - 2015

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6593 POLITICIAN

Andrew McIntosh, Baron McIntosh of Haringey

1933 - 2010

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6629 ACTOR

Henry Woolf

Born 1930

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6655 GERMANIST

Terence James Reed

Born 1937

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6657 PHYSICIST

John Hubbard (physicist)

1931 - 1980

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6673 ACTOR

Vera Day

Born 1935

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6685 FILMMAKER

Nicolas Noxon

1936 - 2016

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6700 WRITER

Victor Kelleher

Born 1939

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6704 ACTOR

Adrian Brine

1936 - 2016

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6714 LAWYER

Salma Sobhan

1937 - 2003

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6726 ECONOMIST

Michael Posner (economist)

1931 - 2006

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6789 ATHLETIC

Ranjit Bhatia

1936 - 2014

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6796 ART DEALER

John Kasmin

Born 1934

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6802 NOVELIST

Bernardine Bishop

1939 - 2013

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6805 ACTOR

Tony Church

1930 - 2008

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6808 POLITICIAN

Michael Morris, Baron Naseby

Born 1936

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6814 PUBLISHER

Jocelyn Stevens

1932 - 2014

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6843 THEATRE

Mike Alfreds

Born 1934

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6845 ECONOMIST

Samuel Hollander

Born 1937

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6860 PAINTER

John Knapp-Fisher

1931 - 2015

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6861 POLITICIAN

Margaret Prosser, Baroness Prosser

Born 1937

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6872 PRIEST

John Bulaitis

1933 - 2010

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6892 BOTANIST

Charles Jeffrey

Born 1934

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6904 SOCIOLOGIST

Ray Pahl

1935 - 2011

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6915 HISTORIAN

Michael Hoskin

Born 1930

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6927 MISS

Julia Morley

Born 1939

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6939 ACTOR

Stanley Caine

1936 - 2013

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6940 NOVELIST

Jenny Haddon

Born 1933

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6969 POET

Isobel Armstrong

Born 1937

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6981 HISTORIAN

Stuart Woolf

Born 1936

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7008 FILM

Henry Richardson (film editor)

Born 1936

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7047 PAINTER

Tom Phillips (artist)

Born 1937

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7048 THERAPIST

David Boadella

Born 1931

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7049 MATHEMATICIAN

C. William Gear

Born 1935

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7053 ACTOR

Danica d'Hondt

Born 1939

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7114 RACER

Dave Simmonds

1939 - 1972

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7123 HISTORIAN

Roger Owen (historian)

1935 - 2018

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7159 ACTOR

Jeremy Geidt

1930 - 2013

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7172 POET

Daniel Weissbort

1935 - 2013

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7190 DRIVER

Ian Burgess

1930 - 2012

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7261 MARQUESS

Jeremy Browne, 11th Marquess of Sligo

1939 - 2014

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7263 PHYSICIST

Kenneth Holmes

Born 1934

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7267 MINERALOGIST

Anthony J. Naldrett

1933 - 2020

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7279 AUTHOR

G. N. Georgano

1932 - 2017

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7281 PAINTER

John Pendray

Born 1937

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7296 CINEMA

Dennis Lewiston

1934 - 2014

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7302 NEUROLOGIST

Donald Calne

Born 1936

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7326 EGYPTOLOGIST

Geoffrey Thorndike Martin

Born 1934

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7360 ARCHITECT

Rodney Gordon

1933 - 2008

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7363 DRIVER

Peter Westbury

1938 - 2015

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7370 SCIENTIST

Gordon Hamilton Fairley

1930 - 1975

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7393 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Elizabeth French

Born 1931

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7396 FILM

Barrie Gavin

Born 1935

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7408 POLITICIAN

Stan Newens

Born 1930

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7423 COMPOSER

Justin Connolly

1933 - 2020

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7424 DRIVER

John Cannon (racing driver)

1933 - 1999

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7435 ARCHITECT

Louis Hellman

Born 1936

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7473 POLITICIAN

Tim Renton

1932 - 2020

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7475 DRIVER

John Woolfe

1937 - 1969

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7545 JOURNALIST

Paul Guihard

1932 - 1962

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7588 BOTANIST

Brian Mathew

Born 1936

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7610 POLITICIAN

Stanley Kalms, Baron Kalms

Born 1931

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7614 ACTOR

Alec Bregonzi

1930 - 2006

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7623 SCULPTOR

Catherine Fried

1936 - 2015

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7643 FENCER

John Pelling (fencer)

Born 1936

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7669 FILM

John Peverall

Born 1931

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7682 ILLUSTRATOR

Helen Craig

Born 1934

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7690 JESUIT

Michael Cooper (historian)

1930 - 2018

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7726 SCULPTOR

William Pye (sculptor)

Born 1938

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7748 DRIVER

Colin Davis (racing driver)

1933 - 2012

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7758 SOCIOLOGIST

Peter Abell

Born 1939

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7772 PIANIST

John Critchinson

1934 - 2017

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7778 ACTOR

Susan Stephen

1931 - 2000

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7782 MUSIC

John Burch (musician)

1932 - 2006

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7795 HISTORIAN

J. Mordaunt Crook

Born 1937

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7831 CONDUCTOR

David Zafer

1934 - 2019

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7865 POLITICIAN

Michael Allenby, 3rd Viscount Allenby

1931 - 2014

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7869 MUSIC

Len Skeat

Born 1937

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7887 ACTOR

Godfrey James

Born 1931

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7959 MAN OF LETTERS

John Gross

1935 - 2011

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7971 CINEMA

Alec Mills

Born 1932

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7976 AUTHOR

Margaretta D'Arcy

Born 1934

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7977 ACTOR

John Turner (actor)

Born 1932

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7981 ENTREPRENEUR

Robert Horton (businessman)

1939 - 2011

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7992 ARCHITECT

Richard MacCormac

1938 - 2014

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8006 SCREENWRITER

Nell Dunn

Born 1936

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8023 POLITICIAN

Richard Holme, Baron Holme of Cheltenham

1936 - 2008

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8025 POLITICIAN

Alexander Bernstein, Baron Bernstein of Craigweil

1936 - 2010

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8051 SCREENWRITER

Richard Harris (television writer)

Born 1934

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8068 FILM

Piers Haggard

Born 1939

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8082 PAINTER

Sara Leighton

Born 1937

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8089 STUNT

Roy Scammell

Born 1932

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8137 NOVELIST

Wilfrid Sheed

1930 - 2011

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8142 PAINTER

Mario Dubsky

1939 - 1985

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8144 ROWER

John Russell (rower)

1935 - 2019

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8148 PAINTER

Ken Howard (artist)

Born 1932

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8150 PLAYWRIGHT

Shirley Gee

Born 1932

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8191 DESIGNER

Robert Jankel

1938 - 2005

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8201 PRESENTER

Barry Davies

Born 1937

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8205 PLAYWRIGHT

David Rudkin

Born 1936

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8218 ACADEMIC

Ian S. E. Carmichael

1930 - 2011

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8239 ACTOR

Jill Adams

1930 - 2008

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8273 FILM

Antony Balch

1937 - 1980

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8286 ECONOMIST

Alan Budd

Born 1937

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8304 PALAEONTOLOGIST

Cyril Walker (palaeontologist)

1939 - 2009

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8305 PEER

John Crichton-Stuart, 6th Marquess of Bute

1933 - 1993

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8306 ACADEMIC

Roger G. Walker

Born 1939

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8329 ACTOR

John Carlisle (actor)

1935 - 2011

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8360 POET

Jay Macpherson

1931 - 2012

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8422 ROWER

David Wight (rower)

1934 - 2017

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8424 PHOTOGRAPHER

Derry Moore, 12th Earl of Drogheda

Born 1937

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8430 DESIGNER

Doug Hayward

1934 - 2008

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8431 FILM

Michael Codron

Born 1930

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8451 ACTOR

Roderick Cook

1932 - 1990

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8458 PSYCHOLOGIST

Nicholas Mackintosh

1935 - 2015

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8477 ENGINEER

Simon Kaye

Born 1935

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8513 THEATRE

Julia Trevelyan Oman

1930 - 2003

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8524 POLITICIAN

Geoffrey Dickens

1931 - 1995

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8537 ACTOR

Maggie Jones (actress)

1934 - 2009

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8545 ANTHROPOLOGIST

John Davis (academic)

1938 - 2017

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8564 POET

Michael Swan (writer)

Born 1936

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8581 POLITICIAN

Doreen Miller, Baroness Miller of Hendon

1933 - 2014

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8583 SCULPTOR

Edwina Sandys

Born 1938

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8610 FOOTBALL

Gordon Jago

Born 1932

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8653 DESIGNER

Harris Mann

Born 1938

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8656 ACTOR

Ann Stephens

1931 - 1966

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8663 THEATRE

Michael Elliott (director)

1931 - 1984

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8689 PLAYWRIGHT

Michael Hastings (playwright)

1938 - 2011

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8691 PIANIST

John Picard (musician)

Born 1934

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8699 ACTOR

Myra De Groot

1937 - 1988

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8732 GASTROENTEROLOGIST

Michael Field (physician)

1933 - 2014

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8751 ACTOR

Chic Littlewood

1930 - 2015

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8753 POLITICAL SCIENTIST

Stephen Clarkson

1937 - 2016

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8758 JOURNALIST

Russell Miller

Born 1938

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8775 PAINTER

Anthony Green (painter)

Born 1939

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8798 ACTOR

John Ronane

1933 - 2019

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8809 COMPOSER

John Schroeder (musician)

1935 - 2017

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8897 ARCHITECT

Mayer Hillman

Born 1931

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8912 JOURNALIST

Michael J. Arlen

Born 1930

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8943 ACTOR

Anne Aubrey

Born 1937

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8970 ACTOR

Suzanne Farrington

1933 - 2015

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8971 ACTOR

Michael Wisher

1935 - 1995

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8972 PRODUCER

Edgar Lansbury (producer)

Born 1930

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8980 CINEMA

Brianne Murphy

1933 - 2003

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8985 ACTOR

Venetia Stevenson

Born 1938

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8986 SCREENWRITER

Jeremy Sandford

1930 - 2003

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8992 JOURNALIST

Bruce Arnold (author)

Born 1936

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9020 THEOLOGIAN

John W. Rogerson

1935 - 2018

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9038 JOURNALIST

Una-Mary Parker

1930 - 2019

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9087 DRUMMER

Carlo Little

1938 - 2005

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9095 ONCOLOGIST

John M. Goldman

1938 - 2013

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9120 TELEVISION

Roy Battersby

Born 1936

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9130 PAINTER

Frederick Cuming (artist)

Born 1930

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9143 JOURNALIST

Richard West (journalist)

1930 - 2015

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9165 SCULPTOR

John Robinson (sculptor)

1935 - 2007

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9177 TRANSLATOR

Erika Cheetham

1939 - 1998

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9203 FILM

Greg Smith (film producer)

1939 - 2009

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9303 ENTREPRENEUR

John Bloom (businessman)

1931 - 2019

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9305 JOURNALIST

Donald Trelford

Born 1937

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9308 ACTOR

Susan Travers (actress)

Born 1939

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9325 COLLECTOR

Simon Sainsbury

1930 - 2006

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9376 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Nelson H. H. Graburn

Born 1936

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9389 ECOLOGIST

Paul Colinvaux

1930 - 2016

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9413 PHILOSOPHER

Timothy Smiley

Born 1930

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9435 POLITICIAN

Jennifer Forwood, 11th Baroness Arlington

Born 1939

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9491 POET

David Bromige

1933 - 2009

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9492 HISTORIAN

Jonathan Frankel

1935 - 2008

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9509 SINGER

Colin Wilkie

1934 - 2020

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9562 WRITER

Stephen Benatar

Born 1937

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9567 THEOLOGIAN

Donald Allchin

1930 - 2010

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9583 ACTOR

Susan Stranks

Born 1938

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9584 WRITER

Terence Brady (writer)

1939 - 2016

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9625 POET

Frances Horovitz

1938 - 1983

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9631 DENTIST

John Zamet

1932 - 2007

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9633 PAINTER

Valerie Thornton

1931 - 1991

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9636 ACTOR

Terence Knapp

1932 - 2019

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9639 GOVERNMENT

Michael Pertschuk

Born 1933

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9663 ACTOR

Suzanne Neve

Born 1939

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9674 PAINTER

Paul Huxley

Born 1938

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9680 ECONOMIST

Christopher Story

1938 - 2010

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9682 WRITER

Charmian Hussey

Born 1939

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9686 SCULPTOR

James Butler (artist)

Born 1931

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9740 PAINTER

Dave Pearson (painter)

1937 - 2008

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9770 WRITER

Stanley Price (writer)

1931 - 2019

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9789 MATHEMATICIAN

Rod Driver

Born 1932

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9806 WRITER

Tom Vernon

1939 - 2013

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9815 TELEVISION

Derek Partridge

Born 1935

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9851 DRAUGHTSWOMAN

Alan Green

1932 - 2003

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9859 POLITICIAN

Michael Colvin

1932 - 2000

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9878 ACTOR

David Kernan

Born 1938

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9906 PROFESSOR

Robert W. Thomson

1934 - 2018

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9936 WRITER

Michael Mott

1930 - 2019

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9951 ACTOR

Michael Goldie

1932 - 2013

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9967 WRITER

Jean Saunders

1932 - 2011

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9990 PRESENTER

Sarah Long

1938 - 1987

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10037 STUNT

Terry Walsh (actor)

1939 - 2002

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10065 SCULPTOR

Nicholas Monro

Born 1936

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10070 FOOTBALL

John Shepherd (footballer, born 1932)

1932 - 2018

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10081 PAINTER

Anthony Whishaw

Born 1930

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10087 AUTHOR

Mark Bence-Jones

1930 - 2010

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10121 COSTUME DESIGNER

John Furniss (costume designer)

Born 1935

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10132 ARCHITECT

Roland Paoletti

1931 - 2013

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10134 CONDUCTOR

Nicholas Braithwaite

Born 1939

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