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
Sort By

Showing 915 of 15,663 notable people

4459 POET

Jeremy Adler

Born 1947

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4461 POLITICIAN

Robert Atkins (politician)

Born 1946

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4466 POLITICIAN

David Douglas-Home, 15th Earl of Home

Born 1943

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4469 FOOTBALL

Alex Stepney

Born 1942

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4487 PRODUCER

Peter Solley

Born 1948

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4504 POLITICIAN

Michael Cullen (politician)

Born 1945

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4510 STATISTICIAN

Doug Altman

1948 - 2018

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4541 HISTORIAN

Peter Birks

1941 - 2004

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4542 FOOTBALL

Ken Shellito

1940 - 2018

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4591 CHEMIST

Jeremy Sanders

Born 1948

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4593 SCREENWRITER

Andrew Solt

Born 1947

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4597 SINGER

Laurie London

Born 1944

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4611 LAWYER

Sian Elias

Born 1949

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4659 ACTOR

Jan Francis

Born 1947

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4664 CONSERVATIVE

William Peel, 3rd Earl Peel

Born 1947

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4682 ENTREPRENEUR

John Bird, Baron Bird

Born 1946

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4685 ACTOR

John Callen

Born 1946

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4726 HISTORIAN

Alan Knight (historian)

Born 1946

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4732 ACTOR

Kim Braden

Born 1949

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4757 PERCUSSIONIST

Laurie Allan

Born 1943

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4793 WRITER

Antony Penrose

Born 1947

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4824 ACTOR

Mike Sarne

Born 1940

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4837 PSYCHOLOGIST

Hazel Rose Markus

Born 1949

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4896 ACTOR

Barbara Ferris

Born 1942

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4948 NOVELIST

Joy Chant

Born 1945

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4977 DRUMMER

Ian Clarke (drummer)

Born 1946

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4988 ARTIST

Stephen Willats

Born 1943

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5010 MATHEMATICIAN

Alan M. Frieze

Born 1945

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5025 SCHOLAR

Andrew Chesterman

Born 1946

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5039 CHEMIST

Anthony Cheetham

Born 1946

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5046 PARSON

John Hall (priest)

Born 1949

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5064 ACTOR

Deborah Grant

Born 1947

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5071 VIOLIN

Timothy Good

Born 1942

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5086 COMPOSER

Bjørn Kruse

Born 1946

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5087 JOURNALIST

Tony Blankley

1948 - 2012

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5093 WRITER

Maxim Jakubowski

Born 1944

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5104 FILM

Clive A. Smith

Born 1944

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5106 ACTOR

Christine Paul-Podlasky

Born 1948

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5115 COMEDIAN

Mark Wing-Davey

Born 1948

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5184 CHESS

Simon Webb (chess player)

1949 - 2005

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5238 ACTOR

Abigail (actress)

Born 1946

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5252 ACTOR

Christopher Beeny

1941 - 2020

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5274 MATHEMATICIAN

Laurence Wolsey

Born 1945

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5282 ONCOLOGIST

Rob Buckman

1948 - 2011

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5305 INTENDANT

Peter Jonas (director)

1946 - 2020

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5360 PRODUCER

Miles Copeland III

Born 1944

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5363 CHOREOGRAPHER

Maina Gielgud

Born 1945

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5385 ARTIST

Caroline Coon

Born 1945

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5429 CONDUCTOR

Nick Ingman

Born 1948

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5432 ARTIST

Jan Archibald

Born 1949

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5442 POLITICIAN

Christopher Prout, Baron Kingsland

1942 - 2009

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5443 SOCIOLOGIST

John Scott (sociologist)

Born 1949

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5448 SKATER

Diane Towler

Born 1946

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5451 NOVELIST

Tim Jeal

Born 1945

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5463 FILM

Chris Petit

Born 1949

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5465 PRODUCER

Linda Schuyler

Born 1948

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5496 PHILOSOPHER

Alan Ryan

Born 1940

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5528 MUSIC

Phil Cordell

1947 - 2007

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5545 MISSIONARY

Jackie Pullinger

Born 1944

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5577 ECONOMIST

David Soskice

Born 1942

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5594 POLITICIAN

Alan West, Baron West of Spithead

Born 1948

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5602 LITERARY

Nicholas Boyle

Born 1946

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5603 BIOCHEMIST

David Dolphin

Born 1940

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5605 ACTOR

Chrissie Shrimpton

Born 1945

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5632 COMPOSER

Alan Gowen

1947 - 1981

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5633 PAINTER

John Napier (designer)

Born 1944

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5637 WRITER

Elizabeth Kay

Born 1949

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5687 GUITAR

Mike de Albuquerque

Born 1947

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5689 WRITER

Polly Perkins

Born 1943

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5754 WRITER

Michael Coleman (author)

Born 1946

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5767 PRESENTER

John Suchet

Born 1944

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5796 ACTOR

Neil Summers

Born 1944

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5840 PRIEST

Malcolm McMahon

Born 1949

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5845 MATHEMATICIAN

Susan Friedlander

Born 1946

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5848 JUDGE

Paul Mahoney (English judge)

Born 1946

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5851 ACTOR

Anna Calder-Marshall

Born 1947

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5891 MUSIC

Tony Stevens

Born 1949

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5903 BHIKKHU

Ajahn Sucitto

Born 1949

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5931 ACTOR

Diana Hardcastle

Born 1949

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5933 PRIEST

Abba Seraphim

Born 1948

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5937 PAINTER

Tim Head

Born 1946

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5955 DRIVER

Gordon Spice

Born 1940

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5982 CHESS

Tim Harding (chess player)

Born 1948

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6003 ACTOR

Julian Chagrin

Born 1940

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6010 FOOTBALL

Martin Broughton

Born 1947

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6023 PROFESSOR

Donald Burrows (musicologist)

Born 1945

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6032 ACTOR

Janina Faye

Born 1948

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6070 PAINTER

Victor Edelstein

Born 1946

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6071 PAINTER

Barry Fantoni

Born 1940

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6083 JOURNALIST

Tom Bethell

Born 1940

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6092 LITERARY

Gerald Martin

Born 1944

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6099 ACTOR

Penelope Horner

Born 1942

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6102 PAINTER

John Harris (artist)

Born 1948

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6112 SCULPTOR

Matthew Spender

Born 1945

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6127 POLITICIAN

Bob Russell (British politician)

Born 1946

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6135 ECONOMIST

Ian Steedman

Born 1941

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6145 AUTHOR

Carola Dunn

Born 1946

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6176 FILM

Peter Crane (director)

Born 1948

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6269 ENGINEER

John Barnard

Born 1946

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6288 POLITICIAN

Giles Chichester

Born 1946

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6291 NOVELIST

David Downing

Born 1946

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6295 BUSINESS

Gerald Ratner

Born 1949

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6301 SOCIOLOGIST

Pamela Abbott

Born 1947

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6309 ACTOR

Oliver Cotton

Born 1944

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6343 POLITICIAN

Alan Howarth, Baron Howarth of Newport

Born 1944

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6347 LITERARY

Christopher Norris (critic)

Born 1947

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6349 ARTIST

Peter Cusack (musician)

Born 1948

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6364 ACTOR

Allan McKeown

1946 - 2013

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6388 AUTHOR

Jonathan Magonet

Born 1942

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6389 ACTOR

Diane Keen

Born 1946

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6409 HEAD COACH

Les Steckel

Born 1946

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6427 MUSIC

Stan Sulzmann

Born 1948

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6452 ECONOMIST

Thomas Kuczynski

Born 1944

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6486 GENETICIST

Matthew Kaufman

1942 - 2013

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6489 SONGWRITER

Phil Wainman

Born 1946

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6512 PIANIST

Tim Hinkley

Born 1946

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6513 NOVELIST

Derek Hansen

Born 1944

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6522 DRIVER

John Miles (racing driver)

1943 - 2018

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6526 SPORT

Ronald Keeble

Born 1941

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6527 ART HISTORIAN

Penny Sparke

Born 1948

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6576 ACTOR

Gareth Forwood

1945 - 2007

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6605 MUSIC

John C. Marshall (musician)

1941 - 2012

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6638 COMEDIAN

Chris Langham

Born 1949

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6645 THEOLOGIAN

John Day (Old Testament scholar)

Born 1948

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6680 PHARMACOLOGIST

John Hughes (neuroscientist)

Born 1942

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6692 EDITOR

Malcolm Edwards

Born 1949

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6698 WRITER

Nicola Beauman

Born 1944

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6705 COMPOSER

Alan Bullard

Born 1947

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6706 ARTIST

Rose Finn-Kelcey

1945 - 2014

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6737 FOOTBALL

David Dein

Born 1943

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6787 JOURNALIST

Jon Swain

Born 1948

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6797 LAWYER

Gillian Triggs

Born 1945

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6801 AUTHOR

Ray Hammond

Born 1948

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6831 GOVERNMENT

Lesley Abdela

Born 1945

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6871 PIANIST

Peter Lemer

Born 1942

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6877 MUSIC

Steve Gregory

Born 1945

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6893 WRITER

Andrew Weiner

1949 - 2019

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6894 ART HISTORIAN

Paul Joannides (art historian)

Born 1945

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6895 POET

Richard Berengarten

Born 1943

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6966 POLITICIAN

Willy Bach, Baron Bach

Born 1946

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6967 FILM

Veronica Tennant

Born 1946

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6970 LIBERAL

Jenny Randerson, Baroness Randerson

Born 1948

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6975 NOVELIST

Drusilla Modjeska

Born 1946

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6979 PLAYER

Peter Wheeler (rugby union)

Born 1948

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6988 MUSIC

Jim Pembroke

Born 1946

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7004 INVENTOR

Roger C. Field

Born 1945

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7007 ACTOR

David Niven Jr.

Born 1942

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7058 DRIVER

Mike Wilds

Born 1946

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7068 WRITER

Julia Gregson

Born 1947

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7074 ACTOR

Virginia North

1945 - 2004

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7075 ACTOR

Fiona Walker

Born 1944

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7082 SINGER

Shel Shapiro

Born 1943

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7111 WRITER

Boris Bergman

Born 1944

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7113 ROWER

Chris Baillieu

Born 1949

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7133 FILM

David McGillivray (screenwriter)

Born 1947

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7140 POLITICIAN

Peter Mond, 4th Baron Melchett

1948 - 2018

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7161 JOURNALIST

Penny Valentine

1943 - 2003

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7222 NOVELIST

Sue Prideaux

Born 1946

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7238 AUTHOR

Roy Clements

Born 1946

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7271 POLITICIAN

Alexander Treadwell

Born 1946

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7276 CHEMIST

Zbigniew Szydlo

Born 1949

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7277 QUEEN

Michael Fagan incident

Born 1948

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7298 LORD

Parry Mitchell, Baron Mitchell

Born 1943

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7309 THEOLOGIAN

Colin Slee

1945 - 2010

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7316 SINGER

Linda Hoyle

Born 1946

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7317 DRUMMER

Tristan Fry

Born 1941

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7319 PIANIST

Keith Ingham

Born 1942

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7335 JAZZ

John Fordham (jazz critic)

Born 1947

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7336 MUSIC

Mickey Finn (guitarist)

1947 - 2013

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7343 ACTOR

Peter Marinker

Born 1941

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7345 PAINTER

Robert Lenkiewicz

1941 - 2002

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7367 JOURNALIST

Eve Pollard

Born 1945

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7432 ENGINEER

Graham Hawkes

Born 1947

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7441 SINGER

Doreen Tracey

1943 - 2018

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7444 JOURNALIST

Andrew Cockburn

Born 1947

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7495 LITERARY

Karen Alkalay-Gut

Born 1945

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7508 CLARINET

Antony Pay

Born 1945

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7523 VIOLIN

Wilfred Gibson

1942 - 2014

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7573 FOOTBALL

Colin Jackson (Scottish footballer)

1946 - 2015

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7619 POLITICIAN

James Elles

Born 1949

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7666 HISTORIAN

Rozsika Parker

1945 - 2010

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7711 MUSIC

Peter Knight (folk musician)

Born 1947

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7721 JOURNALIST

Michael Coveney

Born 1948

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7729 OPERA

John Ayldon

1943 - 2013

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7749 DANCER

Lynne Franks

Born 1948

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7806 MUSIC

Barry Martyn

Born 1941

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7808 PHOTOGRAPHER

Peter Kennard

Born 1949

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7817 ACTOR

Stephen Thorne

1946 - 2019

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7845 COMPOSER

Alexander Abercrombie

Born 1949

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7899 POET

Joe Winter

Born 1943

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7906 POLITICIAN

John Marek

Born 1940

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7910 MUSIC

Bob Kerr (musician)

Born 1940

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7919 ENGINEER

David A. Nethercot

Born 1946

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7935 JOURNALIST

Kelvin MacKenzie

Born 1946

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7949 TEACHER

Stephen Fulder

Born 1946

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7957 HISTORIAN

Jean-Jacques Monnier

Born 1944

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7980 PRESENTER

Alan Yentob

Born 1947

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8000 POLITICIAN

Gerard Collier, 5th Baron Monkswell

1947 - 2020

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8008 SCULPTOR

Judy Pfaff

Born 1946

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8015 POLITICIAN

Susan Garden, Baroness Garden of Frognal

Born 1944

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8059 MUSIC

Trevor Tomkins

Born 1941

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8070 PSYCHOLOGIST

David M. Fergusson

1944 - 2018

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8071 BOXING

Mickey Vann

Born 1943

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8079 SPRINT

Joy Grieveson

Born 1941

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8084 PAINTER

Brian Catling

Born 1948

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8122 GUITAR

Alan Cartwright

Born 1945

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8131 POLITICIAN

Dave Hill (professor)

Born 1945

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8134 BIOGRAPHER

Carole Angier

Born 1943

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8179 FILM

Michael Mills (producer)

Born 1942

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8187 CHESS

Peter Lee (chess player)

Born 1943

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8202 ACTOR

Brett Usher

1946 - 2013

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8248 FOOTBALL

Marvin Hinton

Born 1940

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8271 ACTOR

Kate Williams (actress)

Born 1941

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8274 TEACHER

Nicholas Delbanco

Born 1942

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8275 HERPETOLOGIST

William Roy Branch

1946 - 2018

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8278 HISTORIAN

Colin Lucas

Born 1940

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8294 ACTOR

John Lyons (actor)

Born 1943

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8311 SONGWRITER

Ken Burgess (musician)

Born 1944

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8312 MATHEMATICIAN

John Pollard (mathematician)

Born 1941

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8323 ACTOR

Christopher Blake

1949 - 2004

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8330 SCREENWRITER

Maurice Gran

Born 1949

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8337 COMPOSER

Rory O'Donoghue

1948 - 2017

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8341 POLITICIAN

Andrew MacKinlay

Born 1949

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8348 HISTORIAN

John Hiden

1940 - 2012

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8377 GUITAR

Phil Lee

Born 1943

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8387 MUSIC

Susan Milan

Born 1947

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8398 ARTS

Genista McIntosh, Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Born 1946

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8413 CORRESPONDENT

Martin Fletcher (TV reporter)

Born 1947

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8415 MATHEMATICIAN

Celia Hoyles

Born 1946

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8467 FILM

Mick Gold

Born 1947

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8468 FOOTBALL

Ron Smith (footballer, born 1949)

Born 1949

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8474 SCHOLAR

Tessa Rajak

Born 1946

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8500 BIOCHEMIST

Helen Blau

Born 1948

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8507 ROWER

David Tanner (rowing)

Born 1947

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8523 ACADEMIC

Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg

Born 1944

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8619 FILM

John Goldschmidt

Born 1943

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8632 SONGWRITER

Andy Cameron

Born 1940

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8644 COSTUME DESIGNER

Mike Ockrent

1946 - 1999

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8650 FILM

David Green (director)

Born 1948

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8682 LAWYER

Jon Lyng

1945 - 2003

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8720 ACADEMIC

André Liebich

Born 1948

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8722 WRITER

William Bloom

Born 1948

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8726 FILM

Stephen Whittaker

1947 - 2003

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8739 NOVELIST

Clive Doucet

Born 1946

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8741 BIOLOGIST

Brigid Hogan

Born 1943

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8794 SKATER

Glyn Watts

Born 1948

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8819 MATHEMATICIAN

Herbert Fleischner

Born 1944

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8821 FONCTIONNAIRE

Marc Tessier

Born 1946

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8833 ACTOR

Charlotte Cornwell

Born 1949

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8838 PHILOSOPHER

John Forrester (historian)

1949 - 2015

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8860 PHOTOGRAPHER

Friedl Kubelka

Born 1946

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8887 JOURNALIST

Chris Welch

Born 1941

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8904 FOOTBALL

Tony Lawrence

Born 1946

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8935 ARTIST

Penny Slinger

Born 1947

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8948 ACTOR

Eve Karpf

Born 1947

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8975 HISTORIAN

Bernard Wasserstein

Born 1948

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8977 PHOTOGRAPHER

Jim Lee (photographer)

Born 1945

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9004 ACTOR

Paul Moriarty (actor)

Born 1946

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9025 TELEVISION

Terry Nutkins

1946 - 2012

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9026 SPRINT

Colin Campbell (Olympian)

Born 1946

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9032 GUITAR

Bob Johnson (musician)

Born 1944

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9034 CURATOR

Frank H. Winter

Born 1942

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9060 BANK

Chips Keswick

Born 1940

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9068 PHILANTHROPIST

Andrea Bronfman

1945 - 2006

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9083 DRIVER

Alain de Cadenet

Born 1945

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9084 HORSE BREEDER

Henrietta Russell, Duchess of Bedford

Born 1940

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9097 LINGUIST

Keith Allan (linguist)

Born 1943

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9107 TELEVISION

Peter Cregeen

Born 1940

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9119 ACTOR

Matthew Guinness

Born 1940

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9122 ACTOR

Geoffrey Burridge

1948 - 1987

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9125 DRUMMER

Chris Townson

1947 - 2008

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9126 JOURNALIST

David Dalton (writer)

Born 1945

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9146 COMPOSER

Keith Mansfield

Born 1943

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9158 POLITICIAN

Roy Perry

Born 1943

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9168 POLITICIAN

Jamie McGrigor

Born 1949

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9198 JOURNALIST

Tom Burns Marañón

Born 1948

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9211 FOOTBALL

Allan Harris

1942 - 2017

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9217 THEATRE

Brian Michaels

Born 1948

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9218 POLO

Bryan Morrison

1942 - 2008

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9226 ACTOR

Nick Ullett

Born 1941

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9273 MUSIC

Phil Sawyer

Born 1947

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9289 JOURNALIST

Frank Johnson (journalist)

1943 - 2006

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9292 WRITER

Alan Booth

1946 - 1993

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9295 ACTOR

Chris Ellison (actor)

Born 1946

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9297 ACTOR

Melanie Morse MacQuarrie

1945 - 2005

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9317 POLITICIAN

Tom Arnold (politician)

Born 1947

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9319 COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Richard Bird (computer scientist)

Born 1943

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9326 JOURNALIST

Brough Scott

Born 1942

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9341 ARTIST

William Dudley (designer)

Born 1947

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9342 RACER

Chas Mortimer

Born 1949

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9365 SINGER

Adrienne Posta

Born 1948

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9391 PHILOSOPHER

Ian Angus (philosopher)

Born 1949

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9424 POET

Valerie Sinason

Born 1946

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9438 CONDUCTOR

Antony Beaumont

Born 1949

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9461 POLITICIAN

Alasdair Hutton

Born 1940

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9462 NOVELIST

Alan Gould

Born 1949

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9500 JOURNALIST

Richard Milton (author)

Born 1943

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9522 MODEL

Valerie Holmes

Born 1946

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9533 PHOTOGRAPHER

Arthur Edwards (photographer)

Born 1940

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9539 WRITER

Amanda Holden (writer)

Born 1948

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