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.

Through the Centuries

One face per century — the most globally famous figure born in London during each.

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 novelist2.6× the global rate.

London under-produces football — only 0.3× the global rate.

  1. Actor2,038
  2. Politician1,102
  3. Painter769
  4. Writer646
  5. Football600
  6. Singer424
  7. Film350
  8. Music340
  1. Novelist1632.6×
  2. Actor2,0382.5×
  3. Painter7691.9×
  4. Film3501.8×
  5. Composer3181.5×
  6. Music3401.5×
  1. Football6000.3×
  2. Politician1,1020.6×

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.

15001550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Film & TV
  • Writing
  • Sports
  • Art & Design
  • Politics & Law
  • Music
  • Other
All15,663
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15,663 notable people

0301 ACTOR

Noah Taylor

Born 1969

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0302 ACTOR

Herbert Marshall

1890 - 1966

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0303 WRITER

Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany

1878 - 1957

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0304 ART HISTORIAN

Kenneth Clark

1903 - 1983

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0305 PHILOSOPHER

Thomas Browne

1605 - 1682

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0306 POLITICIAN

John Wilkes

1725 - 1797

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0307 SINGER

Albert Hammond

Born 1944

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0308 PHILOSOPHER

Antony Flew

1923 - 2010

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0309 ACTOR

Rory Kinnear

Born 1978

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0310 PRINCE

Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

1901 - 2004

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0311 POLITICIAN

George Grenville

1712 - 1770

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0312 WRITER

Len Deighton

Born 1929

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0313 SINGER

Sandy Denny

1947 - 1978

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0314 ACTOR

Francesca Annis

Born 1945

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0315 WRITER

Leonard Woolf

1880 - 1969

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0316 EXPLORER

Edward Whymper

1840 - 1911

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0317 DUKE

Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex

1773 - 1843

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0318 PAINTER

Bridget Riley

Born 1931

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0319 COMPOSER

John Tavener

1944 - 2013

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0320 PLAYWRIGHT

John Webster

1578 - 1634

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0321 QUEEN

Princess Helena of the United Kingdom

1846 - 1923

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0322 POET

Lytton Strachey

1880 - 1932

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0323 MUSIC

Thomas Dolby

Born 1958

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0324 PRINCESS

David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon

Born 1961

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0325 WRITER

Sophie Kinsella

Born 1969

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0326 ECONOMIST

Oliver Hart (economist)

Born 1948

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0327 ACTOR

Maryam d'Abo

Born 1960

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0328 POLITICIAN

Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle

1693 - 1768

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0329 SINGER

Ben Howard

Born 1988

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0330 ACTOR

James Norton (actor)

Born 1985

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0331 ART HISTORIAN

Simon Schama

Born 1945

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0332 ACTOR

Gemma Jones

Born 1942

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0333 ACTOR

Olivia d'Abo

Born 1969

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0334 FILM

Richard Johnson (actor)

1927 - 2015

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0335 ACTOR

Samantha Bond

Born 1961

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0336 GUITAR

Steve Howe (musician)

Born 1947

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0337 POET

Stephen Spender

1909 - 1995

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0338 ECONOMIST

Benjamin Graham

1894 - 1976

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0339 PSYCHOLOGIST

Simon Baron-Cohen

Born 1958

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0340 ACTOR

Tobias Menzies

Born 1974

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0341 SCREENWRITER

Caroline Goodall

Born 1959

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0342 ACTOR

Nathaniel Parker

Born 1962

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0343 ACTOR

Edith Evans

1888 - 1976

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0344 POLITICIAN

Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury

1563 - 1612

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0345 BASSIST

Glen Matlock

Born 1956

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0346 ACTOR

C. Aubrey Smith

1863 - 1948

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0347 POLITICIAN

John Profumo

1915 - 2006

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0348 POLITICIAN

Hugh Gaitskell

1906 - 1963

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0349 WRITER

John William Polidori

1795 - 1821

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0350 ACTOR

John Neville (actor)

1925 - 2011

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0351 MILITAR

Douglas Bader

1910 - 1982

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0352 POLITICIAN

Harriet Harman

Born 1950

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0353 POLITICIAN

William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire

1720 - 1764

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0354 PAINTER

Gertrude Jekyll

1843 - 1932

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0355 QUEEN

Charlotte, Princess Royal

1766 - 1828

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0356 ACTOR

Plan B (musician)

Born 1983

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0357 JOURNALIST

Malcolm Muggeridge

1903 - 1990

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0358 SINGER

Clive Dunn

1920 - 2012

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0359 WRITER

David Gemmell

1948 - 2006

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0360 COMPOSER

Anoushka Shankar

Born 1981

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0361 POLITICIAN

Jeremy Hunt

Born 1966

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0362 PRINCE

Beau Brummell

1778 - 1840

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0363 ACTOR

Rupert Penry-Jones

Born 1970

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0364 FILM

Gerry Anderson

1929 - 2012

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0365 AUTHOR

Timothy Garton Ash

Born 1955

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0366 ACTOR

Murray Head

Born 1946

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0367 WRITER

Chris Claremont

Born 1950

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0368 ACTOR

Ben Cross

1947 - 2020

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0369 ACTOR

Naomi Scott

Born 1993

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0370 BUSINESS

Vidal Sassoon

1928 - 2012

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0371 ACTOR

Marianne Jean-Baptiste

Born 1967

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0372 BASSIST

Steve Harris (musician)

Born 1956

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0373 MILITAR

John André

1750 - 1780

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0374 WRITER

George Arliss

1868 - 1946

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0375 FILM

Michael Anderson (director)

1920 - 2018

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0376 BIOLOGIST

John Maynard Smith

1920 - 2004

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0377 POET

Peter Ackroyd

Born 1949

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0378 CLUB

Charles Rolls

1877 - 1910

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0379 ACTOR

Jason Connery

Born 1963

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0380 PRODUCER

Peter Grant (music manager)

1935 - 1995

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0381 POLITICIAN

Stafford Cripps

1889 - 1952

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0382 WRITER

Anne Perry

Born 1938

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0383 WRITER

Eric Ambler

1909 - 1998

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0384 SCREENWRITER

Noel Clarke

Born 1975

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0385 SINGER

Jessie Ware

Born 1984

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0386 MATHEMATICIAN

James Joseph Sylvester

1814 - 1897

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0387 SCREENWRITER

Peter Morgan

Born 1963

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0388 LAWYER

Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood

1864 - 1958

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0389 CURATOR

Roger Fry

1866 - 1934

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0390 ACTOR

Amira Casar

Born 1971

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0391 POLITICIAN

Billy Hughes

1862 - 1952

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0392 ACTOR

Carmen Ejogo

Born 1974

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0393 BIBLE

John Nelson Darby

1800 - 1882

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0394 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Mary Leakey

1913 - 1996

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0395 ACTOR

Sandrine Holt

Born 1972

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0396 ACTOR

Eleanor Tomlinson

Born 1992

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0397 ACTIVIST

Emily Davison

1872 - 1913

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0398 BASSIST

Paul Simonon

Born 1955

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0399 PHYSICIST

Paul Davies

Born 1946

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0400 ARCHITECT

David Chipperfield

Born 1953

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0401 FILM

Roland Joffé

Born 1945

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0402 ACTOR

Jodhi May

Born 1975

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0403 ACTOR

Luke Goss

Born 1968

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0404 MUSIC

Atticus Ross

Born 1968

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0405 ACTOR

Jake Weber

Born 1964

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0406 ACTOR

Joss Ackland

Born 1928

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0407 PAINTER

George Frederic Watts

1817 - 1904

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0408 PHYSICIAN

Henry Gray

1827 - 1861

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0409 ACTOR

Freema Agyeman

Born 1979

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0410 PAINTER

John Collier (painter)

1850 - 1934

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0411 PHILANTHROPIST

James Oglethorpe

1696 - 1785

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0412 PHYSICIAN

Henry Hallett Dale

1875 - 1968

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0413 PALAEONTOLOGIST

Eduard Suess

1831 - 1914

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0414 DIPLOMAT

Donald Maclean (spy)

1913 - 1983

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0415 ATHLETIC

Daley Thompson

Born 1958

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0416 WRITER

Darren Shan

Born 1972

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0417 EMPEROR

Emperor Norton

1811 - 1880

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0418 COMEDIAN

Omid Djalili

Born 1965

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0419 CARICATURIST

George Cruikshank

1792 - 1878

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0420 PHYSICIST

Patrick Blackett

1897 - 1974

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0421 ARCHITECT

Charles Barry

1795 - 1860

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0422 PLAYWRIGHT

Alan Ayckbourn

Born 1939

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0423 ACTOR

Harry Lloyd

Born 1983

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0424 PHILOSOPHER

Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury

1671 - 1713

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0425 SINGER

Gertrude Lawrence

1898 - 1952

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0426 FILM

Lewis Gilbert

1920 - 2018

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0427 SCREENWRITER

Simon Kinberg

Born 1973

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0428 COMPOSER

Peter Warlock

1894 - 1930

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0429 COMPOSER

George Shearing

1919 - 2011

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0430 ANTHROPOLOGIST

John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury

1834 - 1913

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0431 WRITER

Simon Sebag Montefiore

Born 1965

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0432 CONDUCTOR

John Rutter

Born 1945

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0433 AUTHOR

Sophie Dahl

Born 1977

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0434 ACTOR

Richard Haydn

1905 - 1985

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0435 COMPOSER

Ethel Smyth

1858 - 1944

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0436 HISTORIAN

Perry Anderson

Born 1938

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0437 RAPPER

Lady Sovereign

Born 1985

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0438 PLAYWRIGHT

Terence Rattigan

1911 - 1977

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0439 WRITER

Richard K. Morgan

Born 1965

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0440 AUTHOR

Antonia Fraser

Born 1932

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0441 ARCHBISHOP

Justin Welby

Born 1956

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0442 ENGINEER

Charles Algernon Parsons

1854 - 1931

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0443 PAINTER

Paul Nash (artist)

1889 - 1946

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0444 ACTOR

Virginia McKenna

Born 1931

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0445 PEER

John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer

1924 - 1992

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0446 ACTOR

Kathryn Newton

Born 1997

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0447 POLITICIAN

Alistair Darling

Born 1953

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0448 PLAYWRIGHT

Michael Frayn

Born 1933

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0449 POLITICIAN

John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll

1845 - 1914

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0450 NOVELIST

Matthew Lewis (writer)

1775 - 1818

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0451 PHILOSOPHER

Michael Dummett

1925 - 2011

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0452 ILLUSTRATOR

E. H. Shepard

1879 - 1976

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0453 WRITER

Patrick Leigh Fermor

1915 - 2011

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0454 ACTOR

Rachel Stevens

Born 1978

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0455 SINGER

Tony Jay

1933 - 2006

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0456 PSYCHOLOGIST

Charles Spearman

1863 - 1945

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0457 QUEEN

Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany

1853 - 1884

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0458 PLAYWRIGHT

Thomas Kyd

1558 - 1594

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0459 NOVELIST

Eleanor Hibbert

1906 - 1993

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0460 ESSAYIST

Allen Carr

1934 - 2006

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0461 TRACK AND FIELD

Christine Ohuruogu

Born 1984

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0462 WRITER

Frederick Marryat

1792 - 1848

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0463 FOOTBALL

Colin Kazim-Richards

Born 1986

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0464 ACTOR

Nigel Havers

Born 1951

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0465 ARTIST

Austin Osman Spare

1886 - 1956

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0466 ACTOR

Edward Hardwicke

1932 - 2011

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0467 CONSERVATIVE

Chris Grayling

Born 1962

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0468 ACTOR

Freddie Bartholomew

1924 - 1992

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0469 CONDUCTOR

John Barbirolli

1899 - 1970

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0470 MUSIC

Jools Holland

Born 1958

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0471 ACTOR

Finola Hughes

Born 1959

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0472 NOVELIST

Lucy Hawking

Born 1969

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0473 KING

Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom

1770 - 1840

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0474 COMPOSER

Thomas Adès

Born 1971

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0475 FILM

John Guillermin

1925 - 2015

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0476 ACTOR

Louise Lombard

Born 1970

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0477 STATESMAN

Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield

1694 - 1773

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0478 PHILOSOPHER

Stephen Toulmin

1922 - 2009

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0479 COMPOSER

Thomas Arne

1710 - 1778

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0480 ACTOR

Lysette Anthony

Born 1963

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0481 FOOTBALL

Jimmy Greaves

Born 1940

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0482 FILM

Emma Thomas

Born 1968

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0483 SINGER

Eliza Doolittle (singer)

Born 1988

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0484 WRITER

Jasper Fforde

Born 1961

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0485 WRITER

Isabella Beeton

1836 - 1865

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0486 SINGER

Matt Monro

1930 - 1985

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0487 MILITAR

John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort

1886 - 1946

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0488 PRIEST

Edmund Campion

1540 - 1581

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0489 AUTHOR

Leslie Stephen

1832 - 1904

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0490 ACTOR

Amanda Abbington

Born 1974

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0491 OFFICER

Charles James Napier

1782 - 1853

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0492 ACTOR

Adrian Paul

Born 1959

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0493 CHEMIST

Herbert C. Brown

1912 - 2004

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0494 BARON

Mark Sykes

1879 - 1919

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0495 STATESMAN

Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon

1609 - 1674

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0496 FILM

Sally Potter

Born 1949

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0497 ACTOR

Elyes Gabel

Born 1983

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0498 ACTOR

Sebastian Cabot (actor)

1918 - 1977

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0499 POLITICIAN

Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton

1735 - 1811

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0500 ACTOR

Amanda Donohoe

Born 1962

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0501 ACTOR

Shirley Eaton

Born 1937

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0502 ACTOR

Charles Shaughnessy

Born 1955

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0503 KING

Henry the Young King

1155 - 1183

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0504 ACTOR

Harry Melling (actor)

Born 1989

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0505 ACTOR

Leo Genn

1905 - 1978

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0506 EXPLORER

David Thompson (explorer)

1770 - 1857

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0507 LAWYER

Peter Benenson

1921 - 2005

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0508 TRADE UNION

Samuel Gompers

1850 - 1924

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0509 ACTOR

James Callis

Born 1971

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0510 PAINTER

Peter Scott

1909 - 1989

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0511 RACER

Barry Sheene

1950 - 2003

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0512 COMPOSER

Julian Lloyd Webber

Born 1951

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0513 SINGER

Lilian Harvey

1906 - 1968

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0514 POET

Eleanor Farjeon

1881 - 1965

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0515 ESSAYIST

Max Beerbohm

1872 - 1956

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0516 PAINTER

Edmund Leighton

1852 - 1922

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0517 GUITAR

Steve Hillage

Born 1951

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0518 BOXER

Henry Cooper

1934 - 2011

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0519 ACTRESS

Suki Waterhouse

Born 1992

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0520 PAINTER

Evelyn De Morgan

1855 - 1919

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0521 PRIEST

John Stott

1921 - 2011

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0522 ACTOR

Antonia Thomas

Born 1986

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0523 COMPOSER

Jule Styne

1905 - 1994

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0524 SINGER

Lianne La Havas

Born 1989

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0525 BALLET

Darcey Bussell

Born 1969

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0526 CHEF

Heston Blumenthal

Born 1966

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0527 SINGER

Francis Rossi

Born 1949

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0528 QUEEN

Princess Patricia of Connaught

1886 - 1974

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0529 WRITER

Martin Gilbert

1936 - 2015

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0530 WRITER

Anita Brookner

1928 - 2016

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0531 ARCHITECT

William Burges

1827 - 1881

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0532 NOVELIST

Mary Renault

1905 - 1983

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0533 GUITAR

Phil Manzanera

Born 1951

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0534 ACTOR

George MacKay (actor)

Born 1992

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0535 ACTOR

Eva Le Gallienne

1899 - 1991

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0536 MINISTER

Denis Thatcher

1915 - 2003

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0537 CONSERVATIVE

Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby

1841 - 1908

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0538 PHYSICIAN

Thomas Hodgkin

1798 - 1866

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0539 PHYSICIST

Duncan Haldane

Born 1951

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0540 ACTOR

Jacob Anderson

Born 1990

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0541 COMPOSER

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor

1875 - 1912

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0542 GUITAR

Julian Bream

1933 - 2020

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0543 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Max Mallowan

1904 - 1978

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0544 COMTE

Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester

1390 - 1447

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0545 PHYSICIST

John D. Barrow

1952 - 2020

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0546 DANCER

Joseph Grimaldi

1778 - 1837

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0547 ACTOR

Michael Byrne (actor)

Born 1943

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0548 FAMIGLIA REALE

Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom

1868 - 1935

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0549 MATHEMATICIAN

Marcus du Sautoy

Born 1965

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0550 WRITER

James Herbert

1943 - 2013

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0551 ACTOR

Freddie Stroma

Born 1987

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0552 ACTOR

Zuleikha Robinson

Born 1977

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0553 MUSIC

Jamie xx

Born 1988

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0554 PHILOSOPHER

Harriet Taylor Mill

1807 - 1858

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0555 CONDUCTOR

Henry Wood

1869 - 1944

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0556 WRITER

Edwin Abbott Abbott

1838 - 1926

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0557 ADMINISTRATOR

James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin

1811 - 1863

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0558 POET

Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton

1831 - 1891

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0559 ACTOR

Susan Hampshire

Born 1937

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0560 COMPOSER

Guy Pratt

Born 1962

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0561 PLAYWRIGHT

Thomas Middleton

1580 - 1627

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0562 ORNITHOLOGIST

Richard Meinertzhagen

1878 - 1967

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0563 FILM

Hugh Hudson

Born 1936

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0564 QUEEN

Amélie of Orléans

1865 - 1951

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0565 SCREENWRITER

Tom Mison

Born 1982

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0566 FILM

Tony Kaye (director)

Born 1952

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0567 ACTOR

Noel Harrison

1934 - 2013

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0568 SPRINT

Adam Gemili

Born 1993

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0569 ACTOR

Toby Regbo

Born 1991

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0570 ART HISTORIAN

Alexander Cunningham

1814 - 1893

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0571 SONGWRITER

Graham Parker

Born 1950

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0572 ACTOR

Alfred Enoch

Born 1988

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0573 FASHION DESIGNER

Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon

1863 - 1935

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0574 ACTOR

Eamonn Walker

Born 1962

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0575 POLITICIAN

F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich

1782 - 1859

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0576 POLITICIAN

Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford

1593 - 1641

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0577 ARISTOCRAT

Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh

1776 - 1857

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0578 ACTOR

Stephen Campbell Moore

Born 1979

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0579 COMPOSER

Gerald Finzi

1901 - 1956

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0580 ARCHITECT

Glenn Murcutt

Born 1936

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0581 SOCIALITE

Unity Mitford

1914 - 1948

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0582 FILM

Terence Fisher

1904 - 1980

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0583 POLITICIAN

Tessa Jowell

1947 - 2018

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0584 WRITER

Anthony Powell

1905 - 2000

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0585 FILM

Alex Winter

Born 1965

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0586 POET

Robert Herrick (poet)

1591 - 1674

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0587 ACTOR

H. B. Warner

1875 - 1958

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0588 WRITER

Charles Williams (British writer)

1886 - 1945

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0589 ACTOR

Pat Hitchcock

Born 1928

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0590 EXPLORER

William Baffin

1584 - 1622

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0591 ECONOMIST

Richard Stone

1913 - 1991

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0592 ACTOR

Victoria Tennant

Born 1950

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0593 POLITICIAN

George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham

1628 - 1687

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0594 ACTOR

John Loder (actor)

1898 - 1988

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0595 PAINTER

Edwin Landseer

1802 - 1873

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0596 ANTHROPOLOGIST

Ashley Montagu

1905 - 1999

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0597 WRITER

Graham Swift

Born 1949

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0598 ECONOMIST

Arnold Toynbee

1852 - 1883

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0599 HANGED

Mary Dyer

1611 - 1660

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0600 COMPOSER

Leslie Bricusse

Born 1931

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