Most Famous British Scientists & Academics

50 British Scientists & Academics in view out of 927

Science 927
United Kingdom 9,803
Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin British Biologist 1809 – 1882
#12
Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking British Physicist 1942 – 2018
#40
Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton British Mathematician 1643 – 1727
#41
Alan Turing
Alan Turing British Computer Scientist 1912 – 1954
#167
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell British Mathematician 1872 – 1970
#181
Adam Smith
Adam Smith British Economist 1723 – 1790
#220
John Maynard Keynes
John Maynard Keynes British Economist 1883 – 1946
#274
Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins British Biologist Born 1941
#441
J. J. Thomson
J. J. Thomson British Physicist 1856 – 1940
#882
George Boole
George Boole British Mathematician 1815 – 1864
#1,045
Alfred Russel Wallace
Alfred Russel Wallace British Mathematician 1823 – 1913
#1,276
James Watt
James Watt British Engineer 1736 – 1819
#1,332
Thomas Robert Malthus
Thomas Robert Malthus British Economist 1766 – 1834
#1,342
Edward Jenner
Edward Jenner British Physician 1749 – 1823
#1,402
Rosalind Franklin
Rosalind Franklin British Chemist 1920 – 1958
#1,538
John Dalton
John Dalton British Chemist 1766 – 1844
#1,654
Thomas Henry Huxley
Thomas Henry Huxley British Biologist 1825 – 1895
#1,951
Oliver Sacks
Oliver Sacks British Neurologist 1933 – 2015
#1,970
Humphry Davy
Humphry Davy British Chemist 1778 – 1829
#2,335
Howard Carter
Howard Carter British Anthropologist 1874 – 1939
#2,495
Roger Penrose
Roger Penrose British Mathematician Born 1931
#2,566
William Harvey
William Harvey British Biologist 1578 – 1657
#2,689
James Chadwick
James Chadwick British Scientist 1891 – 1974
#2,737
G. H. Hardy
G. H. Hardy British Mathematician 1877 – 1947
#2,987
John Muir
John Muir British Botanist 1838 – 1914
#3,031
Richard Francis Burton
Richard Francis Burton British Geographer 1821 – 1890
#3,189
Edmond Halley
Edmond Halley British Mathematician 1656 – 1742
#3,399
Freeman Dyson
Freeman Dyson British Mathematician 1923 – 2020
#3,479
BM
Bronisław Malinowski British Anthropologist 1884 – 1942
#3,891
Joseph Lister
Joseph Lister British Physician 1827 – 1912
#3,921
Fred Hoyle
Fred Hoyle British Astronomer 1915 – 2001
#4,213
Thomas Young (scientist)
Thomas Young (scientist) British Astronomer 1773 – 1829
#4,219
Charles Lyell
Charles Lyell British Geologist 1797 – 1875
#4,274
Anthony Giddens
Anthony Giddens British Sociologist Born 1938
#4,519
Edith Cavell
Edith Cavell British Nurse 1865 – 1915
#4,984
James Hutton
James Hutton British Geologist 1726 – 1797
#5,203
Richard Owen
Richard Owen British Biologist 1804 – 1892
#5,640
Robert Brown (botanist (Born 1773))
Robert Brown (botanist (Born 1773)) British Botanist 1773 – 1858
#5,706
Ronald Ross
Ronald Ross British Physician 1857 – 1932
#5,738
Frederick Sanger
Frederick Sanger British Biochemist 1918 – 2013
#5,878
Gregory Bateson
Gregory Bateson British Anthropologist 1904 – 1980
#6,222
Henry Fox Talbot
Henry Fox Talbot British Scientist 1800 – 1877
#6,701
Arthur Evans
Arthur Evans British Anthropologist 1851 – 1941
#6,709
AD
Augustus De Morgan British Mathematician 1806 – 1871
#6,820
George Herbert (5th Earl of Carnarvon)
George Herbert (5th Earl of Carnarvon) British Anthropologist 1866 – 1923
#6,856
John William Strutt (3rd Baron Rayleigh)
John William Strutt (3rd Baron Rayleigh) British Physicist 1842 – 1919
#6,879
Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Darwin British Biologist 1731 – 1802
#7,250
Mary Anning
Mary Anning British Palaeontologist 1799 – 1847
#7,435
BC
Brian Cox (physicist) British Physicist Born 1968
#7,629
RA
Richard Arkwright British Engineer 1732 – 1792
#7,918

By the numbers

Inside the United Kingdom Scientists & Academics

927 notable people in this slice of the dataset.

Through the Centuries

One face per century — the most globally famous the united kingdom scientists & academics born in each.

Notable Births by Decade

Notable births among the United Kingdom Scientists & Academics peaked in the 1900s with 55 people.

What the United Kingdom Scientists & Academics Are Known For

Click any row to drill into that filter.

Engineer are the United Kingdom Scientists & Academics's biggest group — 13% of all notables (118).

The United Kingdom Scientists & Academics over-index on ornithologist — 44.2× the global rate.

  1. Engineer118
  2. Mathematician101
  3. Botanist94
  4. Physician70
  5. Anthropologist50
  6. Physicist46
  7. Astronomer34
  8. Biologist33
  1. Ornithologist2644.2×
  2. Philanthropist1242.1×
  3. Naturalist1423.6×
  4. Engineer11823.5×
  5. Surgeon2521.9×
  6. Biologist3320.1×
  7. Anthropologist5019.7×
  8. Geologist2418.5×

City Hot Spots

Cities that over-produce the United Kingdom Scientists & Academics compared to the world average — multiplier shows how much more.