100 Greatest Britons

100 Greatest Britons was broadcast in 2002 by the BBC. The programme was the result of a vote conducted to determine whom the United Kingdom public considers the greatest British people have been in history. The series, Great Britons, included individual programmes on the top ten, with viewers having further opportunities to vote after each programme. It concluded with a debate. All of the top 10 were deceased by the year of broadcast.

The poll resulted in candidates including Guy Fawkes, who was executed for trying to blow up the Parliament of England; Oliver Cromwell who created a republican England; King Richard III, suspected of murdering his nephews; James Connolly, an Irish nationalist and socialist who was executed by the Crown in 1916; and a surprisingly high ranking for former Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em star Michael Crawford in 17th. In addition to the Britons, some notable non-British entrants were listed, including two Irish nationals, the philanthropic musicians Bono and Bob Geldof. Furthermore, many candidates were from an era in which Britishness did not exist. The top 19 entries were people of English origin (though Sir Ernest Shackleton and Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, were both born into Anglo-Irish families when what is now the Republic of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom. The highest-placed Scottish entry was Alexander Fleming in 20th place, with the highest Welsh entry, Owain Glyndŵr, at number 23. Sixty had lived in the twentieth century. The highest-ranked living person was Margaret Thatcher, who placed 16th. Ringo Starr is the only member of The Beatles not on the list.

List
Due to the nature of the poll used to select and rank the Britons, the results do not pretend to be an objective assessment. They are as follows: (People marked (*) also appeared on the 100 Worst Britons list compiled by Channel 4.)
 * 1) Winston Churchill, (1874–1965), Prime Minister (1940–1945, 1951–1955)
 * 2) Isambard Kingdom Brunel, (1806–1859), engineer, creator of Great Western Railway and other significant works
 * 3) Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales (1981–1996), and mother of Princes William and Harry of Wales
 * 4) Charles Darwin (1809–1882), naturalist, originator of the theory of evolution through natural selection and author of On the Origin of Species.
 * 5) William Shakespeare (1564–1616), English poet and playwright, thought of by many as the greatest of all writers.
 * 6) Sir Isaac Newton (1643–1727), physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, and alchemist.
 * 7) Queen Elizabeth I of England (1533–1603), monarch (reigned 1558–1603)
 * 8) John Lennon (1940–1980), musician with The Beatles, philanthropist, peace activist, artist
 * 9) Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (1758–1805), naval commander
 * 10) Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658), Lord Protector
 * 11) Sir Ernest Shackleton (1874–1922), polar explorer
 * 12) Captain James Cook (1728–1779), explorer
 * 13) Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell (1857–1941), founder of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides
 * 14) Alfred the Great (849?–899), King of Wessex, (reigned 871–899)
 * 15) Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769–1852), military commander, statesman and Prime Minister 1828–1830 and 1834
 * 16) Margaret Thatcher (*3) (born 1925), Prime Minister (1979–1990)
 * 17) Michael Crawford (born 1942), actor and singer
 * 18) Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (1819–1901), monarch (reigned 1837–1901)
 * 19) Sir Paul McCartney (1942), musician with The Beatles, philanthropist, activist
 * 20) Sir Alexander Fleming (1881–1955), Scottish biologist and pharmacologist, discovered penicillin
 * 21) Alan Turing (1912–1954), pioneer of computing
 * 22) Michael Faraday (1791–1867), physicist carried out pioneering work in the field of electricity
 * 23) Owain Glyndŵr (1359–1416), Prince of Wales
 * 24) Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (*10) (born 1926), reigning monarch (1952–present)
 * 25) Professor Stephen Hawking (born 1942), English theoretical physicist
 * 26) William Tyndale (1494–1536), English translator of the Bible
 * 27) Emmeline Pankhurst (1858–1928), suffragette
 * 28) William Wilberforce (1759–1833), humanitarian, leading Parliamentary abolitionist
 * 29) David Bowie (born 1947), English musician
 * 30) Guy Fawkes (1570–1606), English revolutionary and mastermind of the Gunpowder Plot.
 * 31) Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire (1917–1992), aviator and charity organiser
 * 32) Eric Morecambe (1926–1984), comedian
 * 33) David Beckham (*91) (born 1975), English footballer
 * 34) Thomas Paine (1737–1809), English political philosopher
 * 35) Boudica (died c.60), leader of Celtic resistance to the Roman Empire
 * 36) Sir Steve Redgrave (born 1962), Olympic rower
 * 37) Saint Thomas More (1478–1535), English saint, lawyer and politician
 * 38) William Blake (1757–1827), English author/poet, painter and printer
 * 39) John Harrison (1693–1776), clock designer
 * 40) King Henry VIII of England (1491–1547), monarch (reigned 1509–1547)
 * 41) Charles Dickens (1812–1870), English author
 * 42) Sir Frank Whittle (1907–1996), jet engine inventor
 * 43) John Peel (1939–2004), broadcaster
 * 44) John Logie Baird (1888–1946), Scottish engineer and television pioneer
 * 45) Aneurin Bevan (1897–1960), Labour politician who oversaw the formation of the National Health Service
 * 46) Boy George (born 1961), musician with Culture Club
 * 47) Sir Douglas Bader (1910–1982), aviator and charity campaigner
 * 48) Sir William Wallace (c.1270–1305), Guardian of Scotland
 * 49) Sir Francis Drake (c.1540–1596), English naval commander
 * 50) John Wesley (1703–1791), founder of Methodism
 * 51) King Arthur, legendary Celtic monarch
 * 52) Florence Nightingale (1820–1910), nurse and charity campaigner
 * 53) T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) (1888–1935), Arabist and soldier
 * 54) Robert Falcon Scott (1868–1912), polar explorer
 * 55) Enoch Powell (1912–1998), politician
 * 56) Sir Cliff Richard (*29) (born 1940), musician
 * 57) Alexander Graham Bell (1847–1922), Scottish engineer and telephone pioneer.
 * 58) Freddie Mercury (1946–1991), musician with Queen
 * 59) Dame Julie Andrews (born 1935), English actress and singer
 * 60) Sir Edward Elgar (1857–1934), English composer
 * 61) Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (1900–2002), Queen consort
 * 62) George Harrison (1943–2001), musician with The Beatles
 * 63) Sir David Attenborough (born 1926), English broadcaster and naturalist
 * 64) James Connolly (1868–1916), the Scottish born leader of the Irish 1916 rising
 * 65) George Stephenson (1781–1848), railway pioneer
 * 66) Sir Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977), English comic actor and film director
 * 67) Tony Blair (*1) (born 1953), Prime Minister (1997–2007)
 * 68) William Caxton (c.1415~1422–c.1492), English printer
 * 69) Bobby Moore (1941–1993), footballer and Captain of England 1966 World Cup winning team
 * 70) Jane Austen (1775–1817), English author
 * 71) William Booth (1829–1912), founder of Salvation Army
 * 72) King Henry V of England (1387–1422), monarch (reigned 1413–1422)
 * 73) Aleister Crowley (1875–1947), occultist, writer, and social provocateur; founder of Thelema
 * 74) Robert the Bruce (1274–1329), King of Scots
 * 75) Bob Geldof (born 1951), Irish musician, philanthropist
 * 76) The Unknown Warrior, soldier of the Great War
 * 77) Robbie Williams (*17) (born 1974), musician and former member of Take That
 * 78) Edward Jenner (1749–1823), pioneer of vaccination
 * 79) David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd George (1863–1945), Prime Minister (1916–1922)
 * 80) Charles Babbage (1791–1871), mathematician and pioneer of computing
 * 81) Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1343–1400), English author
 * 82) King Richard III of England (1452–1485), monarch (reigned 1483–1485)
 * 83) J.K. Rowling (born 1965), author of the Harry Potter Series
 * 84) James Watt (1736–1819), Scottish developer of the steam engine
 * 85) Sir Richard Branson (*86) (born 1950), businessman and adventurer
 * 86) Bono (born 1960), Irish musician - Singer for Rock Band U2, philanthropist
 * 87) John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) (born 1956), English musician
 * 88) Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (1887–1976), military commander
 * 89) Donald Campbell (1921–1967), water speed world record challenger
 * 90) King Henry II of England (1133–1189), monarch (reigned 1154–1189)
 * 91) James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879), Scottish physicist
 * 92) J.R.R. Tolkien (1892–1973), author and philologist
 * 93) Sir Walter Raleigh (1552–1618), English explorer
 * 94) King Edward I of England (1239–1307), monarch (reigned 1272–1307)
 * 95) Sir Barnes Wallis (1887–1979), aviation technology pioneer
 * 96) Richard Burton (1925–1984), Welsh actor 1
 * 97) Tony Benn (born 1925), politician, formerly the 2nd Viscount Stangate
 * 98) David Livingstone (1813–1873), missionary and explorer
 * 99) Sir Tim Berners-Lee (born 1955), Internet pioneer and inventor of the World Wide Web
 * 100) Marie Stopes (1880–1958), promoter of birth control

Several of these also appear in Channel 4's list of 100 Worst Britons (a tongue in cheek response to this show), owing to strongly polarised views on their works, lives or legacies - notably this includes Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, and the current monarch, Elizabeth II. Channel 4 refused to take votes for dead figures, with their broadcast considerably lighter in tone.

1There was some question as to whether the Richard Burton listed is the actor or the explorer. A BBC press release makes it clear that they intended the Burton so honoured to be the actor.