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.

External links

• Churchill memorial press release
• BBC Great Britons press release
• BBC Great Britons book and links at National Portrait Gallery
• 100 great British heroes — BBC News article, dated Wednesday, 21 August 2002 (contains the top 100, sorted alphabetically)
• BBC reveals 100 great British heroes — BBC News article, dated Thursday, 22 August 2002
• Ten greatest Britons chosen — BBC News article, dated Sunday, 20 October 2002

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