United Kingdom

Paul McCartney

Psychedelic rock Artist

Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE is an English musician, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and composer. With John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, he gained worldwide fame as a member of the Beatles, and his songwriting partnership with Lennon is one of the most celebrated of the 20th century. After the band's break-up, he pursued a solo career, later forming Wings with his first wife, Linda, and Denny Laine. Guinness World Records described McCartney as the "most successful composer and recording artist of all time", with 60 gold discs and sales of over 100 million albums and 100 million singles, and as the "most successful songwriter" in United Kingdom chart history. More than 2,200 artists have covered his Beatles song "Yesterday", more than any other song in history. Wings' 1977 release "Mull of Kintyre" is one of the all-time best-selling singles in the UK. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in March 1999, McCartney has written, or co-written 32 songs that have reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and as of 2013 he has sold over 15.5 million RIAA-certified units in the United States. McCartney, Lennon, Harrison and Starr received MBEs in 1965, and in 1997, McCartney was knighted for his services to music.

David Bowie

Pop rock Artist

David Robert Jones, known by his stage name David Bowie, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, producer, actor and arranger. Bowie has been a major figure in the world of popular music for over four decades, and is renowned as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s. He is known for his distinctive voice as well as the intellectual depth and eclecticism of his work. Bowie first caught the eye and ear of the public in July 1969, when his song "Space Oddity" reached the top five of the UK Singles Chart. After a three-year period of experimentation he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era with the flamboyant, androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust, spearheaded by the hit single "Starman" and the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Bowie's impact at that time, as described by biographer David Buckley, "challenged the core belief of the rock music of its day" and "created perhaps the biggest cult in popular culture." The relatively short-lived Ziggy persona proved merely one facet of a career marked by continual reinvention, musical innovation and striking visual presentation. In 1975, Bowie achieved his first major American crossover success with the number-one single "Fame" and the hit album Young Americans, which the singer characterised as "plastic soul". The sound constituted a radical shift in style that initially alienated many of his UK devotees. He then confounded the expectations of both his record label and his American audiences by recording the minimalist album Low —the first of three collaborations with Brian Eno over the next two years. These so-called "Berlin Trilogy" albums all reached the UK top five and received lasting critical praise. After uneven commercial success in the late 1970s, Bowie had UK number ones with the 1980 single "Ashes to Ashes", its parent album Scary Monsters, and "Under Pressure", a 1981 collaboration with Queen. He then reached a new commercial peak in 1983 with Let's Dance, which yielded several hit singles. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Bowie continued to experiment with musical styles, including blue-eyed soul, industrial, adult contemporary, and jungle. He has not toured since the 2003–04 Reality Tour and has not performed live since 2006. Bowie's latest studio album The Next Day was released in March 2013.

Queen Victoria

Noble person

Queen Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India. Victoria was the daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the fourth son of King George III. Both the Duke of Kent and King George III died in 1820, and Victoria was raised under close supervision by her German-born mother Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She inherited the throne at the age of 18, after her father's three elder brothers had all died, leaving no legitimate, surviving children. The United Kingdom was already an established constitutional monarchy, in which the sovereign held relatively little direct political power. Privately, Victoria attempted to influence government policy and ministerial appointments. Publicly, she became a national icon, and was identified with strict standards of personal morality. Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together and earning her the nickname "the grandmother of Europe". After Albert's death in 1861, Victoria plunged into deep mourning and avoided public appearances. As a result of her seclusion, republicanism temporarily gained strength, but in the latter half of her reign, her popularity recovered. Her Golden and Diamond Jubilees were times of public celebration.

Andy Murray

Tennis Player

Andrew Barron "Andy" Murray, OBE is a Scottish professional tennis player, ranked World No. 4 and British No. 1. He achieved a top-10 ranking by the ATP for the first time on 16 April 2007, and reached a career peak of World No. 2 in August 2009, then again in April/May 2013. He is the current holder of the Wimbledon Championships singles title, and is the 2012 Olympic tennis men's singles champion. At the 2012 US Open, Murray became the first British player since 1977, and the first British man since 1936, to win a Grand Slam singles tournament, when he defeated Novak Djokovic in five sets. This title makes him the only British male to become a Grand Slam singles champion during the Open Era. On 7 July 2013, Murray won the 2013 Wimbledon Championships, becoming the first British man to do so since Fred Perry, 77 years previously. He again beat Djokovic in the final, this time in straight sets. At the 2012 Olympic Games, four weeks after losing his first Wimbledon final to Roger Federer, Murray defeated Federer in straight sets to win the gold medal in 2012 men's singles, becoming the first British singles champion in over 100 years. He also won a silver medal in 2012 mixed doubles, playing with Laura Robson.

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge

Noble person

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, is the wife of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. William is second in line to succeed his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, as monarch of 16 Commonwealth realms. Upon William's accession, Catherine would become queen consort. Catherine grew up in Chapel Row, a village near Newbury, Berkshire, England. She studied art history in Scotland at the University of St Andrews, where she met William in 2001. Their engagement was announced on 16 November 2010, and she attended many high-profile royal events before they married on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey. Catherine has had a major impact upon British fashion which has been termed the "Kate Middleton effect", and in 2012, was selected as one of The 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time magazine. On 3 December 2012, St James's Palace announced that the Duchess was expecting her first child. She was admitted to hospital in early labour on the morning of 22 July 2013, and gave birth to Prince George of Cambridge on the same day.

Winston Churchill

Statesman

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, DL, FRS, Hon. RA was a British politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, a writer, and an artist. He is the only British Prime Minister to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature, and was the first person to be made an honorary citizen of the United States. Churchill was born into the aristocratic family of the Dukes of Marlborough, a branch of the Spencer family. His father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a charismatic politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer; his mother, Jennie Jerome, was an American socialite. As a young army officer, he saw action in British India, The Sudan, and the Second Boer War. He gained fame as a war correspondent and wrote books about his campaigns. At the forefront of politics for fifty years, he held many political and cabinet positions. Before the First World War, he served as President of the Board of Trade, Home Secretary, and First Lord of the Admiralty as part of the Asquith Liberal government. During the war, he continued as First Lord of the Admiralty until the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign caused his departure from government. He then briefly resumed active army service on the Western Front as commander of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. He returned to government as Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War, and Secretary of State for Air. After the War, Churchill served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Conservative government of 1924–29, controversially returning the pound sterling in 1925 to the gold standard at its pre-war parity, a move widely seen as creating deflationary pressure on the UK economy. Also controversial was his opposition to increased home rule for India and his resistance to the 1936 abdication of Edward VIII.

Henry VIII of England

Military Commander

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later assumed the Kingship, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France. Henry was the second monarch of the Tudor dynasty, succeeding his father, Henry VII. Besides his six marriages, Henry VIII is known for his role in the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church. Henry's struggles with Rome led to the separation of the Church of England from papal authority, the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and his own establishment as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. Yet he remained a believer in core Catholic theological teachings, even after his excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church. Henry oversaw the legal union of England and Wales with the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. In 1513, the new king allied with the Holy Roman Emperor, Maximillian I, and invaded France with a large, well-equipped army, but achieved little at a considerable financial cost. Maximillian, for his part, used the English invasion to his own ends, and this prejudiced England's ability to defeat the French. This foray would prove the start of an obsession for Henry, who invaded again in 1544. This time, Henry's forces captured the important city of Boulogne, but again the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, supported Henry only as long as he needed to and England, strained by the enormous cost of the war, ransomed the city back for peace.

Elizabeth I of England

Noble person

Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called "The Virgin Queen", "Gloriana" or "Good Queen Bess", Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. The daughter of Henry VIII, she was born into the royal succession, but her mother, Anne Boleyn, was executed two and a half years after her birth, with Anne's marriage to Henry VIII being annulled, and Elizabeth hence declared illegitimate. On his death in 1553, her half-brother, Edward VI, bequeathed the crown to Lady Jane Grey, cutting his two half-sisters, Elizabeth and the Roman Catholic Mary, out of the succession in spite of statute law to the contrary. His will was set aside, Mary became queen, and Lady Jane Grey was executed. In 1558, Elizabeth succeeded her half-sister, during whose reign she had been imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels. Elizabeth set out to rule by good counsel, and she depended heavily on a group of trusted advisers led by William Cecil, Baron Burghley. One of her first moves as queen was the establishment of an English Protestant church, of which she became the Supreme Governor. This Elizabethan Religious Settlement later evolved into today's Church of England. It was expected that Elizabeth would marry and produce an heir so as to continue the Tudor line. She never did, however, despite numerous courtships. As she grew older, Elizabeth became famous for her virginity, and a cult grew up around her which was celebrated in the portraits, pageants, and literature of the day.

Robbie Williams

Soft rock Artist

Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That, but has found greater commercial success as a solo artist. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and group members, Williams left the group in 1995 to launch a hugely successful solo career, which saw his first seven albums each reach number one in the UK. Williams also released seven number-one singles and found similar success across Europe. On 15 July 2010, it was announced he had rejoined Take That. The group's subsequent album became the second fastest-selling album in UK chart history and the fastest-selling record of the century so far. He continues to perform both as a member of Take That and as a solo artist. Williams has sold over 70 million records worldwide, which ranks him among the best-selling music artists worldwide. He is the best-selling British solo artist in the United Kingdom and the best selling non-Latino artist in Latin America. Six of his albums are among the top 100 biggest-selling albums in the United Kingdom, and in 2006 he entered the Guinness Book of World Records for selling 1.6 million tickets of his Close Encounters Tour in a single day. He has also been honoured with seventeen BRIT Awards—more than any other artist—and seven ECHO Awards. In 2004, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame after being voted as the "Greatest Artist of the 1990s." Williams is married to actress Ayda Field. He has a net worth of £105.2 million.

Charlie Chaplin

Actor

Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor and filmmaker who rose to fame in the silent era. Chaplin became a worldwide icon through his screen persona "the Tramp" and is considered one of the most important figures of the film industry. His career spanned more than 75 years, from a child in the Victorian era to close to his death at the age of 88, and encompassed both adulation and controversy. Raised in London, Chaplin's childhood was defined by poverty and hardship. He was sent to a workhouse twice before the age of nine; his father was absent, and his mother was committed to a mental asylum. Chaplin began performing from a young age, touring music halls and later working as a stage actor and comedian. At 19 he was signed to the prestigious Fred Karno company, which took him to America. Chaplin was scouted by the film industry, and made his first appearances in 1914 with Keystone Studios. He soon developed the Tramp persona and formed a large fan base. Chaplin directed his films from an early stage, and continued to hone his craft as he moved to the Essanay, Mutual, and First National corporations. By 1918, he was one of the most famous men in the world.

Diana, Princess of Wales

Celebrity

Diana, Princess of Wales, was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, the eldest child and heir apparent of Queen Elizabeth II. Diana was born into an aristocratic English family with royal ancestry as The Honourable Diana Spencer. She was the fourth child of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp and his first wife, the Honourable Frances Roche, daughter of the 4th Baron Fermoy. Diana became Lady Diana Spencer when her father inherited the title of Earl Spencer in 1975. She became a public figure with the announcement of her engagement. Her wedding to the Prince of Wales on 29 July 1981 was held at St Paul's Cathedral and seen by a global television audience of over 750 million. While married she bore the titles Princess of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, Duchess of Rothesay, Countess of Chester and Baroness of Renfrew. The marriage produced two sons, the princes William and Harry, who were respectively second and third in the line of succession to the British throne throughout her lifetime. After her marriage, she undertook a variety of public engagements. She was well known for her fund-raising work for international charities and as an eminent celebrity of the late 20th century. She also received recognition for her charity work and for her support of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. From 1989, she was the president of Great Ormond Street Hospital for children, in addition to dozens of other charities.

Charles Darwin

Biologist

Charles Robert Darwin, FRS was an English naturalist and geologist, best known for his contributions to evolutionary theory. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors, and in a joint publication with Alfred Russel Wallace introduced his scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection, in which the struggle for existence has a similar effect to the artificial selection involved in selective breeding. Darwin published his theory of evolution with compelling evidence in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, overcoming scientific rejection of earlier concepts of transmutation of species. By the 1870s the scientific community and much of the general public had accepted evolution as a fact. However, many favoured competing explanations and it was not until the emergence of the modern evolutionary synthesis from the 1930s to the 1950s that a broad consensus developed in which natural selection was the basic mechanism of evolution. In modified form, Darwin's scientific discovery is the unifying theory of the life sciences, explaining the diversity of life.

Rod Stewart

Soft rock Artist

Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British rock singer-songwriter and one of the best selling artists of all time, having sold over 100 million records worldwide. In the UK, he has had six consecutive number one albums, and his tally of 62 hit singles include 31 that reached the top 10, six of which gained the number one position. He has had 16 top ten singles in the U.S, with four of these reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with The Jeff Beck Group and then with the Faces. He launched his solo career in 1969 with his début album An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down. His early albums were a fusion of rock, folk music, soul music and R&B. His aggressive blues work with The Jeff Beck Group and the Faces influenced heavy metal genres. From the late 1970s through the 1990s, Stewart's music often took on a New Wave or soft rock/MOR quality, and in the early 2000s he released a series of successful albums interpreting the Great American Songbook. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked him the 17th most successful artist on the "The Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists". A Grammy and Brit Award recipient, he was voted at No. 33 in Q Magazine's list of the top 100 Greatest Singers of all time, and No. 59 on Rolling Stone 100 Greatest Singers of all time. As a solo artist, Stewart was inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006 and was inducted a second time into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a member of Faces, in 2012.

Simon Cowell

Celebrity

Simon Phillip Cowell is an English television music and talent competition judge, A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol. He is also the owner of the television production and music publishing house Syco. As a judge, Cowell is known for his blunt and often controversial criticisms, insults and wisecracks about contestants and their abilities. He is also known for combining activities in both the television and music industries, having promoted singles and records for various artists, including television personalities. He was most recently featured on the sixth series of Britain's Got Talent and the second season of The X Factor USA. In 2004 and 2010, American magazine Time named Cowell one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2010, British magazine New Statesman listed Cowell at number 41 in a list of "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures 2010". TV Guide named him #10 in their 2013 list of The 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time.

Alfred Hitchcock

Film Director

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was an English film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, renowned as England's best director, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood in 1939 and became a U.S. citizen in 1955. Over a career spanning more than half a century, Hitchcock fashioned for himself a distinctive and recognisable directorial style. He pioneered the use of a camera made to move in a way that mimics a person's gaze, forcing viewers to engage in a form of voyeurism. He framed shots to maximise anxiety, fear, or empathy, and used innovative film editing. His stories often feature fugitives on the run from the law alongside "icy blonde" female characters. Many of Hitchcock's films have twist endings and thrilling plots featuring depictions of violence, murder, and crime. Many of the mysteries, however, are used as decoys or "MacGuffins" that serve the film's themes and the psychological examinations of the characters. Hitchcock's films also borrow many themes from psychoanalysis and feature strong sexual overtones. Through his cameo appearances in his own films, interviews, film trailers, and the television program Alfred Hitchcock Presents, he became a cultural icon.

Isaac Newton

Physicist

Sir Isaac Newton PRS MP was an English physicist and mathematician who is widely regarded as one of the most influential scientists of all time and as a key figure in the scientific revolution. His book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, first published in 1687, laid the foundations for most of classical mechanics. Newton also made seminal contributions to optics and shares credit with Gottfried Leibniz for the invention of the infinitesimal calculus. Newton's Principia formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation that dominated scientists' view of the physical universe for the next three centuries. It also demonstrated that the motion of objects on the Earth and that of celestial bodies could be described by the same principles. By deriving Kepler's laws of planetary motion from his mathematical description of gravity, Newton removed the last doubts about the validity of the heliocentric model of the cosmos. Newton built the first practical reflecting telescope and developed a theory of colour based on the observation that a prism decomposes white light into the many colours of the visible spectrum. He also formulated an empirical law of cooling and studied the speed of sound. In addition to his work on the calculus, as a mathematician Newton contributed to the study of power series, generalised the binomial theorem to non-integer exponents, and developed Newton's method for approximating the roots of a function.

Charles, Prince of Wales

Noble person

Charles, Prince of Wales, is the eldest child and heir apparent of Queen Elizabeth II. Known alternatively in Scotland as Duke of Rothesay and in South West England as Duke of Cornwall, he is the longest-serving heir apparent in British history, having held the position since 1952. He is also the oldest heir to the throne since 1714. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace as the first grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. He was educated at Cheam and Gordonstoun Schools, which his father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, had attended as a child, as well as the Timbertop campus of Geelong Grammar School in Victoria, Australia. After earning a bachelor of arts degree from Trinity College, Cambridge, Charles served in the Royal Navy from 1971 to 1976. Charles's interests encompass a range of humanitarian and social issues: he founded The Prince's Trust in 1976, sponsors The Prince's Charities, and is patron of numerous other charitable and arts organisations. He has long championed organic farming and sought to raise world awareness of the dangers facing the natural environment, such as climate change. As an environmentalist, he has received numerous awards and recognition from environmental groups around the world. His 2010 book, Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World, won the Nautilus Book Award. He has been outspoken on the role of architecture in society and the conservation of historic buildings, and produced a book on the subject called A Vision of Britain: A Personal View of Architecture in 1989. He has also promoted herbal and other alternative medical treatment. In 1980, he wrote a children's book titled The Old Man of Lochnagar. The book was later adapted into an animation short film, a musical stage play and a ballet.

Mick Jagger

Blues Artist

Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor, best known as the lead vocalist and a founder member of The Rolling Stones. Jagger's career has spanned over 50 years, and he has been described as "one of the most popular and influential frontmen in the history of rock & roll". His distinctive voice and performance, along with Keith Richards' guitar style, have been the trademark of the Rolling Stones throughout the career of the band. Jagger gained much press notoriety for admitted drug use and romantic involvements, and was often portrayed as a countercultural figure. In the late 1960s Jagger began acting in films, to mixed reception. In 1985, Jagger released his first solo album, She's the Boss. In early 2009, he joined the electric supergroup SuperHeavy. In 1989 Jagger was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Rolling Stones. In 2003 he was knighted for his services to music.

Phil Collins

Soft rock Artist

Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor and writer, best known both as drummer and vocalist for English rock group Genesis and as a solo artist. He sang the lead vocals on dozens of hit albums and singles in the UK and the US between 1976 and 2010, either as a solo artist or with Genesis. His solo singles, sometimes dealing with lost love and often featuring his distinctive gated reverb drum sound, ranged from the atmospheric "In the Air Tonight", dance pop of "Sussudio", piano-driven power ballad "Against All Odds", to the political statements of "Another Day in Paradise". Collins joined Genesis in 1970 as the group's drummer and became their vocalist in 1975 following the departure of their original front man Peter Gabriel. His solo career, which was launched in 1981 and was heavily influenced by his personal life, brought both himself and Genesis greater commercial success. Collins's total worldwide sales as a solo artist are 150 million. Collins has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including seven Grammy Awards, six Brit Awards—winning Best British Male three times, three American Music Awards, an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards and a Disney Legend Award in 2002 for his solo work. He was inducted to the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999, into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003 and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010.

Wayne Rooney

Soccer

Wayne Mark Rooney is an English footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team. Aged nine, Rooney joined the youth team of Everton, for whom he made his professional debut in 2002 at the age of 16. He spent two seasons at the Merseyside club, before moving to Manchester United for £25.6 million in the 2004 summer transfer window. The same year, Rooney acquired the nickname "Wazza". Since then, with Rooney in the team, United have won the Premier League five times, the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League, one FIFA Club World Cup and two League Cups. He also holds two runner-up medals from the Champions League and has twice finished second in the Premier League. In September 2013, Rooney scored his 200th goal for United, making him the club's fourth-highest goalscorer of all time. Rooney made his senior international debut in 2003, becoming the youngest player to represent England. He is England's youngest ever goalscorer. He played at UEFA Euro 2004 and scored four goals, briefly becoming the youngest goalscorer in the history of the European Championship. Rooney featured at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups and is widely regarded as his country's best player. He has won the England Player of the Year award twice, in 2008 and 2009. As of October 2013, he has won 86 international caps and scored 38 goals, making him England's fifth highest goalscorer in history. Along with David Beckham, Rooney is the most red carded player for England, having been sent off twice.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge

Noble person

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge KG KT ADC, is the elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and his first wife, Diana, Princess of Wales. His paternal grandparents are Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He is second in line to succeed his grandmother, after his father. Prince William was educated at four schools in the United Kingdom and obtained a degree from the University of St Andrews. He spent parts of a gap year in Chile, Belize, Tanzania, and Kenya, where he has lived and holidayed several times. Prince William has also taken Kiswahili studies at universities in Kenya and Tanzania. He also completed training as an officer, and a pilot in the British military. He then underwent helicopter flying training in order to become a full-time pilot with the Search and Rescue Force. Prince William married Catherine Middleton, on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey. Hours prior to the event, Buckingham Palace announced that he would be created Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Strathearn, and Baron Carrickfergus. Their first child, Prince George of Cambridge, was born on 22 July 2013.

J. K. Rowling

Novelist

Joanne "Jo" Rowling, OBE FRSL, pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British novelist, best known as the author of the Harry Potter fantasy series. The Potter books have gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards, and sold more than 400 million copies. They have become the best-selling book series in history, and been the basis for a series of films which has become the highest-grossing film series in history. Rowling had overall approval on the scripts as well as maintaining creative control by serving as a producer on the final instalment. Born in Yate, Gloucestershire, Rowling was working as a researcher and bilingual secretary for Amnesty International when she conceived the idea for the Harry Potter series on a delayed train from Manchester to London in 1990. The seven-year period that followed entailed the death of her mother, divorce from her first husband and poverty until Rowling finished the first novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Rowling subsequently published 6 sequels—the last, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows —as well as 3 supplements to the series. Since, Rowling has parted with her agency and resumed writing for adult readership, releasing the tragicomedy The Casual Vacancy and—using the pseudonym Robert Galbraith—the crime fiction novel The Cuckoo's Calling which, according to Rowling, is the first of a series.

Richard Branson

Businessperson

Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate and investor. He is best known as the founder of Virgin Group of more than 400 companies. His first business venture was a magazine called Student at the age of 16. In 1970, he set up a mail-order record business. In 1972, he opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records, later known as Virgin Megastores. Branson's Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s, as he set up Virgin Atlantic and expanded the Virgin Records music label. Branson is the 4th richest citizen of the United Kingdom, according to the Forbes 2012 list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of US$4.6 billion.

Ringo Starr

Psychedelic rock Artist

Ringo Starr, MBE is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for the Beatles. He sang lead vocals for a song on most of the Beatles' studio albums, including "With a Little Help from My Friends", "Yellow Submarine" and their version of "Act Naturally". He is also credited as a co-writer of "What Goes On" and "Flying", and as the sole author of "Don't Pass Me By" and "Octopus's Garden". Starr was twice afflicted by life-threatening illnesses during his childhood, and as a result of prolonged hospitalisations, fell behind scholastically. In 1955, he entered the workforce and briefly held a position with British Rail before securing an apprenticeship at a Liverpool equipment manufacturer. Soon afterwards, he became interested in the UK skiffle craze, developing a fervent admiration for the genre. In 1957, he cofounded his first band, the Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group, and they earned several prestigious local bookings before the fad succumbed to American rock and roll by early 1958. When the Beatles formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool group, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. After achieving moderate success with them in the UK and Hamburg, he quit the Hurricanes and joined the Beatles in August 1962, replacing Pete Best. Starr played key roles in the Beatles' films and appeared in numerous others. After their break-up in 1970, he released several successful singles including the US number four hit "It Don't Come Easy", and the US number ones "Photograph" and "You're Sixteen". In 1972, he released his most successful UK single, "Back Off Boogaloo", which peaked at number two. He achieved commercial and critical success with his 1973 album Ringo, which was a top ten release in both the UK and the US. Although he continued to record and remained a familiar celebrity presence, by 1975 his solo career had diminished in importance. He has been featured in a number of documentaries, hosted television shows, narrated the first two seasons of the children's television series Thomas & Friends and portrayed "Mr Conductor" during the first season of the PBS children's television series Shining Time Station. Since 1989, he has successfully toured with twelve variations of Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.

George Michael

Soft rock Artist

George Michael is an English musician, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Michael rose to superstardom during the 1980s and 1990s with his style of post-disco dance-pop. He has also been characterized as a blue-eyed soul singer, although his material draws more from middle-of-the-road pop than soul music. As one of the world's best-selling music artists, Michael has sold more than 100 million records worldwide as of 2010. His 1987 debut solo album, Faith, has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and made several records and achievements in the United States. Michael has garnered seven number one singles in the UK and eight number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked Michael the 40th most successful artist on the Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists list. Michael has won numerous music awards throughout his 30-year career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male twice, four MTV Video Music Awards, four Ivor Novello Awards, three American Music Awards, and two Grammy Awards from eight nominations.

Gareth Bale

Soccer

Gareth Frank Bale is a Welsh footballer who plays for Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the Wales national team as a winger. Bale began his professional career at Southampton, playing at left back and earning acclaim as a free kick specialist. He moved to Tottenham Hotspur in 2007, for an eventual £7 million fee. During his time at Spurs, managerial and tactical shifts saw him transform into a more offensively-oriented player. From the 2009–10 season, Bale became an integral part of the team, rising to international attention during the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League. He was named PFA Players' Player of the Year in 2011 and 2013, and was named in the UEFA Team of the Year in 2011. Bale has received plaudits from his peers, who have described him as a footballer with "tremendous speed, great crossing ability, a great left foot and exceptional physical qualities". During the 2012–13 season he was awarded the PFA Young Player of the Year, the PFA Players' Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year awards. On 1 September 2013, he was transferred to Spanish team Real Madrid for an undisclosed fee. The Spanish press reported £77 million, while the English press reported a world record transfer fee of £85.3 million, which would be above Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer record fee of £80 million.

Lewis Hamilton

Racing driver

Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the Mercedes AMG team. He is the 2008 Formula One World Champion. Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. In December 1995, at the age of ten, he approached McLaren team principal Ron Dennis at the Autosport Awards ceremony and told him, "I want to race for you one day ... I want to race for McLaren." Less than three years later McLaren and Mercedes-Benz signed him to their Young Driver Support Programme. After winning the British Formula Renault, Formula Three Euroseries, and GP2 championships on his way up the racing career ladder, he drove for McLaren in 2007, making his Formula One debut 12 years after his initial encounter with Dennis. Hamilton's contract for the McLaren driver development program made him the youngest ever driver to secure a contract which later resulted in a Formula One drive. Coming from a mixed background, with a black father and white mother, Hamilton is often labelled "the first black driver in Formula One", although Willy T. Ribbs tested a Formula One car in 1986. He is also the first driver of black heritage to win a major race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in any discipline.

Elizabeth Taylor

Actor

Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age. As one of the world's most famous film stars, Taylor was recognized for her acting ability and for her glamorous lifestyle, beauty, and distinctive violet eyes. National Velvet was Taylor's first success, and she starred in Father of the Bride, A Place in the Sun, Giant, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Suddenly, Last Summer. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for BUtterfield 8, played the title role in Cleopatra, and married her costar Richard Burton. They appeared together in 11 films, including Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, for which Taylor won a second Academy Award. From the mid-1970s, she appeared less frequently in film, and made occasional appearances in television and theatre. Her much-publicized personal life included eight marriages and several life-threatening illnesses. From the mid-1980s, Taylor championed HIV and AIDS programs; she co-founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research in 1985, and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation in 1993. She received the Presidential Citizens Medal, the Legion of Honour, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and a Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute, who named her seventh on their list of the "Greatest American Screen Legends". Taylor died of congestive heart failure in March 2011 at the age of 79, having suffered many years of ill health.

George VI

Monarch

George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death. He was the last Emperor of India and the first Head of the Commonwealth. As the second son of King George V, he was not expected to inherit the throne and spent his early life in the shadow of his elder brother, Edward. He served in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force during World War I, and after the war took on the usual round of public engagements. He married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923 and they had two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret. George's elder brother ascended the throne as Edward VIII upon the death of their father in 1936. However, later that year Edward revealed his desire to marry the divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin advised Edward that for political and religious reasons he could not marry Simpson and remain king. Edward abdicated in order to marry, and George ascended the throne as the third monarch of the House of Windsor. During George's reign the break-up of the British Empire and its transition into the Commonwealth of Nations accelerated. The parliament of the Irish Free State removed direct mention of the monarch from the country's constitution on the day of his accession. Within three years, the Empire and Commonwealth, except the Irish Free State, was at war with Nazi Germany. In the next two years, war with Italy and Japan followed. Though Britain and its allies were ultimately victorious, the United States and the Soviet Union rose as pre-eminent world powers and the British Empire declined. After the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, George remained as king of both countries, but the title Emperor of India was abandoned in June 1948. Ireland formally declared a republic, leaving the Commonwealth, in 1949 and India became a republic within the Commonwealth the following year. George adopted the new title of Head of the Commonwealth. He was beset by health problems in the later years of his reign. His elder daughter, Elizabeth, succeeded him.

Van Morrison

Blues Artist

Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best have been described as transcendental, while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are critically acclaimed and appear at the top of many greatest album lists. Known as "Van the Man" to his fans, Morrison started his professional career when, as a teenager in the late 1950s, he played a variety of instruments including guitar, harmonica, keyboards and saxophone for various Irish showbands covering the popular hits of the day. He rose to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the Northern Irish R&B band Them, with whom he recorded the garage band classic "Gloria". His solo career began under the pop-hit oriented guidance of Bert Berns with the release of the hit single "Brown Eyed Girl" in 1967. After Berns' death, Warner Bros. Records bought out his contract and allowed him three sessions to record Astral Weeks in 1968. Even though this album would gradually garner high praise, it was initially poorly received; however, the next one, Moondance, established Morrison as a major artist, and throughout the 1970s he built on his reputation with a series of critically acclaimed albums and live performances. Morrison continues to record and tour, producing albums and live performances that sell well and are generally warmly received, sometimes collaborating with other artists, such as Georgie Fame and The Chieftains. In 2008 he performed Astral Weeks live for the first time since 1968.

Christian Bale

Actor

Christian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. He has starred in both blockbuster films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses. Bale first caught the public eye at the age of 13, when he was cast in the starring role of Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun. Based on the original story by J. G. Ballard, Bale played an English boy who is separated from his parents and subsequently finds himself lost in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. In 2000, he garnered critical acclaim for his portrayal of serial killer Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. He earned a reputation as a method actor after he lost 63 pounds to play the role of Trevor Reznik in The Machinist. Bale went on to receive greater commercial recognition and acclaim for his performance as Bruce Wayne / Batman in Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises. He also portrayed Dicky Eklund in the biopic The Fighter, for which he received critical acclaim and won several awards, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role.

Alice Russell

Funk Artist

Alice Russell is a British soul singer. She is the daughter of an organist, and grew up in Framlingham, Suffolk. At the age of nine, following in her father and sisters' musical footsteps, Russell began taking lessons on the cello, and sang in choirs, before attending studying art and music in Brighton from 1994. As well as the classical influences of her father, and formal music lessons, Russell began finding influence in Gospel music and soul artists such as Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin from an early age which played a big part in the shaping of her style. Artists including Minnie Ripperton, Eva Cassidy, Chaka Khan and Jill Scott are listed by Alice Russell as influences.

Thomas Mayne Reid

Novelist

Thomas Mayne Reid, was a Scots-Irish American novelist. "Captain" Reid wrote many adventure novels akin to those written by Frederick Marryat and Robert Louis Stevenson. He was a great admirer of Lord Byron. These novels contain action that takes place primarily in untamed settings: the American West, Mexico, South Africa, the Himalayas, and Jamaica.

Andrew Liles

Musical Artist

Andrew Liles is a sound artist and multi-instrumentalist. He has a vast output of recordings that he has released since the mid-1980s, covering a variety of styles as experimental music, dark ambient music, progressive rock and even hints at hard rock. Along with his solo work he has worked with many international artists including Bass Communion, Steven Stapleton, Darren Tate, The Hafler Trio, Mr Blobby, Karl Blake, Faust, Unsong, Nurse With Wound, Daniel Menche, Band of Pain, Lord Bath, Sion Orgon, Andrew King, Nick Mott, Current 93, Paul Bradley, Aaron Moore, Nigel Ayers, Irr. App, Jonathan Coleclough, Tony Wakeford, Frans De Waard, Freek Kinkelaar, Danielle Dax, Rose McDowall, Edward Ka-spel, Kommissar Hjuler & Mama Baer, vidnaObmana, ruse and Ernesto Tomasini.

Rick Edwards

Presenter

Rick Edwards is a British television presenter who works mainly for Channel 4 and E4. Edwards presented T4 for four years, and has also presented Tool Academy, Freshly Squeezed, E4 Music, That Paralympic Show, and much of Channel 4's 2012 Paralympics coverage. He also presents a monthly Freespeach for BBC Three.

Gina Beck

Actor

Gina Beck is an English actress and singer known primarily for playing major roles in leading West End theatre productions. She is currently appearing as Glinda the Good Witch in Wicked, at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, and has previously starred as Christine Daaé in Cameron Mackintosh's production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, for which she was nominated for a Theatre Fans Choice Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, 2010.

Russell Shaw

Composer

Russell Shaw is a BAFTA nominated British composer and sound designer. He is known for his work in many video games, particularly those designed by Peter Molyneux.

Julian Gollop

Video Game Designer

Julian Gollop is a British designer of strategy games and strategy video games, and the founder of now-defunct game studios Mythos Games and Codo Technologies. Gollop has designed many video games for numerous systems since the early 1980s. His most popular work to date is the X-COM series of science fiction games, in particular the first and third games in the series, on which he was working together with his brother Nick for MicroProse. In 2009, IGN ranked Julian Gollop and his brother Nick at 66th place among the top video game creators of all time. 2012's video game XCOM: Enemy Unknown by Firaxis Games pays homage to them in the form of "the Gollop Chamber" facility in the XCOM base. As of 2012, he is living in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Pete Bellotte

Songwriter

Peter John Bellotte is a British songwriter and record producer, most famous for his main body of work with Donna Summer alongside his partner Giorgio Moroder. Among his list of artists produced and written for are Janet Jackson, Elton John, Cliff Richard, Shalamar, Tina Turner, Mireille Mathieu, The Three Degrees and Melba Moore. His greatest success is "Hot Stuff", which has been covered by numerous artists. This also applies to "I Feel Love" and "Love to Love You Baby". On 20 September 2004 Bellotte was honoured at the Dance Music Hall of Fame ceremony, held in New York, where he was inducted for his many outstanding achievements and contributions as producer and songwriter.

Marcus Gilbert

Actor

Marcus Gilbert is a British actor, known for his roles in Jilly Cooper's Riders and Army of Darkness. Since 1984 he has appeared in films, including A Hazard of Hearts, A Ghost in Monte Carlo, Biggles, Rambo III and Legacy, and on television and in commercials. He has also worked in the theatre, including playing the young Viscount Goring in Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband with the Middle Ground Theatre Company on their national tour in 2000. In 2006, Gilbert starred as Jordan Power in the world premiere of Starry Starry Night, at The Mill at Sonning. After training at the Mountview Theatre School, Gilbert became a founder member of the original Odyssey Theatre Company touring London schools with productions of contemporary classics. This was followed by seasons at the Dundee Repertory Theatre and the Library Theatre, Manchester. He has made over 50 commercials including one for Lee Jeans called Mean Jeans, directed by Willi Patterson, which won the best cinema commercial award in 1986. Gilbert also runs his own film production company, Touch The Sky Productions, and while making a documentary about his climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in 2004 he visited the Arusha Children's Trust in Tanzania and filmed an appeal for the trust.

Aubrey Herbert

Politician

Aubrey Nigel Henry Molyneux Herbert was a British diplomat, traveller and intelligence officer associated with Albanian independence. Twice he was offered the throne of Albania. From 1911 until his death he was a Conservative Member of Parliament.

Stephen Mear

Dancer

Stephen Mear is an English dancer and choreographer best known for his award-winning work in musical theatre. In 2005, Mear and co-choreographer Matthew Bourne won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Choreography, for their work on the new West End musical Mary Poppins. This production later transferred to Broadway in 2006, being nominated for the Tony Award for Best Choreography in 2007. Most recently, Mear choreographed the new Broadway musical of Disney's The Little Mermaid. In recognition of his achievements, in 2007 Mear was the recipient of a Carl Alan Award, an award voted for by leading dance organisations in the United Kingdom. In 2010, Stephen Mear won a Laurence Olivier Award for best Theatre Choreographer for his work on Hello Dolly at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park, he was also a choreographer for So You Think You Can Dance, in the category broadway. His partner is dance teacher Mark Smith, who is deaf. Mear was co-choreographer for Mary Poppins, created the entire "sign language" combination/idea for the show's hit musical number Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, because of the knowledge of sign language he had.

Jane Glover

Conductor

Jane Glover CBE is a British-born conductor and music scholar.

Laura Rees

Actor

Laura Rees is a British actress from Northampton. In 2003, she played the role of Gina the record executive in Richard Curtis' blockbuster romantic comedy Love Actually. Other film work includes the short The Dentist, directed by Stephen Frears and Pierre Tatarka. She has also appeared on television in Holby City, Where the Heart Is, Murder in Mind, and as Morgana in Young Arthur. In 2004 she starred in the Doctor Who audio series Dalek Empire III. Her stage credits include Lavinia in Titus Andronicus and Luciana in The Comedy of Errors at Shakespeare's Globe. In 2004, she played Ophelia in Hamlet, directed by Yukio Ninagawa. In 2003, she appeared in Brand for the Royal Shakespeare Company, directed by Adrian Noble. Masterpiece Mystery - Inspector Lewis - Series 2 Episode 4 - she played Beatrice Donnelly. Her radio credits include the lead role in a two-part adaptation of Ruth, by Elizabeth Gaskell, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2009. Other BBC radio appearances include adaptations of Josephine Tey's The Franchise Affair, Sei Shōnagon's The Pillow Book, Paul Gallico's The Lonely, Euripides' Helen, and Edward Bulwer-Lytton's Money.

Chris Olley

Guitarist

Chris Olley is a Nottingham based musician and photographer. He was the lead singer and guitarist for Six By Seven and also the band's main creative influence. He studied art at Wakefield College and gained a BA in Photography at Nottingham Trent University. It was at his time at University that Olley met Sam Hempton and together they formed six.byseven. Olley and Chris Davis were the only constant members in the different line-ups of Six By Seven over the years. Although born in England, Olley spent much of his early years in Germany, a fact alluded to on Six By Seven's first single "European Me". Consequently, some Six By Seven releases have featured tracks sung entirely in German, most notably the B-Side "Helden", a cover of David Bowie's song "Heroes". Olley also released music as part of his Twelve project during his time with six.byseven and after. In 2006 and 2008, Olley toured with Julian Cope as merch man and roadie. Chris Olley at this time also recorded much of the album 'You Got A problem With Me' and is also credited with playing synthesizer on the album. Olley also recorded the album 'The Black Sheep' as well as contributing backing vocals and guitar. During this time Olley also edited and mastered Brain Donor as well as co writing and recording and providing German translations for the album "Vernichte Die Gotter" by a fictional Dutch duo named Kabalist. Olley appeared under the name Hugo De Klay and Julian Cope played synth and did vocals under his alias Ron Boots. Olley also played Wurlitzer and Hammond organ in Julian Copes band at the ATP show in Minehead 2007.

Derek Minter

Man

Derek Minter was a British former Grand Prix motorcycle and short-circuit road racer. A versatile rider, he rode a variety of machinery between 1955 and 1967 at increasing levels of expertise and in varying capacities and classes. His best season was in 1958 when he finished the year in fifth place in the 500cc world championship. In 1960, Minter won the North West 200 race in Northern Ireland. In 1962, he won the Isle of Man 250cc Lightweight TT

Clare Foster

Theatre Actor

Clare Foster is a British actress who trained at Masters Performing Arts College. She has played numerous roles both on and off the West End, and has also been seen as a regular, PC Millie Brown in the ITV series The Bill. Foster recently appeared in the 2011 London revival production of Crazy for You, which played at the Novello Theatre. She appeared in the Les Misérables film.

Beans Balawi

Singer

Beans Balawi is an English actor and chorister. He began acting in 2004 with roles in Seed of Chucky and The Happiness Thief, Half Light and 28 Weeks Later. In 2008, Beans played Michael Banks in the Cameron Mackintosh's production of Mary Poppins for one year in the west end. Recently Beans has played roles as Jamie Keenan in Holby Blue and as Freddy Macey in Lark Rise to Candleford. He attended Westminster Abbey Choir School singing in the Westminster Abbey Choir. He then attended Charterhouse School completing his IGCSE's there.

Miles of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford

Noble person

Miles FitzWalter of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Brecknock was High Sheriff of Gloucester and Constable of England.

Paul Ryder

Bassist

Paul Ryder is the bass player and a founding member of the Manchester band Happy Mondays.

Julian Mendelsohn

Record producer

Julian Mendelsohn is an Australian record producer, audio engineer and mixer. Records on which he has worked have appeared in the British top ten charts. He is best known for producing the work of the Pet Shop Boys, and has also produced music for musicians including Elton John, Jimmy Page, Bob Marley and Paul McCartney. Mendelsohn was named Producer of the Year at the 1988 British Phonographic Industry awards. He currently resides in Melbourne, Australia, where he operates MoreNoiz Audio Production.

Russell Brand

Celebrity

Russell Edward Brand is an English comedian, actor, radio host, and author. In 2004, Brand achieved notoriety as the host of Big Brother's Big Mouth, a Big Brother spin-off. In 2007, he had his first major film role in St Trinian's. In 2008, he had a major role in Forgetting Sarah Marshall; the film led to a starring role in Get Him to the Greek in 2010. He also worked as a voice actor in the animated films Despicable Me in 2010, Hop in 2011, and Despicable Me 2 in 2013. He was cast in the lead role for the film Arthur in 2011. Brand has received significant media coverage for controversies such as his dismissal from MTV, his controversial behaviour as a presenter at various award ceremonies, and his drug use. In 2008, he resigned from the BBC following prank calls he made to actor Andrew Sachs on The Russell Brand Show. He has incorporated his notorious drug use, alcoholism, and promiscuity into his comedic material.

Morrissey

Alternative rock Artist

Steven Patrick Morrissey, commonly known by his last name, Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career, making the top ten of the UK Singles Chart on ten occasions. His first solo album, 1988's Viva Hate, entered the UK albums chart at number one. He is widely regarded as an important innovator in the indie music scene; music magazine NME considers Morrissey to be "one of the most influential artists ever," while The Independent says "most pop stars have to be dead before they reach the iconic status he has reached in his lifetime." In 2004, Pitchfork Media called him "one of the most singular figures in Western popular culture from the last twenty years." Morrissey's lyrics have been described as "dramatic, bleak, funny vignettes about doomed relationships, lonely nightclubs, the burden of the past and the prison of the home." He is also noted for his unusual baritone vocal style, his quiff haircut and his dynamic live performances. Media controversies have been caused by his forthright and often contrarian opinions, and he has also attracted media attention for his advocacy of vegetarianism and animal rights.

Gordon Ramsay

Chef

Gordon James Ramsay, OBE is a Scottish celebrity chef, restaurateur and television personality. His restaurants have been awarded 15 Michelin stars in total and currently holds 12. Ramsay's signature restaurant, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in Chelsea, London has held 3 Michelin stars since 2001. Ramsay is known for presenting TV programmes about competitive cookery and food, such as the British series Hell's Kitchen, The F Word, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares along with the American versions of Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares and MasterChef. He has a personal net worth of £40 million.

Keith Richards

Blues Artist

Keith Richards is an English musician, singer, songwriter and founding member of the English rock band the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine credited Richards for "rock's greatest single body of riffs" on guitar and ranked him tenth on its list of 100 best guitarists. Fourteen songs Richards wrote with the Rolling Stones' lead vocalist Mick Jagger are listed among Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Hugh Laurie

Actor

James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE, known as Hugh Laurie, is an English actor, comedian, writer, musician, and director. He first became known as one half of the Fry and Laurie double act, along with his friend and comedy partner Stephen Fry, whom he joined in the cast of A Bit of Fry & Laurie, Blackadder, and Jeeves and Wooster from 1985 to 1999. From 2004 to 2012, he played Dr. Gregory House, the protagonist of House, for which he received two Golden Globe awards, two Screen Actors Guild awards and six Emmy nominations. He has been listed in the 2011 Guinness Book of World Records as the most watched leading man on television and is one of the highest-paid actors in a television drama, earning £250,000 per episode in House.

Roald Dahl

Novelist

Roald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, poet, fighter pilot and screenwriter. Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during World War II, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence officer, rising to the rank of wing commander. Dahl rose to prominence in the 1940s, with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's best-selling authors. He has been referred to as "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century". In 2008 The Times placed Dahl 16th on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945". His short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children's books for their unsentimental, often very dark, humour. His works include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The Witches, Fantastic Mr Fox, The Twits, George's Marvellous Medicine and The BFG.

Patrick Stewart

Actor

Sir Patrick Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career on stage and screen. He is most widely known for his roles as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and its successor films and as Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men film series. In 1993, TV Guide named him the best dramatic television actor of the 1980s, and television's sexiest man in the previous year.

George III of the United Kingdom

Monarch

George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. He was concurrently Duke and prince-elector of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire until his promotion to King of Hanover on 12 October 1814. He was the third British monarch of the House of Hanover, but unlike his two Hanoverian predecessors he was born in Britain, spoke English as his first language, and never visited Hanover. His life and reign, which were longer than those of any previous British monarch, were marked by a series of military conflicts involving his kingdoms, much of the rest of Europe, and places farther afield in Africa, the Americas and Asia. Early in his reign, Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years' War, becoming the dominant European power in North America and India. However, many of its American colonies were soon lost in the American Revolutionary War. Further wars against revolutionary and Napoleonic France from 1793 concluded in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Julia Gillard

Politician

Julia Eileen Gillard is the former Prime Minister of Australia and Leader of the Labor Party from 2010 to 2013. She was the first woman to hold either position. Gillard was born in Barry, Wales, and migrated with her family to Adelaide, South Australia, in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982, she moved to Melbourne, Victoria. She graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws in 1986. In 1987, Gillard joined the law firm Slater & Gordon, specialising in industrial law, before entering politics. Gillard was first elected to the House of Representatives at the 1998 federal election for the seat of Lalor, Victoria. Following the 2001 federal election, she was elected to the Shadow Cabinet and was given the portfolio of Population and Immigration. In 2003, she took on responsibility for both Reconciliation and Indigenous Affairs and Health. In December 2006, when Kevin Rudd was elected as Labor Leader and became Leader of the Opposition, Gillard was elected unopposed as his deputy. Gillard became the first female Deputy Prime Minister of Australia upon Labor's victory in the 2007 federal election, also serving as Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and Minister for Social Inclusion. On 24 June 2010, after Rudd lost the support of his party and resigned, Gillard was elected unopposed as the Leader of the Labor Party, thus becoming the 27th Prime Minister of Australia. The subsequent 2010 federal election saw the first hung parliament since the 1940 federal election. Gillard was able to form a minority government with the support of a Green MP and three independent MPs. On 26 June 2013, after a leadership spill, Gillard lost the leadership of the Labor Party to Kevin Rudd. Her resignation as Prime Minister took effect the following day.

Helena Bonham Carter

Actor

Helena Bonham Carter, CBE is an English actress. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane. She is known for her roles in films such as A Room with a View, Fight Club, The King's Speech, and playing the villainess Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter series, as well as for frequently collaborating with her domestic partner, director Tim Burton, in films such as Planet of the Apes, Big Fish, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Alice in Wonderland, and Dark Shadows. In 2012, she played Miss Havisham in Great Expectations, and Madame Thénardier in Les Misérables. A two-time Academy Award nominee for her performances in The Wings of the Dove and The King's Speech, Bonham Carter's acting has been further recognised with six Golden Globe nominations, an International Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2012 New Year honours list for services to drama, and received the honour from the Queen at Buckingham Palace on 22 February 2012.

Christopher Lee

Actor

Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ, is an English actor and singer. Lee initially portrayed villains and became best known for his role as Count Dracula in a string of popular Hammer Horror films. Other notable roles include Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun, Saruman in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and The Hobbit film trilogy, and Count Dooku in the final two films of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. He was knighted for services to drama and charity in 2009, received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011 and will receive the BFI Fellowship in 2013. Lee considers his best performance to be that of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the biopic Jinnah, and his best film to be the British horror film The Wicker Man. Always noted as an actor for his deep, strong voice, he has, more recently, also taken to using his singing ability, recording various opera and musical pieces between 1986 and 1998 and the symphonic metal album Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross in 2010 after having worked with several metal bands since 2005. The heavy metal follow-up titled Charlemagne: The Omens of Death was released on 27 May 2013. He was honoured with the "Spirit of Metal" award in the 2010 Metal Hammer Golden God awards ceremony.

Terry Pratchett

Novelist

Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for the Discworld series of about 40 volumes. Pratchett's first novel, The Carpet People, was published in 1971, and since his first Discworld novel was published in 1983, he has written two books a year on average. His latest Discworld book, Snuff, was at the time of its release the third-fastest-selling hardback adult-audience novel since records began in the United Kingdom, selling 55,000 copies in the first three days. Pratchett was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s, and has sold over 85 million books worldwide in 37 languages. He is currently the second most-read writer in the UK, and seventh most-read non-US author in the US. Pratchett was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1998 and was knighted for services to literature in the 2009 New Year Honours. In 2001 he won the annual Carnegie Medal for The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, the first Discworld book marketed for children. In December 2007, Pratchett announced that he was suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Subsequently he made a substantial public donation to the Alzheimer's Research Trust, and filmed a programme chronicling his experiences with the disease for the BBC.

George Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron

Poet

George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, later George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron, FRS, commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was an English poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement. Among Byron's best-known works are the lengthy narrative poems Don Juan and Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and the short lyric "She Walks in Beauty." He is regarded as one of the greatest British poets and remains widely read and influential. He travelled to fight against the Ottoman Empire in the Greek War of Independence, for which Greeks revere him as a national hero. He died at age 36 from a fever contracted while in Missolonghi in Greece. Often described as the most flamboyant and notorious of the major Romantics, Byron was celebrated in life for aristocratic excesses, including huge debts, numerous love affairs, rumours of a scandalous incestuous liaison with his half-sister, and self-imposed exile.

Ewan McGregor

Actor

Ewan Gordon McGregor OBE is a Scottish actor who has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. He is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting, Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, poet Christian in the musical film Moulin Rouge!, and storyteller Edward Bloom in Tim Burton's Big Fish. He has also received critical acclaim for his starring roles in theatre productions of Guys and Dolls and Othello. McGregor was ranked No. 36 on Empire magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list in 1997.

Phillip Barker

Production Designer

Phillip Barker is a Canadian film director, production designer, installation artist and screenwriter. He received a Directors Guild of Canada Award for Outstanding Achievement in Production Design for Atom Egoyan's Where the Truth Lies. He has been the production designer for films by directors such as Brian De Palma, Mira Nair, Atom Egoyan, Lisa Cholodenko and Neil LaBute. His film-based installations have toured internationally and include commissions by ARCO International Art Fair in Madrid, The City of Amsterdam Arts Foundation, and Expo ‘92 in Sevilla, Spain. His own films have been widely shown internationally and have won numerous awards. His film Soul Cages won Best Canadian Short Film at The Atlantic Film Festival, Best Short Film at Local Heroes Film Festival, Best Cinematography in a Short Film from The Canadian Society of Cinematographers and received a Genie Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film. Phillip's short film A Temporary Arrangement won Best Experimental Film Award at both the Melbourne International Film Festival and the Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival. Cinematheque Ontario presented a retrospective of the films and installations of Phillip Barker at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

Justin Welch

Drummer

Joan Vickers, Baroness Vickers

Politician

Joan Helen Vickers, Baroness Vickers, DBE was a British National Liberal and Conservative Party politician. Vickers was educated at St Monica's, Burgh Heath, Surrey, and in Paris. She served with the Red Cross in South East Asia and was area welfare officer of the Social Welfare Department in Malaya. She was later chairman of the Anglo-Indonesian Society. She served as a London County Councillor 1937–45 and was UK delegate to the Status of Women Commission of the United Nations. Vickers unsuccessfully contested South Poplar at the 1945 general election and was elected Member of Parliament for Plymouth Devonport at the 1955 general election, defeating Michael Foot. She sat until the February 1974 general election when she was defeated by Labour's Dr David Owen. She was created a life peer, as Baroness Vickers, of Devonport in the County of Devon on 27 January 1975.

David Semple

Physician

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir David Semple MD was a British Army officer who founded the Pasteur Institute at Kasauli in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The institute later came to be known as the Central Research Institute. In 1911 he developed a nerve-tissue based rabies vaccine from the brains of sheep first made rabid and then killed. The `Semple' vaccine however is known to have side-effects such as paralysis with high risk of other diseases, being just a crude form of churned brain-tissue. It needs administration around the stomach in a series of very painful injections administered over a period of seven to 14 days, a course that many do not complete. Moreover, it is not reliable and the World Health Organization has been advocating its total disuse since 1993. He was given a knighthood in 1911, and is buried in Hanwell Cemetery.

Rowland Baring, 3rd Earl of Cromer

Noble person

Lieutenant-Colonel Rowland Stanley Baring, 3rd Earl of Cromer, KG GCMG MBE PC, styled Viscount Errington before 1953, was a British banker and diplomat. After serving during World War II, he was Governor of the Bank of England and British Ambassador to the United States.

Brian Dee

Musical Artist

Brian Dee is a UK-based jazz pianist. Since leading his own trio featuring Allan Ganley and Lennie Bush in 1957, appearing at the opening of Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in 1959, and co-leading The Jazz Five with saxophonists Vic Ash and Harry Klein, Dee has led his own trios and quartets, often backing singers. He has recorded with Bing Crosby, Johnny Mercer, Peggy Lee and Fred Astaire and Elaine Delmar. As a session musician, he appeared on the early Elton John's albums Elton John, Tumbleweed Connection and Madman Across the Water. Other musicians he has played and recorded with include Peter King, Jim Mullen, Dick Morrissey, Trummy Young, Clark Tracey, Allan Ganley, Alan Barnes, Len Skeat, Bobby Orr, Charly Antolini, and Alec Dankworth.

Kevin King Templeton

Film Producer

Kevin King Templeton is a film producer.

Matthew Best

Singer

Simon Harrison

Actor

Simon Harrison is an actor.

Martin Dew

Actor

Martin Dew is an actor.

Paul Docherty

Film Editor