100 Greatest Britons


100 Greatest Britons is a television series that was broadcast by the BBC in 2002. It was based on a television poll conducted to determine who the British people at that time considered the greatest Britons in history. The series included individual programmes featuring the top ten, with viewers having further opportunity to vote after each programme. It concluded with a debate and final determination of the ranking of the top ten. Although many living people were included among the top 100, all of the top ten were deceased.

Poll

The poll resulted in nominees including Guy Fawkes, who was executed because of his role in the plot to blow up the Parliament of England; Oliver Cromwell, who created a republican England; Richard III, suspected of murdering his nephews; James Connolly, an Irish nationalist and socialist who was executed by the Crown, for his part in the 1916 Easter Rising; and a surprisingly high ranking of 17th for actor and singer Michael Crawford. Diana, Princess of Wales was judged to be a greater historical figure than Isaac Newton, William Shakespeare, and Charles Darwin by BBC respondents to the survey. Michael Crawford was judged to be the greatest living British person.
One of the more controversial figures to be included on the list was the occultist Aleister Crowley. His works had a direct influence on the rise in popular occultism and some forms of neopaganism in the 20th century. In addition to the Britons, some notable non-British entrants were listed, including two Irish nationals, the philanthropic musicians Bono and Bob Geldof. The top 19 entries were people of English origin. The highest-placed Scottish entry was Alexander Fleming in 20th place, and the highest Welsh entry was Owain Glyndŵr in 23rd place. Sixty had lived in the 20th century. The highest-ranked living person was Margaret Thatcher, placed 16th. Ringo Starr was the only member of The Beatles not on the list. Isambard Kingdom Brunel occupied the top spot in the polls for some time thanks largely to "students from Brunel University who have been campaigning vigorously for the engineer for weeks." However, a late surge in the final week of voting put Churchill over the top. Of the top 100, 13 were women.

Reaction of Black Britons

There were no black Britons voted on the list, prompting consternation from members of the Black British community that their contribution and history in the United Kingdom was not being sufficiently recognized. A separate three-month survey was conducted among the public, resulting in the publication of 100 Great Black Britons, a list of the 100 greatest Black Britons as judged by the British public. In 2004, two years after the 100 Greatest Britons list was voted on, social campaigner Patrick Vernon created a similar poll exclusively voted upon by members of the Black British community, with Mary Seacole being named the greatest Black Briton for her actions during the Crimean War with Russia.

2012 Summer Olympics

The opening and closing ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics featured the two greatest Britons, Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Winston Churchill as main characters, played by Kenneth Branagh and Timothy Spall, each of them reading a monologue from William Shakespeare's The Tempest. The ceremony also included a personal appearance by Tim Berners-Lee, who was placed 99th on the list.

Top 10

Full list

  1. Sir Winston Churchill
  2. Isambard Kingdom Brunel
  3. Diana, Princess of Wales
  4. Charles Darwin
  5. William Shakespeare
  6. Sir Isaac Newton
  7. Elizabeth I
  8. John Lennon
  9. Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
  10. Oliver Cromwell
  11. Sir Ernest Shackleton, explorer. Made important contributions to the exploration of Antarctica.
  12. Captain James Cook, explorer. Made maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.
  13. Robert Baden-Powell, soldier and activist. Founder of Scouting.
  14. Alfred the Great, king of Wessex. Successfully stopped the Viking advance in England, encouraged education, proposing that primary education be taught in English, and improved his kingdom's legal system, military structure and people's quality of life.
  15. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, general during the Napoleonic Wars and Prime Minister.
  16. Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister. First woman to have held the office.
  17. Michael Crawford, TV, film and theatre actor.
  18. Queen Victoria, queen. Her reign is known as the Victorian era.
  19. Sir Paul McCartney, musician.
  20. Sir Alexander Fleming, physician and chemist. Discovered penicillin. Received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945.
  21. Alan Turing, mathematician and pioneering computer scientist. Invented the Turing Test and devised cryptanalytical techniques, including those which cracked the Enigma machine.
  22. Michael Faraday, physicist. Discovered electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism and electrolysis.
  23. Owain Glyndŵr, Welsh ruler, the last native "prince of Wales"
  24. Elizabeth II, queen.
  25. Stephen Hawking, astrophysicist. Achieved groundbreaking work in the field of quantum gravity and theoretical cosmology. Author of A Brief History of Time.
  26. William Tyndale, scholar. Translated the Bible into English.
  27. Emmeline Pankhurst, activist for women's rights. Helped achieve women's right to vote in the United Kingdom.
  28. William Wilberforce, politician and activist. Led the anti-slavery movement.
  29. David Bowie, musician
  30. Guy Fawkes, member of the Catholic Gunpowder Plot. Tried but failed to blow up the English Parliament. The event is the origin of the annual Bonfire Night.
  31. Leonard Cheshire, military pilot and philanthropist.
  32. Eric Morecambe, comedian and actor.
  33. David Beckham, association football player.
  34. Thomas Paine, philosopher.
  35. Boudica, Celtic queen of the Iceni. Led resistance against the Roman army.
  36. Sir Steve Redgrave, rower. Won gold medals at five consecutive Olympic Games.
  37. Sir Thomas More, author and philosopher.
  38. William Blake, poet and painter.
  39. John Harrison, inventor of the marine chronometer.
  40. Henry VIII, king.
  41. Charles Dickens, novelist.
  42. Sir Frank Whittle, engineer and inventor. Invented the turbojet engine.
  43. John Peel, radio presenter.
  44. John Logie Baird, engineer and inventor. Invented the television.
  45. Aneurin Bevan, politician. Minister of Health. Spearheaded the establishment of the National Health Service, providing medical care to all UK citizens regardless of wealth.
  46. Boy George, androgynous pop singer.
  47. Sir Douglas Bader, military aviator.
  48. Sir William Wallace, knight and resistance leader during the Wars of Scottish Independence.
  49. Sir Francis Drake, explorer and captain. Helped defeat the Spanish Armada under Lord Howard.
  50. John Wesley, religious activist. Founder of Methodism.
  51. King Arthur, mythical king.
  52. Florence Nightingale, humanitarian activist and founder of modern nursing. Nursed wounded soldiers during the Crimean War.
  53. T. E. Lawrence, better known as "Lawrence of Arabia", soldier and author of Seven Pillars of Wisdom.
  54. Robert Falcon Scott, explorer. Failed to reach the South Pole before Roald Amundsen and died on the way back. Became a national hero to the British because of his perseverance.
  55. Enoch Powell, politician, linguist, soldier, philologist and poet.
  56. Sir Cliff Richard, pop singer.
  57. Alexander Graham Bell, inventor. Invented the telephone.
  58. Freddie Mercury, rock singer Born in Zanzibar of Indian Parsi descent.
  59. Dame Julie Andrews, film actress.
  60. Sir Edward Elgar, composer.
  61. Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, queen during WWII.
  62. George Harrison, rock guitarist.
  63. Sir David Attenborough, biologist and TV documentary presenter.
  64. James Connolly, activist, politician and Marxist insurgent leader.
  65. George Stephenson, civil engineer. "Father of the Railways". Invented the first practical steam locomotive and built the first public railway.
  66. Sir Charlie Chaplin, comedian, actor and film director
  67. Tony Blair, Prime Minister.
  68. William Caxton, printer. Introduced the printing press in England.
  69. Bobby Moore, association football player. Captain of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup
  70. Jane Austen, novelist.
  71. William Booth, humanitarian activist. Founder of the Salvation Army.
  72. Henry V, king. Against all odds defeated the French at the Battle of Agincourt.
  73. Aleister Crowley, poet, novelist and occultist. Founded religion Thelema.
  74. Robert the Bruce, king of the Scots.
  75. Bob Geldof, pop singer and humanitarian activist. Born in Dún Laoghaire and not actually British.
  76. The Unknown Warrior, soldier whose remains are buried at Westminster Abbey.
  77. Robbie Williams, pop singer.
  78. Edward Jenner, physician. Inventor of the smallpox vaccine.
  79. David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor, Prime Minister.
  80. Charles Babbage, mathematician, philosopher, mechanical engineer and inventor. Invented the first programmable mechanical computer.
  81. Geoffrey Chaucer, poet.
  82. Richard III, king.
  83. J. K. Rowling, novelist.
  84. James Watt, inventor. Improved the steam engine, making it economical for use in factories, which was fundamental to the Industrial Revolution which originated in Great Britain
  85. Sir Richard Branson, businessman.
  86. Bono, rock singer. Born in Dublin, Ireland, and is not British.
  87. John Lydon, rock/punk singer
  88. Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, WWII general.
  89. Donald Campbell, speed record breaker. Only person to set both world land and water speed records in the same year.
  90. Henry II, king. Born in Le Mans, France. Although King of England, not actually British.
  91. James Clerk Maxwell, physicist. Developed the theory of electromagnetic radiation.
  92. J. R. R. Tolkien, novelist.
  93. Sir Walter Raleigh, Explorer. Explored in Central America and sent expeditions to North America.
  94. Edward I, king. The "Hammer of the Scots". Edward turned the longbow into England's most deadly weapon against the Scottish and French with devastating results, most notably at the Battle of Falkirk.
  95. Sir Barnes Wallis, engineer and inventor. Invented the bouncing bomb, earthquake bomb and geodetic airframe.
  96. Richard Burton, theatre and film actor.
  97. Tony Benn, politician, and diarist.
  98. David Livingstone, explorer. Discovered the origins of the Nile.
  99. Sir Tim Berners-Lee, computer scientist. Inventor of the World Wide Web.
  100. Marie Stopes, eugenicist and campaigner for women's rights. Pioneer in the field of birth control.
Although the BBC's original ranked list has been removed from their web server and what remains is only an alphabetical list of the Top 100, several other sources have preserved the original ranked list.
There was some question as to whether the Richard Burton listed at No. 96 was the actor or the explorer. A BBC press release makes clear that the actor was intended.