London
London ranks 3rd in number of biographies on Pantheon, behind New York City, and Paris. Memorable people born in London include John Major, David Ricardo, and Charles Babbage. Memorable people who died in London include Karl Marx, Jack the Ripper, and Friedrich Engels. London has been the birth place of many actors, and writers and the death place of many writers, and politicians. London is located in United Kingdom.
London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of 8,866,180 in 2022. The wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Thames in southeast England, at the head of a 50-mile (80 km) estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for nearly 2,000 years. Its ancient core and financial centre, the City of London, was founded by the Romans as Londinium and has retained its medieval boundaries. The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has been the centuries-long host of the national government and parliament. London grew rapidly in the 19th century, becoming the world's largest city at the time. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has referred to the metropolis around the City of London, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which since 1965 has largely comprised the administrative area of Greater London, governed by 33 local authorities and the Greater London Authority. Read more on Wikipedia
People
Between 0 and 2008, London was the birth place of 937 globally memorable people, including John Major, David Ricardo, and Charles Babbage. Additionaly, 999 globally memorable people have passed away in London including Karl Marx, Jack the Ripper, and Friedrich Engels. Interestingly, more notably known people have passed away in London than were born there.
People Born in London
Go to all RankingsJohn Major
POLITICIAN
1943 - Present
HPI: 79.85
Rank: 1
David Ricardo
ECONOMIST
1772 - 1823
HPI: 79.08
Rank: 2
Charles Babbage
INVENTOR
1791 - 1871
HPI: 78.01
Rank: 3
Alan Rickman
ACTOR
1946 - 2016
HPI: 75.10
Rank: 4
Ada Lovelace
MATHEMATICIAN
1815 - 1852
HPI: 73.60
Rank: 5
Cat Stevens
MUSICIAN
1948 - Present
HPI: 72.66
Rank: 6
Anna Wintour
WRITER
1949 - Present
HPI: 72.49
Rank: 7
Tim Berners-Lee
COMPUTER SCIENTIST
1955 - Present
HPI: 72.27
Rank: 8
Geoffrey Chaucer
WRITER
1343 - 1400
HPI: 71.08
Rank: 9
Arnold J. Toynbee
HISTORIAN
1889 - 1975
HPI: 70.70
Rank: 10
Gary Oldman
ACTOR
1958 - Present
HPI: 68.77
Rank: 11
Anthony Giddens
SOCIOLOGIST
1938 - Present
HPI: 68.71
Rank: 12
Newly Added People Born in London
Go to all RankingsEliza Poe
ACTOR
1787 - 1811
HPI: 55.80
Rank: 147
William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire
POLITICIAN
1748 - 1811
HPI: 53.28
Rank: 206
William, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe
POLITICIAN
1724 - 1777
HPI: 51.63
Rank: 240
Henri Alleg
WRITER
1921 - 2013
HPI: 51.52
Rank: 243
T. H. Marshall
SOCIOLOGIST
1893 - 1981
HPI: 51.33
Rank: 253
Diana Mosley
WRITER
1910 - 2003
HPI: 51.09
Rank: 265
Constance Lloyd
WRITER
1858 - 1898
HPI: 51.01
Rank: 269
Angus Ogilvy
BUSINESSPERSON
1928 - 2004
HPI: 50.35
Rank: 304
Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer
POLITICIAN
1798 - 1857
HPI: 49.94
Rank: 318
Jack Broughton
ATHLETE
1703 - 1789
HPI: 49.55
Rank: 331
William Thoms
WRITER
1803 - 1885
HPI: 49.38
Rank: 334
York Bowen
COMPOSER
1884 - 1961
HPI: 48.65
Rank: 354
People Deceased in London
Go to all RankingsKarl Marx
ECONOMIST
1818 - 1883
HPI: 90.07
Rank: 1
Jack the Ripper
EXTREMIST
1850 - Present
HPI: 83.51
Rank: 2
Friedrich Engels
PHILOSOPHER
1820 - 1895
HPI: 82.77
Rank: 3
Alexander Fleming
BIOLOGIST
1881 - 1955
HPI: 80.93
Rank: 4
Robert Hooke
PHYSICIST
1635 - 1703
HPI: 80.46
Rank: 5
George Orwell
WRITER
1903 - 1950
HPI: 80.00
Rank: 6
Robert Boyle
CHEMIST
1627 - 1691
HPI: 76.92
Rank: 7
Anthony van Dyck
PAINTER
1599 - 1641
HPI: 76.47
Rank: 8
Alan Rickman
ACTOR
1946 - 2016
HPI: 75.10
Rank: 9
Carl Maria von Weber
COMPOSER
1786 - 1826
HPI: 74.94
Rank: 10
Henry Cavendish
PHYSICIST
1731 - 1810
HPI: 74.43
Rank: 11
Ingrid Bergman
ACTOR
1915 - 1982
HPI: 74.29
Rank: 12
Newly Added People Deceased in London
Go to all RankingsHenry, Duke of Cornwall
NOBLEMAN
1511 - Present
HPI: 64.28
Rank: 88
Vera Weizmann
PHYSICIAN
1881 - 1966
HPI: 56.55
Rank: 256
John Ross
EXPLORER
1777 - 1856
HPI: 55.12
Rank: 315
Robert Torrens
ECONOMIST
1780 - 1864
HPI: 53.69
Rank: 365
William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire
POLITICIAN
1748 - 1811
HPI: 53.28
Rank: 388
Thomas Otway
WRITER
1652 - 1685
HPI: 53.13
Rank: 394
Sven-Bertil Taube
ACTOR
1934 - 2022
HPI: 52.16
Rank: 438
Eric Porter
ACTOR
1928 - 1995
HPI: 51.67
Rank: 466
Robert Liston
PHYSICIAN
1794 - 1847
HPI: 51.36
Rank: 484
Fatemeh Pahlavi
POLITICIAN
1928 - 1987
HPI: 51.26
Rank: 487
Arthur Kinnaird, 11th Lord Kinnaird
SOCCER PLAYER
1847 - 1923
HPI: 51.22
Rank: 489
Yevgeny Yevstigneyev
ACTOR
1926 - 1992
HPI: 50.77
Rank: 513
Occupations
Most individuals born in present day London were actors (196), writers (110), politicians (102), musicians (48), and athletes (39), while most who died were writers (166), politicians (113), actors (102), painters (59), and biologists (52).
Occupational Trends
Over the past 100 years, actors have been the top profession of globally memorable people born in London, including Alan Rickman, Gary Oldman, and Tilda Swinton. Whereas, throughout history, actors have been the profession with the most memorable people born in present day London, including Alan Rickman, Gary Oldman, and Tilda Swinton.
Places
Overlapping Lives
Below is a visual represetation of the lifespans of the top 25 globally memorable people born in London since 1700.