The United Kingdom

Blanche of Lancaster (c. 1341–1368) was the daughter of Henry of Grosmont, first Duke of Lancaster, and the wife of John of Gaunt, son of King Edward III of England. Her early death inspired her husband to commission the poem *The Book of the Duchess* from Geoffrey Chaucer.

Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343–1400) is the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages, author of The Canterbury Tales. A diplomat and royal official, he brought the vernacular English language into high literature, leaving a lasting influence on English letters.

King of England from 1199 to 1216, son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He lost most of the Plantagenet continental possessions to Philip Augustus and was forced to sign Magna Carta in 1215.

A fourteenth-century English mystic, Julian of Norwich is the first known woman to write in the English language. Following a divine vision received in 1373, she composed Revelations of Divine Love, a foundational work of medieval Christian spirituality. Living as an anchoress in Norwich, she developed a theology centered on divine love and mercy.

Queen of England through her marriage to Edward III in 1328, Philippa of Hainaut was a respected sovereign, known for her clemency and benevolent influence. She played an important role in the English court and was a patron of the arts and letters.

King of England from 1189 to 1199, Richard the Lionheart was a medieval monarch renowned for his leading role in the Third Crusade (1191–1192). He embodied the chivalric ideal of his era, though he spent very little time in England during his reign.

A legendary hero of English folklore, Robin Hood is an archer and outlaw said to have operated in England during the Middle Ages. An iconic figure of popular resistance, he embodies the ideal of robbing from the rich to give to the poor.

Duke of Normandy, William the Conqueror became King of England after his victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. This event marked one of the most significant conquests of the Middle Ages and profoundly transformed English society.

Agnes Waterhouse was the first woman executed for witchcraft in England, hanged in 1566 in Chelmsford. Her trial, one of the earliest documented witchcraft trials in England, illustrates the rise of persecution driven by fear of black magic during the Tudor period.

Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, Anne Boleyn was the second wife of Henry VIII. Her marriage required England's break with Rome, giving rise to the Church of England. Mother of Elizabeth I, she was accused of adultery and beheaded at the Tower of London.

Daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I reigned over England and Ireland from 1558 to 1603. Her reign, known as the "Elizabethan Era", was marked by the rise of English power and a remarkable cultural flourishing.

Élisabeth Ire (1533-1603) fut reine d'Angleterre et d'Irlande pendant 45 ans. Fille d'Henri VIII et d'Anne Boleyn, elle consolida le protestantisme en Angleterre et porta son royaume à un rayonnement européen exceptionnel. Son règne, dit « ère élisabéthaine », est marqué par la défaite de l'Invincible Armada espagnole et l'essor des arts et des lettres.

English philosopher and statesman (1561–1626), Francis Bacon is the founder of the modern experimental method. Lord Chancellor of England under James I, he championed the idea that science must be based on observation and induction rather than authority.

Francis Drake was an English privateer and navigator of the 16th century, famous for being the second person to circumnavigate the globe by ship (1577–1580). Vice Admiral of the English fleet, he played a decisive role in the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588.

King of England and Ireland from 1509 to 1547, Henry VIII is famous for breaking with the Catholic Church and founding the Church of England in order to annul his marriage. He married six wives and had two of them executed, leaving a lasting mark on England's political and religious history.

Legendary English prophetess and seer of the 16th century, born around 1488 in Knaresborough, Yorkshire. Famous for her prophecies in verse, she became a major folk figure of Tudor England. Her actual historical existence remains uncertain, as legend has far outgrown the facts.

An English statesman and military leader, Oliver Cromwell led the Puritan revolution against Charles I. Commander of the Roundheads, he had the king executed in 1649 and ruled England as Lord Protector until his death in 1658.

Daughter of Chief Powhatan, leader of the Algonquian confederacy of Virginia, Pocahontas (c. 1596–1617) is a central figure in the encounter between the Powhatan peoples and the English settlers of Jamestown. Her story, passed down through colonial written sources and her people's oral tradition, symbolizes both the dialogue and the tensions between two worlds.

An English humanist and statesman, Thomas More served as Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII before opposing the Anglican schism. Author of Utopia (1516), he was executed for refusing to acknowledge the king as Supreme Head of the Church of England.

English explorer, poet, and courtier (1552–1618), a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. He organised several expeditions to North America and searched for El Dorado in South America. Imprisoned and later executed under James I, he remains an iconic figure of English expansion.

English playwright, poet, and actor (1564–1616), Shakespeare is the author of the greatest plays in world literature. He revolutionized theatre by exploring human psychology and creating unforgettable characters who grapple with love, power, and death.

An 18th-century Scottish philosopher and economist, Adam Smith is considered the father of modern political economy. His landmark work, The Wealth of Nations (1776), laid the foundations of economic liberalism and capitalism.

Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1702 to 1707, then first Queen of Great Britain following the Acts of Union of 1707. Her reign saw the rise of parliamentary government and the War of the Spanish Succession.

Aphra Behn (1640-1689) was the first English woman to earn her living by the pen. A prolific playwright, novelist, and spy in the service of Charles II, she defied the conventions of her time by making her mark in the male-dominated literary world.

Queen consort of Great Britain and Ireland (1727–1737), wife of George II. An Enlightenment intellectual, she corresponded with Leibniz and actively supported Newton in the philosophical and scientific dispute between the two men. Regent on several occasions, she wielded major political influence over the British monarchy.

Scottish Enlightenment philosopher (1711-1776), David Hume is one of the foremost thinkers of modern empiricism. He grounded his philosophy in observation and sensory experience, challenging rational certainties and developing a sceptical approach to knowledge.

An English astronomer and scientist of the 17th–18th century, he is famous for calculating the orbit of the comet that bears his name and predicting its return. A friend and patron of Newton, he played an essential role in the publication of the Principia Mathematica.

English novelist, playwright, and diarist (1752-1840), Frances Burney published Evelina anonymously in 1778, an epistolary novel that was an immediate success. A forerunner of Jane Austen, she documented eighteenth-century English society with great perceptiveness in her journals and correspondence.

German-born Baroque composer who became a British subject (1685–1759), Handel is one of the towering figures of 18th-century music. He is celebrated for his Italian operas, oratorios, and concerti grossi. His work *Messiah* (1741) remains one of the masterpieces of Western sacred music.

An English navigator and explorer of the early 17th century, Henry Hudson led four expeditions in search of a Northwest Passage to Asia. He gave his name to Hudson Bay in Canada, before disappearing during a mutiny by his crew in 1611.

English mathematician, physicist and astronomer (1643–1727), Isaac Newton is one of the greatest scientists in history. He revolutionized science by formulating the laws of motion and universal gravitation, and by developing calculus.

British navigator, cartographer and explorer (1728–1779), James Cook led three major expeditions into the Pacific Ocean and greatly advanced the world's geographical knowledge. He explored and mapped New Zealand, Australia, and numerous Pacific archipelagos, becoming one of the defining figures of modern exploration.

British general (1727–1759), James Wolfe is renowned for his decisive victory over the French at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Quebec in 1759. He died in combat on the very day of his victory, becoming a British national hero.

Jane Austen (1775-1817) was a major English novelist of the 19th century, author of romantic and social novels that subtly critique the social conventions of her time. Her work, most notably Pride and Prejudice, explores human relationships and the stakes of marriage with irony and psychological insight.

A self-taught British clockmaker (1693–1776), John Harrison solved one of the greatest scientific challenges of his era: the precise determination of longitude at sea. His marine chronometer H4 (1759) revolutionized navigation and saved countless lives.

A 17th-century English philosopher, John Locke is the founder of modern empiricism and a major thinker of political liberalism. He developed the theory of natural rights (life, liberty, property) and justified the right to revolt against tyrannical power, profoundly influencing democratic revolutions.

British naturalist and botanist (1743–1820), Joseph Banks took part in James Cook's first voyage around the world (1768–1771) aboard the Endeavour. He brought back thousands of previously unknown plant specimens and served as President of the Royal Society for 41 years.

Lord Byron (1788-1824) was the most celebrated British poet of the Romantic era. A scandalous and politically engaged figure, he embodied the "Byronic hero": brooding, rebellious, and passionate. He died in Greece while fighting for Greek independence.

Seventeenth-century English natural philosopher and woman of letters (1623–1673), she developed her own theories on the nature of matter, drawing on atomism while proposing an original vitalist materialism. The first woman to attend a meeting of the Royal Society, in 1667.

Mary Wollstonecraft est une philosophe et écrivaine britannique du XVIIIe siècle, pionnière du féminisme. Son œuvre majeure, Défense des droits de la femme (1792), réclame l'égalité d'éducation et de droits civiques pour les femmes. Elle incarne la pensée des Lumières appliquée à la condition féminine.

A 17th-century English philosopher, Thomas Hobbes is the author of Leviathan (1651), a founding work of modern political philosophy. He develops a social contract theory justifying the absolute authority of the state to guarantee peace and security.

British poet, painter, and engraver (1757-1827), William Blake is one of the towering figures of English Romanticism. A visionary and mystic, he created a strikingly original body of poetic and artistic work, combining text and image in hand-engraved illuminated books.

British mathematician (1815-1852), pioneer of computing and programming. She wrote the first algorithm intended to be executed by a machine, working on Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine. Her legacy makes her a founding figure of theoretical computer science.

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was a British novelist, widely known as the 'Queen of Crime'. The author of 66 detective novels, she created the iconic characters Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Her works are among the best-selling in the history of world literature.

A Scottish-born inventor who became a naturalized American citizen, Alexander Graham Bell is best known for filing the patent for the telephone in 1876. He also conducted research on hearing and communication, particularly to help people who were deaf.

British naturalist and geographer (1823-1913), Wallace independently developed the theory of natural selection alongside Darwin. His explorations in the Amazon and Southeast Asia led him to formulate fundamental laws in biogeography.

British aristocrat (1792–1860), self-taught mathematician and philanthropist, she married the poet Lord Byron in 1815 before separating from him a year later. She went on to dedicate herself to popular education and social reform, and is the mother of Ada Lovelace, pioneer of computing.

British mathematician (1791–1871), Charles Babbage is the pioneer of modern computing. He designed the Analytical Engine, the first programmable machine in history, and the Difference Engine, both conceptual ancestors of the computer.

A 19th-century English naturalist, Charles Darwin revolutionized biology by proposing the theory of evolution by natural selection. His observations during the voyage of the Beagle and his subsequent work laid the foundations of modern biology.

British actor, director and composer (1889-1977), pioneer of silent cinema. Creator of the iconic Tramp character, he shaped film history through his comedic genius and social commentary, most notably in The Great Dictator (1940).

Charlotte Brontë est une romancière britannique du XIXe siècle, auteure de Jane Eyre (1847), chef-d'œuvre de la littérature victorienne. Fille de pasteur dans le Yorkshire, elle publie sous pseudonyme masculin (Currer Bell) pour se faire accepter dans le monde littéraire. Son œuvre explore avec force la condition féminine, l'indépendance et la passion.

British translator and businesswoman (1812–1895), celebrated for her English translation of the Mabinogion, a foundational collection of medieval Welsh myths and legends. She also managed the Dowlais ironworks in Wales, becoming one of the first women to run a major industrial enterprise.

British poet of the nineteenth century and a leading figure of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Author of Goblin Market (1862), a poetry collection blending symbolism and religious fervour. Her work explores love, death, and Christian faith with remarkable lyrical sensitivity.

Physician, Protestant missionary, and Scottish explorer (1813–1873), Livingstone was one of the first Europeans to cross Africa from east to west. He contributed to the geographical knowledge of the continent and actively fought against the slave trade.

19th-century British poet and translator, celebrated for his free translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (1859), which achieved remarkable success across Europe and helped introduce Persian poetry to Western readers.

Son of Queen Victoria, Edward VII reigned over the United Kingdom and the Empire of India from 1901 to 1910. An emblematic figure of the Belle Époque, he played a decisive role in bringing France and Britain closer together through the Entente Cordiale of 1904.

British writer

Emma Goldman (1869-1940) was a Lithuanian-born anarchist and feminist activist who emigrated to the United States. A leading figure in the American labor movement, she championed individual freedom, women's emancipation, and opposed war and capitalism.

British feminist political activist (1858–1928)

British nurse and statistician (1820–1910), she revolutionized hospital care during the Crimean War. A pioneer of public health, she founded the first secular nursing school and used statistics to demonstrate the critical importance of hygiene.

19th-century British mathematician and logician, founder of Boolean algebra. He revolutionized logic by translating it into a mathematical system, laying the foundations of modern computing.

Pen name of Mary Ann Evans (1819–1880), one of the leading Victorian novelists. Author of Middlemarch and The Mill on the Floss, she explores the female condition and social morality with rare philosophical depth.

British geographer and geodesist, George Everest led the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India in the 19th century. He carried out the precise triangulation of the Indian subcontinent — a monumental undertaking that made it possible to accurately measure the Himalayan peaks. Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, was named in his honour in 1865.

British colonial governor and ethnologist, George Grey successively administered South Australia, New Zealand, and the Cape Colony. Passionate about indigenous cultures, he devoted part of his life to collecting and publishing Māori myths and language.

British engineer (1781–1848), George Stephenson is the father of the railway. He built the first efficient steam locomotive for passenger transport and designed the Liverpool-Manchester line, inaugurated in 1830.

Harriet Taylor Mill (1807-1858) est une philosophe et féministe britannique, figure majeure de la pensée libérale du XIXe siècle. Collaboratrice et épouse de John Stuart Mill, elle a profondément influencé ses œuvres, notamment sur la liberté individuelle et l'émancipation des femmes.

British journalist and explorer (1841–1904), famous for finding David Livingstone in central Africa in 1871. He led several major expeditions across Africa and played a significant role in the colonization of the Congo.

British mathematician and engineer (1854-1923), pioneer of electrical engineering. She conducted groundbreaking research on the electric arc and invented several technical devices, becoming the first woman elected as an associate member of the Royal Society.

A nineteenth-century British explorer and writer, Isabella Bird was one of the first women to travel alone in Japan, China, India, Persia, and the American Rockies. She published numerous travel accounts that earned her international recognition and admission to the Royal Geographical Society.

19th-century British engineer, Brunel revolutionized transportation with the Great Western Railway, the Thames Tunnel, and giant steamships. An iconic figure of the Victorian Industrial Revolution.

British painter and engraver (1775-1851), Turner is considered the master of Romantic landscape. A forerunner of Impressionism, he revolutionized the depiction of light, water, and atmosphere.

Scottish physicist and mathematician (1831–1879), Maxwell authored the unifying equations of electromagnetism. His work predicted the existence of electromagnetic waves and inspired Einstein in developing the theory of special relativity.

John Constable (1776-1837) was a major English Romantic landscape painter. He revolutionized landscape painting by observing nature directly and depicting atmospheric effects with great fidelity.

Anglo-Irish novelist and moralist (1768–1849), pioneer of the regional novel and the novel of education. Her works, praised by Walter Scott and Jane Austen, explore morality, the education of women, and Irish society.

Mary Anning est une paléontologue autodidacte anglaise qui, dès l'enfance, collectait des fossiles sur les falaises de Lyme Regis. Elle découvrit les premiers squelettes complets d'ichtyosaure et de plésiosaure, révolutionnant la compréhension des espèces disparues. Malgré ses contributions majeures, elle fut longtemps exclue des cercles scientifiques en raison de son sexe et de sa condition modeste.

British explorer and ethnographer (1862–1900), Mary Kingsley was one of the first European women to travel alone in West Africa. She brought back invaluable observations on the cultures and wildlife of Gabon and the Congo, and championed African societies against colonial prejudice.

Peerage person ID=695563

Scottish mathematician and scientist (1780–1872), a pioneer of science in the 19th century. She popularised the works of Laplace and contributed to celestial mechanics. Together with Caroline Herschel, she was one of the first women to be elected an honorary member of the Royal Astronomical Society.

A self-taught British physicist and chemist (1791–1867), Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction and laid the foundations of modern electrical engineering. His work on electric and magnetic fields inspired Maxwell's theories.

A 19th-century Irish writer, Oscar Wilde is the author of major witty comedies and symbolist novels. An iconic figure of the Aesthetic movement, he left a lasting mark on English literature through his brilliant style, biting irony, and celebrated plays.

Victoria ascended to the British throne at 18 in 1837 and reigned for 63 years, becoming one of the most influential monarchs in history. Her reign coincided with the height of the British Empire and the Industrial Revolution. She gave her name to an entire era: the Victorian age.

British author (1882–1941), Virginia Woolf is one of the most important figures in 20th-century modernist literature. Author of Mrs Dalloway and Orlando, she revolutionized the novel through her use of stream of consciousness and her pioneering reflections on feminism and the condition of women.

Scottish writer and poet (1771–1832), Walter Scott is the father of the modern historical novel. Works such as *Ivanhoe* and *Waverley* popularized the Romantic vision of the Middle Ages across Europe.

Scottish-American astronomer, she joined the Harvard Observatory as a "Harvard Computer." She developed a system for classifying stellar spectra and discovered the Horsehead Nebula in 1888.

British statesman and writer (1874–1965), Winston Churchill is best known for his role as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. As the leader of British resistance against Nazism, he embodied Allied resolve until victory in 1945.

Adele is a British singer-songwriter born in 1988 in London. She broke through to mainstream audiences with her album '19' in 2008, and has since established herself as one of the best-selling artists of the 21st century, known for her powerful voice and introspective lyrics.

British director born in 1944, Alan Parker is the filmmaker behind landmark works such as Midnight Express, Fame, and Pink Floyd – The Wall. A major figure in British cinema, he also worked in advertising before establishing himself in Hollywood.

British mathematician and cryptologist (1912-1954), Alan Turing is the founder of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence. He contributed to the decryption of the Enigma machine during the Second World War and formalized the concepts of computability and algorithm.

Alexander McQueen (1969–2010) was a revolutionary British fashion designer and founder of his eponymous house. Trained on Savile Row and at Central Saint Martins, he is known for his provocative collections blending beauty and darkness.

Alia Bhatt is an Indian actress and singer born on March 15, 1993, in Mumbai. The daughter of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, she has established herself as one of Bollywood's most influential actresses, balancing blockbuster hits with demanding dramatic roles.

British mathematician born in 1953, famous for proving Fermat's Last Theorem in 1994 after seven years of secret work. His proof, published in 1995, solved a problem that had been open for 358 years.

Austrian-British psychoanalyst (1895–1982), daughter of Sigmund Freud. A pioneer of child psychoanalysis, she theorized the ego's defense mechanisms and founded child therapy in London.

British-American jazz singer and actress, a pioneer of vocalese. A member of the trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, she is famous for setting lyrics to instrumental solos, notably her standard “Twisted” (1952).

Audrey Hepburn (1929–1993) was a British actress and model of Belgian origin, an icon of Hollywood cinema in the 1950s and 1960s. She won the Academy Award for Roman Holiday (1953) and became synonymous with elegance and grace on screen. In her later years, she devoted herself to humanitarian work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

British artist born in 1974, Banksy is a graffiti artist and political activist known for his satirical and subversive street art. Operating under the cover of anonymity, he uses urban art to criticize society, war, and social injustices.

British playwright born in 1938, a major figure of feminist and political theatre. Her plays such as “Top Girls” (1982) and “Cloud Nine” (1979) deconstruct gender, capitalism, and power relations. Associated with the Royal Court Theatre in London, she has profoundly renewed contemporary dramatic forms.

British-born American astronomer (1900–1979), she discovered that stars are composed primarily of hydrogen and helium. Her 1925 doctoral thesis revolutionized astrophysics, even though her conclusions were initially rejected by her peers.

A British actress born in 1946, Charlotte Rampling established herself as one of the most distinctive figures in European cinema. Based in France, she collaborated with the greatest directors and embodied a certain idea of rebellious elegance.

British sailor born in 1946, famous for her solo Atlantic crossings in the 1970s. After her sporting career, she became a successful novelist, notably in the thriller and saga genres.

Cleo Laine is a British jazz singer and actress, famous for her deep timbre and an exceptional vocal range of more than three octaves. The lifelong companion of saxophonist and bandleader John Dankworth, she became one of the major figures of 20th-century British vocal jazz.

Princess of Wales (1981–1996), Diana Spencer became a global humanitarian figure through her commitment to banning landmines and supporting people living with AIDS. Her informal diplomatic influence and tragic death in 1997 made her an icon of the 20th century.

Doris Lessing (1919-2013) was a British novelist born in Persia and raised in Southern Rhodesia. A major figure of 20th-century literature, she is best known for The Golden Notebook. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2007.

British chemist (1910-1994)

G. E. M. Anscombe (1919-2001) est l'une des plus grandes philosophes analytiques du XXe siècle. Élève de Wittgenstein, elle forge le terme « conséquentialisme » et révolutionne la philosophie de l'action avec son œuvre majeure *Intention* (1957). Catholique fervente, elle n'hésite pas à s'opposer publiquement à la bombe atomique.

Queen of the United Kingdom from 1952 to 2022, Elizabeth II was the longest-reigning monarch in British history. She embodied the stability of constitutional monarchy through decolonisation, the Cold War, and globalisation.

Elizabeth Taylor (1932–2011) was a British-American actress widely regarded as one of Hollywood's greatest stars. A child prodigy who rose to fame early, she excelled in major roles of classic cinema and became a global symbol of glamour and the Hollywood star system. She was also a pioneering activist in the fight against AIDS from the 1980s onward.

An American civil rights activist, Ella Baker dedicated her life to community organizing and the fight against racial segregation. Co-founder of the SNCC, she shaped a generation of activists by championing collective leadership over individual charisma.

British actress born in 1990, who rose to fame as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series. She became an international feminist activist, notably as a UN Goodwill Ambassador and promoter of the HeForShe campaign.

Anglo-Irish polar explorer (1874–1922), an iconic figure of the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. His Endurance expedition (1914–1916), despite failing to cross Antarctica, is celebrated as a feat of survival and leadership.

A pioneering British composer (1858–1944), Ethel Smyth was the first woman to have an opera performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. A suffragist activist, she composed the suffragette anthem 'The March of the Women' (1911).

British aviator and sailor (1901-1972), a pioneer of solo navigation. In 1966-1967 he completed a solo round-the-world voyage under sail with just one stopover, aboard the Gipsy Moth IV.

British astrophysicist (1915–2001), Fred Hoyle is famous for his work on stellar nucleosynthesis and for ironically coining the term "Big Bang" for the theory he rejected. He championed the steady-state theory of the Universe.

Freya Stark est une exploratrice et écrivaine britannique qui parcourut les régions les plus reculées du Moyen-Orient au XXe siècle. Première femme occidentale à atteindre certaines vallées d'Arabie et d'Iran, elle publia de nombreux récits de voyage alliant érudition et aventure. Son œuvre contribua à faire connaître le monde arabe en Europe.

British explorer, archaeologist, and diplomat (1868–1926), she traveled extensively across the Middle East and played a decisive role in the creation of modern Iraq after the First World War. Nicknamed “the Queen of the Desert,” she was one of the first women to exert major political influence in the region.

British chemist born in 1963, Helen Sharman became in 1991 the first British person and the first Western woman to travel to space, aboard the Soviet station Mir as part of the Juno project.

British archaeologist and Egyptologist (1874–1939), Howard Carter is world-famous for discovering in 1922 the nearly intact tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt. This discovery is considered the greatest in the history of archaeology.

Iris Murdoch (1919-1999) est une philosophe et romancière irlando-britannique, professeure à Oxford, connue pour ses romans alliant réflexion morale et intrigue psychologique. Auteure de plus de vingt-six romans et de travaux philosophiques majeurs, elle explore les thèmes de l'amour, de la liberté et du bien.

British physicist (1891–1974), James Chadwick discovered the neutron in 1932, earning him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1935. He later led the British contribution to the Manhattan Project.

British and American biologists who discovered the structure of DNA in 1953. Their work revolutionized the understanding of heredity and laid the foundations of modern molecular biology.

British ethologist and primatologist born in 1934, Jane Goodall is world-renowned for her pioneering research on chimpanzees in the Gombe forest of Tanzania. Her observations transformed our understanding of animal behaviour and human origins.

A British actress born in 1917 in Japan and died in 2013, Joan Fontaine became a major Hollywood star in the 1940s. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1942 for Alfred Hitchcock's Suspicion, cementing her place among the great stars of classic American cinema.

Astrophysicienne britannique née en 1943, Jocelyn Bell découvrit en 1967 les pulsars — étoiles à neutrons émettant des signaux radio réguliers — lors de sa thèse de doctorat. Son directeur de thèse reçut le prix Nobel pour cette découverte, suscitant une controverse durable sur la reconnaissance des femmes en science.

British singer, pianist, and composer born in 1958, Kate Bush burst onto the scene in 1978 with “Wuthering Heights”. A pioneer of experimental pop, she blends rock, classical music, and electronics with rare creativity and artistic independence.

Kate Winslet is a British actress born in 1975 in Reading, England. She rose to worldwide fame through James Cameron's Titanic in 1997 and is considered one of the greatest actresses of her generation. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2009 for her role in The Reader.

American computer scientist, Ken Thompson is the co-creator of the Unix operating system with Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs in the 1970s. He also designed the B programming language, the ancestor of C, and co-developed the Go language.

Margaret Thatcher, première femme Premier ministre du Royaume-Uni (1979-1990), a transformé l'économie britannique par une politique libérale radicale. Surnommée la « Dame de fer », elle a privatisé les entreprises publiques, combattu les syndicats et joué un rôle majeur dans la fin de la Guerre froide aux côtés de Reagan et Gorbatchev.

Margot Fonteyn (1919–1991) is considered one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century. Prima ballerina assoluta of the Royal Ballet in London, she formed with Rudolf Nureyev one of the most celebrated partnerships in the history of classical dance.

British-American jazz pianist Marian McPartland made her mark on the New York scene from the 1950s onward. She is best known for hosting the radio show “Piano Jazz” for more than thirty years on the American public radio network NPR.

British psychoanalyst of Austrian origin (1882–1960), pioneer of child psychoanalysis. She developed object relations theory and was one of the first to analyze very young children through play. Her work profoundly influenced child psychiatry and psychoanalytic thought.

Norma Winstone is a British jazz singer born in 1941, a major figure in European vocal jazz. Famous for her wordless vocalises and her art of writing lyrics for instrumental themes, she has profoundly shaped contemporary jazz.

A British actress born in 1916 in Tokyo, Olivia de Havilland was one of Hollywood's greatest stars of the 1930s and 1940s. She won two Academy Awards for Best Actress and successfully fought against the Hollywood studio system, paving the way for actors' contractual freedom.

A British Royal Navy officer, Robert Falcon Scott led two expeditions to Antarctica. During his second expedition (1910–1913), he reached the South Pole in January 1912, only to discover that Amundsen had beaten him by a month. Scott and his four companions perished on the return journey.

British sailor born in 1939, the first person to complete a solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the globe under sail (1968–1969), aboard his ketch Suhaili. In doing so he won the Golden Globe Race, ushering in the era of the great solo ocean races.

British molecular biologist (1920–1958), Rosalind Franklin made essential contributions to our understanding of DNA structure through her X-ray crystallography work. She is best known for Photo 51, a landmark image that revealed the double helix structure of DNA.

British playwright (1971-1999), Sarah Kane is one of the major figures of radical contemporary theatre. Her plays, marked by extreme violence, psychological suffering and the disintegration of language, shook the English-speaking stage in the 1990s.

Soni Razdan is an Indian actress born in 1958, known for her roles in Hindi cinema and Indian television series. She is also the mother of actress Alia Bhatt.

British theoretical physicist and cosmologist (1942–2018), Stephen Hawking revolutionized our understanding of black holes and cosmology. Diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at age 21, he went on to have an exceptional scientific career despite severe disability.

Theresa May (born 1956) is a British politician and member of the Conservative Party. She served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2016 to 2019, succeeding David Cameron following the Brexit referendum.

British computer scientist born in 1955, Tim Berners-Lee is the inventor of the World Wide Web (1989–1991). He designed the HTTP and HTML protocols that revolutionized global communication.

A British writer and poet of the 20th century, Vita Sackville-West is known for her novels, her poetry, and her gardens. She was the close friend of Virginia Woolf, who drew inspiration from her for the novel Orlando.

British actress born in 1913, Vivien Leigh is world-famous for her role as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939). A two-time Oscar winner, she embodied Hollywood glamour while also pursuing a demanding stage career in London.

British fashion designer (1941–2022)

British singer and songwriter born in 1983, Amy Winehouse is celebrated for her deep, distinctive voice and her style blending soul, jazz, and R&B. Her album *Back to Black* (2006) earned her five Grammy Awards in a single night. She died at the age of 27 in 2011, joining the infamous 27 Club.

British director, screenwriter, and editor born in 1973, Andrew Haigh is acclaimed for his intimate films exploring human relationships and LGBTQ+ identity. He is best known for Weekend (2011) and 45 Years (2015).

British physicist and mathematician born in 1931, Roger Penrose is known for his work on gravitational singularities, black holes, and cosmology. Winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics, he also developed controversial theories on consciousness and quantum mechanics.