Discover the notable alumni of Cambridge University. The list includes people like Stephen Hawking, Alan Turing, Emma Thompson, Sacha Baron Cohen & Charles Darwin. This list of notable alumni is loosely sorted by popularity and has people from different domains of life, such as scientists, writers, film & theater personalities, intellectuals & academics and media personalities etc.
Stephen Hawking08 January 1942, British
Theoretical Physicist, Cosmologist
Alan Turing23 June 1912, British
Mathematician
Sacha Baron Cohen13 October 1971, British
Actor
Emma Thompson15 April 1959, British
Actress
David Attenborough08 May 1926, British
Broadcaster
Tilda Swinton05 November 1960, British
Actress
Ian McKellen25 May 1939, British
British Actor
Charles Darwin12 February 1809, British
Naturalist, Geologist
Rajiv Gandhi20 August 1944, Indian
Former Prime Minister of India
Stephen Fry24 August 1957, British
Comedian, Actor
John Cleese27 October 1939, British
Actor & Comedian
Salman Rushdie19 June 1947, British
Jane Goodall03 April 1934, British
Anthropologist
J. Robert Oppenheimer22 April 1904, American
Lord Byron22 January 1788, British
Poet, Politician
Sam Mendes01 August 1965, British
Film Director
Milo Yiannopoulos18 October 1984, British
Journalist
Bertrand Russell18 May 1872, British, Welsh
Philosopher
Robert Frost26 March 1874, American
Poet
Lee Kuan Yew16 September 1923, Singaporean
Founding Father of Modern Singapore
John Maynard Keynes05 June 1883, British
Economist
John Milton09 December 1608, British
Poet, Polemicist, and Civil Servant for the
Ludwig Wittgenstein26 April 1889, Austrian
Philosopher
Ernest Rutherford30 August 1871, New Zealander, British
Physicist, Chemist
Jagadish Chandra Bose30 November 1858, Indian
Physicist
Vladimir Nabokov22 April 1899, Swiss, American, Russian
Novelist
A. A. Milne18 January 1882, British
Novelist, Playwright, Poet
J. J. Thomson18 December 1856, British
Physicist, Nobel Prize Winner
Arianna Huffington15 July 1950, American
American-Greek author
James Watson06 April 1928, American
Molecular Biologist
E. M. Forster01 January 1879, British
Writer
Samuel Pepys23 February 1633, British
Member of Parliament
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Thomas Merton31 January 1915, French, Thai, American
Writer
Francis Galton16 February 1822, British
Polymath
Har Gobind Khorana09 January 1922, American
James Chadwick20 October 1891, British
Discoverer of Neutron
Henri Cartier-Bresson22 August 1908, French
Photographer and Painter
Alfred Marshall26 July 1842, British
Economist
Rupert Brooke03 August 1887, British
Poet
Arthur Eddington28 December 1882, British
Astronomer
Charles Thomson Rees Wilson14 February 1869, British
Physicist
Mihajlo Idvorski Pupin09 October 1858, Serbian
Physicist
Sir Richard Stone30 August 1913, British
Economist
Olivia Colman30 January 1974, British
Actress
Rebecca Hall03 May 1982, British, American
Actress
Tom Hollander25 August 1967, British
Actor
Jimmy Carr15 September 1972, Irish, British
Actor, Comedian, Television presenter
Homi J. Bhabha30 October 1909, Indian
Physicist
Simon McBurney25 August 1957, British
Actor
Samuel Taylor Coleridge21 October 1772, British
Poet, Philosopher, Theologian, Writer, Literary
Vanessa Feltz21 February 1962, British
Television personality
Sophie Okonedo11 August 1968, British
Actress
Stephen Mangan16 May 1968, British
Actor
Iris Murdoch15 July 1919, Irish
Poet, Philosopher, Novelist, Writer, Biographer
Lily Cole27 December 1987, British
Actor, Model
Louise Brealey27 March 1979, British
Actress
Eric Hobsbawm09 June 1917, Egyptian
Historian
Christian Coulson03 October 1978, British
Actor
Griff Rhys Jones16 November 1953, British
Actor, Comedian
Jocelyn Bell Burnell15 July 1943, British
Astronomer, Astrophysicist
Alistair Cooke20 November 1908, British, American
Journalist, Television presenter, Radio
Ray Dolby18 January 1933, American
Engineer, Inventor, Audio engineer, Electrical
Nicholas Hytner07 May 1956, British
Theatre director, Film director
Michael Foale06 January 1957, American
Astronaut, Astrophysicist, Physicist
Patrick Blackett, Baron Blackett18 November 1897, British
Politician, Physicist, Scientist
Joseph John Thomson18 December 1856, British
Mathematician, Physicist
Peter Hall22 November 1930, British
actor, theatre director, film director, artist
Herbert Marshall McLuhan21 July 1911, Canadian
Futurist, Educator, Author
The University of Cambridge, located in England, is a name which is popular in most households around the world. Doesn’t this speak volumes about its popularity? This notable institution known for imparting an outstanding quality of education was founded in 1209. It is also famous for being the ‘fourth oldest university in the world’. As of 2015, more than 19,000 students had enrolled at this world famous institution. Apart from its lush green campus, a library with an interesting collection of a million books and its highly qualified staff, the university is also famous for its notable alumni. Some of these individuals who studied at Cambridge are even important names in history books. Legendary scientists Charles Darwin and Stephen Hawking are former students of this renowned institution. Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution is being taught to students all over the world and has also significantly helped scientists involved in further research on the subject. Stephen Hawking is not only known for his contributions to the field of science, but is also considered one among the few immensely influential people around the world today. Hawking’s life also inspired the Hollywood blockbuster ‘The Theory Of Everything’, which earned a lot of accolades. ‘Borat’ star Sasha Baron Cohen, acclaimed actor Stephen Fry and Hollywood star Rachel Weisz are a few other eminent personalities who studied at the University of Cambridge. We have compiled a list which consists of noteworthy celebrities who were former students of University of Cambridge. This might just inspire you to work harder to secure a place at this world famous university.