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Famous People A-Z
Activity Village has a large and growing resource of famous people resources for teachers and parents to use with their kids – from colouring pages to “learn to draw” tutorials! Children can learn about the famous people we cover with our short, child-friendly biographies, write about them, tackle a comprehension or have a go at some of our fun worksheets that are designed specifically to get your kids interested.
Here you can find a simple listing of all the famous people, ancient and modern, in first name order.
If you would prefer to browse by category or by type of activity, you can do that here.
BIO
| Label | Information |
|---|---|
| Topic | Famous People A-Z |
| Format | Alphabetical List |
| Main Focus | Famous People |
| Time Period | Ancient to Modern |
| Fields | History, Science, Sports, Arts |
| Included | Presidents and Leaders |
| Scientists | Einstein, Newton, Curie |
| Writers | Shakespeare, Austen, Dahl |
| Athletes | Messi, Serena Williams, Usain Bolt |
| Artists | Van Gogh, Andy Warhol |
| Explorers | Christopher Columbus, Edmund Hillary |
| Learning Use | Kids, Parents, Teachers |
Explore all our Famous People
Famous People are featured in first name order.
A
Abraham Lincoln – 16th President of the USA
Ada Lovelace – British mathematician and the first computer programmer
Agnes Baden-Powell – sister of Robert and founder of the Girl Guides
Albert Einstein – physicist and Nobel prize winner
Alexander the Great – powerful ruler of Ancient Greece
Alexander Fleming – scientist who discovered penicillin
Alexander Graham Bell – inventor of the telephone
Andrew Jackson – 7th President of the USA
Andrew Johnson – 17th President of the USA
Andy Murray – British tennis player, 2013 winner of Wimbledon
Andy Warhol – celebrity American artist, leader of the Pop Art movement
Anne – Queen of England from 1702 to 1714
Anne of Cleves – Fourth wife of Henry VIII
Anne Boleyn – Second (unfortunate) wife of Henry VIII
Anne Bonny – fierce pirate of the early 18th century
Anne Frank – famous for her WW2 diary from captivity
Aretha Franklin – multi-award winning American singer
Arthur Rostron – Captain of the Carpathia, rescuer of Titanic survivors
B
Barack Obama – 44th President of the USA
Beethoven – Brilliant pianist and classical composer
Benjamin Franklin – statesman, politician, writer, scientist and inventor
Benjamin Harrison – 23rd President of the USA
Bessie Coleman – Sensational stunt pilot from the 1920s
Bill Clinton – 42nd President of the USA
Blackbeard – Notorious pirate of the Caribbean
Bonnie Prince Charlie – pretender to the British throne
Boudicca – brave Celtic queen who rebelled against the Romans
Bruce Ismay – Chairman of the White Star Line, owners of the Titanic
C
Calvin Coolidge – 30th President of the USA
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall – wife of Prince Charles
Captain Cook – 18th Century explorer and navigator
Captain Tom – veteran fundraiser and British hero
Carl Lewis – American athlete and 10-times Olympic medal winner
Catherine, Duchess of Cambride – wife of Prince William
Catherine of Aragon – Spanish first wife of King Henry VIII, divorced
Catherine Howard – Fifth wife of King Henry VIII, beheaded
Catherine Parr – Sixth and last wife of King Henry VIII, she survived him!
Cathy Freeman – Australian athlete and Olympic gold medal winner
Charles I – Stuart King of England from 1625 to 1649. Lost his head!
Charles II – Stuart King of England from 1660 to 1685
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales – heir to the British throne
Charles Darwin – naturalist who developed theory of natural selection
Charles Dickens – Prolific and beloved British author
Charlotte Brontë – 19th Century novelist, author of Jane Eyre
Chester Arthur – 21st President of the USA
Chris Hoy – Most successful Olympic cyclist of all time
Cristiano Ronaldo – Captain of Portugal football team, forward at Real Madrid
Christopher Columbus – Famous 15th Century explorer
Cleopatra – Famous and beautiful Egyptian queen
D
Daley Thompson – British decathlete and winner of Olympic medals
David Attenborough – British naturalist and television personality
David Beckham – English footballing hero
Diana, Princess of Wales – Mother of Prince William and Prince Harry
Donald Trump – 45th President of the United States
Dhyan Chand – Indian field hockey player and Olympic team captain
Dwight D Eisenhower – 34th President of the USA
E
Edmund Hillary – Explorer, climber and first man to climb Mount Everest
Edward I – King of England (1272-1307)
Edward II – King of England (1307-1327) Not a good king!
Edward III – King of England (1327-1377) during the Black Death
Edward IV – King of England (1461-1470 and 1471-1483)
Edward V – King of England (1483), one of the Princes in the Tower
Edward VI – King of England (1547-1553), son of Henry VIII
Edward VII – King of England (1901-1910)
Edward VIII – King of England (1936), abdicated
Edward Smith – Captain of the Titanic
Elizabeth I – Great Tudor Queen of England, from 1558 to 1603
Elizabeth II – Queen of Great Britain, came to the throne in 1952
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon – the Queen Mother
Emil Zatopek – Czechoslovakian long distance runner, 1952 Olympics
Emily Brontë – 19th Century novelist, author of Wuthering Heights
Emmeline Pankhurst – British suffragette and campaigner for women’s rights
Enid Blyton – beloved children’s author, published worldwide
Eusébio – remarkable Portuguese football player
F
Fanny Blankers-Koen – “The flying housewife”, Dutch Olympic heroine
Sir Francis Drake – Tudor sea captain and privateer
Florence Nightingale – Pioneering Victorian nurse
Franklin Pierce – 21st President of the USA
Franklin D Roosevelt – 32nd President of the USA
Frederick Douglass – ex-slave who campaigned for equal rights
G
Galileo Galilei – Brilliant Italian scientist, mathematician and astronomer
George I – King of England (1714-1727)
George II – King of England (1727-1760)
George III – King of England (1760-1820) (“Mad King George”, “Farmer George”)
George IV – King of England (1820-1830)
George V – King of England (1820-1837)
George VI – King of England (1936-1952), Queen Elizabeth’s father
George Bush – 41st President of the USA
George W Bush – 43rd President of the USA
George Eliot – Well-loved 19th Century English female author
George Washington – 1st President of the USA
George Washington Carver – Prominent black scientist of the early 20C
Gerald Ford – 38th President of the USA
Grover Cleveland – 22nd and 24th President of the USA
Guy Fawkes – infamous 17th Century traitor and Gunpowder Plotter
H
Haile Gebrselassie – Inspirational long-distance runner from Ethiopia
Harriet Tubman – brave conductor on the Underground Railroad
Harry Styles – member of the famous boy band One Direction
Harry Truman – 33rd President of the USA
Prince Harry – Younger son of the Prince of Wales
Helen Keller – American author, activist and lecturer, blind and deaf
Henry I – King of England, 1100-1135 died of food poisoning
Henry II – King of England, 1154-1189, first Plantagenet King
Henry III – King of England, 1216-1272 when Parliament was first called
Henry IV – King of England, 1399-1413, deposed his cousin Richard II
Henry V – warrior King of England, 1413-1422
Henry VI – King of England, 1422-1461, and again 1470-1471
Henry VII – brave, strong and wealthy King of England, 1485-1509
Henry VIII – extravagant King of England, 1509-1547, with six wives!
Herbert Hoover – 31st President of the USA
I
Ian Thorpe – Australian swimmer, nicknamed ‘the Thorpedo’
Isaac Newton – English scientist most famous for gravity
Isabella Bird – Intrepid Victorian explorer and travel writer
J
J K Rowling – author of the Harry Potter books
J M Barrie – creator of Peter Pan, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up
Jackie Joyner-Kersee – Record-breaking, medal-winning US heptathlete
James I – King of Scotland 1567-1625 and King of England 1603-1625
James II – King of England from 1685 to 1688 (also James VII of Scotland)
James Buchanan – 15th President of the USA
Captain James Cook – 18th Century explorer and navigator
James Garfield – 20th President of the USA
James Madison – 4th President of the USA
James Monroe – 5th President of the USA
James Polk – 11th President of the USA
Jane Austen – beloved English novelist of the Georgian era
Jane Goodall – British conservationist and chimpanzee expert
Lady Jane Grey – the ‘Nine Day Queen’
Jane Seymour – third and favourite wife of Henry VIII
Jenny Jones – winner of GB’s first ever snow medal at Sochi 2014
Jesse Owens – hero and most successful athlete at the 1936 Olympics
Jimmy Carter – 39th President of the USA
Joan of Arc – patron saint of France and of soldiers
Joe Biden – 46th President of the USA
John – King of England from 1199 to 1216
John Adams – 2nd President of the USA
John F Kennedy – 35th President of the USA
John Quincy Adams – 6th President of the USA
John Tyler – 10th President of the USA
Julia Donaldson – Beloved children’s author of The Gruffalo
K
Kelly Holmes – winner of 2 gold medals in Olympics 2004
L
Lasse Viren – winner of 4 gold medals for Finland in the 1970s
Leonardi da Vinci – Italian artist and inventor of the 16th Century
Lewis Carroll – author of the Alice in Wonderland stories
Liam Payne – member of the famous boy band One Direction
Lionel Messi – footballer who plays for Argentina and FC Barcelona
Louis Tomlinson – member of the popular boy band One Direction
Louisa May Alcott – American author of “Little Women”
Ludwig van Beethoven – Brilliant pianist and classical composer
Lyndon B Johnson – 36th President of the USA
M
Mae Jemison – First black woman to travel into space
Mahatma Gandhi – leader of the Indian independence movement
Maria Sibylla Merian – German naturalist and illustrator famous for work on metamorphosis
Marie Curie – Polish scientist famous for work on radioactivity
Mark Antony – Roman general best known for his relationship with Cleopatra
Mark Spitz – won an incredible 7 gold medals in 1972 Olympic swimming
Mark Twain – American author of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn
Martin Luther King – a leader of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960’s
Martin Van Buren – 8th President of the USA
Mary I – eldest daughter of Henry VIII and Queen of England, 1553-1558
Mary II – Queen of England 1688-94, joint ruler with her husband William
Mary Anning – English fossil hunter, collector and paleontologist
Mary Berry – beloved cook and star of The Great British Bake Off!
Mary Queen of Scots – unhappy Queen of Scotland and mother of James I of England
Mary Seacole – Victorian heroine of the Crimean war
Matilda – Empress Matilda ruled England briefly in 1141, never crowned
Meghan Markle – American actress and humanitarian, fiancée of Prince Harry
Michael Johnson – 4-times Olympic gold winner, record-beating sprinter
Michael Phelps – Winner of 14 Olympic gold medals in swimming!
Millard Fillmore – 13th President of the USA
Millicent Fawcett – Determined British suffragist and campaigner
Molly Brown – brave lady and survivor of the sinking of the Titanic
Mother Teresa – Saint Teresa of Calcutta, missionary
Mozart – Child musical prodigy and prolific classical composer
Muhammad Ali – champion heavyweight boxer with character!
N
Nadia Comaneci – first female gymnast to score an Olympic perfect 10
Ned Kelly – infamous Australian bushranger
Neil Armstrong – first man to walk on the moon
Nelson Mandela – South Africa’s first black President
Niall Horan – member of the popular boy band One Direction
O
Olave Baden-Powell – wife of Robert Baden-Powell and Chief Guide for many years
Olga Korbut – star of the gymnastic arena in the 1972 Olympic Games
Orville Wright – took the first flight in a powered aeroplane
P
Pelé – Remarkable Brazilian football hero and humanitarian
Prince Harry – Younger son of the Prince of Wales
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh – consort to Elizabeth II
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge – second in line to the British throne
Princess Diana – Mother of Prince William and Prince Harry
Pierre de Coubertin – founder of the modern Olympic Games
Pope Francis – current Pope aka Papa Francisco and Papa Francesco
R
Richard I – King of England from 1189 to 1199
Richard II – King of England from 1377 to 1399
Richard III – King of England from 1483 to 1485
Richard Nixon – 37th President of the USA
Rihanna – world famous pop singer
Roald Dahl – author of many well-loved children’s books
Rob Roy – Scottish folk hero and outlaw
Robert Baden-Powell – founder of the Scouting movement and Chief Scout
Robert Burns – most famous Scottish poet
Roger Federer – Swiss tennis player, number 1 for many years
Ronald Reagan – 40th President of the USA
Rosa Parks – African American civil rights activist
Rutherford B Hayes – 19th President of the USA
S
Sadako Sasaki – little Japanese girl who inspired peace
Saint Andrew – Jesus’ disciple and patron saint of Scotland
Saint David – patron saint of Wales
Saint George – Brave Roman soldier and patron saint of England
Saint Patrick – patron saint of Ireland
Samuel Pepys – famous 17th English diarist
Sebastian Coe – athlete, MP and Chairman of London 2012
Serena Williams – one of the world’s greatest female tennis players
Stephen – King of England from 1135 to 54
Stephen Hawking – Brilliant scientist, author of “A Brief History of Time”
Steve Irwin – well loved Aussie “Croc Hunter” and Wildlife Warrior
Steve Redgrave – Champion in rowing in 5 Olympic Games!
T
Tanni Grey Thompson – 11 times Paralympic gold medal winner
Taylor Swift – award winning American singer and songwriter
Theodore Roosevelt – 26th President of the USA
Thomas Jefferson – 3rd President of the USA
Tiger Woods – one of the greatest golf players of all time
Tim Peake – first British astronaut to do a spacewalk
U
Ulysses Grant – 18th President of the USA
Usain Bolt – Jamaican sprinter who wowed at 2008 and 2012 Olympics
V
Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha – Thai owner of Leicester City Football Club
Victoria – Queen of England from 1830 to 1901, the “Victorian Age”
Vincent van Gogh – Dutch Post-Impressionist painter
W
Wallace Hartley – brave bandleader on the Titanic
Walter Raleigh – swashbuckling hero of the Tudor age
Warren Harding – 29th President of the USA
Wilbur Wright – pioneer of flight with brother Orville
William I – also known as William the Conqueror, King 1066-87
William II – King of England from 1087 to 1100
William III – King of England from 1688-1702, joint ruler with Mary
William IV – King of England from 1830-1837
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge – second in line to the British throne
William Harrison – 9th President of the USA
William McKinley – 25th President of the USA
William Taft – 27th President of the USA
William Shakespeare – 16C English poet and playwright
William Wallace – fierce leader of the Scots, Braveheart of movie fame
William Wordsworth – 19th century English poet
Winston Churchill – British prime minister during World War II and afterwards
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Child musical prodigy and prolific classical composer
Woodrow Wilson – 28th President of the USA
Wright brothers – pioneers of flight
Z
Zachary Taylor – 12th President of the USA
Zayn Malik – member of the popular boy band One Direction
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the Famous People A-Z list?
It is an alphabetical collection of well-known people from history, science, sports, politics, literature, and other fields.
2. Who can use Famous People resources?
Teachers, parents, and children can use these resources for learning about important people in a simple and engaging way.
3. What types of famous people are included?
The list includes presidents, scientists, writers, athletes, explorers, artists, inventors, royalty, and other historical figures.
4. Are both historical and modern famous people included?
Yes, the collection features people from ancient history as well as well-known modern personalities.
5. How can children learn from Famous People A-Z?
Children can explore short biographies, educational activities, worksheets, comprehension