A list of famous people, chosen mainly from the nineteenth, twentieth or twenty-first centuries. This list includes famous actors, politicians, entrepreneurs, writers, artists and humanitarians.
- Marilyn Monroe (1926 – 1962) American actress, singer, model
- Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865) US President during American civil war
- Nelson Mandela (1918 – 2013) South African President anti-apartheid campaigner
- Queen Elizabeth II (1926 – 2022) British monarch since 1954
- John F. Kennedy (1917 – 1963) US President 1961 – 1963
- Martin Luther King (1929 – 1968) American civil rights campaigner
- Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965) British Prime Minister during WWII
- Donald Trump (1946 – ) Businessman, US President.
- Bill Gates (1955 – ) American businessman, founder of Microsoft
- Muhammad Ali (1942 – 2016) American Boxer and civil rights campaigner
- Mahatma Gandhi (1869 – 1948) Leader of Indian independence movement
- Mother Teresa (1910 – 1997) Macedonian Catholic missionary nun
- Christopher Columbus (1451 – 1506) Italian explorer
- Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882) British scientist, theory of evolution
- Elvis Presley (1935 – 1977) American musician
- Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955) German scientist, theory of relativity
- Paul McCartney (1942 – ) British musician, member of Beatles
- Queen Victoria ( 1819 – 1901) British monarch 1837 – 1901
- Pope Francis (1936 – ) First pope from the Americas
- Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 – 1964) Indian Prime Minister 1947 – 1964
- Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519) Italian, painter, scientist, polymath
- Vincent Van Gogh (1853 – 1890) Dutch artist
- Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 – 1945) US President 1932 – 1945
- Pope John Paul II (1920 – 2005) Polish Pope
- Thomas Edison ( 1847 – 1931) American inventor
- Rosa Parks (1913 – 2005) American civil rights activist
- Lyndon Johnson (1908 – 1973) US President 1963 – 1969
- Ludwig Beethoven (1770 – 1827) German composer
- Oprah Winfrey (1954 – ) American TV presenter, actress, entrepreneur
- Indira Gandhi (1917 – 1984) Prime Minister of India 1966 – 1977
- Eva Peron (1919 – 1952) First Lady of Argentina 1946 – 1952
- Benazir Bhutto (1953 – 2007) Prime Minister of Pakistan 1993 – 1996
- George Orwell (1903 – 1950) British author
- Vladimir Putin (1952 – ) Russian leader
- Dalai Lama (1938 – ) Spiritual and political leader of Tibetans
- Walt Disney (1901 – 1966) American film producer
- Neil Armstrong (1930 – 2012) US astronaut
- Peter Sellers (1925 – 1980) British actor and comedian
- Barack Obama (1961 – ) US President 2008 – 2016
- Malcolm X (1925 – 1965) American Black nationalist leader
- J.K.Rowling (1965 – ) British author
- Richard Branson (1950 – ) British entrepreneur
- Pele (1940 – ) Brazilian footballer, considered greatest of 20th century.
- Angelina Jolie (1975 – ) Actress, director, humanitarian
- Jesse Owens (1913 – 1980) US track athlete, 1936 Olympics
- John Lennon (1940 – 1980) British musician, member of the Beatles
- Henry Ford (1863 – 1947) US Industrialist
- Haile Selassie (1892 – 1975) Emperor of Ethiopia 1930 – 1974
- Joseph Stalin (1879 – 1953) Leader of Soviet Union 1924 – 1953
- Lord Baden Powell (1857 – 1941) British Founder of scout movement
- Michael Jordan (1963 – ) US Basketball star
- Vladimir Lenin (1870 – 1924) Leader of Russian Revolution 1917
- Ingrid Bergman (1915 – 1982) Swedish actress
- Fidel Castro (1926 – ) President of Cuba 1976 – 2008
- Leo Tolstoy (1828 – 1910) Russian author and philosopher
- Greta Thunberg (2003 – ) Environmentalist activist)
- Pablo Picasso (1881 – 1973) Spanish modern artist
- Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900) Irish author, poet, playwright
- Coco Chanel (1883 – 1971) French fashion designer
- Charles de Gaulle (1890 – 1970) French resistance leader and President 1959 – 1969
- Amelia Earhart (1897 – 1937) Aviator
- John M Keynes (1883 – 1946) British economist
- Louis Pasteur (1822 – 1895) French chemist and microbiologist
- Mikhail Gorbachev (1931 – ) Leader of Soviet Union 1985 – 1991
- Plato (423 BC – 348 BC) Greek philosopher
- Adolf Hitler (1889 – 1945) leader of Nazi Germany 1933 – 1945
- Sting (1951 – ) British musician
- Elon Musk (1971 – ) Business magnate, and entrepreneur.
- Mary Magdalene (4 BCE – 40CE) devotee of Jesus Christ
- Alfred Hitchcock (1899 – 1980) English / American film producer, director
- Michael Jackson (1958 – 2009) American musician
- Madonna (1958 – ) American musician, actress, author
- Mata Hari (1876 – 1917) Dutch exotic dancer, executed as spy
- Cleopatra (69 – 30 BCE) Queen of Egypt
- Grace Kelly (1929 – 1982) American actress, Princess of Monaco\
- Malala Yousafzai (1997 – ) Pakistani human rights activist
- Steve Jobs (1955 – 2012) co-founder of Apple computers
- Ronald Reagan (1911 – 2004) US President 1981-1989
- Lionel Messi (1987 – ) Argentinian footballer
- Babe Ruth (1895 – 1948) American baseball player
- Bob Geldof (1951 – ) Irish musician, charity worker
- Roger Federer (1981 – ) Swiss Tennis player
- Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) Austrian psychoanalyst
- Woodrow Wilson (1856 – 1924) US president 1913 – 1921
- Mao Zedong (1893 – 1976) Leader of Chinese Communist revolution
- Katherine Hepburn (1907 – 2003) American actress
- Audrey Hepburn (1929 – 1993) British actress and humanitarian
- David Beckham (1975 – ) English footballer
- Tiger Woods (1975 – ) American golfer
- Usain Bolt (1986 – ) Jamaican athlete and Olympian
- Carl Lewis (1961 – ) US athlete and Olympian
- Prince Charles (1948 – ) Heir to British throne
- Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929 – 1994) American wife of JF Kennedy
- Joe Biden (1942 – ) US President
- Kim Kardashian (1980 – ) American socialiate
- C.S. Lewis (1898 – 1963) British author
- Billie Holiday (1915 – 1959) American jazz singer
- J.R.R. Tolkien (1892 – 1973) British author
- Billie Jean King (1943 – ) American tennis player and human rights activist
- Margaret Thatcher (1925 – 2013) British Prime Minister 1979 – 1990
More famous people
- Anne Frank (1929 – 1945) Dutch Jewish author who died in Holocaust
- Simon Bolivar (1783 – 1830) Venezuelan independence activist in South America.
- Marie Antoinette (1755 – 1793) French Queen, executed during the French revolution
- Cristiano Ronaldo (1985 – ) Portuguese footballer.
- Emmeline Pankhurst (1858 – 1928) English suffragette.
- Emile Zatopek (1922 – 2000) Czech athlete
- Desmond Tutu (1931 – 2021) South African Bishop and opponent of apartheid
- Lech Walesa (1943 – ) Polish leader of Solidarity movement
- Julie Andrews (1935 – ) British singer, actress
- Florence Nightingale (1820 – 1910) British nurse
- Marie Curie (1867 – 1934) Polish / French scientist
- Stephen Hawking (1942 – ) British scientist
- Tim Berners Lee (1955 – ) English creator of World Wide Web
- Aung San Suu Kyi (1945 – ) Burmese opposition leader
- Lance Armstrong (1971 – ) American cyclist
- Shakira (1977 – ) Colombian singer
- Jon Stewart (1962 – ) American comedian
- Wright Brothers Orville (1871 – 1948) and Wilbur (1867 – 1912) American inventors, aviation pioneers
- Ernest Hemingway (1899 – 1961) American author
- Roman Abramovich (1966 – ) Russian oligarch
- Tom Cruise (1962 – ) American actor
- Rupert Murdoch (1931 – ) Media owner of News Corporation
- Al Gore (1948 – ) US presidential candidate and environmental campaigner
- Sacha Baron Cohen (1971 – ) English comedian
- George Clooney (1961 – ) American actor and political activist
- Paul Krugman (1953 – ) American Nobel Prize winning economist
- Jimmy Wales (1966 – ) American creator of Wikipedia
- Brad Pitt (1963 – ) Actor
- Kylie Minogue (1968 – ) Australian singer and actress
- Stephen King (1947 – ) American author
More Famous people
Famous historical figures: A list of famous people throughout the ages, which includes people from ancient civilisations to the present.
100 Famous Women: A list of 100 famous women from the arts, sport, literature, acting and politics.
100 most influential people – A list of 100 most influential people as chosen by Michael H. Hast, from his book 100 most influential people in the world. Includes; Muhammad, Jesus Christ, Lord Buddha, Confucius, St Paul and Johann Gutenberg.
People who changed the world – Famous people who changed the course of history including Socrates, Newton, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, Queen Victoria, Catherine the Great, Einstein and Gandhi.
Women who changed the world – Famous women who changed the world. Features female Prime Ministers, scientists, cultural figures, authors and royalty. Includes; Cleopatra, Princess Diana, Marie Curie, Queen Victoria, and Joan of Arc.
Famous People Through History
- Famous people of the Renaissance (14th – 15th Century)
- Famous people of the Enlightenment (late 17th Century)
- Famous Victorians (1832 – 1901)
- Famous people of the Nineteenth Century
- Famous people of Edwardian period (1901 – 1914)
- Famous people of Inter-war period (1918 – 1939)
- Twenty-first Century
Famous by Nationality
- American
- Australian
- African
- Bangladeshi
- Dutch
- English
- European
- French
- German
- Greek
- Italian
- Indian
- Irish
- Polish
Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan. “Top 100 Famous People”, Oxford, UK. www.biographyonline.net, 31/01/2016. Last updated 28 Sep 2019.
1000 Years of Famous People at Amazon
Famous People by Category
- Artists
- Charity workers
- Entrepreneurs
- Great thinkers
- Famous leaders
- Military leaders
- People who built America
- People who changed the world
- People who fought for human rights
- Philanthropists
- Revolutionaries
- Richest people of all time
- Saints
- Sporting personalities
- Socialists
- Women