University Of Manchester Notable Alumni

Discover the notable alumni of University Of Manchester. The list includes people like Phil Collins, Milo Yiannopoulos, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Jonathan Ke Quan & J. J. Thomson. This list of notable alumni is loosely sorted by popularity and has people from different domains of life, such as film & theater personalities, scientists, writers, media personalities and musicians etc.

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Benedict Cumberbatch

Birthdate: July 19, 1976

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Hammersmith, London, England

Benedict Cumberbatch is one of the most popular English actors of the current generation. Apart from his acting skills, he is also known for his charity work. In 2014, he was named in Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people in the world. In 2015, he was appointed a CBE for services to charity and performing arts.

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Brian Cox

(Physicist Best Known as the Presenter of Science Programme 'Wonders of Life')

Brian Cox

Birthdate: March 3, 1968

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Oldham, Lancashire, England

Brian Cox is an English physicist and former musician. He has presented numerous science programs for BBC radio and TV, especially the Wonders of... series. He is also the author of several popular science books. He has been lauded for his efforts to publicize science and was awarded the British Association's Lord Kelvin Award in 2006. 

Jack Whitehall

Birthdate: July 7, 1988

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: London, England

A popular English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter, Jack Whitehall has hosted the BRIT Awards on multiple occasions. He has also performed stand up comedy at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Apart from playing important roles in Bad Education and The Bad Education Movie, he also co-wrote the projects. Whitehall has established an impressive career despite dropping out of college.

Recommended Lists: Norman Foster

Birthdate: June 1, 1935

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Stockport, Cheshire, England

Norman Foster is an English designer and architect best known for his association with the progression of high-tech architecture. Regarded as an important personality in British modernist architecture, Foster has been granted several prestigious honors like The Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award. He also serves as the president of the Norman Foster Foundation which aims at helping young architects.

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Toby Jones

(English Actor Best Known for His Performance in the Film ‘Infamous’)

Toby Jones

Birthdate: September 7, 1966

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom

Toby Jones is best known for his Golden Globe-nominated portrayal of Alfred Hitchcock in The Girl and his BAFTA-winning role in Detectorists. Fans also loved him in the films Infamous and Frost/Nixon. He voiced Dobby in the Harry Potter movies and played Arnim Zola in Marvel films.

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Jennifer Saunders

(Comedians)

Jennifer Saunders

Birthdate: July 6, 1958

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England, UK

Height: 5'4" (163 cm)

Recommended Lists: James Chadwick

Birthdate: October 20, 1891

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Bollington

Died: July 24, 1974

Best remembered as a Nobel laureate who discovered neutron, Sir James Chadwick began his career at Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, where he worked with Ernest Rutherford to investigate the nature of atomic nucleus, a work that led to the epoch-making discovery. Credited with writing the final draft of the MAUD Report, he also headed the British team at the Manhattan Project

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Vincent Kompany

(Retired Belgian Football Centre-Back)

Vincent Kompany

Birthdate: April 10, 1986

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Uccle, Belgium

Considered one of the fittest central defenders of the world, retired Belgian footballer Vincent Kompany had a successful stint with Manchester City, winning 4 Premier League titles, among other championships, with them. Post-retirement, the star footballer had turned to coaching and now manages the English club Burnley.

Recommended Lists: Henry Moseley

Birthdate: November 23, 1887

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Weymouth, Dorset, England

Died: August 10, 1915

Henry Moseley was an English physicist best known for his development of Moseley's law in X-ray spectra. He made major contributions to the fields of atomic physics, nuclear physics, and quantum physics. He was working at the University of Oxford when World War I broke out, following which he went to volunteer for the Royal Engineers of the British Army. 

Arthur Eddington

Birthdate: December 28, 1882

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Kendal

Died: November 22, 1944

Arthur Eddington was an English physicist, astronomer, and mathematician. He wrote numerous articles that explained Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity to the English-speaking world. He began his career in academics and eventually shifted to astronomy, becoming the chief assistant to the Astronomer Royal at the Royal Greenwich Observatory. He was a recipient of the Henry Draper Medal. 

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Parineeti Chopra

(Actor)

Parineeti Chopra

Birthdate: October 22, 1988

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Ambala

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Mathew Horne

(Actor)

Mathew Horne

Birthdate: September 6, 1978

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Nottingham, England, UK

Height: 5'7" (170 cm)

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Robert Powell

(Actor)

Robert Powell

Birthdate: June 1, 1944

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Salford

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Robert Rinder

(British Criminal Barrister and Television Personality)

Robert Rinder

Birthdate: May 31, 1978

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Westminster, London, United Kingdom

Criminal barrister Robert Rinder had a 12-year stint at the 2 Hare Court law firm before appearing as Judge Rinder on the reality courtroom show Judge Rinder. He has also written columns for the London Evening Standard and released a book. He has been part of The London Marathon, too.

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Andre Geim

(Dutch-British Physicist Known for His Discovery of 'Graphene')

Andre Geim

Birthdate: October 21, 1958

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Sochi, Russia

Andre Geim is a Russian-born Dutch-British physicist. He has been associated with the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manchester for several years. In 2010, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics jointly with Konstantin Novoselov in recognition of his work on graphene. He is also a recipient of the 2000 Ig Nobel Prize in Physics. 

Raza Jaffrey

Birthdate: May 28, 1975

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Liverpool, Merseyside, England

Height: 6'0" (183 cm)

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Jesse Armstrong

(Author)

Jesse Armstrong

Birthdate: 1972 AD

Birthplace: Oswestry, England

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Ben Elton

(Comedian and Writer Known for His Work in the Sitcoms ‘The Young Ones’ and ‘Blackadder')

Ben Elton

Birthdate: May 3, 1959

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: London, England, United Kingdom

Ben Elton is a British comedian, TV writer, author, actor, playwright, producer, and director. He was a key figure in London’s alternative comedy movement in the 1980s. He gained international prominence as a writer on the sitcoms The Young Ones and Blackadder. He is also the author of many novels and the director of numerous plays and TV shows. 

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Samia Suluhu Hassan

(Politician)

Samia Suluhu Hassan

Birthdate: January 27, 1960

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Makunduchi, Tanzania

Milo Yiannopoulos

Birthdate: October 18, 1984

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Kent, England

Milo Yiannopoulos is a British far-right public speaker, political commentator, writer, and polemicist. He often ridicules feminism, political correctness, social justice, and Islam through his writings and speeches. His comments have attracted criticisms, and he is permanently banned from Twitter and Facebook. Although he is openly gay, he advocates against homosexuality and takes part in straight pride parades.

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George Gissing

(British Novelist Best Known for His Works: 'The Nether World', 'New Grub Street' and 'The Odd Women')

George Gissing

Birthdate: November 22, 1857

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Wakefield, England

Died: December 28, 1903

English novelist George Gissing is known for the way he showcased the realism of the lower-middle class in his works such as The Nether World. In spite of being a brilliant student, he was expelled from Owens College for theft. He specialized in the literary study of Charles Dickens and his works.

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Peter Maxwell Davies

(Composer)

Peter Maxwell Davies

Birthdate: September 8, 1934

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Salford, England

Died: March 14, 2016

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Josh Widdicombe

(English Comedian, Presenter and Actor)

Josh Widdicombe

Birthdate: April 8, 1983

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Hammersmith, London, England

Height: 5'7" (170 cm)

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Anna Ford

(Journalist, Presenter, News presenter)

Anna Ford

Birthdate: October 2, 1943

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Tewkesbury

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Sean Teale

(Actor)

Sean Teale

Birthdate: June 18, 1992

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: London, England, UK

Height: 6'1" (185 cm)

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Charlotte Hawkins

(British News and Television Presenter and Former Host of 'Sky News Sunrise')

Charlotte Hawkins

Birthdate: May 16, 1975

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Chichester, West Sussex, England

Charlotte Hawkins is an English journalist, newsreader, and television & radio presenter. Apart from her work on radio and TV, Hawkins is also known for her charity work. She supports many charity organizations, such as the Motor Neurone Disease Association. She has also been serving as an ambassador for the research and awareness charity, Cancer Research UK Kids and Teens. 

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John Whaite

(Baker Who Won the3rd Series of The Great British Bake Off 2012)

John Whaite

Birthdate: May 23, 1989

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Chorley, Lancashire, England

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Frank Worrell

(West Indies Cricketer and Former Senator of Jamaica)

Frank Worrell

Birthdate: August 1, 1924

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Bridgetown, Barbados

Died: March 13, 1967

Frank Worrell was a Jamaican cricket player who played for the West Indies cricket team as a batsman. He achieved popularity in the 1950s when he became the second black captain of the Windies. Frank Worrell was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009.

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Meera Syal

(Actor, Comedian, Screenwriter, Film producer, Author, Novelist, Writer)

Meera Syal

Birthdate: June 27, 1961

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Wolverhampton

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Ralf Little

(Actor)

Ralf Little

Birthdate: February 8, 1980

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Bury, Greater Manchester, England, UK

Height: 6'0" (183 cm)

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Liv Boeree

(British Television Presenter and Former Professional Poker Player)

Liv Boeree

Birthdate: July 18, 1984

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Kent, United Kingdom

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Joe Abercrombie

(Fantasy Writer and Author of 'The First Law' Trilogy)

Joe Abercrombie

Birthdate: December 31, 1974

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Lancaster, England

Best known for his The First Law trilogy, English writer and film editor, Joe Abercrombie, began his career making tea at a television production company before turning into a freelance film editor. At the age of thirty-two, he had his first book, The Blade Itself, published, thereafter, continuing to write, He received Locus Award for his young-adult fantasy, Half A King.

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Tim Booth

(Singer-songwriter, Actor)

Tim Booth

Birthdate: February 4, 1960

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Bradford, West Yorkshire, England

Height: 5'9" (175 cm)

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James Lovelock

(Biologist, Chemist, University teacher, Mythographer)

James Lovelock

Birthdate: July 26, 1919

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Letchworth

Renowned James Lovelock is best known for propagating the Gaia hypothesis, which states that every living being on planet Earth is part of a single self-regulating superorganism. He is also known for his long association with NIMR, London, and Harvard University and has over 50 patents under his name.

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Chrissie Wellington

(English Former Professional Triathlete and Four-Time Ironman Triathlon World Champion)

Chrissie Wellington

Birthdate: February 18, 1977

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England

Height: 5'7" (170 cm)

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Mark Kermode

(Television presenter, Musician, Journalist)

Mark Kermode

Birthdate: July 2, 1963

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Chipping Barnet

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Alasdair MacIntyre

(American Philosopher Who Has Contributed to Moral and Political Philosophy)

Alasdair MacIntyre

Birthdate: January 12, 1929

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland

Scottish-American philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre is noted for his contributions to moral and political philosophy. His major writings include Whose Justice? Which Rationality? and After Virtue. The latter is considered to be a significant work of Anglophone moral and political philosophy and an important text in the contemporary revival of virtue theory.  

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John Polanyi

(Canadian Chemist and Winner of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry)

John Polanyi

Birthdate: January 23, 1929

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Berlin, Germany

John Charles Polanyi is a Hungarian-Canadian scientist, who won the Noble Prize in Chemistry for his contribution to the dynamics of chemical reaction. He developed a technique called infrared chemiluminescence, which helped him to study the exchange of chemical bonds and detail how the excess energy is removed during chemical reactions.

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Victor Turner

(British Cultural Anthropologist)

Victor Turner

Birthdate: May 28, 1920

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland,

Died: December 18, 1983

Best known for his work on symbols and rituals, British cultural anthropologist Victor Turner embarked on his lifelong study of the Ndembu people when as a young man he went to Zambia to work as a research officer. Spending his entire career studying rituals and rites of passage, he later applied them to world religion, publishing important works on them.  

Michael Smith (Chemist)

Birthdate: April 26, 1932

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Blackpool, England

Died: October 4, 2000

Nobel Prize-winning British-Canadian biochemist Michael Smith is best remembered for his research on site-directed mutagenesis, which has paved the path for further research on topics such as gene therapy and Alzheimer disease. A professor of biotechnology and biochemistry, he later co-founded the biotechnology company ZymoGenetics Inc.

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Dave Gorman

(Comedian)

Dave Gorman

Birthdate: March 2, 1971

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Stafford

Dave Gorman is an English television presenter, comedian, and author. He is credited with creating many comical stage shows or comedic concepts, such as Are You Dave Gorman, Dave Gorman's Googlewhack Adventure, Modern Life Is Goodish, and Genius, that were turned into successful TV series.

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David Oakes

(Known for His Role in TV Series: 'The Pillars of the Earth', 'The Borgias' and 'The White Queen')

David Oakes

Birthdate: October 14, 1983

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Salisbury, Wiltshire, England

British actor David Oakes started his acting career at Shakespeare's Globe. A Bristol Old Vic Theatre School alumnus, he also boasts of a degree in English literature and drama. Known for series such as The Pillars of the Earth and Vikings: Valhalla, he also hosted the podcast Trees A Crowd.

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Roland Joffé

(Director)

Roland Joffé

Birthdate: November 17, 1945

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: London, England

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Robert Bolt

(Playwright and a two-time Oscar-winning screenwriter)

Robert Bolt

Birthdate: August 15, 1924

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Sale, Cheshire, England

Died: February 20, 1995

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Filipe Nyusi

(Engineer, Politician)

Filipe Nyusi

Birthdate: February 12, 1959

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Mueda, Mozambique

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Waldemar Januszczak

(Journalist)

Waldemar Januszczak

Birthdate: January 12, 1954

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Basingstoke

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Michel Chossudovsky

(researcher, Author, Economist, conspiracy theorist)

Michel Chossudovsky

Birthdate: 1946 AD

Birthplace: Canada

The son of Russian immigrants, Canadian economist and University of Ottawa professor Michel Chossudovsky also heads the Centre for Research on Globalization. Chossudovsky is best known for his conspiracy theories. He believes both 9/11 and COVID-19 were tools of population control, and has often been accused of playing to Russian interests.

Haider al-Abadi

Birthdate: 1952 AD

Birthplace: Baghdad, Iraq

Iraqi politician and Islamic Dawa Party member Haider al-Abadi, who had also served as the country’s prime minister, had made it to Time 100 in 2018. An electrical engineer, he also boasts of a PhD from the University of Manchester. His governance relied on cracking down on corruption and terrorism.

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Jo Coburn

(British Journalist)

Jo Coburn

Birthdate: November 12, 1967

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: London, England, United Kingdom

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Winnie Byanyima

(Engineer, Politician)

Winnie Byanyima

Birthdate: January 13, 1959

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Mbarara, Uganda

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Formed in 2004 after the merger of the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology and the Victoria University of Manchester, the University of Manchester is a redbrick, public research university in England. With almost 40,000 students, the University of Manchester is the second largest university in the United Kingdom and the largest single-site university. It has a great blend of students of different diversities hailing from different corners of the world. According to QS World University Rankings, it was ranked 29th in the world in 2016. It was also voted ‘the most targeted university’ with an astonishing rate of students who apply for admissions here. The campus is spread out across Manchester and is easily accessible by one and all. The highly-qualified faculty which includes famous scientists, economists, novelists and Nobel Laureates create an impeccable learning environment by incorporating world-leading research, expertise and technology to everyday learning. The excellence of the university is reflected in its programs, particularly in the life sciences, engineering, economics, humanities and sociology departments. The university, in fact teaches more academic topics than any other university in the United Kingdom. A number of noteworthy people have completed their education in the University of Manchester, such as John Dalton (founder of modern atomic theory), Ernst Rutherford (nuclear physicist), Benedict Cumberbatch and James Chadwick. Keeping reading to know some of the most distinguished alumni’s from the University of Manchester who have left their mark on the world.

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