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Knight of the British Empire

HONOR

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Male analogue of Dame of the British Empire.

NameOccupationBirthDeathKnown for
Abdu'l-Bahá
Religion
23-May-1844 28-Nov-1921 Baha'i leader
Ralph Abercromby
Military
7-Oct-1734 28-Mar-1801 British general
Edward P. Abraham
Chemist
10-Jun-1913 8-May-1999 Cephalosporins
Lord Acton
Historian
10-Jan-1834 19-Jun-1902 British historian
Edmund Allenby
Military
23-Apr-1861 14-May-1936 Defeated the Turks in WWI
Kingsley Amis
Novelist
16-Apr-1922 22-Oct-1995 Lucky Jim
Edmund Andros
Government
6-Dec-1637 24-Feb-1714 American colonial governor
Norman Angell
Economist
26-Dec-1872 7-Oct-1967 The Great Illusion
Walter Annenberg
Business
13-Mar-1908 1-Oct-2002 Media mogul, created TV Guide
David Arculus
Business
1946   Chairman of Severn Trent, 1998-2004
Ove Arup
Engineer
16-Apr-1895 1988 Danish civil engineer
Paddy Ashdown
Politician
27-Feb-1941   Leader of Liberal Democrats, 1988-99
Herbert Henry Asquith
Head of State
12-Sep-1852 15-Feb-1928 UK Prime Minister 1908-16
Michael Atiyah
Mathematician
22-Apr-1929   Atiyah-Singer index theorem
David Attenborough
Naturalist
8-May-1926   Life on Earth
Richard Attenborough
Film Director
29-Aug-1923   Gandhi
Clement Attlee
Head of State
3-Jan-1883 8-Oct-1967 UK Prime Minister, 1945-51
Francis Bacon
Philosopher
22-Jan-1561 9-Apr-1626 Novum Organum
Robert Baden-Powell
Military
22-Feb-1857 8-Jan-1941 Founder of the Boy Scout movement
Stanley Baker
Actor
8-Feb-1927 28-Jun-1976 Knights of the Round Table
Michael Balcon
Film/TV Producer
19-May-1896 17-Oct-1977 Eealing Studios
Roger Bannister
Track and Field
23-Mar-1929   First to run a four-minute mile
Frederick G. Banting
Scientist
14-Nov-1891 21-Feb-1941 Discovered insulin
Alan Bates
Actor
17-Feb-1934 27-Dec-2003 Basil in Zorba the Greek
David Bates
Astronomer
18-Nov-1916 5-Jan-1994 Atmospheric and interstellar physics
Max Beerbohm
Critic
24-Aug-1872 20-May-1956 Caricaturist, Seven Men
David Bell
Business
?   CEO of Financial Times Group, 1993-2005
Tim Berners-Lee
Computer Programmer
8-Jun-1955   Inventor of the World Wide Web
Sir Walter Besant
Author
14-Aug-1836 9-Jun-1901 All Sorts and Conditions of Men
Henry Bessemer
Inventor
19-Jan-1813 15-Mar-1898 Bessemer process to manufacture steel
John Betjeman
Poet
28-Aug-1906 19-May-1984 Summoned By Bells
James W. Black
Scientist
14-Jun-1924   Propranolol and cimetidine
James Blyth
Business
8-May-1940   Chairman of Diageo, 2000-08
John R. H. Bond
Business
c. 1942   Chairman, HSBC Holdings, 1998-2004
David Bowie
Musician
8-Jan-1947   Ziggy Stardust
Don Bradman
Cricket
27-Aug-1908 25-Feb-2001 Greatest batsman of all time
Richard Branson
Business
18-Jul-1950   Founder of Virgin chain
Harry Brittain
Journalist
24-Dec-1873 9-Jul-1974 Co-Founder of the Pilgrims Society
John Browne
Business
20-Feb-1948   CEO of British Petroleum, 1995-2007
Sir Thomas Browne
Author
19-Oct-1605 19-Oct-1682 Pseudodoxia Epidemica
Edward Bullard
Physicist
21-Sep-1907 3-Apr-1980 Continental drift, magnetic fields
Edward George Bulwer-Lytton
Novelist
25-May-1803 18-Jan-1873 The Last Days of Pompeii
Frank Macfarlane Burnet
Scientist
3-Sep-1899 31-Aug-1985 Acquired immunological tolerance
Terence Burns
Business
13-Mar-1944   Chairman of Marks & Spencer
Sir Richard Burton
Explorer
19-Mar-1821 20-Oct-1890 Translated The Arabian Nights
George H.W. Bush
Head of State
12-Jun-1924   41st US President, 1989-93
Colin Campbell
Military
20-Oct-1792 24-Aug-1863 Commander-in-chief of India
Menzies Campbell
Politician
22-May-1941   Leader, Liberal Democrats
Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Head of State
7-Sep-1836 22-Apr-1908 UK Prime Minister 1905-08
Roger Casement
Activist
1-Sep-1864 3-Aug-1916 Irish revolutionary, gay diarist
William Castell
Business
c. 1948   CEO of GE Healthcare
George Cayley
Inventor
27-Dec-1773 8-Dec-1854 Father of aeronautics
James Chadwick
Physicist
20-Oct-1891 24-Jul-1974 Discovered the neutron
Ernst B. Chain
Scientist
19-Jun-1906 12-Aug-1979 Discovered penicillin
Charlie Chaplin
Actor
16-Apr-1889 25-Dec-1977 Silent film comedian
John Charnley
Doctor
29-Aug-1912 5-Aug-1982 Hip replacement surgery
John Chisholm
Business
c. 1946   Chairman of QinetiQ
Winston Churchill
Head of State
30-Nov-1874 24-Jan-1965 WWII Prime Minister of England
Wesley Clark
Military
23-Dec-1944   Supreme Allied Commander, 1997-2000
Arthur C. Clarke
Novelist
16-Dec-1917 19-Mar-2008 2001: A Space Odyssey
Thomas Cochrane
Military
14-Dec-1775 31-Oct-1860 Rear Admiral, invented the smoke screen
Christopher Cockerell
Inventor
4-Jun-1910 1-Jun-1999 Hovercraft
John Compton
Head of State
29-Apr-1925 7-Sep-2007 Many-time Prime Minister of St. Lucia
Sean Connery
Actor
25-Aug-1930   James Bond
Alistair Cooke
Journalist
20-Nov-1908 29-Mar-2004 Alistair Cooke's America
Sir Eyre Coote
Military
1726 28-Apr-1783 British soldier, fought Hyder Ali
Alan Cottrell
Scientist
17-Jul-1919   Metallurgist at Cambridge
Noel Coward
Playwright
16-Dec-1899 26-Mar-1973 Prolific English popular playwright
Stafford Cripps
Politician
24-Apr-1889 21-Apr-1952 Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1947-50
Donald G. Cruickshank
Government
c. 1942   Director-General of Oftel, 1993-98
Hugh Cudlipp
Business
28-Aug-1913 17-May-1998 British news magnate
Henry Dale
Scientist
9-Jun-1875 23-Jul-1968 Acetylcholine as a neurotransmitter
George Darwin
Astronomer
9-Jul-1845 7-Dec-1912 Evolution of the Sun-Earth-Moon system
Howard J. Davies
Business
c. 1951   Director, London School of Economics
Crispin Davis
Business
c. 1949   CEO of Reed Elsevier
Everard Digby
Criminal
16-May-1578 30-Jan-1606 Gunpowder Plot
E. C. Dodds
Scientist
13-Oct-1899 16-Dec-1973 Diethylstilbestrol
Placido Domingo
Singer
21-Jan-1941   Tenorissimo!
Alec Douglas-Home
Head of State
2-Jul-1903 9-Oct-1995 UK Prime Minister, 1963-64
Arthur Conan Doyle
Novelist
22-May-1859 7-Jul-1930 Creator of Sherlock Holmes
Sir Francis Drake
Explorer
c. 1540 28-Jan-1596 Defeated Spanish Armada
Frank W. Dyson
Astronomer
8-Jan-1868 25-May-1939 Six pips on the BBC
James Dyson
Inventor
2-May-1947   Dyson vacuum cleaner
Lawrence Eagleburger
Government
1-Aug-1930   US Secretary of State, 1992-93
John Eccles
Scientist
27-Jan-1903 2-May-1997 Membrane potential of nerves
Arthur Eddington
Astronomer
28-Dec-1882 22-Nov-1944 Eddington luminosity
Rod Eddington
Business
2-Jan-1950   CEO of British Airways, 2000-05
Anthony Eden
Head of State
12-Jun-1897 14-Jan-1977 UK Prime Minister, 1955-57
Edward Elgar
Composer
2-Jun-1857 23-Feb-1934 Pomp and Circumstance
Martin Evans
Scientist
1-Jan-1941   Embryonic stem cells
George Everest
Explorer
4-Jul-1790 1-Dec-1866 Namesake of Mt. Everest
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Actor
9-Dec-1909 7-May-2000 Sinbad the Sailor
Richard Fanshawe
Poet
1608 16-Jun-1666 Translator of Camões
Antony Fisher
Activist
1915 Jul-1988 Libertarian think-tank founder
Ronald Fisher
Mathematician
17-Feb-1890 29-Jul-1962 Analysis of variance and covariance
Niall FitzGerald
Business
13-Sep-1945   Chairman of Reuters
John Ambrose Fleming
Engineer
29-Nov-1849 19-Apr-1945 Invented the vacuum tube
Howard Florey
Scientist
24-Sep-1898 21-Feb-1968 Discovered penicillin
Tom Foley
Politician
6-Mar-1929   Speaker of the House, 1989-95
Norman Foster
Architect
1-Jun-1935   Architect of the Milennium Bridge
David Frost
Journalist
7-Apr-1939   BBC's Breakfast with Frost
Bill Gates
Business
28-Oct-1955   Co-Founder of Microsoft
Bob Geldof
Musician
5-Oct-1951   Live Aid, Boomtown Rats
Christopher Gent
Business
10-May-1948   CEO of Vodafone, 1997-2003
Louis V. Gerstner
Business
1-Mar-1942   CEO of IBM, 1993-2002
J. Paul Getty, Jr.
Business
7-Sep-1932 17-Apr-2003 Heir to the Getty Oil fortune
Carlos Ghosn
Business
9-Mar-1954   CEO of Nissan and Renault
John Gielgud
Actor
14-Apr-1904 21-May-2000 Prospero's Books
William Golding
Novelist
19-Sep-1911 19-Jun-1993 Lord of The Flies
Billy Graham
Religion
7-Nov-1918   Televangelist
Clive W.J. Granger
Economist
4-Sep-1934   Granger causality
Alan Greenspan
Economist
6-Mar-1926   Federal Reserve Chairman, 1987-2006
Alec Guinness
Actor
2-Apr-1914 5-Aug-2000 Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars
Sir William Rowan Hamilton
Mathematician
3-Aug-1805 2-Sep-1865 Inventor of Quaternions
Rex Harrison
Actor
5-Mar-1908 2-Jun-1990 My Fair Lady
Basil Liddell Hart
Military
31-Oct-1895 29-Jan-1970 Military strategist
John Harvey-Jones
Business
16-Apr-1924 9-Jan-2008 Chairman of ICI, 1982-87
Edward Heath
Head of State
9-Jul-1916 17-Jul-2005 British Prime Minister, 1970-74
King Henry VIII
Royalty
28-Jun-1491 28-Jan-1547 King of England, 1509-47
Rowland Hill
Inventor
3-Dec-1795 27-Aug-1879 Invented the postage stamp
Edmund Hillary
Explorer
20-Jul-1919 11-Jan-2008 First to summit Mt. Everest
Peter B. Hirsch
Scientist
16-Jan-1925   Electron microscopy in metallurgy
Alan L. Hodgkin
Scientist
5-Feb-1914 20-Dec-1998 Electrical impulses in nerves
Ian Holm
Actor
12-Sep-1931   Time Bandits
John Holmes
Diplomat
29-Apr-1951   UN Under Sec. Gen. for Humanitarian Affairs
Frederick Hopkins
Scientist
20-Jun-1861 16-May-1947 Discovered vitamins
Sir John Hotham
Politician
? 3-Jan-1645 English parliamentarian
Godfrey N. Hounsfield
Engineer
28-Aug-1919 12-Aug-2004 Computerized axial tomography (CAT scans)
William Howe
Military
10-Aug-1729 12-Jul-1814 Commander-in-Chief in America
Tim Hunt
Scientist
19-Feb-1943   Regulators of cell cycle
Sir Henry Irving
Actor
6-Feb-1838 13-Oct-1905 English actor, Theater manager
Henry B. Jackson
Military
21-Jan-1855 14-Dec-1929 Radio telegraphy
Derek Jacobi
Actor
22-Oct-1938   Claudius on I, Claudius
Mick Jagger
Singer/Songwriter
26-Jul-1943   Lead singer of the Rolling Stones
Sir John Scarlett
Spy
18-Aug-1948   Head of MI6
Harold Spencer Jones
Astronomer
29-Mar-1890 3-Nov-1960 10th Royal Astronomer of England
Tom Jones
Singer
7-Jun-1940   It's Not Unusual
Li Ka-Shing
Business
29-Jul-1928   Chinese billionaire, net worth $23B
Hamid Karzai
Head of State
24-Dec-1957   President of Afghanistan
Bernard Katz
Scientist
26-Mar-1911 20-Apr-2003 Neurotransmitters and the pineal gland
Hans Krebs
Scientist
25-Apr-1900 22-Nov-1981 Tricarboxylic acid cycle
Denys Lasdun
Architect
8-Sep-1914 11-Jan-2001 British modernist architect
Wilfrid Laurier
Head of State
20-Nov-1841 17-Feb-1919 Canadian Prime Minister
David Lean
Film Director
25-Mar-1908 16-Apr-1991 Lawrence of Arabia
Anthony J. Leggett
Physicist
26-Mar-1938   Particle physicist, explored superfluidity
Frederick Leighton
Painter
31-Dec-1830 25-Jan-1896 Classical Victorian English painter
Arthur Lewis
Economist
23-Jan-1915 15-Jun-1991 Economics of developing nations
David K. P. Li
Business
13-Mar-1939   CEO, Bank of East Asia
Rilwanu Lukman
Government
26-Aug-1938   Secretary General of OPEC, 1995-2000
Charles Lyell
Geologist
14-Nov-1797 22-Feb-1875 Principles of Geology
John A. Macdonald
Head of State
11-Jan-1815 6-Jun-1891 Canadian Prime Minister, founding father
Peter Mansfield
Scientist
9-Oct-1933   Magnetic resonance imaging
George Martin
Music Producer
3-Jan-1926   Beatles producer
Harrie Massey
Astronomer
16-May-1908 27-Nov-1983 British National Committee for Space Research
Deryck Maughan
Business
c. 1947   CEO of Citigroup International, 1998-2002
Paul McCartney
Musician
18-Jun-1942   Beatle
Ian McKellen
Actor
25-May-1939   Gandalf the Grey
Tom McKillop
Business
19-Mar-1943   Chairman, Royal Bank of Scotland
Paul Mellon
Philanthropist
11-Jun-1907 1-Feb-1999 Yale Center for British Art benefactor
Yehudi Menuhin
Violinist
22-Apr-1916 12-Mar-1999 Child prodigy violinist, conductor
Robert Menzies
Head of State
20-Dec-1894 15-May-1978 Twice Prime Minister of Australia
Jonathan Miller
Film Director
21-Jul-1934   Beyond the Fringe
Spike Milligan
Comic
16-Apr-1918 27-Feb-2002 The Goon Show
James A. Mirrlees
Economist
5-Jul-1936   Asymmetric information in economics
Mark Moody-Stuart
Business
15-Sep-1940   Chairman of Anglo American
Patrick Moore
TV Personality
4-Mar-1923   BBC's The Sky At Night
Roger Moore
Actor
14-Oct-1927   James Bond after Sean Connery
Sir Henry Morgan
Military
1635 25-Aug-1688 Knighted pirate of the Caribbean
Lewis Mumford
Historian
19-Oct-1895 26-Jan-1990 Technics and Civilization
Lord Nelson
Military
29-Sep-1758 21-Oct-1805 Most celebrated British admiral
Isaac Newton
Physicist
4-Jan-1643 31-Mar-1727 Father of modern physics
Wayne Newton
Singer
3-Apr-1942   Top Las Vegas act
John Nott
Politician
1-Feb-1932   Defence Minister during Falklands War
Mark Oliphant
Physicist
8-Oct-1901 14-Jul-2000 Deuterium reactions
Laurence Olivier
Actor
22-May-1907 11-Jul-1989 Nazi dentist in The Marathon Man
John Boyd Orr
Scientist
23-Sep-1880 25-Jun-1971 Nutritionist, Nobel Prize recipient
Sir Thomas Overbury
Poet
18-Jun-1581 15-Sep-1613 The Wife
Lindsay Owen-Jones
Business
17-Mar-1946   CEO of L'Oreal, 1988-2006
Eduardo Paolozzi
Sculptor
7-Mar-1924 22-Apr-2005 Surrealist sculptor
Alan Parker
Film Director
14-Feb-1944   Pink Floyd: The Wall
John Parker
Business
Apr-1942   Chairman of National Grid
Sir Henry Percy
Military
20-Mar-1364 21-Jul-1403 Hotspur
Lynden Oscar Pindling
Politician
22-Mar-1930 25-Aug-2000 Father of The Bahamas
Arthur Wing Pinero
Playwright
24-May-1855 23-Nov-1934 The Second Mrs. Tanqueray
Sidney Poitier
Actor
20-Feb-1927   In The Heat Of The Night
Terry Pratchett
Novelist
28-Apr-1948   Discworld sci-fi series
Ian Prosser
Business
c. 1945   CEO of Six Continents plc, 1987-2000
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Politician
5-Sep-1888 17-Apr-1975 Philosopher-President of India, 1962-67
Sir Stamford Raffles
Government
6-Jul-1781 5-Jul-1826 Founder of Singapore
Michael Rake
Business
c. 1948   Chairman of British Telecom
Sir Walter Raleigh
Explorer
c. 1552 29-Oct-1618 Favorite of Queen Elizabeth I
Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman
Physicist
7-Nov-1888 21-Nov-1970 Discovered the Raman Effect
Carol Reed
Film Director
30-Dec-1906 25-Apr-1976 Oliver!
Martin Rees
Astronomer
23-Jun-1942   President of the Royal Society
Tim Rice
Songwriter
10-Nov-1944   Collaborator with Andrew Lloyd Webber
Cliff Richard
Singer
14-Oct-1940   England's most famous Christian
Jacob Rothschild
Business
29-Apr-1936   RIT Capital Partners
Henry Royce
Engineer
27-Mar-1863 22-Apr-1933 Designed the first Rolls-Royce
Artur Rubinstein
Pianist
28-Jan-1887 20-Dec-1982 Polish-American piano virtuoso
Renato Ruggiero
Politician
9-Apr-1930   Director-General of the WTO, 1995-99
Salman Rushdie
Novelist
19-Jun-1947   The Satanic Verses
Klaus Schwab
Economist
30-Mar-1938   Founder, World Economic Forum
Norman Schwarzkopf
Military
22-Aug-1934   Leader in Persian Gulf War
Ridley Scott
Film Director
30-Nov-1937   Alien
Brent Scowcroft
Government
19-Mar-1925   National Security Advisor to Ford and GHWB
Ernest Shackleton
Explorer
15-Feb-1874 5-Jan-1922 Antarctic explorer
Peter Shaffer
Playwright
15-May-1926   Amadeus, Equus
Hugh Shelton
Military
2-Jan-1942   Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1997-2001
Charles Sherrington
Doctor
27-Nov-1857 4-Mar-1952 Neurons and synapses
Isaac Shoenberg
Engineer
1-Mar-1880 25-Jan-1963 405-line format television
Clive Sinclair
Business
30-Jul-1940   Sinclair ZX80
Garfield Sobers
Cricket
28-Jul-1936   West Indies cricket great
Frank Soskice
Politician
23-Jul-1902 1-Jan-1979 UK Home Secretary, 1964-65
Steven Spielberg
Film Director
18-Dec-1946   E.T.
Frederick Arthur Stanley
Government
15-Jan-1841 14-Jun-1908 Hockey's Stanley Cup
Henry Morton Stanley
Explorer
28-Jan-1841 10-May-1904 Dr. Livingstone, I presume?
David Steel
Politician
31-Mar-1938   Leader of the UK Liberal Party, 1976-88
Richard Steele
Author
1672 1-Sep-1729 The Spectator
Robert Stephens
Actor
14-Jul-1931 12-Nov-1995 The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
James Stirling
Architect
22-Apr-1926 25-Jun-1992 Pritzker-winning architect
Richard Stone
Economist
30-Aug-1913 6-Dec-1991 National Income and Expenditure
Tom Stoppard
Playwright
3-Jul-1937   Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
John E. Sulston
Scientist
27-Mar-1942   Genetic regulation of organ development
Peter Sutherland
Government
25-Apr-1946   First Director General of the WTO
Morris Tabaksblat
Business
1937   Chairman of Reed Elsevier, 1999-2005
D'Arcy Thompson
Biologist
2-May-1860 21-Jun-1948 On Growth and Form
John Townsend
Mathematician
7-Jun-1868 16-Feb-1957 Electron's charge
Peter Ustinov
Actor
16-Apr-1921 28-Mar-2004 British stage actor
John Vanbrugh
Playwright
24-Jan-1664 26-Mar-1726 The Provok'd Wife
John R. Vane
Scientist
29-Mar-1927 19-Nov-2004 Prostaglandins
Robert Walpole
Head of State
26-Aug-1676 18-Mar-1745 UK's first Prime Minister
Dennis Weatherstone
Business
29-Nov-1930 13-Jun-2008 CEO of JP Morgan, 1990-94
Caspar Weinberger
Government
18-Aug-1917 28-Mar-2006 Iran-Contra figure pardoned by Bush
Arthur Wellesley
Military
1-May-1769 14-Sep-1852 1st Duke of Wellington
Simon Wiesenthal
Activist
31-Dec-1908 20-Sep-2005 Nazi hunter
King William IV
Royalty
21-Aug-1765 20-Jun-1837 King of England, 1830-37
P. G. Wodehouse
Author
15-Oct-1881 14-Feb-1975 Jeeves novels
Terry Wogan
Radio Personality
3-Aug-1938   BBC's Wake Up To Wogan
James Wolfensohn
Business
1-Dec-1933   World Bank president, 1995-2005
George Younger
Politician
22-Sep-1931 26-Jan-2003 UK Minister of Defence, 1986-89
Franco Zeffirelli
Film Director
12-Feb-1923   Romeo and Juliet


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