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In 2002, the BBC conducted a vote to discover the 100 Greatest Britons of all time. The poll resulted in some unlikely candidates including Guy Fawkes, Aleister Crowley, Johnny Rotten, and King Richard III. It also included two living Irish nationals (Bono and Bob Geldof) and James Connolly, the Scottish born Irish nationalist who was executed as a traitor in 1916.
The highest-placed Scottish entry was Alexander Fleming in 20th place, with the highest Welsh entry Owain Glyndŵr in 23rd.
The only entry of British Asian background on the list was Freddie Mercury of the band Queen, (he was born in Zanzibar to Western Indian Parsi parents). The resulting series, Great Britons, included individual programmes on the top ten, with viewers having further opportunities to vote after each programme. It concluded with a debate.
Other editions
Other countries produced similar shows locally, see also: Greatest Britons spin-offs
- Germany ran their version on ZDF and called it Unsere Besten (Our Best).
- The CBC ran The Greatest Canadian in 2004.
- KRO (part of the Publieke Omroep) ran the De Grootste Nederlander (The Greatest Dutchman).
- The Discovery Channel (in conjunction with AOL) ran The Greatest American in May 2005 *.
- The South African Broadcasting Corporation ran the Great South Africans.
- In Finland, YLE ran Suuret Suomalaiset (Great Finns).*.
- In France Le Plus Grand Français (The Greatest Frenchman) ran on France 2
- In Belgium there were two versions: De Grootste Belg and Le plus grand belge.
- A Czech version called The Greatest Czech (Největší Čech) aired in June 2005.
- 100 Welsh Heroes was the result of an on-line poll carried out in 2003-4.
- A Bulgarian version, The Great Bulgarians (Velikite Balgari), started in June 2006.
- In Romania, the show called "Mari Români" (Great Romanians) started in May 2006, and on July 8, TVR presented the 100 Greatest Romanians.
The Greatest Britons List
Due to the nature of the poll used to select and rank the Britons, the results do not pretend to be an objective assessment. They are as follows:
- Winston Churchill (1874–1965), Prime Minister during World War II
- Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859), engineer, creator of Great Western Railway and other significant works
- Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), first wife of HRH Charles, Prince of Wales (1981–1996) and mother of Princes William and Harry of Wales.
- Charles Darwin (1809–1882), naturalist, originator of the theory of evolution through natural selection and author of The Origin of Species.
- William Shakespeare (1564–1616), English poet and playwright, thought of by many as the greatest of all writers in the English language.
- Sir Isaac Newton, physicist
- Queen Elizabeth I of England, monarch
- John Lennon of The Beatles, musician
- Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, naval commander
- Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector
- Sir Ernest Shackleton, polar explorer
- Captain James Cook, explorer
- Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scouts
- Alfred the Great, King of Wessex
- Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, military commander and statesman
- Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister
- Michael Crawford, actor
- Queen Victoria, monarch
- Sir Paul McCartney, of The Beatles, musician
- Sir Alexander Fleming, pharmaceutical innovator
- Alan Turing, pioneer of computing
- Michael Faraday, scientist
- Owain Glyndŵr, Prince of Wales
- Queen Elizabeth II, monarch
- Professor Stephen Hawking, theoretical physicist
- William Tyndale, English translator of the Bible
- Emmeline Pankhurst, suffragette
- William Wilberforce, humanitarian
- David Bowie, musician
- Guy Fawkes, English revolutionary
- Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire, aviator and charity organiser
- Eric Morecambe, comedian
- David Beckham, footballer
- Thomas Paine, political philosopher
- Boudica, leader of Celtic resistance to the Roman Empire
- Sir Steve Redgrave, Olympic rower
- Sir Thomas More, English lawyer and politician
- William Blake, author and printer
- John Harrison, clock designer
- King Henry VIII of England, monarch
- Charles Dickens, author
- Sir Frank Whittle, jet engine inventor
- John Peel, broadcaster
- John Logie Baird, television pioneer
- Aneurin Bevan, politician
- Boy George, musician
- Sir Douglas Bader, aviator and charity campaigner
- Sir William Wallace, Guardian of Scotland
- Sir Francis Drake, English naval commander
- John Wesley, Methodist leader
- King Arthur, semi-mythical Celtic monarch
- Florence Nightingale, nurse and charity campaigner
- T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), Arabist and soldier
- Sir Robert Falcon Scott, polar explorer
- Enoch Powell, politician
- Sir Cliff Richard, musician
- Alexander Graham Bell, telephone pioneer
- Freddie Mercury, of Queen, musician
- Dame Julie Andrews, actress and singer
- Sir Edward Elgar, composer
- Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, Queen consort
- George Harrison, of The Beatles musician
- Sir David Attenborough, broadcaster
- James Connolly, Irish revolutionary
- George Stephenson, railway pioneer
- Sir Charlie Chaplin, comic actor
- Tony Blair, Prime Minister
- William Caxton, English printer
- Bobby Moore, footballer
- Jane Austen, author
- William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army
- King Henry V of England, monarch
- Aleister Crowley, mystic
- Robert I, King of Scots
- Bob Geldof, Irish musician
- The Unknown Warrior, soldier of the Great War
- Robbie Williams, musician and former member of Take That
- Edward Jenner, pioneer of vaccination
- David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd George, prime minister
- Charles Babbage, mathematician and pioneer of computing
- Geoffrey Chaucer, English author
- King Richard III of England, monarch
- J.K. Rowling, author
- James Watt, developer of the steam engine
- Sir Richard Branson, businessman and adventurer
- Bono, musician, philanthropist
- John Lydon (Johnny Rotten), musician
- Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, military commander
- Donald Campbell, water speed world record challenger
- King Henry II of England, monarch
- James Clerk Maxwell, physicist
- J.R.R. Tolkien, author and linguistics professor
- Sir Walter Raleigh, English explorer
- King Edward I of England, monarch
- Sir Barnes Wallis, aviation technology pioneer
- Richard Burton, actor
- Tony Benn, politician
- David Livingstone, missionary and explorer
- Sir Tim Berners-Lee, internet pioneer
- Marie Stopes, promoter of birth control
Several of these also appear in the list of 100 worst britons, due to strongly polarised views on their works, lives or legacies.
Great Britons series
British television personality Anne Robinson hosted the ten Great Britons documentaries. Each show reviewed the life of one of the top ten Britons, concluding with a debate on the merits of each selected Briton, with another British celebrity supporting their "candidate":
See also
External links
- BBC Great Britons Website
- BBC Great Britons book and links at National Portrait Gallery
- 100 great British heroes — BBC News article, dated Wednesday, August 21, 2002 (contains the top 100, sorted alphabetically)
- BBC reveals 100 great British heroes — BBC News article, dated Thursday, August 22, 2002
- Ten greatest Britons chosen — BBC News article, dated Sunday, October 20, 2002
BBC television programmes | David Attenborough | Greatest Nationals | Lists of British people | Lists of top achievements
100 Greatest Britons | 100 Greatest Britons | 100 הבריטים החשובים | 100 Greatest Britons | Cei mai mari 100 de britanici | 100 Greatest Britons | 最伟大的100名英国人
"100 Greatest Britons"