List of people from Barnet
Encyclopedia
London Borough of Barnet
The London Borough of Barnet is a London borough in North London and forms part of Outer London. It has a population of 331,500 and covers . It borders Hertfordshire to the north and five other London boroughs: Harrow and Brent to the west, Camden and Haringey to the south-east and Enfield to the...
, or have dwelt within the borders of the modern borough are (alphabetical order, within category):
Notable residents
| Key to "Notes" regarding the residents' affiliation to Barnet | |
|---|---|
| Letter | Description |
| B | Indicates that the resident was born in Barnet. |
| D | Indicates that the resident died in Barnet. |
| I | Indicates that the subject is buried in Barnet. |
| L | Indicates that the resident lived in Barnet. |
| Citations in the Notes box refer to the information in the entire row |
Academia and research
| Name | Notability | District | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Cattley | for whom the orchid species cattleya Cattleya Cattleya is a genus of 113 species of orchids from Costa Rica to tropical South America. The genus was named in 1824 by John Lindley after Sir William Cattley who received and successfully cultivated specimens of Cattleya labiata that were used as packing material in a shipment of other orchids... was named |
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| Peter Collinson | botanist | Mill Hilll | |
| Harold Hopkins Harold Hopkins Harold Horace Hopkins FRS was a renowned British physicist. His Wave Theory of Aberrations, , is central to all modern optical design and provides the mathematical analysis which enables the use of computers to create the wealth of high quality lenses available today... |
Physicist | ||
| John Strugnell John Strugnell John Strugnell, was born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, UK. At the age of 23 he became the youngest member of the team of scholars led by Roland de Vaux, formed in 1954 to edit the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem... , |
Dead Sea Scrolls editor-in-chief and Harvard Professor | ||
Arts and entertainment
- Peter BanksPeter BanksPeter Banks is an English guitarist. He was the original guitarist of the progressive rock band Yes.-Early career:When Banks was a young boy, his father bought him an acoustic guitar...
, first guitarist for the band YesYes (band)Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets... - Stephanie BeachamStephanie BeachamStephanie Beacham is a British television, film and theatre actress. Making her film debut in 1971's The Nightcomers opposite Marlon Brando and becoming more well-known on British television in the BBC series Tenko and the ITV series Connie , her worldwide breakthrough came as a result of playing...
- Emma BuntonEmma BuntonEmma Lee Bunton is an English pop singer/songwriter and TV and radio presenter. She was a member of the 1990s girl group, the Spice Girls, in which she was known as Baby Spice as she was the youngest member. In 2010, she joined the judging panel on ITV's Dancing on Ice...
, singer - Shelley ConnShelley Conn-Early life and education:Conn was born in Barnet, Greater London of British and Sri Lankan descent. The great niece of actress Merle Oberon , Conn trained at Bretton Hall...
, actor - Nadine CoyleNadine CoyleNadine Coyle is an Irish singer, songwriter, actress, and model who rose to fame in the early 2000s as a member of the band Six before becoming a member of successful girl-group Girls Aloud. The group amassed a joint fortune of £25 million by May 2009...
(singer for Girls Aloud), who owns a property in Barnet. - Johnny VaughanJohnny VaughanJonathan Randall Vaughan is an English broadcaster and journalist. Vaughan has become well known as a television and radio personality and has also built a reputation as a film critic. He co-presented Capital Breakfast alongside Lisa Snowdon on 95.8 Capital FM between 2004 and 2011...
radio presenter for 95.8 CapitalFM - Samantha FoxSamantha FoxSamantha Karen "Sam" Fox is an English dance-pop singer, actress, and former glamour model. In 1983, at the age of 16, she began her topless modeling career on Page Three of The Sun, and went on to become a popular pin-up girl...
, UK model and singer - Robert FrippRobert FrippRobert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
, musician - Trevor HowardTrevor HowardTrevor Howard , born Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith, was an English film, stage and television actor.-Early life:...
, who lived in Arkley and frequented The Gate pub - David JasonDavid JasonSir David John White, OBE , better known by his stage name David Jason, is an English BAFTA award-winning actor. He is best known as the main character Derek "Del Boy" Trotter on the BBC sit-com Only Fools and Horses from 1981, the voice of Mr Toad in The Wind In The Willows and as detective Jack...
, actor - Humphrey LytteltonHumphrey LytteltonHumphrey Richard Adeane Lyttelton , also known as Humph, was an English jazz musician and broadcaster, and chairman of the BBC radio comedy programme I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue...
, who lived in nearby ArkleyArkleyArkley is a village in the London Borough of Barnet. It is located north north-west of Charing Cross, and at above sea level is one of the highest points in London.... - McFlyMcFlyMcFly are an English pop rock band who first found fame in 2004. The band consists of Tom Fletcher , Danny Jones , Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd . They were signed to the Island Records label from their 2004 launch until December 2007, before creating their own label, Super Records...
, UK band - Tony MaudsleyTony MaudsleyTony Maudsley is a British film actor who was cast as Grawp in the film Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. His career started when he landed a role in the film A Life for a Life in 1998 where he played the part of Stefan Kiszko to much acclaim...
, actor. - Stephen MerchantStephen MerchantStephen James Merchant is an English writer, director, radio presenter, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais, as the co-writer and co-director of the popular British sitcom The Office, as the co-writer, co-director and a co-star of Extras, and as the...
, actor/director/writer/comedian - George MichaelGeorge MichaelGeorge Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
, singer and songwriter - Devin GriffinDevin GriffinDevin "Dev" Joseph Jordan Griffin is a British actor, radio presenter and DJ who is most commonly known for currently presenting the weekday early breakfast show on BBC Radio 1.-Early life:...
, commonly known as Dev, a BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
DJ - Spike MilliganSpike MilliganTerence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
, comedian - Eric MorecambeEric MorecambeJohn Eric Bartholomew OBE , known by his stage name Eric Morecambe, was an English comedian who together with Ernie Wise formed the award-winning double act Morecambe and Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death of a heart attack in 1984...
, comedian - Elaine PaigeElaine PaigeElaine Paige OBE is an English singer and actress best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, North London, Paige attended the Aida Foster stage school, making her first professional appearance on stage in 1964, at the age of 16...
, who was raised in Barnet - Steve PembertonSteve PembertonSteve James Pemberton is an English actor, comedian, writer and performer, most famous as a member of The League of Gentlemen along with fellow performers Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss and co-writer Jeremy Dyson.-Early life:...
, actor and member of The League of GentlemenThe League of GentlemenThe League of Gentlemen are a group of British comedians formed in 1995, best known for their radio and television series.The League of Gentlemen may also refer to:* The League of Gentlemen ,... - Anna PopplewellAnna PopplewellAnna Katherine Popplewell is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Susan Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia film series since 2005.-Early life:...
, actor. - Cliff RichardCliff RichardSir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
, singer - Peter SellersPeter SellersRichard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
, comedian - Feargal SharkeyFeargal SharkeyFeargal Sharkey is a singer from Northern Ireland who first found fame as the lead vocalist of pop punk band The Undertones...
, singer - Reece ShearsmithReece ShearsmithReeson "Reece" Shearsmith is an English actor and writer. He is most famous for his work as part of The League of Gentlemen along with fellow performers Steve Pemberton, Mark Gatiss and co-writer Jeremy Dyson.-Early life:...
, actor and member of The League of GentlemenThe League of GentlemenThe League of Gentlemen are a group of British comedians formed in 1995, best known for their radio and television series.The League of Gentlemen may also refer to:* The League of Gentlemen ,... - Jerry SpringerJerry SpringerGerald Norman "Jerry" Springer is a British-born American television presenter, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991...
, born at East Finchley Station, or possibly Highgate, during World War II - Steven StapletonSteven StapletonSteven Peter Stapleton is a British musician and the only constant member of experimental improv outfit Nurse with Wound...
, musician - Mike SkinnerThe StreetsThe Streets were a British rap/garage project from Birmingham, United Kingdom, led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner and has included a myriad of other contributors most notably drummer Johnny Drum Machine, vocalist Kevin Mark Trail and the Italian-American beatmaker Leroy.The...
, rapper and producer - Terry-ThomasTerry-ThomasThomas Terry Hoar Stevens was a distinctive English comic actor, known as Terry-Thomas. He was famous for his portrayal of disreputable members of the upper classes, especially cads and toffs, with the trademark gap in his front teeth, cigarette holder, smoking jacket, and catch-phrases such as...
, actor - Lee Thompson from MadnessMadness (band)In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...
- Alan TilvernAlan TilvernAlan Tilvern was a British film and television actor. He is best known for his role as R.K. Maroon in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.-Television appearances:* Doctor Who serial, Planet of Giants...
, actor - Richard Tucker, typographer and founder of MoMMA
- Tamás VásáryTamás VásáryTamás Vásáry is a celebrated Hungarian concert pianist.- Biography and career :Vásáry made his debut at the age of 8, performing Mozart's Piano Concerto in D major, K.107 in the city of his birth, where he gave a solo recital the following year. He then began to concertize regularly as a child...
, pianist and conductor. - Amy WinehouseAmy WinehouseAmy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...
— singer - Norman WisdomNorman WisdomSir Norman Joseph Wisdom, OBE was an English actor, comedian and singer-songwriter best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring his hapless onscreen character Norman Pitkin...
, who lived in nearby ArkleyArkleyArkley is a village in the London Borough of Barnet. It is located north north-west of Charing Cross, and at above sea level is one of the highest points in London....
Crime
- Owen SuffolkOwen SuffolkOwen Suffolk an Australian bushranger, poet, confidence-man and author of Days of Crime and Years of Suffering ....
, Australian transportedPenal transportationTransportation or penal transportation is the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony. Examples include transportation by France to Devil's Island and by the UK to its colonies in the Americas, from the 1610s through the American Revolution in the 1770s, and then to Australia between...
convictConvictA convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
and bushrangerBushrangerBushrangers, or bush rangers, originally referred to runaway convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who had the survival skills necessary to use the Australian bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities...
- born in Finchley in 1777
Travel and Exploration
| Name | Notability | District | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Celia Fiennes Celia Fiennes Celia Fiennes was an English traveller. Born in Wiltshire, she was the daughter of an English Civil War Parliamentarian Colonel, who was in turn the second son of the William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele. Celia Fiennes died in Hackney in 1741.-Pioneering Female Traveller:Fiennes never married... |
Early recreational traveller, She is widely accepted as the first recorded woman to visit every county in England. | Mill Hill | L |
| David Livingstone David Livingstone David Livingstone was a Scottish Congregationalist pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and an explorer in Africa. His meeting with H. M. Stanley gave rise to the popular quotation, "Dr... |
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Judiciary
- Sir William SheeWilliam SheeSir William Shee QS was an Anglo-Irish politician, lawyer and judge, the first Roman Catholic judge to sit in England and Wales since the Reformation.-Early life and legal career:...
, the first Roman Catholic judgeJudgeA judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
to sit in England and WalesEngland and WalesEngland and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
since the ReformationEnglish ReformationThe English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
.
Literature
| Name | Notability | District | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fleur Adcock Fleur Adcock Kareen Fleur Adcock , CNZM, OBE is a poet and an editor of English and Northern Irish ancestry, who has lived much of her life in England.-Life and career:... |
poet | ||
| Kingsley Amis Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis, CBE was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, various short stories, radio and television scripts, along with works of social and literary criticism... |
novelist and poet | Barnet | L |
| Martin Amis Martin Amis Martin Louis Amis is a British novelist, the author of many novels including Money and London Fields . He is currently Professor of Creative Writing at the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester, but will step down at the end of the 2010/11 academic year... |
novelist | Barnet | L |
| Charles Dickens Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic... |
novelist | Finchley | L |
| Tim Parks Tim Parks Tim Parks is a British novelist, translator and author.-Life:Tim Parks was born in Manchester in 1954, the son of a clergyman. He grew up in Finchley , London and was educated at Cambridge University and Harvard. He has lived near Verona in Italy since 1981... |
novelist (his semi-autobiographical Tongues of Flame is set in the North Finchley of 1968) | Finchley | |
| Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man... |
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| Will Self Will Self William Woodard "Will" Self is an English novelist and short story writer. His fictional style is known for being satirical, grotesque, and fantastical. He is a prolific commentator on contemporary British life, with regular appearances on Newsnight and Question Time... |
novelist, reviewer and columnist | Finchley | L |
Journalism and the media
| Name | Notability | District | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Douglas Stephen Douglas (journalist) Stephen Douglas is a British journalist, currently working for ITN as the North of England Correspondent.He reports for the flagship programme ITV Evening News and the News at Ten... |
journalist, ITV | ||
| Richard Baker Richard Baker (broadcaster) Richard Baker OBE is a British broadcaster best known as a newsreader for the BBC News from 1954 to 1982. He was a contemporary of Kenneth Kendall and Robert Dougall and was the first person to read the BBC Television News in 1954. At one time he lived in Barnet, North London... |
broadcaster | ||
| Mark Kermode Mark Kermode Mark Kermode is an English film critic, musician and a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. He contributes to Sight and Sound magazine, The Observer newspaper and BBC Radio 5 Live, where he presents Kermode and Mayo's Film Reviews with Simon Mayo on Friday afternoons... |
film critic | Finchley | |
Politics and government
| Name | Notability | District | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Bercow John Bercow John Simon Bercow is a British politician who has been the Speaker of the House of Commons in the United Kingdom since June 2009. Prior to his election to Speaker he was a member of the Conservative party.... |
Current Speaker of the House of Commons and the Member of Parliament Member of Parliament A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,... for Buckingham Buckingham (UK Parliament constituency) Buckingham is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:... |
Edgware | B |
| Cyril Bibby Cyril Bibby Cyril Bibby was a biologist and educator. He was also one of the first sexologists.-Early life, family, etc. :... |
who in 1958–1959 was the prospective Labour Party Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after... candidate opposing Reginald Maudling Reginald Maudling Reginald Maudling was a British politician who held several Cabinet posts, including Chancellor of the Exchequer. He had been spoken of as a prospective Conservative leader since 1955, and was twice seriously considered for the post; he was Edward Heath's chief rival in 1965... |
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| Robert Carr Robert Carr Leonard Robert Carr, Baron Carr of Hadley, PC is a British Conservative politician.Robert Carr was educated at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge where he read Natural Sciences, graduating in 1938.... (Baron Carr of Hadley) |
Conservative politician | ||
| Sir Sydney Chapman Sydney Chapman (politician) Sir Sydney Brookes Chapman is an English politician and architect. He was Conservative Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet from 1979 until he stepped down at the 2005 general election.... |
local MP 1979–2005 | ||
| Nick Griffin Nick Griffin Nicholas John "Nick" Griffin is a British politician, chairman of the British National Party and Member of the European Parliament for North West England.... |
Political Leader of the BNP BNP -Politics:*Bahujana Nidahas Peramuna, a Sri Lankan political party*Balochistan National Party, a Pakistani political party*Bangladesh Nationalist Party, a Bangladeshi political party*Barbados National Party, a defunct political party in Barbados... |
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| Octavia Hill Octavia Hill Octavia Hill was an English social reformer, whose main concern was the welfare of the inhabitants of cities, especially London, in the second half of the nineteenth century. Born into a family with a strong commitment to alleviating poverty, she herself grew up in straitened circumstances owing... |
social reformer | L | |
| Sir Stamford Raffles Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles, FRS was a British statesman, best known for his founding of the city of Singapore . He is often described as the "Father of Singapore"... |
Founder of Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the... |
Mill Hill | L |
| Reginald Maudling Reginald Maudling Reginald Maudling was a British politician who held several Cabinet posts, including Chancellor of the Exchequer. He had been spoken of as a prospective Conservative leader since 1955, and was twice seriously considered for the post; he was Edward Heath's chief rival in 1965... |
local MP 1950–1979 | ||
| Vincent Tewson Vincent Tewson Vincent Tewson was a British trade unionst and general secretary of the Trades Union Congress from 1946 to 1960. He was born in Bradford, Yorkshire and died in Letchworth, Hertfordshire... |
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| Margaret Thatcher Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990... |
local MP and Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1979-1990 |
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| William Wilberforce William Wilberforce William Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire... |
Politician, a philanthropist Philanthropist A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes... and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade |
Mill Hill | L |
| John Wilkes John Wilkes John Wilkes was an English radical, journalist and politician.He was first elected Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he fought for the right of voters—rather than the House of Commons—to determine their representatives... |
Radical, journalist and politician | Mill Hill | |
Sport and Games
| Name | Notability | District | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Crawley David Crawley David Crawley is a Gaelic football player for Dundalk GAA club Sean O'Mahony's. Crawley is a retired Irish football player who played for Dundalk and Shelbourne during a 12 year long League of Ireland career. Crawley was played a left back and was renowned for his excellent crossing... |
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| C. B. Fry | Polymath Polymath A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable... best known as a cricketer |
Childs Hill | L D |
| Ram Vaswani Ram Vaswani Ram Vaswani is an English professional snooker player, turned professional poker player and the youngest member of The Hendon Mob... |
professional poker player | ||