List of Top 100 Famous People |   (2024)

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.

1. Marilyn Monroe (1926 –1962) American actress, singer, model
2. Abraham Lincoln (1809 –1865) US President during American civil war
3. Nelson Mandela (1918 – 2013) South African President anti-apartheid campaigner
4. Queen Elizabeth II (1926 – 2022) British monarch since 1954
5. John F. Kennedy (1917 –1963) US President 1961 – 1963
6. Martin Luther King (1929 –1968) American civil rights campaigner
7. Winston Churchill (1874 –1965) British Prime Minister during WWII
8. Donald Trump (1946 –) Businessman, US President.
9. Bill Gates (1955 –) American businessman, founder of Microsoft
10. Muhammad Ali (1942 –2016) American Boxer and civil rights campaigner
11. Mahatma Gandhi (1869 –1948) Leader of Indian independence movement
12. Mother Teresa (1910 –1997) Macedonian Catholic missionary nun
13. Christopher Columbus (1451 – 1506) Italian explorer
14. Charles Darwin (1809 –1882) British scientist, theory of evolution
15. Elvis Presley (1935 –1977) Americanmusician
16. Albert Einstein (1879 –1955) German scientist, theory of relativity
17. Paul McCartney (1942 –) British musician, member of Beatles
18. Queen Victoria ( 1819 – 1901) British monarch 1837 – 1901
19. Pope Francis (1936 –) First pope from the Americas
20. Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964) Indian Prime Minister 1947 – 1964
21. Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519) Italian, painter, scientist, polymath
22. Vincent Van Gogh (1853– 1890) Dutch artist
23. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 – 1945) US President 1932 – 1945
24. Pope John Paul II (1920 –2005) Polish Pope
25. Thomas Edison ( 1847 – 1931) American inventor
26. Rosa Parks (1913 – 2005) American civil rights activist
27. Lyndon Johnson (1908 – 1973) US President 1963– 1969
28. Ludwig Beethoven (1770 –1827) German composer
29. Oprah Winfrey (1954 –)American TV presenter, actress, entrepreneur
30. Indira Gandhi (1917 – 1984) Prime Minister of India 1966 – 1977
31. Eva Peron (1919 – 1952) First Lady of Argentina 1946 – 1952
32. Benazir Bhutto (1953 – 2007) Prime Minister of Pakistan 1993 – 1996
33. George Orwell (1903 – 1950) British author
34. Vladimir Putin (1952 – ) Russian leader
35. Dalai Lama (1938 –) Spiritual and political leader of Tibetans
36. Walt Disney (1901 – 1966) American film producer
37. Neil Armstrong (1930 – 2012) US astronaut
38. Peter Sellers (1925 – 1980) British actor and comedian
39. Barack Obama (1961–) US President 2008 – 2016
40. Malcolm X (1925– 1965) American Black nationalist leader
41. J.K.Rowling (1965 –) British author
42. Richard Branson (1950 –) British entrepreneur
43. Pele (1940 –) Brazilian footballer, considered greatest of 20th century.
44. Angelina Jolie (1975 –) Actress, director, humanitarian
45. Jesse Owens (1913–1980) US track athlete,1936 Olympics
46. John Lennon (1940 – 1980) British musician,member of the Beatles
47. Henry Ford (1863 – 1947) US Industrialist
48. Haile Selassie (1892 –1975) Emperorof Ethiopia 1930 – 1974
49. Joseph Stalin (1879 –1953) Leader of Soviet Union1924–1953
50. Lord Baden Powell (1857 – 1941) British Founder of scout movement
51. Michael Jordan (1963 –) US Basketball star
52. Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) Leader of Russian Revolution 1917
53. Ingrid Bergman (1915–1982) Swedish actress
54. Fidel Castro (1926–)President of Cuba 1976 – 2008
55. Leo Tolstoy (1828 –1910) Russian author and philosopher
56. Greta Thunberg (2003 – ) Environmentalist activist)
57. Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) Spanish modern artist
58. Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish author, poet, playwright
59. Coco Chanel (1883–1971) French fashion designer
60. Charles de Gaulle (1890 –1970) French resistance leader and President 1959 – 1969
61. Amelia Earhart (1897 – 1937) Aviator
62. John M Keynes (1883 – 1946) British economist
63. Louis Pasteur (1822–1895) French chemist and microbiologist
64. Mikhail Gorbachev (1931 –)Leader of Soviet Union 1985 – 1991
65. Plato (423 BC – 348 BC) Greek philosopher
66. Adolf Hitler (1889 –1945) leader of Nazi Germany 1933– 1945
67. Sting (1951 –) British musician
68. Elon Musk (1971 – ) Business magnate, and entrepreneur.
69. Mary Magdalene (4 BCE –40CE) devotee of Jesus Christ
70. Alfred Hitchco*ck (1899 – 1980) English / American film producer, director
71. Michael Jackson (1958 – 2009) Americanmusician
72. Madonna (1958 –) Americanmusician, actress, author
73. Mata Hari (1876–1917) Dutch exotic dancer, executed as spy
74. Cleopatra (69 –30 BCE) Queen of Egypt
75. Grace Kelly (1929 – 1982) American actress, Princess of Monaco\
76. Malala Yousafzai(1997–) Pakistani human rights activist
77. Steve Jobs (1955 –2012) co-founder ofApple computers
78. Ronald Reagan (1911 – 2004) US President 1981-1989
79. Lionel Messi (1987–) Argentinian footballer
80. Babe Ruth (1895 – 1948) American baseball player
81. Bob Geldof (1951 – ) Irish musician, charity worker
82. Roger Federer (1981 –) Swiss Tennis player
83. Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) Austrian psychoanalyst
84. Woodrow Wilson (1856 – 1924) US president 1913 – 1921
85. Mao Zedong (1893–1976) Leader of Chinese Communist revolution
86. Katherine Hepburn (1907–2003) American actress
87. Audrey Hepburn (1929 – 1993) British actress and humanitarian
88. David Beckham (1975 –) English footballer
89. Tiger Woods (1975 –) American golfer
90. Usain Bolt (1986 –) Jamaican athlete and Olympian
91. Carl Lewis (1961 –) US athlete and Olympian
92. Prince Charles (1948 –) Heir to British throne
93. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929 –1994) American wife of JF Kennedy
94. Joe Biden (1942 – ) US President
95. Kim Kardashian (1980 – ) American socialiate
96. C.S. Lewis (1898 –1963) British author
97. Billie Holiday (1915 – 1959) American jazz singer
98. J.R.R. Tolkien (1892 –1973) British author
99. Billie Jean King (1943 –) American tennis player andhuman rightsactivist
100. Margaret Thatcher (1925 –2013) British Prime Minister 1979 – 1990

More famous people

1. Anne Frank (1929–1945) Dutch Jewish author who died in Holocaust
2. Simon Bolivar (1783 – 1830) Venezuelan independence activist in SouthAmerica.
3. Marie Antoinette (1755 – 1793) French Queen, executed during the French revolution
4. Cristiano Ronaldo(1985 – )Portuguese footballer.
5. Emmeline Pankhurst (1858–1928) English suffragette.
6. Emile Zatopek(1922 – 2000) Czech athlete
7. Desmond Tutu (1931 – 2021) South African Bishop and opponent of apartheid
8. Lech Walesa(1943 – )Polish leader of Solidarity movement
9. Julie Andrews(1935 – )British singer, actress
10. Florence Nightingale(1820 – 1910)British nurse
11. Marie Curie(1867 – 1934) Polish / French scientist
12. Stephen Hawking (1942 – )British scientist
13. Tim Berners Lee (1955–) English creator of World Wide Web
14. Aung San Suu Kyi (1945 –) Burmese opposition leader
15. Lance Armstrong (1971–) American cyclist
16. Shakira(1977 – ) Colombian singer
17. Jon Stewart (1962 –) American comedian
18. Wright BrothersOrville (1871 – 1948) and Wilbur (1867 – 1912) American inventors, aviation pioneers
19. Ernest Hemingway (1899 – 1961) American author
20. Roman Abramovich (1966 – )Russian oligarch
21. Tom Cruise (1962 – ) American actor
22. Rupert Murdoch (1931 – )Media owner of News Corporation
23. Al Gore (1948 – )US presidential candidate and environmental campaigner
24. Sacha Baron Cohen (1971 –) English comedian
25. George Clooney (1961 –) American actor and political activist
26. Paul Krugman(1953 – ) American Nobel Prize winning economist
27. Jimmy Wales (1966 – )American creator of Wikipedia
28. Brad Pitt (1963 –) Actor
29. Kylie Minogue (1968 – ) Australian singer and actress
30. Stephen King (1947 –) Americanauthor

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 book100 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

Famous by religion

• Christians
• Hindus
• Muslims