ALL PEOPLE A-Z

This listing combines our four categories of those who have made London: architects, engineers, and founders of institutions and businesses. For more about the person, click on any name.

A
Abercrombie, Patrick. Born 1879. Wartime plans for post WW2 London.
Agrawal, Roma. Born 1984. Structural engineer for the Shard.
Albert, Prince. Born 1819. Creator of the south Kensington cultural quarter.
Arup, Ove. Born 1895. Structural engineer for spectacular London buildings.
Augusta, Princess. Born 1719. Vigorous patron of Kew Gardens.
Avery, Brian. Born 1944. Architect of Waterloo IMAX cinema.

B
Baker, Samuel. Born 1711. Founder of Sotheby’s auction house.
Baldwin of Forde. Born 1125. Founder of Lambeth Palace, died on 3rd Crusade.
Banks, Joseph. Born 1743. Adventurous botanist and foBunder of Kew Gardens.
Barclay, Jack. Born 1900. Founder of luxury car dealership in Berkeley Square.
Barlow, William Henry. Born 1812. Engineer of St. Pancras Station.
Barnaby, Edwin. Born 1795. Founder of Olympia exhibition centre.
Barry, Charles. Born 1795. Architect of the Houses of Parliament.
Bazalgette, Joseph. Born 1795. 19th century transformer of London infrastructure.
Beaverbrook, Lord. Born 1879. Newspaper publisher.
Bechstein, Carl. Born 1826. Piano maker and creator of the Wigmore Hall.
Bedford Eric. Born 1909. Architect of the BT Tower.
Bentham, Jeremy. Born 1748. Founder of University College London.
Binnie, Alexander. Born 1839. Engineer of the Blackwall Tunnel.
Birkbeck, George. Born 1776. Founder of Birkbeck College London University.
Bourne, Widow. Born about 1700. Founder of Berry Bros & Rudd wine merchants.
Bracey, Chris. Born 1964. Founder of Walthamstow neon museum.
Broome, Arthur. Born 1779. Vicar and founder of the RSPCA.
Brown, Neave. Born 1929. Architect of Alexandra Road Estate.
Brunel, Isambard Kingdom. Born 1819. The outstanding Victorian engineer.
Buchanan, Colin. Born 1907. Proponent of elevated pedestrian walkways.
Burlington, 3rd Earl of. Born 1694. Architect of Chiswick House.
Burnaby, Edwyn. Born 1795. Founder of the Olympia events centre.
Burton, Decimus. Born 1800. Architect of Palm House, Kew Gardens.

C
Cadogan, 5th Earl of. Born 1840. Developer of Cadogan Estate.
Carlyle, Thomas. Born 1795. Founder of the London Library.
Caroline, Queen. Born 1883. Creator of the Serpentine, Hyde Park.
Carr, Jonathan. Born 1845. Developer of the Bedford Park estate.
Castaing, John. Born about 1650. Founder of the London Stock Exchange.
Chamberlin (Born 1919), Powell & Bon. Barbican Estate, City of London.
Chambers, William. Born 1723. Architect of Somerset House.
Charles II, King. Born 1630. Patron of Christopher Wren.
Cromie, Robert. Born 1887. Architect of the Apollo Cinema, Hammersmith.
Cubitt, Lewis. Born 1788. Designer of Kings Cross railway station.
Cubitt, Thomas. Born 1799. Builder of Belgravia.

D
Draper, Charles. Born 1888. Deviser of the Thames Barrier mechanism.

E
Ellington, Edward. Born 1845. Founder of the London Hydraulic Company.

F
Faraday, Michael. Born 1791. Pioneer of electrical science.
Farrell, Terry. Born 1938. Architect of the MI6 Building.
Forsyth, William. Born 1872. Architect of the WW2 Admiralty Citadel.
Foster, Norman. Born 1935. Superstar of high tech.
Fowke, Francis. Born 1823. Architect of the Royal Albert Hall.
Foyle, William, Born 1885. The world’s largest bookseller.

G
Gibbs, James. Born 1682. Architect of St. Martin in the Fields.
Goldfinger, Erno. Born 1902. Willow Road & Trellick Tower.
Gresham, Thomas. Born 1518. Founder of Gresham College.

H
Hawksmoor, Nicholas. Born 1661. London churches.
Herzog (Born 1950) & de Meuron. Architects of the Tate Modern.
Holden, Charles. Born. 1875. Architect of London Transport.
Homer, Thomas. Born 1761. Disgraced promoter of Regent’s Canal.
Hooke, Robert. Born 1635. 17th century polymath.
Hunkin, Tim. Born 1950. Cartoonist and automata maker.

J
Jones, Horace. Born 1819. Architect of Tower Bridge.
Jones, Inigo. Born 1573. Pioneer of British classical architecture.

K
Knight, John. Born 1828. Inventor of the gas powered traffic light.

L
Lasdun, Denys. Born 1914. Architect of the Royal National Theatre.
Lewis, John Spedan. Born 1885. Gave John Lewis to its employees.
Linton, Hercules. Born 1837. Builder of the Cutty Sark tea clipper.
Lloyd, Edward. Born 1648. His coffee shop created marine insurance.

M
MacCormac (Born 1938), Jamieson & Prichard. Southwark station.
Marks, David (Born 1952) & Barfield, Julia. Spectacular structures.
Martin, Leslie. Born 1908. Architect of the Royal Festival Hall.
Matthew, Robert. Born 1906. Chief Architect, London County Council.
Mitchell, Andy. Born 1960. Engineer of the Thames Tideway tunnel.
Mowlem, John. Born 1788. Master builder of the 19th century.
Myddelton, Hugh. Born 1604. Builder of the New River water supply.

N
Neel, Edric. Born 1914. Designed 39,000 Arcon prefabs.

O
Olivier, Lawrence. Born 1907. First Director of the National Theatre.

P
Peabody, George. Born 1795. Housing philanthropist.
Piano, Renzo. Born 1937. The Shard and Paddington Square.
Poultney, Michael. Born 1963. Supplying Portland stone to London.
Pugin, Augustus. Born 1812. Leader of the 19th century Gothic revival.

Q
Quant, Mary. Born 1930. Fashion pioneer of the swinging Sixties.

R
Reith, John. Born 1889. First Director General, BBC.
Rennie, John. Born 1761. Engineer of London bridges and docks.
Reuter, Paul. Born 1816. News agency pioneer.
Rogers, Richard. Born 1933. Astonishing high tech in London & Paris.

S
Scott, George Gilbert. Born 1811. Architect of St.Pancras Station.
Scott, Giles Gilbert. Born 1880. Battersea Power Station and phone kiosk.
Seifert, Richard. Born 1910. Centre Point and Space House, Kingsway.
Selfridge, Harry. Born 1858. Retail impressario who died in poverty.
Sellar, Irvine. Born 1934. Developer of Shard and Paddington Cube.
Shaw, Norman. Born 1817. New Scotland Yard and Bedford Park.
Shillibeer, George. Born 1797. Pioneer of the London bus.
Smith, James. Born about 1800. Purveyor of umbrellas since 1830.
Soane, John. Born 1753. His work lives on in his own home.
Spence, Basil. Born 1907. Imposing modern public buildings.

T
Tate, Henry. Born 1819. A sugar fortune devoted to art.
Timpson, John. Born 1943. Benevolent entrepreneur of shoe repair.
Tussaud, Marie. Born 1761. The grisly history of waxworks.

W
Walpole, Horace. Born 1717. Creator of Strawberry Hill, Twickenham.
Waterhouse, Alfred. Born 1830. Natural History Museum.
Webb, Aston. Born 1849. Victoria & Albert Museum.
Wellcome, Henry. Born 1853. Pharmaceutical philanthropist.
William the Conqueror. Born 1028. Built the Tower of London.
Winsor, Frederick. Born 1763. Pioneer of gas street lighting.
Wolsey, Thomas. Born 1473. Creator of Hampton Court Palace.
Wren, Christopher. Born 1632. St. Paul’s Cathedral and 50 City churches.