Historical figures in Oxford

The atlas holds 50 people and 81 moments here, from 1492 to 2015. The most recorded lives are J. R. R. Tolkien, Howard Florey and Winston Churchill. Among them Writers, Philosophers and Scientists, across the Cold War and the Space Age.

Notable people

1. Abdus Salam

   in 1996

   1 moment here

   Pakistani theoretical physicist and 1979 Nobel Prize laureate whose career connected education in Punjab and Cambridge with professorships in Lahore…

2. Adam Smith

   in 1740

   2 moments here

   Scottish moral philosopher and political economist of the Scottish Enlightenment, author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the…

3. Albert Einstein

   in 1931

   1 moment here

   German-born theoretical physicist who transformed modern physics through special and general relativity, foundational work on quantum theory, and…

4. Alexander Prokhorov

   in 1955

   1 moment here

   Alexander Mikhailovich Prokhorov was an Australian-born Soviet and Russian physicist whose work in quantum electronics helped lead to the maser and…

5. Benazir Bhutto

   from 1973 to 1977

   2 moments here

   Pakistani political leader who served twice as prime minister, from 1988 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1996.…

6. Bob Hawke

   in 1953

   1 moment here

   Australian trade-union leader and Labor politician who served as Australia’s 23rd prime minister from 1983 to 1991.…

7. Charles Darwin

   in 1847

   1 moment here

   English naturalist, geologist, and biologist whose observations during the global voyage of HMS Beagle and subsequent research led to his theory of…

8. Charlie Chaplin

   in 1962

   1 moment here

   English actor, comedian, director, writer, producer and composer whose screen persona, the Tramp, became an international icon.…

9. C. V. Raman

   in 1921

   1 moment here

   Indian physicist Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (1888–1970), known for research on light scattering and for the Raman effect.…

10. Desiderius Erasmus

    in 1499

    1 moment here

    Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, theologian, editor, and author. Erasmus was born in the Burgundian Netherlands, educated in the Low…

11. Dorothy Hodgkin

    from 1928 to 1934

    2 moments here

    English chemist and X-ray crystallographer Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin determined major biomolecular structures including penicillin, vitamin B12,…

12. Elizabeth I

    from 1554 to 1592

    3 moments here

    Elizabeth I (1533–1603), daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, was Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 until her death.…

13. Elizabeth Taylor

    in 1966

    1 moment here

    British-American actress and HIV/AIDS activist. Born in London, Taylor moved to Southern California in 1939, became a major Hollywood star, worked…

14. Erwin Schrödinger

    in 1933

    1 moment here

    Austrian-Irish theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate whose work on wave mechanics and the Schrödinger equation became foundational to quantum…

15. Fidel V. Ramos

    in 1997

    1 moment here

    Filipino military officer and politician who served as president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998.…

16. Giordano Bruno

    in 1583

    1 moment here

    Italian Renaissance philosopher, Dominican friar, writer, and cosmological theorist. Born at Nola, Bruno studied and lived in Italy, Switzerland,…

17. Hirohito

    in 1921

    1 moment here

    Hirohito (posthumously Emperor Shōwa) was Emperor of Japan from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989.…

18. Howard Florey

    from 1922 to 1968

    5 moments here

    Australian pharmacologist and pathologist who led the Oxford team that developed penicillin into a practical therapeutic drug.…

19. Indira Gandhi

    in 1937

    1 moment here

    Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was an Indian stateswoman who served as prime minister from 1966 to 1977 and from 1980 until her assassination in 1984.…

20. Jane Austen

    in 1783

    1 moment here

    English novelist Jane Austen spent her life in southern England, principally in Hampshire, Bath, Southampton, Chawton, and Winchester.…

21. John Cornforth

    in 1939

    1 moment here

    Australian-British organic chemist and 1975 Nobel Prize laureate, noted for elucidating the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalysed reactions.…

22. John Eccles

    from 1925 to 1990

    3 moments here

    Australian neurophysiologist and philosopher John Carew Eccles (1903–1997) was a Nobel laureate noted for research on synaptic transmission.…

23. John Locke

    from 1652 to 1681

    3 moments here

    English philosopher, physician, and political writer. Locke was born in Somerset, educated in London and Oxford, served Lord Shaftesbury in London,…

24. John Milton

    in 1642

    1 moment here

    English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. This chronology follows documented residences, education, continental travel, marriages, public service,…

Moments

1. 1492 Studies at Oxford Thomas More
2. 1499 First English visit at Oxford Desiderius Erasmus
3. 1554 House arrest at Woodstock Palace Elizabeth I
4. 1566 Royal visit to Oxford Elizabeth I
5. 1583 First Oxford visit and public debate Giordano Bruno
6. 1592 Visit to Ryecote Elizabeth I
7. 1603 Student at Magdalen Hall Thomas Hobbes
8. 1642 Marriage at Forest Hill John Milton
9. 1652 Christ Church residence and study John Locke
10. 1674 Return to Oxford for medical degree John Locke
11. 1681 Oxford Parliament activity John Locke
12. 1692 Master's degree at Hart Hall Jonathan Swift
13. 1740 Departure for Oxford Adam Smith
14. 1740 Oxford study Adam Smith
15. 1783 Education in Oxford Jane Austen
16. 1847 Attends British Association at Oxford Charles Darwin
17. 1857 Oxford parliamentary campaign William Makepeace Thackeray
18. 1874 Magdalen College undergraduate Oscar Wilde
19. 1874 Born at Blenheim Palace Winston Churchill
20. 1896 Meeting Max Müller Swami Vivekananda
21. 1907 Receives Oxford honorary degree Mark Twain
22. 1908 Proposes to Clementine at Blenheim Winston Churchill
23. 1910 Romanes Lecture at Oxford Theodore Roosevelt
24. 1911 Begins at Exeter College J. R. R. Tolkien
25. 1914 Merton College residence T. S. Eliot
26. 1916 Garsington visits Katherine Mansfield
27. 1918 Returns to Oxford for dictionary work J. R. R. Tolkien
28. 1920 Lectures at Oxford University Rabindranath Tagore
29. 1921 Lecture visit to Oxford C. V. Raman
30. 1921 Tour of Oxford University Hirohito
31. 1922 Rhodes Scholar at Oxford Howard Florey
32. 1925 Arrival for Oxford study John Eccles
33. 1925 Returns to Oxford as professor J. R. R. Tolkien
34. 1927 Anglican baptism T. S. Eliot
35. 1927 Anglican confirmation T. S. Eliot
36. 1928 Enters Somerville College Dorothy Hodgkin
37. 1929 Hibbert Lecture at Oxford Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
38. 1930 Move to 20 Northmoor Road J. R. R. Tolkien
39. 1930 Delivers the Hibbert Lectures at Oxford Rabindranath Tagore
40. 1931 First Christ Church residence Albert Einstein
41. 1933 Fellowship at Magdalen College, Oxford Erwin Schrödinger
42. 1934 Returns to Oxford Dorothy Hodgkin
43. 1935 Professor of Pathology at Oxford Howard Florey
44. 1937 Somerville College studies Indira Gandhi
45. 1939 Doctoral research with Robert Robinson John Cornforth
46. 1942 Birth in Oxford Stephen Hawking
47. 1943 Chemistry student at Somerville Margaret Thatcher
48. 1945 Merton Professor at Oxford J. R. R. Tolkien
49. 1947 Move to Manor Road J. R. R. Tolkien
50. 1947 Jowett Society address Ludwig Wittgenstein

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