Last Updated on September 22, 2021
Year after year, Cambridge University prepares graduates who, after graduation, achieve success in various disciplines.
Cambridge University is known for offering its students the best education and world-class learning resources. This has attracted students from all over the world to pursue their studies in the United Kingdom. It is safe to say that the University of Cambridge has created a quality standard for higher education around the world.
Many famous people graduated from Cambridge University; from the ones you see on television to authors of the books that you read, you’d be surprised that they are actually Cambridge alumni.
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Here are the Top 10 Cambridge University Notable Alumni
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Prince Ranjitsinhji
Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji Jadeja, born on the 10th of September 1872, was the Prince of Nawanagar in India. He ruled from 1907 to 1933 as the Maharaja Jam Saheb. Ranji, as he was popularly called played first-class cricket for Cambridge University, and country cricket for Sussex. He was very exceptional Test cricketer who played for the English cricket team and, has widely been regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. The Indian born cricketer graduated from the Trinity College, Cambridge in 1891.
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Sacha Baron Cohen
Born on the 13th of October 1971, Sacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Sacha Baron Cohen has portrayed four fictional characters, which he created himself. These characters include: Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral General Aladeen. He is widely known for his uses of various accents and guises for each of his characters. The popular actor is commonly identified under the alias of his famous movie characters, ‘Borat’ and ‘Ali G’.
He actually studied history at the Christ college, Cambridge and graduated in 1993 with an upper-second-class honours. His acting career kick-started in Cambridge, as he participated in many theatre arts presentations. Under the Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club, Baron Cohen performed in plays such as Fiddler on the Roof, Cyrano de Bergerac, and also in Habonim Dror Jewish theatre. He voiced the King Julien XIII character in the Madagascar film series (2005–2012 and also co-starred as Time in the fantasy sequel, Alice Through the Looking Glass.
He made a cameo appearance on BBC News to Anchor in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013). Baron Cohen was awarded the Best Newcomer at the 1999 British Comedy Awards for his role in the movie, The 11 O’Clock Show. He has also received two BAFTA Awards for Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy in the movie, Da Ali G Show. He has been nominated for several Emmy awards, been nominated for an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay, and a Golden Globe award for Best Actor for his work in the feature film Borat
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Sir Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton, born on the 25th of December was an English mathematician, astronomer, theologian, author and physicist (natural philosopher). He is widely recognized as one of the most influential scientists of all time, and a key figure in the scientific revolution. Newton made groundbreaking contributions to the development of optics, and his book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (“Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy”), laid the proper foundation for major research in classical mechanics.
A great physicist, whose works on gravity changed the history of science. Isaac Newton studied at the Trinity college and conducted most of his famous experiments at the Cambridge university. He was admitted in June 1661 to Trinity College, Cambridge, on the recommendation of his uncle Rev William Ayscough, who had studied there. He payed his fees by performing valet’s duties until he was awarded a scholarship in 1664. This guaranteed him four more years until he could get his Master of Arts degree. He was elected a Fellow of Trinity in October 1667 and graduated in 1668. Isaac Newton served two brief terms as a Member of Parliament for the University of Cambridge, in 1689–90 and 1701–02.
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Prince Charles of Wales
Born in 14th November 1948, Prince Charles Philip Arthur George is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II. He has served as the Prince of Wales since 1958, making him the longest serving Royal with a title in history. He has served as the Duke of Cornwall and also as the Duke of Rothesay.
The Prince is the first direct apparent heir to the throne of England to gain an undergraduate university degree. He actually studied archaeology, anthropology and history in the Cambridge university, graduating with a second class lower Bachelor of arts degree in 1970. He was awarded a Master of Arts degree in 1975, as par the university’s practice.
Prince Charles is a patron to many Trust Funds and Charitable organizations, including the Prince’s Trust he founded in 1976 and the Prince’s Charities he currently sponsors.
The Prince has received numerous awards and recognition from various environmental groups, as he is an avid environmentalist who raises awareness about climatic changes and organic farming. Prince Charles speaks on the role of architecture in the society and the conservation of historic buildings.
To this he created a new town based on his own experimental preference, the town was named Poundbury.
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William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth, born on the 7th of April 1770 was a renowned English Romantic poet. He was Britain’s poem Laureate from 1843 until his death in 1850. He studied at the St John’s College at Cambridge, and graduated in 1791. His work, magnum opus is generally known as “the poem to Coleridge” is considered to be The Prelude. It is a semi-autobiographical poem of his early years which he revised and expanded a number of times before it was posthumously titled and published.
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Lily Cole
Lily Luahana Cole, born on the 27th of December 1987 is an English model, actress and entrepreneur. She began pursuing her modelling career as a teenager and was listed in 2009 by Vogue Paris as one of the top 30 models of the 2000s. At age 16, she was booked for her first
British Vogue cover and was named “Model of the Year” at the 2004 British Fashion Awards. She has worked with many well-known brands, including Alexander McQueen, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Jean Paul Gaultier and Moschino. And her advertising campaigns have included Longchamp, Anna Sui, Rimmel and Cacharel.
SEE ALSO: Top 10 Oxford University Notable Alumni
Her film work includes The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus(2009), where she played a lead role, the short film directed by Shekhar Kapur, Passages, and the movie directed by Roland Joffé, There Be Dragons. Cole is the founder of Impossible People, an innovation group and incubator formally known as impossible.com. The fast raising actress and supermodel studied History of Art at King’s College, Cambridge. She managed to balance her acting and modeling career coupled with her academic, graduating with First Class in history of art in 2011.
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Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin, born on the 12th of February 1809 was a naturalist, biologist and geologist. The scientist is popularly known as the father of biology. He studied at the Cambridge university, graduating in 1931. He originally enrolled to study arts and become a clergyman but. He carried out most of his groundbreaking experiments, such the evolution theory and research on Cambridge campus.
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Sir Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, born on the 22nd of January 1561, was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, jurist, orator, and author. He served as the1st Viscount at St Alban, as an Attorney General and as the Lord Chancellor of England. His works remain influential in the development of the scientific method and revolution. He enrolled into the Trinity college, Cambridge at the age of twelve, graduating in 1577.
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Emma Thompson
Dame Emma Thompson, born on the15th of April 1959 is a British actress and screenwriter. She enrolled for an English degree at Newnham College, Cambridge and graduated in 1980. She featured on several comedy programmes, including two BBC TV series in 1987 (Tutti Frutti and Fortunes of War). She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for her work in both series. She gained her first movie role in 1989, a romantic comedy titled The Tall Guy. Emma won an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress for the period drama Howards End in 1992. She’s the only person in history to win an Oscar for both acting and writing.
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Stephen Hawking
The widely recognized theoretical physicist, despite getting struck with ALS graduated from the prestigious Cambridge University in 1969. Steve Hawkings is the highly celebrated as one of the leading minds in his fied. He has developed concepts, theories and principles that have helped evolve the history of science. After graduating, Steve Hawkings was was employed to lecture at the Cambridge university.
The list doesn’t stop here. There are many other famous personalities who have attended Cambridge. From politicians, great scholars, skilled scientists, activists and more, you name it.
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