# List of people from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames was created in 1965 when, under the London Government Act 1963, the Municipal Borough of Richmond (Surrey), the Municipal Borough of Barnes (also in Surrey) and the Municipal Borough of Twickenham (in Middlesex) were merged to become a new London borough within Greater London.
This is a categorised list of notable people who were born or have lived within the borders of the modern borough (which covers Barnes, East Sheen, Ham, Hampton, Kew, Hampton Hill, Hampton Wick, Mortlake, Petersham, Richmond, St Margarets, Teddington, Twickenham and Whitton). Only people who are sufficiently notable to have individual entries on Wikipedia have been included in the list and, in each instance, their birth or residence has been verified by citations. The list is divided into two main categories – Living people and Historical figures.

## People in Barnes

Barnes, in a bend of the River Thames, is in the extreme north-east of the borough (and as such is the closest part of the borough to central London). Its built environment includes a high proportion of 18th- and 19th-century buildings in the streets near Barnes Pond. Together these make up the Barnes Village conservation area where, along with its west riverside, most of the mid-19th century properties are concentrated. Its past residents include the composer Gustav Holst (1874–1934) and Ninette de Valois (1898–2001), founder of the Royal Ballet. They each lived in houses on The Terrace, Barnes which are marked by blue plaques.

## People in East Sheen

East Sheen was a hamlet in the parish of Mortlake. It became a fashionable suburb in the 19th century. Its notable residents include Sir Tim Berners-Lee (born 1955), computer scientist and inventor of the World Wide Web, who grew up there and attended Sheen Mount Primary School. A mosaic by Sue Edkins was placed at Sheen Lane Centre in June 2013 to commemorate his association with East Sheen.

## People in Ham

Ham's main feature is Ham Common which has a cricket pitch, a pond and woodland. A straight tree-lined path leads from Ham Common to Ham House, the most significant house in Ham. Several notable period houses in Ham cluster around the Common including the Cassel Hospital, Langham House and Ormeley Lodge, which is currently owned by Lady Annabel Goldsmith. Victorian buildings include Latchmere House. In contrast, Langham House Close, to the west of Ham Common, completed in 1958, is an early example of brutalist architecture and just to the north of Ham Parade is Parkleys. Started in 1954 and completed in 1956, Parkleys was the first large-scale residential development by the pioneering SPAN Developments Ltd of Eric Lyons and Geoffrey Townsend.
Past residents include John Henry Newman, later Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801–1890), who spent some of his early years at Grey Court, Ham Street, Ham. The site is marked by a blue plaque.

## People in Hampton

Hampton, on the north bank of the Thames, includes Hampton Court Palace. The mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing (1912–1954) lived at Ivy House – which now has a blue plaque – in Hampton High Street between 1945 and 1947 while working at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington.

## People in Kew

Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Successive Tudor, Stuart and Georgian monarchs maintained links with Kew. During the French Revolution, many refugees established themselves there and it was the home of several artists in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Most of Kew developed in the late 19th century, following the arrival of what is now the London Underground's District line. Further development took place in the 1920s and 1930s when new houses were built on the market gardens of North Sheen, and in the first decade of the 21st century when considerably more river-fronting flats and houses were constructed next to the River Thames on land formerly owned by Thames Water.

## People in Mortlake

Mortlake is on the south bank of the Thames between Kew and Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes. For many centuries it had village status and extended far to the south, to include East Sheen and part of what is now Richmond Park. Its Stuart and Georgian history was economically one of malting, brewing, farming, water transport and tapestry.
Mortlake's most famous former resident is John Dee (1527–1608/09), mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, alchemist and adviser to Queen Elizabeth I. He lived at Mortlake from 1565 to 1595 except for the six years between 1583 and 1589 when he was travelling in Europe. His house no longer exists but it became the Mortlake Tapestry Works and at the end of the 18th century was a girls' school.

## People in Petersham

Petersham is a village on the east of the bend in the Thames south of Richmond, which it shares with neighbouring Ham. It provides the foreground of the scenic view from Richmond Hill across Petersham Meadows, with Ham House further along the river.
Past residents include George Vancouver (1757–1798), Captain in the Royal Navy and one of Britain's greatest explorers and navigators, after whom the city of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada is named. He retired to Petersham, where he wrote A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and Round the World while living in what is now called Glen Cottage in River Lane. He died in 1798 and is buried in the churchyard of Petersham Parish Church. The Portland stone monument over his grave, renovated in the 1960s, is now Grade II listed in view of its historical associations.

## People in St Margarets

St Margarets takes its name from the former St Margaret's House, which was completed in 1827 although an earlier house of the same name stood on the site. It was the country house of Archibald Kennedy, 1st Marquess of Ailsa and later belonged to Francis Needham, 2nd Earl of Kilmorey, who are commemorated in local street names, including Kilmorey Gardens and Ailsa Road.
Past residents include J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851), the English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He commissioned the building of a country retreat on Sandycombe Road which is now known as Turner's House and is open to the public.

## People in Teddington

Teddington is on the north bank of the Thames, just after the start of a long meander, between Hampton Wick and Strawberry Hill. Notable past residents include Sir Noël Coward (1899–1973), actor, playwright and songwriter, who was born at 131 Waldegrave Road, Teddington. Teddington Library, which is nearby, has a bust of Coward, sculpted by Avril Vellacot.

## People in Twickenham

Twickenham, the administrative centre of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, has an extensive town centre and is the home of rugby union, with hundreds of thousands of spectators visiting Twickenham Stadium, the world's largest rugby stadium, each year. The historic riverside area includes 18th-century buildings and pleasure grounds, many of which survive intact. This area has three grand period mansions with public access: York House, Marble Hill House and Strawberry Hill House. (Another has been lost, that belonging to 18th-century poet Alexander Pope.) Among these is the neo-Gothic prototype home of Horace Walpole which has given its name to a whole district, Strawberry Hill, and is linked with Britain's oldest Roman Catholic university, St Mary's University, Twickenham.
The 1818 Enclosure Award led to the development of land to the west of the town centre largely between the present-day Staines and Hampton Roads, where new roads – Workhouse Road, Middle Road, 3rd, 2nd and 1st Common Roads (now First to Fifth Cross Roads respectively) – were laid out. During the 18th and 19th centuries, a number of fine houses were built and Twickenham became a popular place of residence for people of "fashion and distinction". Further development was stimulated by the opening of Twickenham station in 1848.

## People in Whitton

With the royal court often staying in Richmond and Hampton Court in the 18th century, Twickenham and nearby Whitton became a very fashionable place to live and this has left the area with a unique cultural heritage. The only remaining country house left in Whitton is the mid-19th century Kneller Hall. It replaced a house built in 1709 by portrait painter Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646–1723). It was the Royal Military School of Music for more than 150 years, until 2021, when it was announced that the hall would become the Upper School for Radnor House School, Twickenham, currently housed in Pope's villa.

## People in Richmond town and Richmond Park

Richmond was founded following King Henry VII's building in the 16th century of Richmond Palace (so-named in 1501), from which the town derives its name. (The palace itself commemorates King Henry's earldom of Richmond, North Yorkshire, the original Richmond.) The town and palace became particularly associated with Queen Elizabeth I (r. 1558–1603), who spent her last days there. During the 18th century, Richmond Bridge connected the two banks of the Thames, and many Georgian terraces were built, particularly around Richmond Green and on Richmond Hill. Those that have survived remain well-preserved and many have been designated listed buildings on account of their architectural or historic significance. The opening of Richmond railway station in 1846 was a significant event in the absorption of the town into a rapidly expanding London.
In 1890 the town of Richmond, formerly part of the ancient parish of Kingston upon Thames in the county of Surrey, became a municipal borough, which later extended to include Kew, Ham, Petersham and part of Mortlake (North Sheen). The municipal borough was abolished in 1965, when local-government reorganisation transferred Richmond from Surrey to Greater London.
Richmond Park, the largest of London's Royal Parks, was created by Charles I in the 17th century as a deer park. It includes many buildings of architectural or historic interest. White Lodge was formerly a royal residence and is now home to the Royal Ballet School. Pembroke Lodge was the home of 19th-century British Prime Minister Lord John Russell and his grandson, the philosopher Bertrand Russell.

### Living people
#### Actors, broadcasters, entertainers and musicians

| Name | Description | Local connection |
| Anastacia | Singer-songwriter | She used to live on Richmond Hill. |
| Anita Anand | Writer and broadcaster, presenter of BBC Radio 4's Any Answers? | She lives in Richmond. |
| Richard Ashcroft | The Verve singer and songwriter | He lives in Richmond. |
| Rick Astley | Singer, songwriter and podcaster | He lived for several years in Richmond. |
| Sir David Attenborough | Natural historian, broadcaster and author | He has a house in Richmond. |
| Michael Attenborough | Theatre director | He lived on Richmond Green with his parents Richard Attenborough and Sheila Sim. |
| Helen Baxendale | Actress | She lives in Richmond. |
| Brian Blessed | Actor, writer and television presenter | He owned Clarence House, 2 The Vineyard in Richmond from 1967 to 1976. |
| Anna Chancellor | Actress | She was born in Richmond. |
| Richard E. Grant | Actor | He lives in Richmond. |
| Jerry Hall | Model and actress | She has lived in Richmond. |
| John Hannah and Joanna Roth | Actors | They live in Richmond. |
| Tom Hardy | Actor | He bought a home in Richmond in 2013. |
| Amanda Holden | Actress, media personality and singer | She lives in Richmond. |
| Jane Horrocks | Actress and voice artist | She lives in Richmond. |
| Sir Mick Jagger | Rock musician, The Rolling Stones | He lived at Downe House, Richmond Hill when he was married to Jerry Hall. |
| Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt | Actors | They bought a family home in Richmond in 2012. |
| Milton Jones | Comedian | He was born and brought up in Kew and now lives in Richmond. |
| Mollie King | Singer in girl group The Saturdays | She is from Richmond. |
| Sisters Juliet Mills and Hayley Mills | Actresses | They lived at The Wick on Richmond Hill with their parents John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell. |
| Nick Mohammed | Actor, comedian and writer | He has lived in Richmond. |
| Dougie Poynter | Musician and bassist in McFly | He bought a house in Richmond in 2014. |
| Pete Townshend | Guitarist for The Who | He lived at The Wick on Richmond Hill until 2021. |
| Bruce Welch | Musician with The Shadows | He lives in Richmond. |
| Ronnie Wood | Rock musician, guitarist; a member of the Rolling Stones since 1975 | He lived at The Wick on Richmond Hill. |

#### Businesspeople

| Name | Description | Local connection | Ref |
| Peter Hendy, Baron Hendy of Richmond Hill | Minister of State for Rail and previously Chairman of Network Rail and Commissioner of Transport for London | He lives in Richmond. | |

#### Royals

| Name | Description | Local connection | Ref |
| Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy | Granddaughter of George V and a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II | She lives at Thatched House Lodge in Richmond Park. | |

#### Sportsmen and sportswomen

| Name | Description | Local connection | Ref |
| Lawrence Dallaglio | Rugby union player; former captain of the England national rugby union team | He lives in Richmond. | |

#### Writers and artists

| Name | Description | Local connection |
| Jez Alborough | Writer and illustrator of children's picture books | He lives in Richmond. |
| Fraser Nelson | Political journalist and editor of The Spectator magazine from 2009 to 2024 | He lives in Richmond. |
| Simon Singh | Popular science author, theoretical and particle physicist | He lives in Richmond. |
| Guy Spier | Investor and author of The Education of a Value Investor, a best-selling book on investing | He has a home in Richmond. |
| Matthew Syed | Columnist for The Times, author, broadcaster and former table tennis player | He has lived in Richmond since the 1990s. |

### Historical figures
#### Actors, broadcasters, entertainers and musicians

| Name | Dates | Description | Local connection |
| Malcolm Arnold | 1921–2006 | Composer | He lived at Denbigh Gardens and at Sheen Road, Richmond. |
| Richard Attenborough, Lord Attenborough | 1923–2014 | Actor and film director, and his wife Sheila Sim (1922–2016), actress | They lived from 1949 to 2012 on Richmond Green. |
| Johann Christian Bach | 1735–1782 | Composer; the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach | He had a house in Richmond in the 1770s, but it is not known where. He was music master to the royal household at Kew. |
| Geoffrey Barkas | 1896–1979 | Filmmaker | He was awarded the Military Cross in 1916, and between the Wars he became a filmmaker and led the British Middle East Command Camouflage Directorate in the Second World War. |
| Syd Barrett | 1946–2006 | Former lead singer with Pink Floyd | He shared a flat in Richmond with Rick Wright. |
| Mary Hayley Bell | 1911–2005 | Actress, writer and dramatist, and her husband, John Mills (1908–2005), actor | They lived at The Wick on Richmond Hill. |
| Ronald Colman | 1891–1958 | Actor | He was born in Richmond. |
| Gustav Holst | 1874–1934 | Composer, best known for his orchestral suite The Planets | He lived at 31 Grena Road, Richmond between 1903 and 1908. |
| Imogen Holst | 1907–1984 | Composer, arranger, conductor, teacher, musicologist and festival administrator | She was born at 31 Grena Road, Richmond and lived there until the family moved to Barnes in 1908. |
| Louis Honig | 1849–1906 | Composer and musician | He lived in Richmond from about 1883 at Waterford Lodge, and is recorded in the 1891 Census as living at 70 Church Road, Richmond. |
| Celia Johnson | 1908–1982 | Actress | She was born at 46 Richmond Hill, Richmond, where there is now a blue plaque. |
| Edmund Kean | 1787–1833 | Shakespearean stage actor | He had a house next door to the King's Theatre in Richmond where he was actor-manager, and died there. |
| Rudolph Nureyev | 1938–1993 | Ballet dancer and choreographer | He owned a house in Richmond until the 1980s. |
| Keith Relf | 1943–1976 | Musician, best known as the lead vocalist and harmonica player for the Yardbirds | He was born in Richmond and is buried at Richmond Cemetery. |
| Peter Sallis | 1921–2017 | Actor, who played Norman Clegg in the BBC comedy Last of the Summer Wine | He was born in Twickenham and later owned a house on Richmond Riverside. |
| William Christian Sellé | 1813–1898 | Doctor of music and Musician in Ordinary to Queen Victoria for 44 years | He lived at Old Palace Terrace, Richmond. |
| Sir Huw Wheldon | 1916–1986 | Broadcaster and BBC executive | He lived at 120 Richmond Hill. |
| Rick Wright | 1943–2008 | Pianist, keyboardist and songwriter | He shared a flat in Richmond with fellow Pink Floyd member Syd Barrett. |

#### Businesspeople

| Name | Dates | Description | Local connection |
| Edward Chapman | 1804–1880 | Publisher who, with William Hall, founded the publishers Chapman & Hall | He was born in Richmond. |
| Sir Angus Ogilvy | 1928–2004 | Businessman, husband of Princess Alexandra | He lived at Thatched House Lodge in Richmond Park. |
| Baron Willem van Dedem | 1929–2015 | Dutch businessman, art collector, art historian and philanthropist | He lived at Trumpeters' House, Richmond. |
| Sir Max Waechter | 1837–1924 | Businessman, art collector, philanthropist and advocate of a federal Europe | He lived in Terrace House on Richmond Hill and owned Glover's Island which he donated to the Borough of Richmond in 1900, helping to preserve the view from Richmond across the river. |

#### Criminals and sinners

| Name | Dates | Description | Local connection | Ref |
| Amy Gregory | 1872–1956 | Murderer, who strangled her daughter to death in 1895 | She lived at Albert Road, Richmond. | |
| Thomas Griffiths Wainewright | 1794–1847 | Poisoner and transported convict | He was born in Richmond. | |

#### Lawyers, politicians and statesmen

| Name | Dates | Description | Local connection |
| Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth | 1757–1844 | British Prime Minister from 1801 to 1804 | He was given White Lodge, Richmond Park, as a home near London, by George III in 1801. He was created Viscount Sidmouth in 1805, is commemorated in the name Sidmouth Wood at Richmond Park, and was buried in the churchyard of St Mary the Virgin Mortlake. |
| Henry Brouncker, 3rd Viscount Brouncker | 1627–1688 | Courtier and politician | He died at Shene Abbey. |
| Sir Charles Burt | 1832–1913 | Solicitor and local politician who campaigned for the preservation of several important local open spaces | He lived at Hillside House, where he died in 1913. He is buried in Richmond Cemetery together with his wife. His headstone records that "For more than forty years he devoted himself to public work on behalf of the Borough of Richmond and the County of Surrey." |
| Richard Edgcumbe, 2nd Earl of Mount Edgcumbe | 1764–1839) | Politician and writer on music | He died at his Richmond Hill home and is buried at St Peter's Church, Petersham. |
| Bernardo O'Higgins | 1778–1842 | General, statesman and liberator of Chile | He lived and studied at Clarence House, 2 The Vineyard, Richmond in his late teens. The site is marked by a blue plaque. |
| John Russell, 1st Earl Russell | 1792–1878 | Whig and Liberal politician and twice British Prime Minister (1846–1852 and 1865–1866) | He lived at Pembroke Lodge, Richmond Park. |
| William Selwyn | 1775–1855 | Lawyer and legal author | Selwyn lived in retirement at Pagoda House, Kew Road, Richmond, an estate inherited from his father in 1817. He provided the site on which St John the Divine, Richmond, the Anglican church in Kew Road, Richmond, was built in the 1830s. |
| John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute | 1713–1792 | Botanist and honorary director of Kew Gardens from 1754 to 1772, adviser to Princess Augusta and tutor to George III and, later, Prime Minister of Great Britain (1762–1763) | Bute lived at King's Cottage, 33 Kew Green. He succeeded Princess Amelia as Ranger of Richmond Park and used White Lodge as an occasional residence from 1761 until his death in 1792. |
| Sir Thomas Thynne | c.1610–1669 | Lawyer and MP | He had a house at Richmond which was searched for royalist suspects in 1659; his steward and butler were ordered to be arrested. |
| Algernon Tollemache | 1805–1892 | Politician, land speculator and financier | He lived at Wick House prior to his death in 1892. |
| John Turner | 1929–2020 | Prime Minister of Canada (June–September 1984) | He was born in Richmond and, with his parents, moved to Canada at the age of two. |
| Harold Wilson | 1916–1995 | British Labour politician, twice Prime Minister (1964–1970 and 1974–1976) | He lived at Fitzwilliam House, on Little Green, Richmond, during the Second World War. |

#### Royals: at the Manor of Shene/ Richmond Palace

| Name | Dates | Description | Local connection |
| Anne of Cleves | 1515–1557 | Fourth wife of King Henry VIII | She was granted Richmond Palace in 1540 after her divorce from Henry and entertained the king and his daughters there on several occasions. |
| Edward I | 1239–1307 | King of England 1272–1307 | He resided at Shene (now called Richmond) with his court in 1299. |
| Edward III | 1312–1377) | King of England 1327–1377 | He died at Shene in 1394. |
| Elizabeth I | 1533–1603 | Queen of England and Ireland 1558–1603 | She was held prisoner at Richmond Palace during her sister Mary I's reign. She lived in the palace as Queen and died there in 1603. |
| Elizabeth Woodville | c.1437–1492 | Queen of England 1464–1483, as the wife of King Edward IV | She made the royal manor of Shene her chief residence and held it until it was reclaimed from her by Henry VII in 1486. |
| Queen Henrietta Maria | 1609–1669 | The widowed mother of King Charles II; the US state of Maryland is named after her | She lived briefly at Richmond Palace in 1660. |
| Henry I | c.1068–1135 | King of England 1100–1135 | He resided for a short time in 1125 at the King's House within the Manor of Shene. |
| Henry V | 1386–1422 | King of England 1413–1422 | In 1414 he ordered the rebuilding of the royal manor at Shene; this is described as "the kynges grete work". |
| Henry VII | 1457–1509 | King of England 1485–1509 | He rebuilt the royal manor of Shene as Richmond Palace and died there in 1509. |
| Henry VIII and his first wife, Katherine of Aragon | 1491–1547 1485–1536 | King of England 1509–1547 King of Ireland 1541–1547 Queen of England 1509–1533 | They spent Christmas 1509 at Richmond Palace. |
| Henry, Prince of Wales | 1594–1612 | The eldest son and heir apparent of James VI and I, King of England, Scotland and Ireland; and his wife, Anne of Denmark | He lived in Richmond from 1604 until his premature death in 1612. His improvements to the Palace included a picture gallery for the royal collection. |
| Queen Isabella | 1295–1358 | Widow of King Edward II | She lived at the Manor of Shene. |
| James Francis Edward | 1688–1766 | The son of King James II and VII of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his second wife, Mary of Modena | The future "Old Pretender" was brought to Richmond Palace in 1688 with his wet-nurse after his father, James II, had ordered the reconstruction of part of the palace as the royal nursery. |
| Mary I and her consort, Philip II of Spain | 1516–1558 1527–1598 | Queen of England and Ireland 1553–1558 King of Spain 1556–1598, King of Portugal 1580–1598 and King of England and Ireland 1554–1558 | They spent their honeymoon at Hampton Court Palace and Richmond Palace. |
| Richard II | 1367–1400 | King of England 1377–1399 | His principal royal residence was at the Manor of Shene. Anne of Bohemia (1366–1394), his queen, died there from the plague. After her death, Richard demolished the Manor. It was subsequently rebuilt – twice – and in 1501 became Richmond Palace. |

#### Royals: in Old Deer Park

| Name | Dates | Description | Local connection | Ref |
| George II | 1683–1760 | King of Great Britain and Ireland 1727–1760 | He lived at Ormonde Lodge (also known as Richmond Lodge) in Old Deer Park. | |
| George III | 1738–1820 | King of Great Britain and Ireland 1760–1820 | When Prince of Wales he purchased Richmond Lodge in 1721 where he lived after his marriage to Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz until her death. | |

#### Royals: in Richmond Park

| Name | Dates | Description | Local connection |
| Edward VII | 1841–1910 | King of the United Kingdom from 1901 until his death in 1910 | As Prince of Wales, he was resident at White Lodge, Richmond Park with his tutors in 1858. He and the Princess of Wales (Queen Alexandra (1844–1925) used the house as a weekend residence, from 1867 to 1868. |
| Edward VIII | 1894–1972 | King of the United Kingdom from 20 January to 11 December 1936 | He was born at White Lodge – the home of his maternal grandparents, the Duke and Duchess of Teck. |
| George VI and Queen Elizabeth | 1895–1952 1900–2002 | King and Queen of the United Kingdom from 1936 until George VI's death in 1952 | As Duke and Duchess of York they lived at White Lodge after their marriage in 1923. |
| Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh | 1776–1857 | The last surviving child of George III, and widow of the second Duke of Gloucester | She lived at White Lodge from 1844 until her death. She was Ranger of Richmond Park from 1850 to 1857. |
| Mary of Teck | 1867–1953 | Queen of the United Kingdom 1910–1936 as wife of George V | She lived at White Lodge with her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Teck, until her marriage in 1893. The couple's engagement took place at Sheen Lodge on 3 May 1893. |
| Queen Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort | 1819–1901 1819–1861 | Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom from 1837 until her death. | The Queen and the Prince Consort stayed at White Lodge for a while in 1861 after the death of the Queen's mother and a few months before Albert's own death. |

#### Scholars, scientists and engineers

| Name | Dates | Description | Local connection |
| Kenneth Clark, Baron Clark | 1903–1983 | Art historian, author, museum director and broadcaster | He lived at Old Palace Place on Richmond Green. |
| William Francis | 1817–1904 | Scientific author and publisher | He lived at the Manor House, Sheen Road, Richmond. |
| Julius Jeffreys | 1800–1877 | Surgeon and writer, inventor of the respirator and a pioneer in the development of early air conditioning systems | He lived at 9 Park Villas West, Queen's Road. |
| Sir Richard Owen | 1804–1892 | Biologist, comparative anatomist and palaeontologist | He was granted Sheen Cottage in Richmond Park by Queen Victoria in 1852. He died there and is buried at St Andrew's Church, Ham. His family continued to live at Sheen Cottage until 1921. |
| Jane Plant | 1945–2016 | Geochemist, scientist, and author | She lived at 38 Ellerker Gardens, Richmond. |
| Bertrand Russell | 1872–1970 | Mathematician and philosopher | He grew up at Pembroke Lodge between 1876 and 1894. |
| Stephen Peter Rigaud | 1774–1839 | Mathematical historian and astronomer | He lived at 21 Richmond Green. |

#### Social reformers and political activists

| Name | Dates | Description | Local connection | Ref |
| Sir Edwin Chadwick | 1801–1890 | Social reformer noted for his leadership in reforming the Poor Laws in England and instituting major reforms in urban sanitation and public health | He lived at 5 Montague Road, Richmond; the site is marked by a blue plaque. | |
| Walter Wolfgang | 1923–2019 | German-born British socialist and peace activist | He lived in Richmond. | |

#### Spiritual leaders

| Name | Dates | Description | Local connection | Ref |
| Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal Wolsey | 1473–1530 | Churchman, statesman and Lord Chancellor of England | His places of residence included Richmond Lodge, which was on a site near the King's Observatory. | |

#### Sportsmen and sportswomen

| Name | Dates | Description | Local connection |
| Edgar Ball | 1892–1969 | English cricketer; a left-handed batsman, he played three first-class matches for Somerset. | He was born in Richmond. |
| William East | 1866–1933 | Rower and sculler | He lived in Richmond where, later in life, he became a publican and ran the Prince's Head hotel and then The Pigeon hotel. |
| Peter Jaffe | 1913–1982 | Sailor and Olympic silver medallist | He was born in Richmond. |
| Robert Long | 1846–1924 | English cricketer, who made two first-class appearances for Surrey | He was born in Richmond. |
| Betty Nuthall | 1911–1983 | Tennis player, who won the women's singles title at the US Championships in 1930 | She grew up in Richmond. |

#### Warriors and explorers

| Name | Dates | Description | Local connection |
| Sir Richard Burton | 1821–1890 | Explorer, translator and writer | He lived at Maids of Honour Row in Richmond while attending the Richmond Academy, which was situated in a mansion at the corner of Little Green and Duke Street. He and his wife are buried in a remarkable tomb in the shape of a Bedouin tent in the churchyard of St Mary Magdalen Roman Catholic Church, Mortlake, where there is also a memorial window to him. |
| Frederick Jeremiah Edwards | 1894–1964 | Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC) | He died at the Royal Star and Garter Home in Richmond and is buried in Richmond Cemetery. |
| Lieutenant General Bernard Cyril Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg | 1889–1963 | Governor-General of New Zealand from 1946 to 1952 | He was born on Richmond Hill and moved with his parents at the age of two to New Zealand. |
| Young Bingham Hutchinson | 1806–1870 | Royal Navy officer, early explorer and settler of South Australia | He was born in Richmond. |
| General Sir Harry North Dalrymple Prendergast | 1834–1913 | Awarded a VC for conspicuous bravery in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 | He died at Heron Court, Richmond and is buried in Richmond Cemetery. |
| Brigadier Raymond Sandover | 1910–1995 | British Army Officer who served in the Australian Army. Awarded the DSO and ED and was mentioned in despatches. Commanded the 2/11th Battalion (Australia) and 6th Brigade. | He was born in Richmond. |
| Walter Leigh Rayfield | 1881–1949 | Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross | He was born in Richmond. |
| Nancy Wake | 1912–2011 | New Zealand nurse and journalist who fought with the French Resistance in World War II | She lived in Richmond's Royal Star and Garter Home from 2003 until her death. |

#### Writers and artists

| Name | Dates | Description | Local connection |
| Mary Elizabeth Braddon | 1837–1915 | Popular novelist | She and her husband, the publisher John Maxwell (1824–1895), lived at Lichfield House in Sheen Road, Richmond, where she died in 1915. |
| Katharine Harris Bradley | 1846–1914 | Author of poetry and verse drama together with her niece and ward Edith Emma Cooper (1862–1913) under the pseudonym Michael Field | They lived at 1 The Paragon, Petersham Road, from 1899 to 1913. |
| Frances Browne | 1816–1879 | Irish-born poet, novelist, and writer of short stories for children | She died at 19 St John's Grove and was buried in Richmond Cemetery. |
| Joan Carlile | 1600–1679 | One of the first English women to practise painting professionally | She is believed to have lived at Petersham Lodge in Richmond Park during the Commonwealth period with her husband Lodovic, keeper/deputy ranger at the park. Petersham Lodge was demolished in 1835. |
| Edwin Beresford Chancellor | 1868–1937 | Author known for his works on the history of London and it environs | He was born in Richmond. |
| Geoffrey Chaucer | c.1343–1400 | Poet and courtier | He was appointed Yeoman of the King's Chamber in 1368 and served at Shene (now Richmond). |
| Mary Anne Evans | 1819–1880 | Novelist who wrote under the name George Eliot | She lived at 7 Clarence Row, East Sheen from May to September 1855 and at 8 Parkshot, Richmond from October 1855 to February 1859, when she moved to Wandsworth. While living in Richmond she assumed the name of George Eliot and began her first novel Amos Barton (later retitled Scenes of Clerical Life) and started writing Adam Bede. |
| George Gale | 1929–2003 | Cartoonist | He lived in Ham and on Little Green, Richmond. |
| Bamber Gascoigne | 1935–2022 | Author and TV presenter | He lived in Richmond from the late 1960s until his death. |
| Spencer Gore | 1878–1914 | Artist; first president of the Camden Town Group | He painted a series of thirty-two landscapes in Richmond Park during the last months of his life. His painting From a Window in Cambrian Road, Richmond shows the view from a top-floor window at the rear of 6 Cambrian Road, near the park's Cambrian Gate entrance, where he and his family moved to in 1913. This may be the last picture Gore worked on before his early death from pneumonia. |
| Maxwell Gray (Mary Gleed Tuttiett) | 1846–1923 | Novelist and poet, best known for her 1886 novel The Silence of Dean Maitland | She lived in west Richmond from 1895. |
| William Harvey | 1796 –1866 | Wood-engraver and illustrator | He lived and died at Prospect Lodge, Richmond. |
| Augustin Heckel | 1690–1770 | German-born artist | He lived in Richmond from 1746 until his death. His A West View of Richmond etc. in Surrey from the Star and Garter on the Hill, published in 1752, became widely known after being engraved by Charles Grignion the Elder. |
| Clive King | 1924–2018 | Author, best known for his children's book Stig of the Dump | He was born in Richmond. |
| William McMillan | 1887–1977 | Scottish sculptor | In his later years he lived at 3 Cholmondley Walk, Richmond. |
| Ludovic Rodo Pissarro | 1878–1952 | Engraver | He lived at 21 Peldon Avenue, Richmond (destroyed during The Blitz), from 1919 to 1921. |
| Sir Joshua Reynolds | 1723–1792 | Artist | He lived from 1772 to 1792 at Wick House which was built for him by Sir William Chambers in 1772. |
| Charles Ricketts | 1866–1931 | Artist, illustrator, author and printer | He lived from 1898 to 1902 at 8 Spring Terrace, Paradise Road, Richmond. |
| Charles Shannon | 1863–1937 | Artist best known for his portraits | He is recorded in the 1901 census as living at 8 Spring Terrace, Paradise Road, Richmond. |
| Richard Brinsley Sheridan | 1751–1816 | Playwright, poet, theatre owner and MP | He owned Downe House, Richmond Hill. |
| James Thomson | 1700–1748 | Poet, known for The Seasons and the lyrics to "Rule Britannia!" | He lived in a cottage, which later became part of Richmond Royal Hospital, in Kew Foot Road, Richmond from 1736 until his death in 1748. The site is marked by a blue plaque. There is a memorial to him in Richmond Park. |
| Fred Viner | 1858–1940 | Watercolour artist | Viner, who was born in East Sheen, was living in Sheen Road at the time of the 1901 Census. He had a studio on The Quadrant. |
| Virginia Woolf | 1882–1941 | Novelist | She and her husband Leonard Woolf (1880–1969) founded the Hogarth Press and lived at 17 The Green from October 1914. From 1915 they lived at Hogarth House, 34 Paradise Road, Richmond, which is marked by a blue plaque. A turning point in Woolf's literary career was the publication of her short story "Kew Gardens" in 1918, inspired by the botanical gardens in Kew. |

#### Other people

| Name | Dates | Description | Local connection |
| Albert Barkas | 1861–1921 | Librarian who established what is now the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames' Local Studies Collection | He lived on Little Green, Richmond. |
| John Dodd | 1752–1839 | Bow maker | He died in extreme poverty at Richmond workhouse. |
| Elizabeth Herbert, Countess of Pembroke | 1737–1831 | Aristocrat | She lived at Pembroke Lodge, Richmond Park. |