# List of Newcastle University people

This article is a list of people associated with Newcastle University as either a student or teacher.

## Contents

* A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T V W Y

## A

* Ali Mohamed Shein, 7th President of Zanzibar
* Richard Adams - fairtrade businessman
* Kate Adie - journalist
* Yasmin Ahmad - Malaysian film director, writer and scriptwriter
* Prince Adewale Aladesanmi - Nigerian prince and businessman
* Jane Alexander - Bishop
* Theodosios Alexander (BSc Marine Engineering 1981) - Dean, Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology of Saint Louis University
* William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong - industrialist; in 1871 founded College of Physical Science, an early part of the University
* Roy Ascott - new media artist
* Dennis Assanis - President, University of Delaware
* Neil Astley - publisher, editor and writer
* Rodney Atkinson - eurosceptic conservative academic
* Rowan Atkinson - comedian and actor
* Kane Avellano - Guinness World Record for youngest person to circumnavigate the world by motorcycle (solo and unsupported) at the age of 23 in 2017

## B

* Bruce Babbitt - U.S. politician; 16th Governor of Arizona (1978–1987); 47th United States Secretary of the Interior (1993–2001); Democrat
* James Baddiley - biochemist, based at Newcastle University 1954–1983; the Baddiley-Clark building is named in part after him
* Tunde Baiyewu - member of the Lighthouse Family
* John C. A. Barrett - clergyman
* G. W. S. Barrow - historian
* Neil Bartlett - chemist, creation of the first noble gas compounds (BSc and PhD at King's College, University of Durham, later Newcastle University)
* Sue Beardsmore - television presenter
* Alan Beith - politician
* Jean Benedetti - biographer, translator, director and dramatist
* Phil Bennion - politician
* Catherine Bertola - contemporary painter
* Simon Best - Captain of the Ulster Rugby team; Prop for the Ireland Team
* Andy Bird - CEO of Disney International
* Rory Jonathan Courtenay Boyle, Viscount Dungarvan - heir apparent to the earldom of Cork
* David Bradley - science writer
* Mike Brearley - professional cricketer, formerly a lecturer in philosophy at the university (1968–1971)
* Constance Briscoe - one of the first black women to sit as a judge in the UK; author of the best-selling autobiography Ugly; found guilty in May 2014 on three charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice; jailed for 16 months
* Steve Brooks - entomologist; attained BSc in Zoology and MSc in Public Health Engineering from Newcastle University in 1976 and 1977 respectively
* Thom Brooks - academic, columnist
* Gavin Brown - academic
* Vicki Bruce - psychologist
* Basil Bunting - poet; Northern Arts Poetry Fellow at Newcastle University (1968–70); honorary DLitt in 1971
* John Burgan - documentary filmmaker
* Mark Burgess - computer scientist
* Sir John Burn - Professor of Clinical Genetics at Newcastle University Medical School; Medical Director and Head of the Institute of Genetics; Newcastle Medical School alumnus
* John Harrison Burnett - botanist, chair of Botany at King's College, Newcastle (1960–68)

## C

* Richard Caddel - poet
* Deborah Cameron - linguist
* Stuart Cameron - lecturer
* John Ashton Cannon - historian; Professor of Modern History; Head of Department of History from 1976 until his appointment as Dean of the Faculty of Arts in 1979; Pro-Vice-Chancellor 1983–1986
* Ian Carr - musician
* Steve Chapman - Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University
* Dion Chen - Hong Kong educator, principal of Ying Wa College and former principal of YMCA of Hong Kong Christian College
* Hsing Chia-hui - author
* Ashraf Choudhary - scientist
* Jennifer A. Clack - palaeontologist
* George Clarke - architect
* Brian Clouston - landscape architect
* Ed Coode - Olympic gold medallist
* John Coulson - chemical engineering academic
* Caroline Cox, Baroness Cox - cross-bench member of the British House of Lords
* Nicola Curtin – Professor of Experimental Cancer Therapeutics
* Pippa Crerar - Political Editor of the Daily Mirror

## D

* Fred D'Aguiar - author
* Julia Darling - poet, playwright, novelist, MA in Creative Writing
* Simin Davoudi - academic
* Tom Dening - medical academic and researcher
* Katie Doherty - singer-songwriter
* Annabel Dover - artist, studied fine art 1994–1998
* Alexander Downer - Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs (1996–2007)
* Chloë Duckworth - archaeologist and presenter
* Chris Duffield - Town Clerk and Chief Executive of the City of London Corporation

## E

* Michael Earl - academic
* Tom English - drummer, Maxïmo Park
* Princess Eugenie - a niece of King Charles III and granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, is a member of the British royal family. She attended Newcastle University in 2009 and graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and History of Art, earning Upper Second-Class Honours.

## F

* U. A. Fanthorpe - poet
* Frank Farmer - medical physicist; professor of medical physics at Newcastle University in 1966
* Terry Farrell - architect
* Tim Farron - former Liberal Democrat leader and MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale
* Ian Fells - professor
* Andy Fenby - rugby player
* Bryan Ferry - singer, songwriter and musician, member of Roxy Music and solo artist; studied fine art
* E. J. Field - neuroscientist, director of the university's Demyelinating Disease Unit
* John Niemeyer Findlay - philosopher
* John Fitzgerald - computer scientist
* Vicky Forster - cancer researcher
* Maximilian Fosh - YouTuber and independent candidate in the 2021 London mayoral election.
* Rose Frain - artist

## G

* Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster - aristocrat, billionaire, businessman and landowner
* Peter Gibbs - television weather presenter
* Ken Goodall - rugby player
* Peter Gooderham - British ambassador
* Michael Goodfellow - Professor in Microbial Systematics
* Robert Goodwill - politician
* Richard Gordon - author
* Thomas George Greenwell - National Conservative Member of Parliament

## H

* Andrew Haigh - film director
* Sarah Hainsworth - Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Aston University
* Reginald Hall - endocrinologist, Professor of Medicine (1970–1980)
* Alex Halliday - Professor of Geochemistry, University of Oxford
* Richard Hamilton - artist
* Vicki L. Hanson - computer scientist; honorary doctorate in 2017
* Rupert Harden - professional rugby union player
* Tim Head - artist
* Patsy Healey - professor
* Alastair Heathcote - rower
* Dorothy Heathcote - academic
* Adrian Henri - 'Mersey Scene' poet and painter
* Stephen Hepburn - politician
* Jack Heslop-Harrison - botanist
* Tony Hey - computer scientist; honorary doctorate 2007
* Stuart Hill - author
* Jean Hillier - professor
* Ken Hodcroft - Chairman of Hartlepool United; founder of Increased Oil Recovery
* Robert Holden - landscape architect
* Bill Hopkins - composer
* David Horrobin - entrepreneur
* Debbie Horsfield - writer of dramas, including Cutting It
* John House - geographer
* Paul Hudson - weather presenter
* Philip Hunter - educationist
* Ronald Hunt – Art Historian who was librarian at the Art Department
* Anya Hurlbert - visual neuroscientist

## I

* Charles Innes-Ker - Marquess of Bowmont and Cessford
* Mark Isherwood - politician
* Jonathan Israel - historian

## J

* Alan J. Jamieson - marine biologist
* George Neil Jenkins - medical researcher
* Caroline Johnson - Conservative Member of Parliament
* Wilko Johnson - guitarist with 1970s British rhythm and blues band Dr. Feelgood
* Rich Johnston - comic book writer and cartoonist
* Anna Jones - businesswoman
* Cliff Jones - computer scientist
* Colin Jones - historian
* David E. H. Jones - chemist
* Francis R. Jones - poetry translator and Reader in Translation Studies
* Phil Jones - climatologist
* Michael Jopling, Baron Jopling - Member of the House of Lords and the Conservative Party
* Wilfred Josephs - dentist and composer

## K

* Michael King Jr. - civil rights leader; honorary graduate. In November 1967, MLK made a 24-hour trip to the United Kingdom to receive an honorary Doctorate of Civil Law from Newcastle University, becoming the first African American the institution had recognised in this way.
* Panayiotis Kalorkoti - artist; studied B.A. (Hons) in Fine Art (1976–80); Bartlett Fellow in the Visual Arts (1988)
* Jackie Kay - poet, novelist, Professor of Creative Writing
* Paul Kennedy - historian of international relations and grand strategy
* Mark Khangure - neuroradiologist

## L

* Joy Labinjo - artist
* Henrike Lähnemann - German medievalist
* Dave Leadbetter - politician
* Lim Boon Heng - Singapore Minister
* Lin Hsin Hsin - IT inventor, artist, poet and composer
* Anne Longfield - children's campaigner, former Children's Commissioner for England
* Keith Ludeman - businessman

## M

* Jack Mapanje - writer and poet
* Milton Margai - first prime minister of Sierra Leone (medical degree from the Durham College of Medicine, later Newcastle University Medical School)
* Laurence Martin - war studies writer
* Murray Martin, documentary and docudrama filmmaker, co-founder of Amber Film & Photography Collective
* Adrian Martineau – medical researcher and professor of respiratory Infection and immunity at Queen Mary University of London
* Carl R. May - sociologist
* Tom May - professional rugby union player, now with Northampton Saints, and capped by England
* Kate McCann – journalist and television presenter
* Ian G. McKeith – professor of Old Age Psychiatry
* John Anthony McGuckin - Orthodox Christian scholar, priest, and poet
* Wyl Menmuir - novelist
* Zia Mian - physicist
* Richard Middleton - musicologist
* Mary Midgley - moral philosopher
* G.C.J. Midgley - philosopher
* Moein Moghimi - biochemist and nanoscientist
* Hermann Moisl - linguist
* Anthony Michaels-Moore - Operatic Baritone
* Joanna Moncrieff - Critical Psychiatrist
* Theodore Morison - Principal of Armstrong College, Newcastle upon Tyne (1919–24)
* Andy Morrell - footballer
* Frank Moulaert - professor
* Mo Mowlam - former British Labour Party Member of Parliament, former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, lecturer at Newcastle University
* Chris Mullin - former British Labour Party Member of Parliament, author, visiting fellow
* VA Mundella - College of Physical Science, 1884—1887; lecturer in physics at the College, 1891—1896: Professor of Physics at Northern Polytechnic Institute and Principal of Sunderland Technical College.
* Richard Murphy - architect

## N

* Lisa Nandy - British Labour Party Member of Parliament, former Shadow Foreign Secretary
* Karim Nayernia - biomedical scientist
* Dianne Nelmes - TV producer

## O

* Sally O'Reilly - writer
* Mo O'Toole - former British Labour Party Member of European Parliament

## P

* Ewan Page - founding director of the Newcastle University School of Computing and briefly acting vice-chancellor; later appointed vice-chancellor of the University of Reading
* Rachel Pain - academic
* Amanda Parker - Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire since 2023
* Geoff Parling - Leicester Tigers rugby player
* Chris Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes - British Conservative politician and Chancellor of the University (1999–2009)
* Mick Paynter - Cornish poet and Grandbard
* Robert A. Pearce - academic
* Hugh Percy, 10th Duke of Northumberland - Chancellor of the University (1964–1988)
* Ben Pimlott - political historian; PhD and lectureship at Newcastle University (1970–79)
* Robin Plackett - statistician
* Alan Plater - playwright and screenwriter
* Ruth Plummer - Professor of Experimental Cancer Medicine at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research and Fellow of the UK's Academy of Medical Sciences.
* John Porter - musician
* Rob Powell - former London Broncos coach
* Stuart Prebble - former chief executive of ITV
* Oliver Proudlock - Made in Chelsea star; creator of Serge De Nîmes clothing line
* Mark Purnell - palaeontologist

## Q

* Pirzada Qasim - Pakistani scholar, Vice Chancellor of the University of Karachi
* Joyce Quin, Baroness Quin - politician

## R

* Andy Raleigh - Rugby League player for Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
* Brian Randell - computer scientist
* Rupert Mitford, 6th Baron Redesdale - Liberal Democrat spokesman in the House of Lords for International Development
* Alastair Reynolds - novelist, former research astronomer with the European Space Agency
* Ben Rice - author
* Lewis Fry Richardson - mathematician, studied at the Durham College of Science in Newcastle
* Matthew White Ridley, 4th Viscount Ridley - Chancellor of the University 1988-1999
* Colin Riordan - VC of Cardiff University, Professor of German Studies (1988–2006)
* Susie Rodgers - British Paralympic swimmer
* Neil Rollinson - poet
* Johanna Ropner - Lord lieutenant of North Yorkshire
* John Rushby - computer scientist
* Camilla Rutherford - actress

## S

* Jonathan Sacks - former Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth
* Ross Samson - Scottish rugby union footballer; studied history
* Helen Scales - marine biologist, broadcaster, and writer
* William Scammell - poet
* Fred B. Schneider - computer scientist; honorary doctorate in 2003
* Sean Scully - painter
* Nigel Shadbolt - computer scientist
* Tom Shakespeare - geneticist
* Jo Shapcott - poet
* James Shapiro - Canadian surgeon and scientist
* Jack Shepherd - actor and playwright
* Mark Shucksmith - professor
* Chris Simms - crime thriller novel author
* Iain Smith - Scottish politician
* Paul Smith - singer, Maxïmo Park
* John Snow - discoverer of cholera transmission through water; leader in the adoption of anaesthesia; one of the 8 students enrolled on the very first term of the Medical School
* Ed Stafford - explorer, walked the length of the Amazon River
* Chris Steele-Perkins - photographer
* Chris Stevenson - academic
* Di Stewart - Sky Sports News reader
* Diana Stöcker - German CDU Member of Parliament
* Miodrag Stojković - genetics researcher
* Miriam Stoppard - physician, author and agony aunt
* Charlie van Straubenzee - businessman and investment executive
* Peter Straughan - playwright and short story writerHisila Yami

## T

* Mathew Tait - rugby union footballer
* Eric Thomas - academic
* David Tibet - cult musician and poet
* Archis Tiku - bassist, Maxïmo Park
* James Tooley - professor
* Elsie Tu - politician
* Maurice Tucker - sedimentologist
* Paul Tucker - member of Lighthouse Family
* George Grey Turner - surgeon
* Ronald F. Tylecote - archaeologist

## V

* Chris Vance - actor in Prison Break and All Saints
* Géza Vermes - scholar
* Geoff Vigar - lecturer
* Hugh Vyvyan - rugby union player

## W

* Alick Walker - palaeontologist
* Matthew Walker - Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley
* Lord Walton of Detchant - physician; President of the GMC, BMA, RSM; Warden of Green College, Oxford (1983–1989)
* Kevin Warwick - Professor of Cybernetics; former Lecturer in Electrical & Electronic Engineering
* Duncan Watmore - footballer at Millwall F.C.
* Mary Webb - artist
* Charlie Webster - television sports presenter
* Li Wei - Chair of Applied Linguistics at UCL Institute of Education, University College London
* Joseph Joshua Weiss - Professor of Radiation Chemistry
* Robert Westall - children's writer, twice winner of Carnegie Medal
* Thomas Stanley Westoll - Fellow of the Royal Society
* Gillian Whitehead - composer
* William Whitfield - architect, later designed the Hadrian Building and the Northern Stage
* Claire Williams - motorsport executive
* Zoe Williams - sportswoman, worked on Gladiators
* Donald I. Williamson - planktologist and carcinologist
* John Willis - Royal Air Force officer and council member of the University
* Lukas Wooller - keyboard player, Maxïmo Park
* Graham Wylie - co-founder of the Sage Group; studied Computing Science & Statistics BSc and graduated in 1980; awarded an honorary doctorate in 2004

## Y

* Hisila Yami, Nepalese politician and former Minister of Physical Planning and Works (Government of Nepal)
* John Yorke - Controller of Continuing Drama; Head of Independent Drama at the BBC
* Martha Young-Scholten - linguist
* Paul Younger - hydrogeologist