# List of people from Kent

This is a list of notable residents of the county of Kent in England who have a Wikipedia page. Persons are grouped by occupation and listed in order of birth. Kent is defined by its current boundaries.

## Academics, engineers and scientists

* Charles Culmer (c. 1300s) – supposedly built the fishermen's stairs which Broadstairs is named after
* William Caxton (c. 1420 – c. 1492) – first person to introduce a printing press into England
* Richard Knolles (c. 1545–1610) – Ottoman Empire historian
* Richard Baker (1568–1645) – historian
* Robert Fludd (1574–1637) – physicist and astrologer
* John Tradescant the elder (c. 1575–1638) – gardener and botanist
* John Tradescant the Younger (1608–1662) – gardener and botanist
* William Harvey (1578–1657) – anatomist
* John Wallis (1616–1703) – mathematician given partial credit for the development of modern calculus
* Robert Plot (1640–1696) – naturalist and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford
* Stephen Gray (1666–1736) – physicist and astronomer
* Thomas Steers (1672–1750) – civil engineer and canal builder
* Stephen Hales (1677–1761) – physiologist and chemist
* George Sale (1697–1736) – Islamic studies scholar
* Thomas Bayes (c. 1702–1761) – mathematician and formulator of Bayes' theorem
* Edward Jacob – antiquary and naturalist
* Edward Nairne (1726–1806) – scientific instrument maker
* James Six (1731–1793) – meteorologist and inventor of the maximum minimum thermometer
* Catharine Macaulay (1731–1791) – historian
* Edward Hasted (1732–1812) – Kent historian
* Lionel Lukin (1742–1834) – possible inventor of the lifeboat
* William Congreve (1772–1828) – inventor and rocket pioneer
* Thomas Frederick Colby (1784–1852) – director of the Ordnance Survey
* Richard Jones (1790–1855) – economist
* Joshua Trimmer (1795–1857) – geologist
* John Stevens Henslow (1796–1861) – botanist and geologist
* Anna Atkins (1799–1871) – botanical photographer
* George Finlay (1799–1875) – Greek historian
* George Newport (1803–1854) – entomologist
* Robert Main (1808–1878) – astronomer
* Edmund Law Lushington (1811–1893) – Greek scholar and Rector of Glasgow University
* Joseph Prestwich (1812–1896) – geologist
* Edward Betts (1815–1872) – railway civil engineering contractor
* Thomas Russell Crampton (1816–1888) – engineer and designer of the Crampton locomotive
* Charles Kettle (1821–1862) – New Zealand town planner
* Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister (1827–1912) – surgeon and President of the Royal Society
* Nathaniel Barnaby (1829–1915) – Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy
* Edward James Reed (1830–1906) – Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy
* John Hulke (1830–1895) – surgeon and geologist
* Alexander Henry Green (1832–1896) – geologist
* Fleeming Jenkin (1833–1885) – Professor of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh
* Robinson Ellis (1834–1913) – Professor of Latin at Trinity College, Oxford
* James Holden (1837–1925) – locomotive engineer
* Frank Rutley (1842–1904) – geologist and petrographer
* William Robert Brooks (1844–1922) – American astronomer
* Henry George Smith (1852–1924) – chemist
* James Fletcher (1852–1908) – Canadian entomologist, botanist and writer
* Aubyn Trevor-Battye (1855–1922) – zoologist and writer
* Henry Watson Fowler (1858–1933) – lexicographer
* Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) – mathematician and philosopher
* Herbert Baker (1862–1946) – South Africa architect
* Baillie Scott (1865–1945) – architect
* Patrick Young Alexander (1867–1943) – aeronautical pioneer
* Frank Finn (1868–1932) – ornithologist
* Reginald Punnett (1875–1967) – geneticist and creator of the Punnett square
* William Sealy Gosset (1876–1937) – chemist and statistician
* Vita Sackville-West (1892–1962) – novelist, traveller and gardener
* Henry Tizard (1885–1959) – chemist and inventor
* John Edensor Littlewood (1885–1977) – mathematician
* Verena Holmes (1889–1964) – mechanical engineer and multi-field inventor
* Arthur Waley (1889–1966) – orientalist and sinologist
* Reg Balch (1894–1994) – ecologist and photographer
* Ralph Bagnold (1896–1990) – geologist, desert explorer, and soldier
* A. J. Arkell (1898–1980) – North African scholar
* Stanley Hooker (1907–1984) – jet engine engineer
* Simone Weil (1909–1943) – French philosopher and mystic
* Richard Beeching, Baron Beeching (1913–1985) – engineer and chairman of British Railways
* Maurice Lister (1914–2003) – chemist
* Sheila Sherlock (1918–2001) – physician and hepatologist
* George E. P. Box (1918–2001) – statistician
* John Aspinall (1926–2000) – zoo owner
* Peter Hemingway (1929–1995) – architect
* David Harvey (born 1935) – Professor of Anthropology at the City University of New York
* Michael Pearson (1936–2017) – expert on clocks and clock-making
* David L. Clarke (1937–1976) – archaeologist noted for his work on processual archaeology
* Diarmaid MacCulloch (born 1951) – Professor of 'the History of the Church' at the University of Oxford
* Daniel Tammet (born 1979) – autistic savant and record pi reciter
* Sonia Chadwick Hawkes (1933–1999) – archaeologist specialising in the early Middle Ages

## Actors

* Thomas Robson Brownhill (1821–1864) – theatre actor and comedian
* Ellen Ternan (1839–1914) – actress and mistress of Charles Dickens
* Francis Robert Benson (1858–1939) – actor and theatre manager
* Lilian Braithwaite (1873–1948) – actress and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
* Sydney Greenstreet (1875–1954) – actor in films such as Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon
* Philip Hewland (1876–1953) – stage and film actor
* Victor McLaglen (1886–1956) – 1935 Academy Award winner for Best Actor
* Ballard Berkeley (1904–1988) – actor noted for his role as Major Gowen in TV's Fawlty Towers
* Margot Grahame (1911–1982) – actress in films such as The Informer and The Crimson Pirate
* Harry Andrews (1911–1989) – actor in films such as Superman and Watership Down
* Trevor Howard (1913–1988) – Academy Award nominated film actor
* Peter Cushing (1913–1994) – film actor of the Hammer Films, Star Wars and Dr Who and the Daleks
* Bob Todd (1922–1992) – comedy actor and sidekick of Benny Hill and Spike Milligan
* Hattie Jacques (1924–1980) – comedy actress of the Carry On films and TV's Sykes
* Frederick Treves (born 1925) – prolific TV actor
* Alec McCowen (1925–2017) – Golden Globe nominated film, theatre and TV actor
* Peter Barkworth (1929–2006) – BAFTA winning actor
* Dinsdale Landen (1932–2003) – TV actor
* Lance Percival (1933–2015) – comedy actor
* Patsy Byrne (1933–2014) – actress noted for her role as Nursie in TV's Blackadder II
* Tom Baker (born 1934) – actor in TV's Doctor Who and Little Britain
* Joanna Van Gyseghem (born 1941) – actress in TV's Duty Free and Rumpole of the Bailey
* Michael Crawford (born 1942) – Tony Award-winning comedy, film and musical actor
* Brenda Blethyn (born 1946) – Academy Award nominated actress
* Rusty Goffe (born 1948) – dwarf actor in the films Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and Willow
* Fiona Reid (born 1951) – Canadian TV and film actress
* Mark Rylance (born 1960) – theatre actor
* Jack Dee (born 1962) – TV actor and comedian
* Martin Ball (born 1964) – theatre and TV actor
* Shaun Williamson (born 1964) – TV presenter and actor in TV's Eastenders
* Paul Ritter (1966–2021) – actor in TV's Friday Night Dinner, No Offence
* Tamsin Greig (born 1966) – actress in TV's Friday Night Dinner
* Naomi Watts (born 1968) – Academy Award nominated actress
* Matthew Holness (born c. 1968) – comedy writer and actor in TV's Garth Marenghi's Darkplace
* Ben Moor (born 1969) – comedy writer, and actor in TV's Fist of Fun
* Mackenzie Crook (born 1971) – actor in TV's The Office
* Shane Taylor (born 1973) – actor in TV's Band of Brothers
* Chris Simmons (born 1975) – actor in TV's The Bill
* Orlando Bloom (born 1977) – actor in the film series The Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean
* Oliver Chris (born 1978) – actor in TV's Green Wing, The Office and Rescue Me
* Kevin Bishop (born 1980) – actor in the film Muppet Treasure Island and TV's Grange Hill
* Tom Riley (born 1981) – actor in TV's Da Vinci's Demons and The Nevers
* Gemma Arterton (born 1986) – actress
* Dominic Sherwood (born 1990) – actor in TV's Shadowhunters
* Joseph McManners (born 1992) – musical theatre actor and singer
* Tommy Knight (born 1993) – actor in TV's The Sarah Jane Adventures
* Jack Scanlon (born 1998) – TV and film actor
* Isaac Hempstead-Wright (born 1999) – actor in TV's Game of Thrones
* Hrvy (born 1999) – presenter from Friday Download

## Artists

* William Woollett (1735–1785) – engraver
* William Alexander (1767–1816) – painter and illustrator
* J. M. W. Turner (c. 1775–1851) – landscape painter
* Thomas Sidney Cooper (1803–1902) – painter
* Elizabeth Gould (1804–1902) – illustrator
* Samuel Palmer (1805–1881) – landscape painter
* Richard Dadd (1817–1886) – painter
* John Hassall (1868–1948) – illustrator
* Mary Tourtel (1874–1948) – artist and creator of Rupert Bear
* Margaret Beale (1886–1969) – marine artist
* Colin Gill (1892–1940) – painter
* Hugh Cecil (1889–c. 1939) – photographer
* Compton Bennett (1900–1974) – film director and producer
* Tyrone Guthrie (1900–1971) – Tony Award-winning theatre director
* Don Potter (1902–2004) – sculptor
* Michael Powell (1905–1990) – film director
* Peter Rogers (1914–2009) – film producer of the Carry On series
* Oliver Postgate (1925–2008) – animator and co-creator of Bagpuss, The Clangers and Ivor the Engine
* Peter Firmin (1928–2018) – animator and co-creator of Basil Brush, Bagpuss and The Clangers
* Frank Auerbach (born 1931) – painter
* Peter Blake (born 1932) – pop artist, designer of the Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album sleeve
* Mary Quant (born 1930) – fashion designer; inventor of the miniskirt and hot pants
* Antoinette Sibley (born 1939) – ballerina
* Zandra Rhodes (born 1940) – fashion designer
* Tim Page (born 1944) – Vietnam War photojournalist
* Roger Dean (born 1944) – album cover artist
* Dick Pope (born 1947) – cinematographer
* Bill Lewis (born 1953) – founder member of the Stuckists art group
* Mike Bernard (born 1957) – painter
* Gary Hume (born 1962) – painter
* Tracey Emin (born 1963) – Royal Academy artist
* Tacita Dean (born 1965) – visual artist
* Angus Fairhurst (born 1966) – photographic and visual artist
* Joe Machine (born 1973) – founder member of the Stuckists art group
* Remy Noe (born 1974) – founder member of the Stuckists art group
* George Henry Horton (born 1993) – filmmaker

## Clergy

* Laurence of Canterbury (?–619) – saint and the second Archbishop of Canterbury
* Paulinus of York (?–644) – first Bishop of York
* Edith of Wilton (961–984) – saint and illegitimate daughter of King Edgar the Peaceful
* William Addison (1883–1962) – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* Thomas Becket (c. 1118–1170) – saint and Archbishop of Canterbury
* John Kemp (c. 1380–1454) – Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor
* John Morton (c. 1420–1500) – Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor
* John Frith (1503–1533) – Protestant priest and writer, executed for heresy
* Roger Filcock (c. 1553–1601) – executed for preaching Catholicism
* Dudley Fenner (c. 1558–1587) – puritan theologian
* Edmund Duke (1563–1590) – martyr, executed for preaching Catholicism
* Richard Clarke (?–1634) – Anglican scholar and preacher
* John Lothropp (1584–1653) – Anglican minister and founder of Barnstable, Massachusetts
* Robert Abbot (c. 1588–c. 1662) – Puritan theologian
* Peter Gunning (1614–1684) – Royalist and Bishop of Chichester
* William Wall (1647–1728) – Anglican theologian
* White Kennett (1660–1728) – Bishop of Peterborough
* Nathanial Lardner (1684–1768) – theologian
* Edward Perronet (1726–1792) – Anglican preacher
* George Horne (1730–1792) – Bishop of Norwich
* Charles Thomas Longley (1794–1868) – Archbishop of Canterbury
* Henry Edward Manning (1808–1892) – cardinal
* Alfred Saker (1814–1880) – Baptist missionary
* George Hills (1816–1895) – Bishop of British Columbia
* Christopher Newman Hall (1816–1902) – Anglican abolitionist
* John R. Winder (1821–1910) – leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
* Edward King (1829–1910) – Anglican bishop
* E. W. Bullinger (1837–1913) – Anglican clergyman, Biblical scholar, and dispensationalist theologian
* Arthur Tooth (1839–1931) – Anglican clergyman, prosecuted under the Public Worship Regulation Act 1874
* John Neale Dalton (1839–1931) – chaplain to Queen Victoria and tutor to George V of the United Kingdom
* Charles Bousfield Huleatt (1863–1908) – Anglican priest and discoverer of the Magdalen papyrus
* Nelson Wellesley Fogarty (1871–1933) – Bishop of Damaraland, Namibia
* Frank W. Boreham (1871–1959) – Baptist theologian
* Edward Knapp-Fisher (1915–2003) – Sub-Dean of Westminster Abbey
* John A. T. Robinson (1919–1983) – Bishop of Woolwich

## Entrepreneurs

* William Adams (1564–1620) – trader and first British navigator to reach Japan
* William Claiborne (c. 1600-c. 1677) – early settler of Virginia and Maryland
* Christopher Branch (c. 1600–1682) – early settler of Virginia
* Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1692–1781) – landowner in Virginia
* William Colgate (1783–1857) – founder of the Colgate toothpaste company
* Gregory Blaxland (1788–1852) – settler of Australia and wine-maker
* Thomas Fletcher Waghorn (1800–1850) – postal pioneer who developed a new route from Great Britain to India
* Darrell Duppa (1832–1892) – co-founder of Phoenix, Arizona
* Edward William Cole (1832–1918) – successful bookshop owner in Melbourne, Australia
* Charles Elkin Mathews (1851–1921) – publisher and bookseller
* George Marchant (1857–1941) – soft-drink manufacturer in Australia
* Bronson Albery (1881–1971) – theatre director and impresario
* Freddie Laker (1922–2006) – founder of Laker Airways
* Michael Farmer, Baron Farmer (born 1944) - businessman and life peer in the House of Lords
* Ian Davis (born 1952) – Managing Director of McKinsey & Company
* John Charman (born 1953) – CEO/President/Director of Bermuda-based Axis Capital Holdings Ltd

## Musicians

* John Ward (1571–1638) – composer
* John Jenkins (1592–1678) – composer
* John Gostling (1644–1733) – bass singer and a favourite of Charles II of England
* Isaac Nathan (c. 1792–1864) – English-Australian musician
* George Job Elvey (1816–1993) – organist and composer
* Sydney Nicholson (1875–1947) – founder of the Royal School of Church Music
* Edward Norman Hay (1889–1943) – composer and musicologist
* Malcolm Sargent (1895–1967) – leading conductor of choral works
* Percy Whitlock (1903–1946) – organist and composer
* Roy Douglas (born 1907) – composer
* Alfred Deller (1912–1979) – opera singer
* Daphne Oram (1925–2003) – composer and electronic musician
* Tony Coe (born 1934) – jazz musician
* Bill Wyman (born 1936) – bassist for the band The Rolling Stones
* Richard Rodney Bennett (1936-2012) – film score and jazz composer
* Crispian St. Peters (1939–2010) – pop singer
* Mick Jagger (born 1943) – singer and songwriter for the band The Rolling Stones
* Keith Richards (born 1943) – guitarist and songwriter for the band The Rolling Stones
* Dick Taylor (born 1943) – bassist for the band The Rolling Stones
* Mike Ratledge (born 1943) – keyboardist for the band Soft Machine
* Phil May (born 1944) – singer for the band The Pretty Things
* Kevin Ayers (born 1944) – singer and bassist for the band Soft Machine
* Judge Dread (1945–1998) – reggae and ska artist
* Hugh Hopper (born 1945) – progressive rock and jazz bass guitarist and composer
* Noel Redding (1945–2003) – bassist for the band The Jimi Hendrix Experience
* John Paul Jones (born 1946) – bassist, keyboardist and co-songwriter for English rock band Led Zeppelin
* Trevor Pinnock (born 1946) – conductor and harpsichordist
* Richard Coughlan (born 1947) – drummer for the band Caravan
* Dave Sinclair (born 1947) – keyboardist for the band Caravan
* Gordon Giltrap (born 1948) – guitarist and composer
* Richard Sinclair (born 1948) – guitarist for the band Caravan
* Bill Bruford (born 1949) – drummer for the bands Yes and King Crimson
* Nigel Egg (born 1949) – singer/songwriter
* Peter Frampton (born 1950) – musician, most famous for Frampton Comes Alive!
* Alan Clayson (born 1951) – record producer and songwriter
* Harry Christophers (born 1953) – conductor
* David Wright (born 1953) – New Age keyboard player and composer
* Gary Barden (born 1955) – songwriter and guitarist for the band Michael Schenker Group
* Anne Dudley (born 1956) – orchestral composer and pop musician
* Sid Vicious (1957–1979) – bassist for the band The Sex Pistols
* Shane MacGowan (1957-2023) – singer and songwriter for the band The Pogues
* Kate Bush (born 1958) – pop musician
* Billy Childish (born 1959) – singer, guitarist, artist and poet
* Pete Tong (born 1960) – record producer and DJ for BBC Radio 1
* Guy Fletcher (born 1960) – keyboardist for the band Dire Straits
* Boy George (born 1961) – singer with the band Culture Club
* Sexton Ming (born 1961) – musician, artist and poet
* Andrew Giddings (born 1963) – keyboardist for the band Jethro Tull
* Paul Oakenfold (born 1963) – record producer and DJ
* Nitin Sawhney (born 1964) – songwriter and record producer
* Jay Darlington (born 1968) – keyboardist for the band Kula Shaker
* Omar Lye-Fook (born 1968) – soul singer, songwriter and musician
* Justin Chancellor (born 1971) – bass player for the rock band Tool
* Richard Hughes (born 1975) – drummer for the band Keane
* Tom Perchard (born 1976) – musicologist
* David Ford (born 1978) – singer-songwriter
* Vicky Beeching (born 1979) – worship leader and musician
* Ben Mills (born 1980) – singer and contestant on TV's The X Factor
* Rik Waller (born 1980) – singer and contestant on TV's Pop Idol
* Lee Ryan (born 1983) – member of the boy band Blue
* Oliver Sykes (born 1986) – metal singer
* Joss Stone (born 1987) – BRIT and Grammy Award-winning R&B singer/songwriter
* Declan Galbraith (born 1991) – singer
* Mimi Webb (born 2000) – pop singer and songwriter
* PinkPantheress (born 2001) – pop musician

## Politicians, statesmen and lawyers

* Charles Abbott, 1st Baron Tenterden (1762–1832) – Lord Chief Justice
* Aretas Akers-Douglas, 1st Viscount Chilston (1851–1926) – Conservative Home Secretary
* Jeffrey Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst (1717–1797) – Governor General of British North America
* Josceline Amherst (1846–1900) – member of Western Australia's first Legislative Council under responsible government
* Richard Ash Kingsford (1821–1902) – alderman and mayor of Brisbane Municipal Council, a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, Australia, and a mayor of Cairns, Queensland
* Bob Astles (1924–2012) – associate of Ugandan presidents Milton Obote and Idi Amin
* Wallace Bickley (1810–1876) – early settler of Western Australia and Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council
* Anne Boleyn (c. 1501–1536) – wife of King Henry VIII
* Francis Bond Head (1793–1875) – Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada during the rebellion of 1837
* Jonathan Bowden (1962–2012) – writer and political theorist
* Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork (1566–1643) – Lord High Treasurer of the Kingdom of Ireland
* Audrey Callaghan (1915–2005) – Greater London Councillor and wife of Prime Minister James Callaghan
* Thomas Cheney (c. 1485–1558) – Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
* Martin Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Allington (1856–1937) – Member of Parliament and art critic
* Nicky Crane (1958–1993) – neo-Nazi activist
* Sackville Crowe (c. 1611 – c. 1683) – Member of Parliament and Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
* Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham (1621–1682) – Lord Chancellor
* Sir John Peyton (died 1558) – Governor of Jersey
* John Scott of Scott's Hall (died 1485) – Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
* William Scott of Scott's Hall (died 1524) – Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
* Miles Sindercombe (died 1657) – leader of a group that tried to assassinate Oliver Cromwell
* Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford (1501–1563) – peer
* Roger Twysden (1597–1672) – politician and antiquarian
* James Weaver (1800–1886) – Wisconsin State Assemblyman
* Sophie, Countess of Wessex (Sophie, born 1965) – wife of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
* Nicholas Wotton (c. 1497–1567) – ambassador to France
* Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke (1690–1764) – Lord Chancellor
* Henry Young (1808–1870) – fifth Governor of South Australia
* Thomas Hinckley, (Tenterden, Kent, England; (1618–1706) – Governor Plymouth Colonies (1680–1692)
* Francis Lovelace (1621–1675) – second governor of the New York colony
* Daniel Horsmanden (c. 1691 – c. 1778) – judge who tried the supposed conspirators in the New York Slave Insurrection of 1741
* Thomas Paine (1737–1809) – revolutionary
* Charles Larkin (1775–1833) – electoral reformer
* Elizabeth Fry (1780–1845) – prison reformer
* Sir Edward Knatchbull, 9th Baronet (1781–1849) – Conservative Member of Parliament for East Kent
* George Gipps (1791–1847) – Governor of the colony of New South Wales, Australia
* William Locke Brockman (1802–1872) – early settler of Western Australia and Member of the Western Australian Legislative Council
* Edmund Walker Head (1805–1868) – Governor General of the Province of Canada
* Charles Sladen (1816–1884) – sixth Premier of Victoria, Australia
* Edith Pechey (1845–1908) – suffragette and one of the first UK female doctors
* George Herbert Murray (1849–1936) – civil servant and Permanent Secretary of the Treasury
* William Hall-Jones (1851–1936) – Prime Minister of New Zealand
* Janet Stancomb-Wills (1851–1932) – mayor of Ramsgate and philanthropist
* Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster (1866–1936) – seventh Governor-General of Australia
* Grote Stirling (1875–1953) – Member of Parliament in Canada
* Wendy Wood (1892–1981) – campaigner for Scottish independence
* Philip Lucock (1916–1996) – Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives in Australia
* Edward Heath (1916–2005) – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
* Ron Ledger (1920–2004) – Labour Member of Parliament
* John Vinelott (1923–2006) – High Court judge
* Jeanne Hoban (1924–1997) – trade unionist in Sri Lanka
* Geoff Braybrooke (1935–2013) – New Zealand Member of Parliament
* Michael Farmer, Baron Farmer (born 1944) - businessman and life peer in the House of Lords
* Brian Haw (1949–2011) – anti-war protester
* Anne, Princess Royal (Anne; born 1950) – only daughter of Elizabeth II
* Nick Brown (born 1950) – Labour Member of Parliament
* John Redwood (born 1951) – Conservative Member of Parliament
* James Arbuthnot (born 1952) – Conservative Member of Parliament
* Paul Clark (born 1957) – Labour Member of Parliament
* Sean Gabb (born 1960) – director of the free market and civil liberties think-tank, Libertarian Alliance
* Nigel Farage (born 1964) – leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP)

## Presenters and entertainers

* Kenneth Clark (1903–1983) – art historian and TV presenter
* Frank Muir (1920–1998) – comedy writer and TV presenter
* Michael Bentine (1922–1996) – comedian and member of the Goons
* Tony Hart (1925–2009) – artist and children's TV presenter
* Bob Holness (1928–2011) – presenter of TV's Blockbusters and Call My Bluff
* Rod Hull (1935–1999) – TV entertainer, known for his puppet Emu
* David Frost (1939–2013) – TV presenter, satirist and journalist
* Jan Leeming (born 1942) – TV presenter and newsreader
* Roger Day (born 1945) – radio presenter for BBC Radio Kent
* David Starkey (born 1945) – historian and TV presenter
* Reg Bolton (1945–2006) – circus clown and writer
* Michael Hogben (born 1952) – antiques dealer and presenter of TV's Auction Man
* Jilly Goolden (born 1956) – wine critic and TV presenter
* Lorraine Michaels (born 1958) – Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for April 1981
* Carol McGiffin (born 1960) – radio presenter and panellist on TV's Loose Women
* Ian Hislop (born 1960) – TV presenter and editor of Private Eye magazine
* Fiona Phillips (born 1961) – presenter of TV's GMTV
* Mark Steel (born 1960) – socialist comedian and newspaper columnist
* Anton Vamplew (born 1966) – astronomer and TV presenter
* Nick Bateman (born 1967) – Big Brother contestant, TV presenter and writer
* Nicki Chapman (born 1967) – TV presenter and judge on TV's Popstars and Pop Idol
* Naomi Cleaver (born 1967) – interior designer and presenter of TV's Other People's Houses and Honey I Ruined the House
* David Bull (born 1969) – doctor and guest on TV's Most Haunted Live, The Wright Stuff and Watchdog
* Alistair Appleton (born 1970) – presenter of TV's Cash in the Attic and House Doctor
* Melanie and Martina Grant (born 1971) – presenters of TV's Fun House
* Alex Lovell (born 1973) – presenter of TV's Playhouse Disney and BrainTeaser
* James Tanner (born c. 1976) – chef on TV's Ready Steady Cook
* Luke Burrage (born 1976) – juggler
* Matt Morgan (born 1977) – co-host of Russell Brand's BBC Radio 2 show
* Kelly Brook (born 1979) – model, actress and TV presenter

## Soldiers

* Francis Thynne (c. 1544–1608) – officer of arms at the College of Arms, London
* Samuel Argall (1580–1608) – Navy admiral and kidnapper of Pocahontas
* Sir William Brockman (1595–1654) – politician and military leader during the English civil war
* John Boys (1607–1664) – Royalist captain during the English Civil War
* George Rooke (1650–1709) – naval commander during the Dutch Wars
* George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington (1668–1733) – First Lord of the Admiralty
* Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham (1726–1813) – First Lord of the Admiralty
* James Wolfe (1727–1759) – military officer who defeated the French and established British rule in Canada
* Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (1738–1805) – British general in the American War of Independence
* Peter Rainier (1741–1808) – Royal Navy Admiral and Member of Parliament
* John Nicholson Inglefield (1748–1828) – Royal Navy Captain of the Fleet
* Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769–1852) – field marshal and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
* Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge (1785–1856) – field marshal and Governor-General of India
* James Mouat (1815–1899) – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* John Miller Adye (1819–1900) – general
* William Sutton (1830–1888) – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* George Truman Morrell (1830–1912) – Royal Navy commander
* John French, 1st Earl of Ypres (1852–1925) – World War I field marshal
* Harold Stephen Langhorne (1866–1932) – brigadier-general
* Alexander Godley (1867–1957) – World War I general
* Henry Edward Manning Douglas (1875–1939) – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* Arthur Borton (1883–1933) – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* Thomas Highgate (1895–1914) – first British soldier to be convicted of desertion and executed during World War I
* James McCudden (1895–1918) – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* Dick White (1906–1993) – Head of the Secret Intelligence Service
* Charles Henry Pepys Harington (1910–2007) – general
* Roderick Alastair Brook Learoyd (1913–1996) – recipient of the Victoria Cross
* Peter Allen Norton (born 1962) – awarded the George Cross for his service in Iraq
* Sarah-Jayne Mulvihill (1973–2006) – Flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force killed in Iraq

## Sportsmen

* Edwin Head (1701–1735) – noted cricket patron and team captain in the 1720s and early 1730s
* George Louch (1746–1811) – cricketer
* Robert Clifford (1752–1811) – cricketer for Kent
* Fuller Pilch (1804–1870) – cricketer for Kent and Norfolk
* Henry Tracey Coxwell (1819–1900) – balloonist
* H T Waghorn (1842–1930) – cricket statistician and historian
* Spencer Gore (1850–1906) – first Wimbledon tennis champion
* Cuthbert Ottaway (1850–1878) – England football captain
* Frank Marchant (1864–1946) – cricketer for Kent
* Fred Waghorne (1866–1956) – ice hockey referee in Canada
* Douglas Carr (1872–1950) – cricketer for Kent and England
* Syd King (1873–1932) – footballer and manager of West Ham United
* Archie Cross (1881–unknown) – footballer for Woolwich Arsenal
* Edward Walter Solly (1882–1966) – cricketer for Worcestershire
* Frank Woolley (1887-1978) - cricketer for Kent and England
* Walter Tull (1888–1918) – UK's second black professional footballer and first black infantry officer
* John Stanton Fleming Morrison (1892–1961) – golf course architect
* Louis Zborowski (1895–1924) – racing driver
* Wally Hammond (1903–1965) – cricketer for Gloucestershire and England
* Dick Edmed (1904–1983) – footballer for Liverpool
* Les Ames (1905–1990) – cricketer for Kent and England
* Alec Rose (1908–1991) – sailed single-handed around the world
* Hopper Levett (1908–1995) – cricketer for England
* Art Potter (1909–1998) – Canadian ice hockey administrator
* Sam King (1911–2003) – golfer
* Arthur Fagg (1915–1977) – cricketer for Kent and England
* William Murray-Wood (1917–1968) – cricketer for Kent
* Jack Conley (1920–1991) – footballer for Torquay United
* Godfrey Evans (1920-1999) – cricketer for Kent and England
* Ted Ditchburn (1921–2005) – footballer for Tottenham Hotspur and England
* Malcolm Allison (1927–2010) – footballer for West Ham United and football manager
* Colin Cowdrey (1932-2000) – cricketer for Kent and England
* Brian Moore (1932–2001) – TV sports commentator
* George Wright (1930–1992) – footballer for West Ham United
* Brian Luckhurst (1939–2005) – cricketer for Kent and England
* Mike Denness (1940-2013) – cricketer for Kent and England
* Barry Davies (born 1940) – TV sports commentator
* Bill Ivy (1942–1969) – motorcycle racer
* John Shepherd (born 1943) – cricketer for Kent and West Indies
* Asif Iqbal (born 1943) – cricketer for Kent and Pakistan
* Alan Ealham (born 1944) – cricketer for Kent
* Derek Underwood (born 1945) – cricketer for Kent and England
* Alan Knott (born 1946) – cricketer for Kent and England
* Bob Woolmer (1948-2007) – cricketer for Kent and England
* Brian Rose (born 1950) – cricketer for Somerset and England
* Bernard Julien (born 1950) – cricketer for Kent and West Indies
* Paul Gilchrist (born 1952) – footballer for Southampton, Portsmouth and Swindon Town
* Kevin Jarvis (born 1953) – cricketer for Kent and Gloucestershire
* Tony Godden (born 1955) – footballer for West Bromwich Albion, Chelsea and Birmingham City
* Dave Carr (1957–2005) – footballer for Luton Town and Torquay United
* David Gower (born 1957) – England cricket captain and TV presenter
* Bob Bolder (born 1958) – footballer for Charlton Athletic, Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday
* Graham Dilley (1959-2011) – cricketer for Kent and England
* Richard Ellison (born 1959) – cricketer for Kent and England
* Barry Knight (born 1960) – football referee
* Steve Bennett (born 1961) – football referee
* Gary Brazil (born 1962) – footballer for Fulham, Preston North End and Sheffield United
* Jamie Spence (born 1963) – golfer
* Andy Townsend (born 1963) – TV presenter; footballer for Aston Villa and Republic of Ireland
* David Bowman (born 1964) – footballer for Heart of Midlothian, Dundee United and Scotland
* Geoff Parsons (born 1964) – Commonwealth Games silver medal winning high jumper
* Tim Berrett (born 1965) – Canadian Olympic race walker
* Andy Hessenthaler (born 1965) – footballer and manager of Gillingham
* Mark Ealham (born 1969) – cricketer for Nottinghamshire and England
* Nigel Llong (born 1969) – cricketer for Kent
* Doug Loft (born 1986) – footballer
* Kelly Holmes (born 1970) – 800 metres and 1500 metres Olympic gold medalist
* Mark Hammett (born 1972) – rugby union footballer for New Zealand
* Rob Short (born 1972) – field hockey player for Canada
* Jamie Staff (born 1973) – Commonwealth Games medal winning cyclist
* Gary Breen (born 1973) – footballer for Coventry City, Sunderland and Republic of Ireland
* Neil Shipperley (born 1974) – footballer for Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Wimbledon
* Takaloo (born 1975) – Iranian boxer
* Matthew Rose (born 1975) – footballer for Arsenal, QPR and Yeovil Town
* Kevin Hunt (born 1975) – footballer for Gillingham, Hong Kong Rangers and Bohemians FC
* Ed Smith (born 1977) – writer, and cricketer for Kent and England
* Georgina Harland (born 1978) – 2004 Olympic bronze medallist in the Modern pentathlon
* Peter Hawkins (born 1978) – footballer for Wimbledon, York City and Rushden & Diamonds
* Jon Harley (born 1979) – footballer for Sheffield United, Fulham and Chelsea
* David Flatman (born 1980) – rugby union footballer for Bath and England
* Michael Yardy (born 1980) – cricketer for Sussex
* Sarah Ayton (born 1980) – Olympic gold medal winning sailor
* Gary Mills (born 1981) – footballer for Rushden & Diamonds
* Danny Spiller (born 1981) – footballer for Gillingham
* Richard Rose (born 1982) – footballer for Gillingham and Hereford United
* James Tredwell (born 1982) – cricketer for Kent and England
* Rhys Lloyd (born 1982) – American footballer for Frankfurt Galaxy
* Lisa Dobriskey (born 1983) – Commonwealth Games 1500 metres gold medallist
* Billy Jones (born 1983) – footballer for Leyton Orient and Kidderminster
* Barry Fuller (born 1984) – footballer for Barnet and Stevenage
* Adam Birchall (born 1984) – footballer for Mansfield Town, Barnet and Wales Under–21s
* Andrew Crofts (born 1984) – footballer for Gillingham
* Dave Martin (born 1985) – footballer for Crystal Palace
* Tom Varndell (born 1985) – rugby union footballer for Leicester Tigers and England
* Joe Denly (born 1986) – cricketer for Kent and England
* Sammy Moore (born 1987) – footballer for Ipswich Town
* Zack Sabre Jr (born 1987) – professional wrestler
* Chris Smalling (born 1989) – footballer with Manchester United F.C.
* Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (born 1991) – Formula BMW racing driver

## Writers

* Edwin Arnold (1832–1904) – poet and journalist
* Edwin Lester Arnold (1857–1935) – author
* Alfred Austin (1835–1913) – Poet Laureate
* Enid Bagnold (1889–1981) – author and playwright
* Rachel Beer (1858–1927) – editor of The Observer and The Sunday Times newspapers
* Aphra Behn (1640–1689) – dramatist among earliest professional female writers
* Robert Blatchford (1851–1943) – socialist author
* Daniel Blythe (born 1969) – author
* Robert Bridges (1844–1930) – Poet Laureate
* Michael Busselle (1935–2006) – writer and photographer
* Elizabeth Carter (1717–1806) – linguist
* Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343–1400) – diplomat and author of The Canterbury Tales
* Joseph Conrad (1857–1924) – novelist
* Caroline Cornwallis (1786–1858)
* Arthur Shearly Cripps (1869–1952) – poet, writer and Anglican priest
* Rana Dasgupta (born 1971) – writer
* Charles Dickens (1812–1870) – foremost Victorian novelist
* Sarah Dixon (1671/2 – 1765) – poet
* Keith Douglas (1920–1944) – poet
* David Edwards (born 1962) – political journalist
* Ernest Elmore (1901–1957) – writer of fantasy and (as John Bude) crime novels
* U. A. Fanthorpe (1929–2009) – poet and recipient of the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry
* Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea (1661–1720) – poet
* Robert Fisk (1946–2020) – journalist
* Phineas Fletcher (1582–1650) – poet
* Frederick Forsyth (born 1938) – author of thriller novels such as The Day of the Jackal and The Odessa File
* Caroline Fry (1787–1846) – Christian writer
* John Fuller (born 1937) – poet and author
* John Gillespie Magee, Jr. (1922–1943) – Air Force pilot and poet
* John Gower (c. 1330–1408) – poet
* Thom Gunn (1929–2004) – Anglo-American poet
* Christopher Harte (born 1947) - sports writer and bibliographer
* William Hazlitt (1778–1830) – essayist and literary critic
* Thomas Head Raddall (1903–1994) – historical fiction writer
* David Hewson (born 1953) – crime and mystery novelist
* Robert Holdstock (born 1948) – fantasy author
* M. R. James (1862–1936) – mediaeval scholar and author
* Lionel Johnson (1867–1902) – poet, essayist and critic
* Sidney Keyes (1922–1943) – war poet
* Winifred Mary Letts (1882–1972) – novelist and poet
* Richard Lovelace (1618–1659) – poet and Royalist
* John Lyly (c. 1553–1606) – writer and originator of the linguistic style Euphuism
* John Lloyd (born 1951) – comedy writer, and TV producer for Blackadder, Spitting Image and Not the Nine O'Clock News
* Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593) – dramatist, poet and translator
* Ronald James Marsh (1914–1987) – novelist
* E. Nesbit (1858–1924) – children's author and poet
* William Nicholson (born 1948) – Academy Award nominated screenwriter, playwright, and novelist
* Alice Oseman (born 1996) – author
* William Painter (1540–1594) – author
* James Parton (1822–1891) – American biographer
* Stel Pavlou (born 1970) – author and screenwriter
* Mervyn Peake (1911–1968) – author of the Gormenghast books
* Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany (1878–1957) – writer and dramatist
* Dudley Pope (1925–1997) – author of nautical fiction
* Peter Quennell (1905–1993) – poet and literary historian
* Bruce Robinson (born 1946) – BAFTA award-winning screenwriter
* George W. M. Reynolds (1814–1879) – author
* William Pett Ridge (1857–1930) – author
* Sarah Sands (born 1961) – editor of The Sunday Telegraph newspaper
* Siegfried Sassoon (1886–1967) – war poet
* Philip Sidney (1554–1606) – poet and military general
* Christopher Smart (1722–1771) – poet
* Robert Smythe Hichens (1864–1950) – journalist and novelist
* W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) – playwright and novelist
* David Lee Stone (born 1978) – fantasy author
* John Russell Taylor (born 1938) – film critic
* Russell Thorndike (1885–1972) – novelist and actor
* Thomas Turner (1729–1793) – diarist
* Gilbert Waterhouse (1883–1916) – war poet
* H. G. Wells (1866–1946) – writer
* John Wells (1936–1998) – satirical writer and comedy performer
* Norman Worker (1927–2005) – comic book writer
* Thomas Wyatt (1503–1400) – poet and diplomat
* Dornford Yates (1885–1960) – novelist

## Miscellaneous

* Elizabeth Barton (1506-1534) - Catholic nun executed by Henry VIII
* Mary Carleton (1642–1673) – fraudster
* Mary and Eliza Chulkhurst (1100–1134) – one of the earliest known sets of conjoined twins
* Kevin Foster (born 1958/59) – investment fraudster
* Frank John William Goldsmith (1902–1982) – survivor of the RMS Titanic disaster
* Tony Hayward (born 1957) – CEO of BP Group (2007–2010)
* Alice Liddell (1852–1934) – inspiration for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
* Marcus Sarjeant (born 1964) – fired six blank shots at Elizabeth II
* Sophia Stacey (1791–1874) – friend of poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and writer Mary Shelley
* Walter Tirel (1065–1134) – killed William II of England, possibly accidentally
* John Ward (c. 1553–1622) – pirate