List of British Jews
| List of Jews by country |
| Sub-Saharan Africa |
| Arab World | Israel* |
| South-East Europe |
| Austria | Hungary |
| Poland | East Europe |
| Russia | North Europe |
| UK | Germany | Italy |
| France | West Europe |
| Iberia | Latin America |
| Caribbean | Canada |
| US | Asia | Oceania |
| (*most are Jewish) |
Jews first arrived in Britain with William the Conqueror in 1066, but were expelled in 1290 following increasing persecution. (Hence plays such as The Jew of Malta and The Merchant of Venice were written when England was essentially devoid of Jews.) Jews were readmitted in 1656 by Oliver Cromwell, and emancipation took place in 1858. In the late 19th century there was mass Jewish immigration from anti-semitic Russia, and the 1930s saw an influx of refugees from Nazism. The Jewish population peaked at 450,000, but has since declined due to low birth rate, intermarriage and emigration. The current population according to the 2001 Census is around 240,000 (though many experts consider this an underestimate), most of whom live in London. The following is a list of some prominent British Jews.
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3.1 Physicists |
Political figures
MPs
British Members of Parliament listed chronologically by first election date (in brackets):
- Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (1837), Conservative Prime Minister (raised Christian)
- Lionel de Rothschild (1847, admitted 1858), Liberal MP, first openly Jewish MP
- Sir George Jessel (1868), Solicitor General, later Master of the Rolls
- Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel (1902), Liberal cabinet minister & leader
- Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading (1904), Liberal cabinet minister & Viceroy of India
- Alfred Mond, 1st Baron Melchett (1906), Liberal Cabinet Minister 1916-22
- Manny Shinwell, Lord Shinwell (1922), Labour cabinet minister & Chairman
- Leslie Hore-Belisha, 1st Baron Hore-Belisha (1923), Liberal cabinet minister
- Sidney Silverman (1935), Labour MP, introduced Bill to abolish death penalty
- Jack Diamond, Baron Diamond of the City of Gloucester (1945), Labour cabinet minister and SDP leader in the House of Lords
- Ian Mikardo (1945), Labour MP
- Keith Joseph, Baron Joseph (1956), Conservative cabinet minister
- Reginald Freeson (1964), Labour minister
- Greville Janner, Lord Janner of Braunstone, (1970), Labour MP
- Sir Gerald Kaufman (1970), Labour cabinet minister
- Clement Freud (1973), Liberal MP
- Leon Brittan, Baron Brittan of Spennithorne (1974), Conservative cabinet minister, European Commissioner
- Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby (1974), Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer
- Sir Malcolm Rifkind (1974), Conservative cabinet minister
- Edwina Currie (1983), Conservative minister
- Michael Howard (1983), Conservative cabinet minister & leader
- Peter Mandelson (1992), Labour cabinet minister, European Commissioner (Jewish father)
- Barbara Roche (1992), Labour minister
- Margaret Hodge (1994), Labour minister
- Louise Ellman (1997), Labour MP
- Oona King (1997), Labour MP, second black female MP (Jewish mother)
- Oliver Letwin (1997), Conservative shadow chancellor
Other
- Peter Benenson, founder of Amnesty International
- Nicky Gavron, Deputy Mayor of London
- Victor Gollancz, publisher and political activist
- Lewis Gompertz, founder of the RSPCA
- Sidney Hart, Trade Unionist
- Joel Joffe, human rights lawyer & chairman of Oxfam
- Józef Rotblat, anti-nuclear campaigner, Nobel Peace Prize (1995)
- Krystyna Skarbek, World War 2 spy
- Sir Julius Vogel, Prime Minister of New Zealand
Religious leaders
- Yehezkel Abramsky, Rabbi
- Elkan Nathan Adler, lawyer and bibliophile
- Hermann Adler, Chief Rabbi
- Nathan Marcus Adler, Chief Rabbi
- Sir Israel Brodie, Chief Rabbi
- Chanoch Ehrentreu, Rabbi
- Isidore Epstein, Rabbi and educator
- Solomon Gaon, Haham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews
- Moses Gaster, Haham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews
- Sir Hermann Gollancz, Rabbi and educator
- Hugo Gryn, Reform Rabbi, holocaust survivor and broadcaster
- Solomon Herschell, Chief Rabbi
- Joseph Herman Hertz, Chief Rabbi
- Louis Jacobs, Rabbi and educator
- Lord Immanuel Jakobovits, Chief Rabbi
- Claude Montefiore, Lay synagogue leader
- Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi
- Simeon Singer, Rabbi
Scientists
Physicists
- Sir Michael Berry, mathematical physicist
- Sir Hermann Bondi, cosmologist
- Max Born, physicist, Nobel Prize (1954)
- Paul Eisler, inventor of printed circuit board
- Dennis Gabor, inventor of holography, Nobel Prize (1971)
- Michael Green, string theorist
- William & Caroline Herschel, astronomers (father 'of Jewish descent')
- Brian David Josephson, physicist, Nobel Prize (1973)
- Nicholas Kurti, low-temperature physicist
- Leon Mestel, astronomer
- Józef Rotblat, physicist, Nobel Peace Prize (1995)
Chemists
- Gustav Victor Rudolf Born, Professor of Pharmacy
- Herbert Brown, chemist, Nobel Prize (1979) (UK-born)
- Aaron Klug, physicist & chemist, Nobel Prize (1982)
- Harold Kroto, discoverer of buckminsterfullerene, Nobel Prize (1996) (Jewish father)
- Ludwig Mond, chemist & industrialist
- Max Perutz, molecular biologist, Nobel Prize (1962)
- Michael Polanyi, polymath
Biologists
- Ephraim Anderson, microbiologist
- Walter Bodmer, geneticist
- Sydney Brenner, molecular biologist, Nobel Prize (2002)
- Ernst Chain, co-developer of penicillin, Nobel Prize (1945)
- Rosalind Franklin, molecular biologist
- Alan Fersht, protein folding
- Susan Greenfield, neuroscientist and writer
- Waldemar Haffkine, pioneer of cholera vaccine
- Alick Isaacs, co-discoverer of interferon
- Bernard Katz, biophysicist, Nobel Prize (1970)
- Hans Kosterlitz, discoverer of endorphins
- Sir Hans Adolf Krebs, biochemist, Nobel Prize (1953)
- Sir John Krebs, biologist
- César Milstein, immunologist, Nobel Prize (1984)
- Leslie Orgel, evolutionary biologist
- Steven Rose, biologist
- Miriam Rothschild, entomologist
- Oliver Sacks, neurologist and author
- John Vane, biochemist, Nobel Prize (1982) (Jewish father)
- Robert Winston, fertility expert and broadcaster
- Lewis Wolpert, developmental biologist and broadcaster
Mathematicians and Statisticians
- Jacob Bronowski, mathematician & broadcaster
- Philip Dawid, statistician
- John Fox, statistician
- Benjamin Gompertz, mathematician
- Steven Haberman, professor of actuarial science
- Hyman Kestelman, mathematician
- Ruth Lawrence, mathematician & child prodigy
- Claus Moser, statistician
- Louis Mordell, number theorist
- Richard Rado, mathematician
- Klaus Roth, mathematician, Fields Medal (1958)
- James Joseph Sylvester, mathematician
Computer scientists
- Samson Abramsky, computer scientist
- David Deutsch, quantum computing pioneer
- I.J. Good, cryptographer, philosopher of statistics & computing pioneer
- David Levy, computer chess expert
- Leo Marks, cryptographer & screenwriter
- Max Newman, mathematician & computing pioneer (Jewish father)
- Gordon Plotkin, computer scientist
Academic figures
Philosophers
- Samuel Alexander, philosopher
- Alfred Ayer, philosopher
- Isaiah Berlin, political philosopher
- H. L. A. Hart, legal philosopher
- Imre Lakatos, philosopher of science
- Karl Popper, philosopher of science
- Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher
Social scientists
- Michael Balint, psychoanalyst
- Simon Baron-Cohen, autism researcher
- Zygmunt Bauman, sociologist
- Basil Bernstein, linguist
- Meyer Fortes, anthropologist
- Anna Freud, child psychoanalyst
- Sigmund Freud, psychoanalyst (spent last few years of life in Britain)
- Paul Hirst, social theorist (Jewish mother)
- Marie Jahoda, psychology of discrimination
- Melanie Klein, psychotherapist
- Judd Marmor, psychiatrist (UK-born)
- Ashley Montagu, anthropologist & humanist
Economists
- Peter Bauer, economist
- Noreena Hertz, economist & activist
- Richard F. Kahn, economist: multiplier
- Nicholas Kaldor, economist
- Israel Kirzner, economist (UK-born)
- Harold Laski, economist
- David Ricardo, economist
- Piero Sraffa, economist
Historians
- Geoffrey Alderman, historian
- Geoffrey Rudolph Elton, historian
- Isaac Deutscher, historian
- Martin Gilbert, historian
- Eric Hobsbawm, historian
- Bernard Lewis, historian
- Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian
- Lewis Bernstein Namier, historian
- Cecil Roth, historian and editor of the Encyclopedia Judaica
- Simon Schama, historian
- Aurel Stein, archeologist
Theologians and Hebraists
- Chimen Abramsky, Professor of Hebrew
- Stefan Reif, Cambridge academic
Showbusiness
Film actors
- Alfie Bass, comic actor
- Claire Bloom, actress
- Orlando Bloom, actor (Jewish father: non-biological, he later discovered)
- Eleanor Bron, actress and name inspiration for Eleanor Rigby
- Helena Bonham Carter, actress (mother's family of Jewish origin)
- Katrin Cartlidge, actress (Jewish mother)
- Daniel Day Lewis, actor (Jewish mother)
- Marty Feldman, comic actor
- Laurence Harvey, actor
- Leslie Howard, actor
- Jason Isaacs, actor
- Sid James, comic actor
- David Kossoff, actor and stage monologuist
- Miriam Margolyes, actress
- Ron Moody, actor
- Olivia Newton-John, film actress and singer (UK-born; 3/4 Jewish mother)
- Sophie Okonedo, actress (Jewish mother)
- Alicia Silverstone, actress (British parents)
- Ione Skye, actress (UK-born; Jewish mother)
- Elizabeth Taylor, actress (convert)
- Rachel Weisz, actress
TV actors
- Tom Baker, lead in Doctor Who (Jewish father, raised Catholic)
- Dani Behr, tv presenter
- Lionel Blair, tv entertainer
- Joan Collins, Alexis Carrington in Dynasty (Jewish father)
- Vanessa Feltz, tv presenter
- Lesley Joseph, Dorian in Birds of a Feather
- Natasha Kaplinsky, tv presenter (Jewish father)
- Felicity Kendal, Barbara Good in The Good Life (convert)
- Maureen Lipman, tv actress
- Kay Mellor, actress & scriptwriter
- Warren Mitchell, Alf Garnett in Til Death Us Do Part
- Sharon Osbourne, herself in The Osbournes (Jewish father)
- Esther Rantzen, presenter of That's Life!, founder of ChildLine
- Gaby Roslin, tv presenter
- Andrew Sachs, Manuel in Fawlty Towers (Jewish father)
- Emma Samms, tv actress
- Jane Seymour, lead in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (Jewish father)
- David Suchet, lead in Hercule Poirot (Jewish father)
- Clive Swift, Richard Bucket from Keeping Up Appearances
- David Swift, Henry from Drop the Dead Donkey
Directors/producers/executives
- Jenny Abramsky, BBC executive
- Michael Balcon, producer
- Bernard Delfont, executive
- Oscar Deutsch, founder of Odeon cinemas
- Stephen Frears, director (Jewish mother)
- Sidney J. Furie, director
- Jonathan Glazer, director
- Leslie Grade, executive
- Lew Grade, executive
- Michael Grade, BBC executive
- Alexander Korda, director & producer
- Zoltan Korda, director
- Mike Leigh, director
- Richard Lester, director
- Jonathan Lynn, director
- Sam Mendes, director (Jewish mother)
- Emeric Pressburger, director
- Irving Rapper, director (UK-born)
- Karel Reisz, director
- John Schlesinger, director
- Michael Winner, director
- Alan Yentob, BBC executive
Comedians
- Ronni Ancona, impressionist
- David Baddiel, comedian
- Sacha Baron Cohen, impressionist, Ali G
- Arnold Brown, comedian
- Ben Elton, comedian & writer
- Bud Flanagan, comedian & actor
- Stephen Fry, comedian & actor (Jewish mother)
- Paul Kaye, comedian & actor, Dennis Pennis
- Matt Lucas, comedian
- Denis Norden, scriptwriter and radio & TV personality
- Jerry Sadowitz, comedian
- Alexei Sayle, comedian & communist
- Peter Sellers, comedian & actor (Jewish mother)
- Ruby Wax, comedian (UK-based)
Theatre
- Peter Brook, director
- Georgia Brown, musical theatre actress
- Maria Friedman, musical theatre actress
- Hermione Gingold, actress
- Henry Goodman, actor
- Nicholas Hytner, director
- Jonathan Miller, director
- Robert Rietti, actor
- Anthony Sher, actor
- Janet Suzman, actress
- Sam Wanamaker, the Globe Theatre project
- Zoe Wanamaker, actress (Jewish father)
Radio
- Rabbi Lionel Blue, radio broadcaster
- Jono Coleman, radio broadcaster
- Sir Clement Freud, radio broadcaster
- Emma Freud, radio broadcaster (Jewish father)
- Alan Keith, radio broadcaster
Other
- Caprice Bourret, model
- Alicia Markova, dancer
Musicians
Popular musicians
- Bert Ambrose, bandleader
- Nicole, Natalie Appleton & Melanie Blatt, members of All Saints (Appletons half-Jewish)
- Marc Bolan, member of T. Rex
- Elkie Brooks, singer, member of Vinegar Joe
- Ian Broudie, member of The Lightning Seeds
- Johnny Clegg, South African musician (UK-born)
- Alma Cogan, singer
- Anthony Costa, member of Blue
- Victor Feldman, jazz musician
- Justine Frischmann, member of Elastica
- Graham Gouldman, Lol Creme & Kevin Godley, members of 10cc
- Mick Green, guitarist for Johnny Kidd & the Pirates
- Peter Green, member of Fleetwood Mac
- Terry Hall, member of The Specials
- Mick Hucknall, member of Simply Red (Jewish mother)
- Mick Jones, member of The Clash (Jewish mother)
- Jason Kay, member of Jamiroquai
- Mark Knopfler, member of Dire Straits (Jewish father)
- Paul Kossoff, member of Free
- Keith Levene, guitarist of Public Image Ltd. (half-Jewish)
- Jon Moss, member of Culture Club
- Manfred Mann, R&B keyboardist
- Oi Va Voi, klezmer/electronica band
- Keith Reid & Matthew Fisher, founding members of Procol Harum
- Gavin Rossdale, member of Bush (raised by half Jewish father)
- Ronnie Scott, saxophonist & jazz club owner
- Helen Shapiro, singer
- Shlomo, beatboxer
- Derek, Ray & Phil Shulman, members of Gentle Giant
- Nancy Spungen, girlfriend of Sid Vicious
- Rachel Stevens, singer & former member of S Club 7
- Sharon Tandy, singer
- Lewis Taylor, singer/songwirter
- Frankie Vaughan, singer
- Scott Walker, singer/songwriter (unconfirmed)
- John Weider, member of Eric Burdon & the New Animals
- Louise Wener, member of Sleeper
- Amy Winehouse, singer/songwriter
- Eric Woolfson, member of The Alan Parsons Project
Producers/managers
- Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records (Jewish mother)
- Brian Epstein, manager of the Beatles
- Harvey Goldsmith, rock impressario
- Malcolm McLaren, manager of the Sex Pistols (Jewish mother)
- Daniel Miller, founder of Mute Records
- Andrew Loog Oldham, manager of the Rolling Stones (Jewish single mother)
- Geoff Travis, founder of Rough Trade Records
Classical musicians
- Norbert Brainin, violinist
- Harriet Cohen, pianist
- Solomon Cutner, known as Solomon, pianist
- Jacqueline du Pré, cellist (convert)
- Benjamin Frankel, composer
- Isidore Godfray, conductor
- George Henschel, singer & conductor
- Myra Hess, pianist
- Steven Isserlis, cellist
- Yehudi Menuhin, conductor & violinist (UK-based)
- Benno Moiseiwitsch, pianist
- Yfrah Neaman, violinist & teacher
- Siegmund Nissel, violinist
- Michael Nyman, composer
- Murray Perahia, pianist (UK-based)
- Landon Ronald, conductor & composer
- Peter Schidlof, violist
- Georg Solti, conductor
- Lionel Tertis, cellist
- Benjamin Zander, music director
Songwriters
- Lionel Bart, musicals writer
- Don Black, lyricist
- Eric Maschwitz, lyricist, writer & broadcaster
- David Rose, songwriter & composer
- Jule Styne, songwriter (UK-born)
Writers
Authors
- Lisa Appignanesi, novelist
- Alain de Botton, writer
- Anita Brookner, novelist
- Elias Canetti, novelist, Nobel Prize (1981) (Bulgarian-born)
- Jackie Collins, romantic novelist (Jewish father)
- Eleanor Farjeon, children's writer (Jewish father)
- Leonard Feather, jazz writer
- Antonia Forest, children's writer (Jewish father)
- Neil Gaiman, fantasy writer
- Linda Grant, novelist
- Basil Henriques
- Zoë Heller, author (Jewish father)
- Howard Jacobson, writer & broadcaster
- Aaron Judah, children's writer
- Judith Kerr, children's writer
- Matthew Kneale, writer (Jewish mother)
- Arthur Koestler, novelist & critic
- George Mikes, humorous writer
- Claudia Roden, food writer
- Bernice Rubens, novelist
- Will Self, novelist (Jewish mother)
- Muriel Spark, novelist (Jewish father)
- Leonard Woolf, writer & activist
- Helen Zahavi, novelist
Poets
- Danny Abse, poet
- Al Alvarez, poet
- Bryher, poet (probably Jewish father)
- Ivor Cutler, poet, humorist, musician
- Denise Levertov, poet (Jewish father)
- Jenny Joseph, poet
- Amy Levy, poet & novelist
- Mina Loy, poet (Jewish father)
- Isaac Rosenberg, war poet
- Siegfried Sassoon, war poet (Jewish father)
- Stephen Spender, poet & essayist (Jewish mother)
Playwrights
- Peter Barnes, playwright
- Ronald Harwood, playwright & screenwriter
- Patrick Marber, playwright & comedian
- Harold Pinter, playwright
- Jack Rosenthal, TV playwright
- Peter & Anthony Shaffer, playwrights
- Tom Stoppard, playwright
- Arnold Wesker, playwright
Journalists
- David Aaronovitch, journalist (Jewish father)
- Nick Cohen, journalist
- John Diamond, journalist
- Jonathan Freedland, journalist
- Anthony Holden, journalist & biographer
- Fay Maschler, restaurant critic
- Nigella Lawson, journalist, cookery writer & broadcaster
- Bernard Levin, journalist & broadcaster
- Melanie Phillips, journalist
- Marjorie Proops, agony aunt
- Kimberly Quinn, publisher (UK-based)
- Claire Rayner, agony aunt
Artists
Fine arts
- Frank Auerbach, painter
- David Bomberg, painter
- Anthony Caro, sculptor
- Jacob Epstein, sculptor (UK-based)
- Hannah Frank, artist & sculptor
- Lucian Freud, painter
- Mark Gertler, painter
- Ernst Gombrich, art historian
- Anish Kapoor, sculptor (Jewish mother)
- R.B. Kitaj, painter (UK-based)
- Leon Kossoff, painter
- David Sylvester, art critic
Designers and Architects
- Misha Black, industrial designer (unconfirmed)
- Elizabeth Emanuel, fashion designer
- Nicole Farhi, fashion designer
- Abram Games, poster designer
- Stella McCartney, fashion designer (Jewish mother)
- Janet Reger, lingerie designer
- Vidal Sassoon, hair stylist
- Hans Schleger, graphics designer
- Richard Seifert, architect
Business and the Professions
Food
- Jack Cohen, founder of Tesco
- Jacob "the Jew", founder of the first European coffeehouse (Oxford, 1650)
- Adam & Sam Kaye, founders of Ask Pizza
- Phillip Kaye, founder of Garfunkel's
- Nigella Lawson, celebrity chef
- Joseph Lyons et al, founders of J. Lyons and Co.
- Joseph Malin, founder of the first fish and chips shop (London, 1860)
Retail
- Marilyn & Yoram Anselm, founders of Hobbs
- Charles Clore, founder of Sears Group, philanthropist
- Ralph, David & Jacqueline Gold, founders of Ann Summers
- Philip Green, owner of Bhs, Arcadia Group
- Stanley Kalms, founder of Dixons
- Michael Marks, co-founder of Marks & Spencer
- Stephen Marks, founder of FCUK
- Joseph Nathan, founder of Glaxo
- Stephen Rubin, founder of Pentland, Reebok
- Marcus Samuel, founder of Shell Oil
- Jez San, founder of Argonaut (unconfirmed)
- Peter Simon, founder of Monsoon & Accessorize
- Alan Sugar, founder of Amstrad
- Isaac Wolfson, founder of GUS plc & philanthropist
- Leonard Wolfson, chairman of GUS plc & philanthropist
- Selim Zilkha, founder of Mothercare (while UK-based)
Law
- Dame Rose Heilbron, Britain's first female QC, judge
- Baron Lloyd of Hampstead, QC and professor of law
- Sir David Napley, solicitor and president of the Law Society
- Leonard Sainer, solicitor and retailer
- Cyril Salmon, Baron Salmon of Sandwich, law lord
- Peter Taylor, Baron Taylor of Gosforth, former Lord Chief Justice
- Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf, Lord Chief Justice, former Master of the Rolls
Media
- Sidney Bernstein, founder of Granada Television
- Benjamin Cohen, former teenage dot.com millionaire
- Richard Desmond, publisher
- Lew Grade, founder of ATV
- Michael Green, founder of Carlton Television
- Joseph Moses Levy, founder of the Daily Telegraph
- Harry Marks, founder of the Financial Times
- Tom Maschler, literary publisher, Booker Prize founder
- Robert Maxwell, publisher
- Paul Reuter, founder of Reuters
- Maurcie & Charles Saatchi, founders of Saatchi and Saatchi
- Martin Sorrell, founder of the WPP Group
Finance
- Aaron of Lincoln, 12th century financier
- Lloyd Dorfman, founder of Travelex
- David Goldman, founder of The Sage Group
- Moses Haim Montefiore, financier & philanthropist
- Michael Moritz, venture capitalist
- Nathan Mayer Rothschild, financier & banker
Sports
Boxing
- Barney Aaron, 19th century boxer (IBHOF)
- Jackie Kid Berg, Junior Welterweight Champion (IBHOF)
- Dutch Sam Elias, 19th century boxer, inventor of the uppercut (IBHOF)
- Ted Kid Lewis, World Welterweight Champion (IBHOF)
- Daniel Mendoza, 18th century Heavyweight Champion (IBHOF)
- Jack Solomons, boxing promoter (IBHOF)
Chess
- Gerald Abrahams, British chess player
- Harry Golombek, British chess player
- Isidor Gunsberg, Hungarian/British chess player
- William Hartston, British chess player
- Bernhard Horwitz, German/British chess player
Other
- Harold Abrahams, sprinter
- David Beckham, football player (Jewish maternal grandfather)
- Angela Buxton, tennis player
- Ludwig Guttmann, founder of the Paralympics
- Ben Helfgott, weightlifter
- Edward Lawrence Levy, first weightlifting World Champion
- Ivor Goldsmid Montagu, co-founder and president of the ITTF
- Albert Rosenfeld, rugby league player (RFL Hall of Fame)
Miscellaneous
- Dame Vivien Duffield, philanthropist