Most famous alumni
Nov. 29th, 2012 12:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jackA thread on a message board asked, if you went to a university, who was the most famous person who studied there[1]. There were similar questions for "who's the most famous person from the town you were born in"?[2]
I thought "there must be really good answers for Cambridge". And then I hesitated -- who is the most famous? Especially considering that people I consdier famous other people often have never heard of and vice versa.
Hawking? Newton? Darwin? I think Darwin is probably one of the most famous scientists
Cromwell? I'd think so, but I bet he's comparatively unknown outside Britain and Ireland.
Prince Charles? Is he more famous than Charles Darwin? He probably is in Britain, but I don't think he'd win outside if he's not King yet. There must have been other famous monarchs, but which?
Is there an obvious best answer?
What about other famous universities?
Footnotes
[1] I think you can count "taught there". But not "had a college named after them" else Jesus and Wolfson would win every time :)
[2] I think Worcester is most famous for (1) being pronounced differently to how it looks, (2) Worcester sauce and (3) the end of the british monarchy. Except no-one seemed to have heard of #3 :)
I thought "there must be really good answers for Cambridge". And then I hesitated -- who is the most famous? Especially considering that people I consdier famous other people often have never heard of and vice versa.
Hawking? Newton? Darwin? I think Darwin is probably one of the most famous scientists
Cromwell? I'd think so, but I bet he's comparatively unknown outside Britain and Ireland.
Prince Charles? Is he more famous than Charles Darwin? He probably is in Britain, but I don't think he'd win outside if he's not King yet. There must have been other famous monarchs, but which?
Is there an obvious best answer?
What about other famous universities?
Footnotes
[1] I think you can count "taught there". But not "had a college named after them" else Jesus and Wolfson would win every time :)
[2] I think Worcester is most famous for (1) being pronounced differently to how it looks, (2) Worcester sauce and (3) the end of the british monarchy. Except no-one seemed to have heard of #3 :)