Famous alumni

University College, Oxford

Richard Fleming (d. 1431), bishop of Lincoln and founder of Lincoln College, Oxford.
Richard Stanyhurst (1547-1618), writer of a famous translation of Virgil's Aeneid.
John Radcliffe (1652-1714), physician. Royal patronage (he was physician to Princess Anne of Denmark) and other wealthy patients made him extremely rich: a number of Oxford landmarks were built for him or using funds bequeathed by him, including the Radcliffe Camera, the Radcliffe Infirmary, and the Radcliffe Observatory.
Gerard Langbaine (1656-1692), dramatic biographer and critic. His best-known work is `An Account of the English Dramatic Poets', but he also compiled `Momus Triumphans', in which he sought to show how many dramatists borrowed their plots from classical histories and romances.
Richard Jago (1715-1781), poet. He wrote `Edge-hill', a topographical poem in four books describing views of Warwickshire.
Roger Newdigate (1719-1806), antiquary. Founded the Newdigate Prize for English verse at Oxford.
James Ridley (1736-1765), author. Chiefly remembered for his Oriental pastiche `Tales of the Genii', a collection of tales modelled on those of the `Arabian Nights'.
Edmund Cartwright (1743-1823), reputed inventor of the power loom.
William Jones (1746-1794), oriental scholar and pioneer of comparative philology. A brilliant jurist as well as a master of Sanskrit, he is remembered for his translations, which helped to make Indian writings known in Europe. There is a prominent monument to him in the antechapel at Univ.
Thomas Maurice (1754-1824), writer on Indian antiquities and history.
Samuel Warneford (1763-1855), philanthropist. He founded the Warneford Lunatic Asylum at Oxford.
Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), one of the most famous of the English Romantic poets. While at Oxford he circulated a pamphlet, `The Necessity of Atheism', which led to his being sent down. The fact of his being a Univ man is forcibly borne in on anyone visiting the College by a marble monument housed there in rather splendid surroundings.
Monier Monier-Williams (1819-1899), orientalist. The driving force behind the foundation of the Indian Institute at Oxford, and author of a Sanskrit-English dictionary.
Robert Mansfield (1824-1908), author and oarsman. He was a pioneer of English golf as well as of English rowing in Germany.
Edwin Arnold (1832-1904), poet and journalist. He edited the Daily Telegraph from 1873; of his poems and translations the best known is the massive `The Light of Asia', a depiction in blank verse of the life and philosophy of Buddha.
Alfred Hutton (1839-1910), swordsman and pioneer of modern fencing. He was the first president of the Amateur Fencing Association.
Lord Robert Cecil (1864-1958), a creator of the League of Nations.
Edward Herbert Cooper (1867-1910), novelist. Best known for `Mr. Blake of Newmarket' and the `Wyemark' stories for children.
Ernest de Selincourt (1870-1943), scholar and literary critic. He was professor of poetry at Oxford, and published editions of the works of William and Dorothy Wordsworth.
Nigel Playfair (1874-1934), actor-manager. He revived the fortunes of the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, beginning in 1920 with his important production of `The Beggar's Opera'.
Alexander `Sandy' Lindsay (1879-1952), political philosopher and educationist. Among his writings are `The Essentials of Democracy', `Religion, Science and Society in the Modern World', and a popular translation of Plato's `Republic'.
William Beveridge (1879-1963), social reformer and economist. Beveridge was Master of Univ from 1937 to 1944; the `Beveridge Plan' laid the foundations of the modern British welfare state.
Adrian Stoop (1883-1957), rugby footballer; president of the Harlequins 1920-49.
Clement Attlee (1883-1967), statesman. He was Prime Minister between 1945 and 1951, during which time India achieved independence and the foundations were laid for much of today's Welfare State, including the National Health Service.
Cecil Mercer [`Dornford Yates'] (1885-1960), novelist. His thrillers, and his series of romantic comedies featuring the glamorous `Berry' Pleydell, were immensely popular between the wars.
Cyril James Hastings Tolley (1895-1978), golfer. He won the Amateur Championship at Muirfield while still at Univ, and went on to become one of the best and most famous players in the history of amateur golf.
Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963), writer and scholar. A distinguished academic (he was made Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge in 1954) and author of many popular books on aspects of religion and morality (notably `The Screwtape Letters'), he is best known as a writer of fiction, including `The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe' and the other six `Narnia' stories for children. He was a close friend of J.R.R. Tolkien, and hosted many meetings of `The Inklings' - perhaps inspired by his earlier membership of the Martlets at Univ? - in his rooms at Magdalen. His love affair with the American, Joy Davidman, was immortalized in the film `Shadowlands'.
Benn Wolfe Levy (1900-1973), playwright and director. He wrote and directed a number of plays, including `Springtime for Henry', and (with Richard Rodgers) the musical `Evergreen'.
Kenneth Diplock (1907-1985), judge. He chaired a commission set up in 1972 to consider legal measures against terrorism in Northern Ireland, which led to the establishment of the Diplock courts with which his name is now associated.
Stephen Spender (1909-1995), poet and critic. An important writer on modern poets as well as a distinguished poet in his own right.
Shiva Naipaul (1945-1985), writer. Born in Trinidad, brother of the novelist V.S. Naipaul. Perhaps best known for his collection of articles and short stories, `Beyond the Dragon's Mouth'.

This information was originally supplied by Peter Gilliver of the Oxford University Press and formatted for the World Wide Web by Jonathan Bowen as part of information on University College, Oxford archive. The information is largely derived from the Dictionary of National Biography, published by OUP.