Image of Daedalus on Wheels: Bronze sculpture by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi 1994
Photo: Aiden Chan

People of note

For more than 500 years Jesus College has been associated with remarkable people. Here's a selective list of former members and benefactors of the College.

John Alcock (c1430-1500) Bishop of Ely, founder of the College.

David T. Ansted (1814-1880) Academic, practical geologist, disciple of Adam Sedgwick, and correspondent of Charles Darwin. Ansted was a professor of Geology at King's College London from 1840 to 1853, and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1844. 

John Bale (1495-1563) Cleric and writer, known for King John, 1538.

David M. Balme (1912-1989) Classicist, first Principal of the University of the Gold Coast, now the University of Ghana.

Richard Bancroft (1544-1610) Bishop of London from 1597 and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1604.

Maurice Warwick Beresford (1920-2005) Economic historian and medieval archaeologist, lecturer, and professor at Leeds University.

Edward Augustus Bowles (1865-1954) Horticulturalist, plantsman, botanical artist, and author of best selling books about gardening. See the E.A. Bowles Society for more information.

John Bramston (1577-1654) 'Serjeant-at-Law' of Middle Temple, appointed Lord Chief Justice in 1635.

Jacob Bronowski (1908-1974) Author and broadcaster.

Leslie Wilfrid Brown (1912-1999) Bishop and then Archbishop of Uganda, later Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, Suffolk.

David Watt Ian Campbell (1915-1979) Poet, writer, and editor.

Edward Daniel Clarke (1769-1822) Fellow and travel writer, later Professor of Mineralogy and University Librarian.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) Poet and philosopher.

Alistair Cooke (1908-2004) Broadcaster, known for radio series A Letter from America.

Sir Robert Cotton (1571-1631) Collector of manuscripts and coins, patron of historians. His library and manuscripts are housed at the British Library.

Alan Cottrell (1919-2012) Materials scientist and Master of the College. 

Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) Archbishop of Canterbury.

Alistair Cameron Crombie (1915-1996) Historian of science, his books include Styles of Scientific Thinking, 1994.

Humphry Davy (1778-1829) Chemist and inventor, worked at Royal Institution, London, from 1801. Davy was a Fellow Commoner of Jesus College from 1804, and became a Fellow of the Royal Society in the same year.

Sir Chintaman Dwarakanath Deshmukh (1896-1982) First Indian Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Finance Minister in the Union Cabinet of 1950-56, Chair of the University Grants Commission of India, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Delhi 1962-67.

Douglas Dewar (1875-1957) Barrister, British civil servant in India, journalist and ornithologist, author of many books about the birds of India.

John Dod (1550-1645) Puritan preacher and author.

Charles Harold Dodd (1884-1973) New Testament scholar and theologian, Professor of Divinity at Cambridge from 1935, directed translation of the New English Bible, 1950.

John Elliotson (1791-1868) Physician, acupuncturist, phrenologist, and mesmerist, Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of London.

John Eliot (1604-1690) Early emigrant to America and Bible translator. 

Alfred Cyril Ewing (1899-1973) Philosopher, lecturer, and reader in Moral Sciences at Cambridge, historian of philosophy and pioneer in the philosophy of religion.

Steve Fairbairn (1862-1938) Highly influential rowing coach of Jesus College Boat Club, author of rowing handbooks.

Richard Fanshawe (1608-1666) Diplomat and author.

Elijah Fenton (1683-1730) Headmaster, tutor, editor, and poet.

John Flamsteed (1646-1719) First Astronomer Royal.

William Frend (1757-1841) Fellow and tutor, actuary, and author.

Simon Forman (1552-1611) Controversial astrologer and medic. His autobiographies, casebooks, and other manuscripts are a valuable resource for cultural historians.

Robert W. V. Gittings (1911-1992) Writer, biographer, playwright, and minor poet, radio producer at the BBC from 1940 to 1964.

Arthur Golding (c1536-1606) Translator from Latin into English, most notably of Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich (1909-2001) Art historian, Honorary Fellow of Jesus College 1963, winner of Balzan prize 1985.

Geoffrey E. S. Gorer (1905-1985) Linguist, social anthropologist, author, and journalist.

Fulke Greville (1554-1628) Chancellor of the Exchequer 1614-1621, poet and biographer of Sir Philip Sidney.

Ewart Scott Grogan (1874-1967) Traveller, author, and settler in Africa.

James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps (1820-1889) Author and editor, especially of materials to do with Shakespeare. 

David Hartley (1705-1757) Fellow from 1727 to 1730, philosopher, physician. His most influential published work was Observations on Man, 1749.

Sir Christopher Hatton (1605-1670) MP and Comptroller of the King's Household from 1643 to 1646, he became governor of Guernsey in 1662 and a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1663.

Thomas Herring (1693-1757) Chaplain to George I, Dean of Rochester, Bishop of Bangor from 1737 to 1743, Archbishop of York  from 1743 to 1747 and of Canterbury from 1747 to 1757.

Francis Higginson (1587-1630) Nonconformist, assistant minister at Salem, Massachusetts in 1629.

Jack Hobbs (1882-1963) Cricketer. Never a member of Jesus College but closely associated with College cricket in his early life because his father was a College groundsman.

Christopher Hogwood (1941-2014) Conductor, musicologist, and keyboard player, member of the Early Music Consort and founding director of the Academy of Ancient Music.

Matthew Hutton (1693-1758) Archbishop of York from 1747 to 1757, and then of Canterbury from 1757 to 1758.

William Ralph Inge (1860-1954) Theological author, journalist, and Anglican cleric who became Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at Cambridge in 1907 and Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, London in 1911.

Lisa Jardine (1944-2015) Literary scholar and historian.

Robert Yewdall (Robbie) Jennings (1913-2004) Whewell Professor of International Law at Cambridge, 1955 to 1982, judge of the International Court at the Hague from 1982, and its President from 1991 to 1994.

Gwilym Iwan Jones (1904-1995) Colonial administrator in Nigeria who photographed and studied the local people, Fellow, and lecturer in anthropology.

Ralph Josselin (1617-1683) Vicar of Earls Colne, Essex from 1640 to 1683. His diaries of life as a parson, farmer, and book collector are a valuable source for English social history.

Vivien Anne Law (1954-2002) The College's first female Research Fellow, from 1977 to 1980, later Fellow of Sidney Sussex, historian of linguistics, especially works of the early medieval Latin grammarians.

John Laurence ("Jack") Longland (1905-1993) Mountaineer, including 1933 Mount Everest expedition, educationalist, and broadcaster.

Thomas Legge (1535-1607) Fellow from 1568 and Master of Caius College in 1573, playwright: his Richardus Tertius is considered to be the first history play written in England.

Harold Victor Livermore (1914-2010) Historian of Portugal, Spain, and South America, Professor and Head of Hispanic Studies at the University of British Columbia, tutor at Cambridge and the University of Westminster.

(Thomas) Robert Malthus (1768-1834) Economist and population theorist.

Sir Arthur Gregory George Marshall (1903-2007) Studied mechanical sciences, Chair of Marshall's Aerospace, 1942 to 1989.

Sir Leslie Martin (1908-2000) Architect, Professor of Architecture at Cambridge, Royal Gold Medallist 1973.

Peter Mitchell (1920-1988) Nobel Prize for Chemistry, 1978. 

Henry Arthur Morgan (1830-1912) Master who shaped the modern College.

Roger North (1651-1734) Lawyer and biographer, author of Memoires of Musick, the first history of music in English. He also wrote about his time at Jesus.

Michael O'Brien (1948-2015) Historian, particularly of American history.

William Otter (1768-1840) First Principal of King's College London from 1831 to 1836, Bishop of Chichester, friend of Robert Malthus, and Edward Daniel Clarke.

Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (1924-2005) Sculptor and printmaker, Honorary Fellow of Jesus College 1994.

Harold James Perkin (1926-2004) Social historian, academic posts at Manchester and Lancaster Universities. He was also a prolific author and founder of the Social History Society in 1976.

Laurence E. R. Picken (1909-2007) Zoologist, teaching at Cambridge, later studied traditional Chinese music, highly regarded ethnomusicologist.

Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller Couch (1863-1944) Fellow, novelist, editor, critic, and poet, Professor of English Literature at Cambridge from 1912.

Frederic James Edward Raby (1888-1966) Fellow and Honorary Fellow, civil servant at the Office of Works, especially supervising ancient monuments.

St. Radegund (c. 520-587) Thuringian princess and Frankish queen, founder of the Abbey of the Holy Cross at Poitiers and patron saint of Jesus College, Cambridge. 

Joseph Raphson (fl.1689-1712) Mathematician, and Fellow of the Royal Society from 1689, known chiefly for the 'Newton-Raphson method' for approximating the roots of an equation. 

William Joseph Reader (1920-1990) Economic historian who helped establish business history as a recognised area of study.

John Morris (known as James) Reeves (1909-1978) Teacher, professional writer, editor, literary critic, and broadcaster, known for poetry, plays, and children's literature. Cofounded the poetry magazine Experiment with Jacob Bronowski.

Bertram Fletcher Robinson (1870-1907) Writer, journalist, editor of magazines including Vanity Fair, political campaigner, friend of A. Conan Doyle and P.G. Wodehouse.

John A. T. Robinson (1919-1983) Bishop of Woolwich 1959 to 1969, lecturer and Dean at Trinity College, Cambridge, author of controversial liberal theological publications.

Tobias Rustat (1608-1694) Benefactor.

Charles Perry Scott (1847-1927) Missionary, Bishop of North China from 1880 to 1913.

Hugh Shield (1831-1903) Academic lawyer, Fellow, and Bursar, barrister and QC, MP for Cambridge from 1880 to 1885.

Harold Spencer Jones (1890-1960) Positional astronomer, H.M. Astronomer at the Cape of Good Hope  from 1923 to 1933, and tenth Astronomer Royal from 1933 to 1955.

Laurence Sterne (1713-1778) Novelist, author of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman.

John Sutton (1820-1873) Benefactor to the Chapel.

Paul Antony (Tony) Tanner (1935-1998) Pupil of A.P. Rossiter was a Jesus Fellow who published groundbreaking studies of American literature, aspects of European and English literature. He was Professor of English and American Literature at Cambridge from 1989 to 1998.

William Homan Thorpe (1902-1986) Zoologist and ornithologist, Professor of Animal Ethology at Cambridge, leading promoter of study of behavioural biology.

Robert (Bob) Thurston Dart (1921-1971) Musicologist, conductor, and keyboard player. Professor at Cambridge from 1962, Professor at King's College London from 1964. 

Eustace Mandeville Wetenhall Tillyard (1889-1962) Fellow and Master, classicist, taught English at Cambridge.

Gilbert Wakefield (1756-1801) Fellow and Unitarian, tutor to Thomas Robert Malthus, editor of classical texts and controversial author.

Thomas Attwood Walmisley (1814-1856) First Professor of Music at Cambridge, 1836, organist and composer.

Nicholas West (1461-1533) Bishop of Ely, benefactor. 

Thomas E. Wilkinson (1837-1914) First Bishop of Zululand, from 1870 to 1880.

Glanville Llewelyn Williams (1911-1997) Academic lawyer, Professor at University College London and later Cambridge, author of works now seen as classics in their field.

Herbert W. Williams (1860-1937) Sixth Anglican Bishop of Waiapu in New Zealand, Maori scholar, Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 1923.

Raymond Williams (1921-1988) Fellow with academic appointments in the Faculty of English, author, novelist, and critic. Influential in leftwing politics.

Cecil Wilson (1860-1941) Bishop of Melanesia from 1894 to 1911, and Bunbury, Western Australia from 1918 to 1937. 

Charles Henry Wilson (1914-1991) Economic historian, Professor of Modern History at Cambridge from 1964.

Donald Woods Winnicott (1896-1971) Paediatrician and psychoanalyst, twice President of the British Psychoanalytical Society.

John Worthington (1618-1671) Cleric, writer, and diarist.

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