English Famous Names Starting with Letter W

Was an English cricketer who played for Dartford and Kent in the first quarter of the 18th century.

Was an English cricketer who played for Dartford and Kent in the first quarter of the 18th century. He is the sport's earliest known accomplished player. He was born in Bromley but lived most of his life near Dartford, where he was a wealthy farmer and grazier.

Was an English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm slow bowler who played for K

Was an English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm slow bowler who played for Kent. He was born in Smarden and died at Ruthin Castle. Best made his County Championship debut during the inaugural 1890 season, in a drawn match against Nottinghamshire, his only input into the game being to bowl a single maiden over. Best made a further appearance in the 1890 championship two weeks later, moving up to the opening order with Alec Hearne. However, it was almost exactly a year before he made his next first-class appearance, his only appearance during the 1891 season.

Also known as William Burkitt, was an English cricketer who represented Derbyshire in 1898 and 1901.

Also known as William Burkitt, was an English cricketer who represented Derbyshire in 1898 and 1901. He made his Derbyshire debut in a single match in 1898. He appeared in three matches in the 1901 season. Birkett's top score was an innings of 10 in August 1901 in a draw against Lancashire. Birkett was an occasional bowler and took three first class wickets at an average of 38.33. He was a lower-order batsman, and played seven innings in four first class matches for a total of 20 runs.

Was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. During his lifetime, and for half a century afterwards

Was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. During his lifetime, and for half a century afterwards, his work was largely disregarded or even derided as the work of a madman. Today Blake's work is considered seminal in the history of both poetry and the visual arts of the Romantic Age. Blake's prophetic poetry is often considered to be the writings of extraordinary originality and genius. Though he is now considered to have been a spiritual visionary of the Romantic age, his work has been said to form "what is in proportion to its merits the least read body of poetry in the English language".[1] His visual artistry has led one modern critic to proclaim him "far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced".[2] Born inside London, Blake spent the entire course of his life, save for three years, inside the city.[3] His creative vision, however, engendered a diverse and symbolically rich corpus, which embraced 'imagination' as "the body of God",[4] or "Human existence itself".[5]

English antiquary and naturalist, was born at Pendeen in Cornwall, of an ancient family (originating

English antiquary and naturalist, was born at Pendeen in Cornwall, of an ancient family (originating at St Wenn). From 1722 he was Vicar of Ludgvan and died there in 1772.

Was an English amateur cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1815 to 1832. Mainly associated

Was an English amateur cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1815 to 1832. Mainly associated with Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), he made 3 known appearances in first-class matches. He played for the Gentlemen in the 1832 Gentlemen v Players match.

Was an English cricketer who played regularly for Kent teams from 1768 until 1788 and then for Susse

Was an English cricketer who played regularly for Kent teams from 1768 until 1788 and then for Sussex until 1792. He had 47 known first-class appearances between 1775 and 1792. His name was pronounced "Borra". Bowra subsequently played for the Brighton team during 1790 – 1792 and once made 60* for Brighton v MCC. At this time he was perhaps employed on one of Dorset’s estates in Sussex. He returned to Knole House in 1807, again as gamekeeper, and it is believed he stayed there till his death in 1820.

Was an English geologist and clergyman, active in Australia.In 1839, after a severe illness, Clarke

Was an English geologist and clergyman, active in Australia.In 1839, after a severe illness, Clarke left England for New South Wales, mainly with the object of benefiting by the sea voyage. He had been commissioned by some of his English colleagues to ascertain the extent and character of the carboniferous formation in New South Wales (Clarke's letter to Sydney Morning Herald, 18 February 1852). He remained, however, in that country, and came to be regarded as the Father of Australian Geology.

Was a noted English cricketer of the late 18th century who played mostly for Kent. Brazier is first

Was a noted English cricketer of the late 18th century who played mostly for Kent. Brazier is first recorded in the 1774 season and was probably a genuine debutant in that year, being aged 19 at the time. He was a good all rounder who bowled fast and was a powerful hitter. He played for a left-handed team in 1790 but S&B says he was right-handed. He did not play during the years 1777 to 1781 inclusive, possibly because he was in the armed forces or otherwise employed away from Kent. According to S&B, he was a farmer at Cudham.

Is a former rugby union player and the former Head Coach of the England and Ireland national rugby u

Is a former rugby union player and the former Head Coach of the England and Ireland national rugby union teams.After leaving school, Ashton started working for Trustee Savings Bank in their international banking division. His old games master from Leigh G

Known as Bill Jordan, is a British economist and politician.He was also a long-serving Governor of t

Known as Bill Jordan, is a British economist and politician.He was also a long-serving Governor of the London School of Economics from 1987 to 2002, and of the BBC from 1988 to 1998.Jordan was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)

Was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1817 to 1830. He was a bro

Was an English professional cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1817 to 1830. He was a brother of Jem Broadbridge and a cousin of George Millyard. A right-handed batsman and occasional wicket-keeper who played for Sussex, he made 25 known appearances in first-class matches.

Was an English poet, born at Tavistock, Devon and educated at Oxford; subsequently he entered the In

Was an English poet, born at Tavistock, Devon and educated at Oxford; subsequently he entered the Inner Temple.His poems, which are mainly descriptive, are rich and flowing, and true to the phenomena of nature, but deficient in interest. Influenced by Spe

Was an English geologist, palaeontologist and Dean of Westminster, who wrote the first full account

Was an English geologist, palaeontologist and Dean of Westminster, who wrote the first full account of a fossil dinosaur. He was a proponent of Old Earth creationism, who later became convinced of Louis Agassiz' glaciation theory.He won a scholarship in 1801, to study for the ministry at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, also attending the lectures of John Kidd on mineralogy and chemistry, as well as developing an interest in geology and carrying out field research on strata, during vacations. Having taken his BA in 1804, he went on to obtain his MA degree in 1808. He then became a Fellow of Corpus Christi in 1809, was ordained as a priest and continued to make frequent geological excursions, on horseback, to various parts of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. In 1813, he was appointed reader in mineralogy, in succession to John Kidd, giving lively and popular lectures with increasing emphasis on geology and palaeontology. As (unofficial) curator of the Ashmolean Museum,

Was an English traveller, naturalist and antiquarian.Bullock began as a goldsmith and jeweller in Sh

Was an English traveller, naturalist and antiquarian.Bullock began as a goldsmith and jeweller in Sheffield. He used his wealth to accumulate a large collection of artefacts, antiquities and stuffed animals. In the late 1790s Bullock founded a Museum of Natural Curiosities in the city, which moved to Liverpool in 1801. In 1808 he published a descriptive catalogue of the works of art, armoury, objects of natural history, and other curiosities in the collection, some of which had been brought back by members of James Cook's expeditions. In 1809, Bullock moved to London and the collection was housed in the newly built Piccadilly Egyptian Hall. The collection, which included over 32,000 items, was disposed of by auction in 1819.

Was a rugby union international who represented England from 1897 to 1901. He also captained his cou

Was a rugby union international who represented England from 1897 to 1901. He also captained his country.Bunting made his international debut on Feb 6, 1897 at Lansdowne Road in the Ireland vs England match. Of the 9 matches he played for his national sid

Was an English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler who playe

Was an English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler who played for Berkshire. He was born in Windsor. Burgoyne made his debut for Berkshire in a World Cup warm-up match against the Sri Lankans, though his Minor Counties debut followed six weeks later.

Was an English dramatist and churchman.He became, according to Wood, the most florid and seraphical

Was an English dramatist and churchman.He became, according to Wood, the most florid and seraphical preacher in the university, and appears to have been no less admired as a reader in metaphysics. In 1642 he was made succentor of Salisbury Cathedral, and

Played first-class cricket for Surrey in one match in 1922 and then, 24 years later, in three matche

Played first-class cricket for Surrey in one match in 1922 and then, 24 years later, in three matches for Somerset in 1946. Caesar was a lower-order right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium fast bowler, "distinctly quick" in his younger days, said his obituary in Wisden. Caesar was also a well-known amateur football player, and played for the England international team, as well as for Football League teams such as Darlington, Fulham and Brentford.

Was an Australian born English cricketer. Russell made a single first-class appearance for Hampshire

Was an Australian born English cricketer. Russell made a single first-class appearance for Hampshire against Yorkshire in 1898. Russell made seven runs in the match.

Was an English mountain climber and alpine explorer.Slingsby first visited Norway in 1872 and fell i

Was an English mountain climber and alpine explorer.Slingsby first visited Norway in 1872 and fell in love with the country. He has been called the discoverer of the Norwegian mountains, and the father of Norwegian mountaineering (insofar as he seems to b

Was a South African born English cricketer. Creese was a left-handed batsman who bowled left-arm med

Was a South African born English cricketer. Creese was a left-handed batsman who bowled left-arm medium pace. Creese made his first-class debut for Hampshire in the 1928 County Championship against Somerset. Creese was regarded as one of the best all-rounders on the county circuit. He later became head groundsman at the Sussex County Ground at Hove.

Was a Surrey slow bowler. Nicknamed "Razor" because of his extreme thinness, Smith was generally pro

Was a Surrey slow bowler. Nicknamed "Razor" because of his extreme thinness, Smith was generally prone to serious injury and could rarely get through a full season's cricket, but when sound, could command the sharpest off-break among bowlers of his day. S

Was an English cricketer and team manager who played first-class cricket from 1826 to 1855. He found

Was an English cricketer and team manager who played first-class cricket from 1826 to 1855. He founded, managed and captained the All-England Eleven. Clarke was a great spin bowler. He began his first-class career as roundarm bowling was being introduced but he decided to persist with the slow right-arm underarm leg-spin he had learned as a boy. In his career, he took 795 wickets at the outstanding average of 10.06 in 143 known first-class matches with a best analysis of 9/29.

Was an English cricketer of the mid-19th century who played for Kent. He was a right-hand batsman an

Was an English cricketer of the mid-19th century who played for Kent. He was a right-hand batsman and an occasional wicket-keeper. William Clifford made his debut in the 1834 season and played in 29 first-class matches till his untimely death during the 1841 season.