List of Newcastle University people

This article is a list of people associated with Newcastle University as either a student or teacher.

A



 * Ali Mohamed Shein, 7th President of Zanzibar
 * Richard Adams - fairtrade businessman
 * Kate Adie - journalist
 * Yasmin Ahmad - Malaysian film director, writer and scriptwriter
 * Prince Adewale Aladesanmi - Nigerian prince and businessman
 * Jane Alexander - Bishop
 * Theodosios Alexander (BSc Marine Engineering 1981) - Dean, Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology of Saint Louis University
 * William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong - industrialist; in 1871 founded College of Physical Science, an early part of the University
 * Roy Ascott - new media artist
 * Dennis Assanis - President, University of Delaware
 * Neil Astley - publisher, editor and writer
 * Rodney Atkinson - eurosceptic conservative academic
 * Rowan Atkinson - comedian and actor
 * Kane Avellano - Guinness World Record for youngest person to circumnavigate the world by motorcycle (solo and unsupported) at the age of 23 in 2017

B

 * Bruce Babbitt - U.S. politician; 16th Governor of Arizona (1978–1987); 47th United States Secretary of the Interior (1993–2001); Democrat
 * James Baddiley - biochemist, based at Newcastle University 1954–1983; the Baddiley-Clark building is named in part after him
 * Tunde Baiyewu - member of the Lighthouse Family
 * John C. A. Barrett - clergyman
 * G. W. S. Barrow - historian
 * Neil Bartlett - chemist, creation of the first noble gas compounds (BSc and PhD at King's College, University of Durham, later Newcastle University)
 * Sue Beardsmore - television presenter
 * Alan Beith - politician
 * Jean Benedetti - biographer, translator, director and dramatist
 * Phil Bennion - politician
 * Catherine Bertola - contemporary painter
 * Simon Best - Captain of the Ulster Rugby team; Prop for the Ireland Team
 * Andy Bird - CEO of Disney International
 * Rory Jonathan Courtenay Boyle, Viscount Dungarvan - heir apparent to the earldom of Cork
 * David Bradley - science writer
 * Mike Brearley - professional cricketer, formerly a lecturer in philosophy at the university (1968–1971)
 * Constance Briscoe - one of the first black women to sit as a judge in the UK; author of the best-selling autobiography Ugly; found guilty in May 2014 on three charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice; jailed for 16 months
 * Steve Brooks - entomologist; attained BSc in Zoology and MSc in Public Health Engineering from Newcastle University in 1976 and 1977 respectively
 * Thom Brooks - academic, columnist
 * Gavin Brown - academic
 * Vicki Bruce - psychologist
 * Basil Bunting - poet; Northern Arts Poetry Fellow at Newcastle University (1968–70); honorary DLitt in 1971
 * John Burgan - documentary filmmaker
 * Mark Burgess - computer scientist
 * Sir John Burn - Professor of Clinical Genetics at Newcastle University Medical School; Medical Director and Head of the Institute of Genetics; Newcastle Medical School alumnus
 * William Lawrence Burn - historian and lawyer, history chair at King's College, Newcastle (1944–66)
 * John Harrison Burnett - botanist, chair of Botany at King's College, Newcastle (1960–68)

C

 * Richard Caddel - poet
 * Ann Cairns - President of International Markets for MasterCard
 * Deborah Cameron - linguist
 * Stuart Cameron - lecturer
 * John Ashton Cannon - historian; Professor of Modern History; Head of Department of History from 1976 until his appointment as Dean of the Faculty of Arts in 1979; Pro-Vice-Chancellor 1983–1986
 * Ian Carr - musician
 * Jimmy Cartmell - rugby player, Newcastle Falcons
 * Steve Chapman - Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University
 * Dion Chen - Hong Kong educator, principal of Ying Wa College and former principal of YMCA of Hong Kong Christian College
 * Hsing Chia-hui - author
 * Ashraf Choudhary - scientist
 * Chua Chor Teck - Managing Director of Keppel Group
 * Jennifer A. Clack - palaeontologist
 * George Clarke - architect
 * Carol Clewlow - novelist
 * Brian Clouston - landscape architect
 * Ed Coode - Olympic gold medallist
 * John Coulson - chemical engineering academic
 * Caroline Cox, Baroness Cox - cross-bench member of the British House of Lords
 * Nicola Curtin – Professor of Experimental Cancer Therapeutics
 * Pippa Crerar - Political Editor of the Daily Mirror

D



 * Fred D'Aguiar - author
 * Julia Darling - poet, playwright, novelist, MA in Creative Writing
 * Simin Davoudi - academic
 * Richard Dawson - civil engineering academic and member of the UK Committee on Climate Change
 * Tom Dening -  medical academic and researcher
 * Katie Doherty - singer-songwriter
 * Nowell Donovan - vice-chancellor for academic affairs and Provost of Texas Christian University
 * Catherine Douglas - Ig Nobel Prize winner for Veterinary Medicine
 * Annabel Dover - artist, studied fine art 1994–1998
 * Alexander Downer - Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs (1996–2007)
 * Chloë Duckworth - archaeologist and presenter
 * Chris Duffield - Town Clerk and Chief Executive of the City of London Corporation

E

 * Michael Earl - academic
 * Tom English - drummer, Maxïmo Park
 * Princess Eugenie - member of the British royal family. Eugenie is a niece of King Charles III and a granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II. She began studying at Newcastle University in September 2009, graduating in 2012 with a 2:1 degree in English Literature and History of Art.

F



 * U. A. Fanthorpe - poet
 * Frank Farmer - medical physicist; professor of medical physics at Newcastle University in 1966
 * Terry Farrell - architect
 * Tim Farron - former Liberal Democrat leader and MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale
 * Ian Fells - professor
 * Andy Fenby - rugby player
 * Bryan Ferry - singer, songwriter and musician, member of Roxy Music and solo artist; studied fine art
 * E. J. Field - neuroscientist, director of the university's Demyelinating Disease Unit
 * John Niemeyer Findlay - philosopher
 * John Fitzgerald - computer scientist
 * Vicky Forster - cancer researcher
 * Maximilian Fosh - YouTuber and independent candidate in the 2021 London mayoral election.
 * Rose Frain - artist

G

 * Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster - aristocrat, billionaire, businessman and landowner
 * Peter Gibbs - television weather presenter
 * Ken Goodall - rugby player
 * Peter Gooderham - British ambassador
 * Michael Goodfellow - Professor in Microbial Systematics
 * Robert Goodwill - politician
 * Richard Gordon - author
 * Teresa Graham - accountant
 * Thomas George Greenwell - National Conservative Member of Parliament

H



 * Sarah Hainsworth - Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Aston University
 * Reginald Hall - endocrinologist, Professor of Medicine (1970–1980)
 * Alex Halliday - Professor of Geochemistry, University of Oxford
 * Richard Hamilton - artist
 * Vicki L. Hanson - computer scientist; honorary doctorate in 2017
 * Rupert Harden - professional rugby union player
 * Tim Head - artist
 * Patsy Healey - professor
 * Alastair Heathcote - rower
 * Dorothy Heathcote - academic
 * Adrian Henri - 'Mersey Scene' poet and painter
 * Stephen Hepburn - politician
 * Jack Heslop-Harrison - botanist
 * Tony Hey - computer scientist; honorary doctorate 2007
 * Stuart Hill - author
 * Jean Hillier - professor
 * Ken Hodcroft - Chairman of Hartlepool United; founder of Increased Oil Recovery
 * Robert Holden - landscape architect
 * Bill Hopkins - composer
 * David Horrobin - entrepreneur
 * Debbie Horsfield - writer of dramas, including Cutting It
 * John House - geographer
 * Paul Hudson - weather presenter
 * Philip Hunter - educationist
 * Ronald Hunt – Art Historian who was librarian at the Art Department
 * Anya Hurlbert - visual neuroscientist

I

 * Martin Ince - journalist and media adviser, founder of the QS World University Rankings
 * Charles Innes-Ker - Marquess of Bowmont and Cessford
 * Mark Isherwood - politician
 * Jonathan Israel - historian

J

 * Alan J. Jamieson - marine biologist
 * George Neil Jenkins - medical researcher
 * Caroline Johnson - Conservative Member of Parliament
 * Wilko Johnson - guitarist with 1970s British rhythm and blues band Dr. Feelgood
 * Rich Johnston - comic book writer and cartoonist
 * Anna Jones - businesswoman
 * Cliff Jones - computer scientist
 * Colin Jones - historian
 * David E. H. Jones - chemist
 * Francis R. Jones - poetry translator and Reader in Translation Studies
 * Phil Jones - climatologist
 * Michael Jopling, Baron Jopling - Member of the House of Lords and the Conservative Party
 * Wilfred Josephs - dentist and composer

K

 * Michael King Jr. - civil rights leader; honorary graduate. In November 1967, MLK made a 24-hour trip to the United Kingdom to receive an honorary Doctorate of Civil Law from Newcastle University, becoming the first African American the institution had recognised in this way.
 * Panayiotis Kalorkoti - artist; studied B.A. (Hons) in Fine Art (1976–80); Bartlett Fellow in the Visual Arts (1988)
 * Rashida Karmali - businesswoman
 * Jackie Kay - poet, novelist, Professor of Creative Writing
 * Paul Kennedy - historian of international relations and grand strategy
 * Mark Khangure - neuroradiologist

L

 * Joy Labinjo - artist
 * Henrike Lähnemann - German medievalist
 * Dave Leadbetter - politician
 * Lim Boon Heng - Singapore Minister
 * Lin Hsin Hsin - IT inventor, artist, poet and composer
 * Anne Longfield - children's campaigner, former Children's Commissioner for England
 * Keith Ludeman - businessman

M



 * Jack Mapanje - writer and poet
 * Milton Margai - first prime minister of Sierra Leone (medical degree from the Durham College of Medicine, later Newcastle University Medical School)
 * Laurence Martin - war studies writer
 * Murray Martin, documentary and docudrama filmmaker, co-founder of Amber Film & Photography Collective
 * Adrian Martineau – medical researcher and professor of respiratory Infection and immunity at Queen Mary University of London
 * Carl R. May - sociologist
 * Tom May - professional rugby union player, now with Northampton Saints, and capped by England
 * Kate McCann – journalist and television presenter
 * Ian G. McKeith – professor of Old Age Psychiatry
 * John Anthony McGuckin - Orthodox Christian scholar, priest, and poet
 * Wyl Menmuir - novelist
 * Zia Mian - physicist
 * Richard Middleton - musicologist
 * Mary Midgley - moral philosopher
 * G.C.J. Midgley - philosopher
 * Moein Moghimi - biochemist and nanoscientist
 * Hermann Moisl - linguist
 * Anthony Michaels-Moore - Operatic Baritone
 * Joanna Moncrieff - Critical Psychiatrist
 * Theodore Morison - Principal of Armstrong College, Newcastle upon Tyne (1919–24)
 * Andy Morrell - footballer
 * Frank Moulaert - professor
 * Mo Mowlam - former British Labour Party Member of Parliament, former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, lecturer at Newcastle University
 * Chris Mullin - former British Labour Party Member of Parliament, author, visiting fellow
 * VA Mundella - College of Physical Science, 1884—1887; lecturer in physics at the College, 1891—1896: Professor of Physics at Northern Polytechnic Institute and Principal of Sunderland Technical College.
 * Richard Murphy - architect

N



 * Lisa Nandy - British Labour Party Member of Parliament, former Shadow Foreign Secretary
 * Karim Nayernia - biomedical scientist
 * Dianne Nelmes - TV producer

O

 * Sally O'Reilly - writer
 * Mo O'Toole - former British Labour Party Member of European Parliament

P



 * Ewan Page - founding director of the Newcastle University School of Computing and briefly acting vice-chancellor; later appointed vice-chancellor of the University of Reading
 * Rachel Pain - academic
 * Amanda Parker - Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire since 2023
 * Geoff Parling - Leicester Tigers rugby player
 * Chris Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes - British Conservative politician and Chancellor of the University (1999–2009)
 * Chris M Pattinson former Great Britain International Swimmer 1976-1984
 * Mick Paynter - Cornish poet and Grandbard
 * Robert A. Pearce - academic
 * Hugh Percy, 10th Duke of Northumberland - Chancellor of the University (1964–1988)
 * Jonathan Pile - Showbiz Editor, ZOO magazine
 * Ben Pimlott - political historian; PhD and lectureship at Newcastle University (1970–79)
 * Robin Plackett - statistician
 * Alan Plater - playwright and screenwriter
 * Ruth Plummer - Professor of Experimental Cancer Medicine at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research and Fellow of the UK's Academy of Medical Sciences.
 * Poh Kwee Ong - Deputy President of SembCorp Marine
 * John Porter - musician
 * Rob Powell - former London Broncos coach
 * Stuart Prebble - former chief executive of ITV
 * Oliver Proudlock - Made in Chelsea star; creator of Serge De Nîmes clothing line
 * Mark Purnell - palaeontologist

Q



 * Pirzada Qasim - Pakistani scholar, Vice Chancellor of the University of Karachi
 * Joyce Quin, Baroness Quin - politician

R



 * Andy Raleigh - Rugby League player for Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
 * Brian Randell - computer scientist
 * Rupert Mitford, 6th Baron Redesdale - Liberal Democrat spokesman in the House of Lords for International Development
 * Alastair Reynolds - novelist, former research astronomer with the European Space Agency
 * Ben Rice - author
 * Lewis Fry Richardson - mathematician, studied at the Durham College of Science in Newcastle
 * Matthew White Ridley, 4th Viscount Ridley - Chancellor of the University 1988-1999
 * Colin Riordan - VC of Cardiff University, Professor of German Studies (1988–2006)
 * Susie Rodgers - British Paralympic swimmer
 * Nayef Al-Rodhan - philosopher, neuroscientist, geostrategist, and author
 * Neil Rollinson - poet
 * Johanna Ropner - Lord lieutenant of North Yorkshire
 * Sharon Rowlands - CEO of ReachLocal
 * Peter Rowlinson - Ig Nobel Prize winner for Veterinary Medicine
 * John Rushby - computer scientist
 * Camilla Rutherford - actress

S



 * Jonathan Sacks - former Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth
 * Ross Samson - Scottish rugby union footballer; studied history
 * Helen Scales - marine biologist, broadcaster, and writer
 * William Scammell - poet
 * Fred B. Schneider - computer scientist; honorary doctorate in 2003
 * Sean Scully - painter
 * Nigel Shadbolt - computer scientist
 * Tom Shakespeare - geneticist
 * Jo Shapcott - poet
 * James Shapiro - Canadian surgeon and scientist
 * Jack Shepherd - actor and playwright
 * Mark Shucksmith - professor
 * Chris Simms - crime thriller novel author
 * Graham William Smith - probation officer, widely regarded as the father of the national probation service
 * Iain Smith - Scottish politician
 * Paul Smith - singer, Maxïmo Park
 * John Snow - discoverer of cholera transmission through water; leader in the adoption of anaesthesia; one of the 8 students enrolled on the very first term of the Medical School
 * William Somerville - agriculturist, professor of agriculture and forestry at Durham College of Science (later Newcastle University)
 * Ed Stafford - explorer, walked the length of the Amazon River
 * Chris Steele-Perkins - photographer
 * Chris Stevenson - academic
 * Di Stewart - Sky Sports News reader
 * Diana Stöcker - German CDU Member of Parliament
 * Miodrag Stojković - genetics researcher
 * Miriam Stoppard - physician, author and agony aunt
 * Charlie van Straubenzee - businessman and investment executive
 * Peter Straughan - playwright and short story writer Hisila Yami in New Delhi.jpg]]

T

 * Mathew Tait - rugby union footballer
 * Eric Thomas - academic
 * David Tibet - cult musician and poet
 * Archis Tiku - bassist, Maxïmo Park
 * Orlando Toledo - scientific researcher
 * James Tooley - professor
 * Elsie Tu - politician
 * Maurice Tucker - sedimentologist
 * Paul Tucker - member of Lighthouse Family
 * George Grey Turner - surgeon
 * Ronald F. Tylecote - archaeologist

V

 * Chris Vance - actor in Prison Break and All Saints
 * Géza Vermes - scholar
 * Geoff Vigar - lecturer
 * Hugh Vyvyan - rugby union player

W



 * Alick Walker - palaeontologist
 * Matthew Walker - Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley
 * Tom Walker - Sunday Times foreign correspondent
 * Lord Walton of Detchant - physician; President of the GMC, BMA, RSM; Warden of Green College, Oxford (1983–1989)
 * Kevin Warwick - Professor of Cybernetics; former Lecturer in Electrical & Electronic Engineering
 * Duncan Watmore - footballer at Millwall F.C.
 * Mary Webb - artist
 * Charlie Webster - television sports presenter
 * Li Wei - Chair of Applied Linguistics at UCL Institute of Education, University College London
 * Joseph Joshua Weiss - Professor of Radiation Chemistry
 * Robert Westall - children's writer, twice winner of Carnegie Medal
 * Thomas Stanley Westoll - Fellow of the Royal Society
 * Gillian Whitehead - composer
 * William Whitfield - architect, later designed the Hadrian Building and the Northern Stage
 * Claire Williams - motorsport executive
 * Zoe Williams - sportswoman, worked on Gladiators
 * Donald I. Williamson - planktologist and carcinologist
 * Philip Williamson - former Chief Executive of Nationwide Building Society
 * John Willis - Royal Air Force officer and council member of the University
 * Lukas Wooller - keyboard player, Maxïmo Park
 * Graham Wylie - co-founder of the Sage Group; studied Computing Science & Statistics BSc and graduated in 1980; awarded an honorary doctorate in 2004
 * Rachel Woolford - boutique fitness studio owner, Winner of The Apprentice series 18

Y

 * Hisila Yami, Nepalese politician and former Minister of Physical Planning and Works (Government of Nepal)
 * John Yorke - Controller of Continuing Drama; Head of Independent Drama at the BBC
 * Martha Young-Scholten - linguist
 * Paul Younger - hydrogeologist