List of people from Varanasi

This is a list of notable people from Varanasi.

Activists

 * Annie Besant
 * Dyal Singh Majithia

Arts, music and entertainment

 * Ashutosh Bhattacharya (1917–2004), Tabla Player
 * Girija Devi, Singer, Padma Vibhushan
 * Siddheshwari Devi, Khayal Singer, Padma Shri
 * Sitara Devi, Padma Shri
 * Bismillah Khan, Shehnai Player, Bharat Ratna Padma Vibhushan
 * Vikash Maharaj, Sarod Player, Yash Bharti
 * Birju Maharaj, Kathak Guru, Padma Vibhushan
 * Kishan Maharaj, Tabla Player, Padma Vibhushan
 * Channulal Mishra, Hindustani classical Player, Padma Bhushan
 * Shamta Prasad (Gudai Maharaj), Tabla Player, Padma Shri
 * Ritwik Sanyal, Singer, Dhrupad
 * Ravi Shankar, Sitar Player, Bharat Ratna
 * Shivnath Mishra, Sitarist, Surbahar
 * Uday Shankar, Dancer, Padma Vibhushan
 * Sujit Kumar, Actor & Producer
 * Anant Lal, Indian Classical Musician & Teacher
 * Rasoolan Bai, Vocalist
 * Ronu Majumdar, Flautist
 * Lalmani Misra, Musician
 * Hemanta Mukherjee, Singer, Music Director & Film Director
 * Deobrat Mishra, Sitar, Surbahar artist
 * Hiralal Yadav, Folk Singer, Padma Shri
 * Vidisha, Actress

Literature and academics

 * Baldev Upadhyaya, Hindi, Sanskrit scholar, literary historian, essayist and critic, Padma Bhushan
 * Teg Ali Teg, Bhojpuri writer and poet
 * Bedhab Banarasi, Hindi writer
 * Bharatendu Harishchandra, Novelist, poet, playwright writer
 * Devaki Nandan Khatri, Writer
 * Gopinath Kaviraj (1887–1976), Sanskrit scholar; Principal Government Sanskrit College, Varanasi (1923–1937);Padma Vibhushan (1964)
 * Jaishankar Prasad, Writer
 * Kabir Das, mystic Bhojpuri poet and saint
 * Ravidas, mystic saint and poet
 * Premchand, Hindi-Urdu Writer
 * Tulsidas, saint and poet, and philosopher
 * Vagish Shastri, Sanskrit scholar, Tantric, linguist and grammarian
 * Veer Bhadra Mishra, founding president of the Sankat Mochan Foundation; former professor and HOD of Civil Engineering at IIT (BHU), Varanasi
 * Sudama Panday 'Dhoomil', Poet
 * Shiv Prasad Mishra, Writer
 * Shiv Prasaad Singh, Writer
 * Kashi Nath Singh, Writer
 * Shiv Prasad Gupta freedom fighter, philanthropist and founder of Kashi Vidyapeeth.
 * Charu Sheel Singh, Writer
 * Premendra Mitra, Bengali Poet & Novelist
 * Deviprasad Dwivedi, Writer & Teacher, Padma Bhushan
 * Harihar Kripalu Tripathi, Sanskrit Scholar, Padma Bhushan
 * Namvar Singh, Indian Literary Critic, Sahitya Akademi winner
 * Ashok Dhawan, MLA, Uttar Pradesh

Politics

 * Raghunath Singh First Member of Parliamnt Varanasi
 * Devendra Nath Dwivedi, Governor designate of Gujarat
 * Mahendra Nath Pandey, Former HRD Minister of Gujarat
 * Sri Prakasa, Governor of Assam
 * Sampurnanand, Former Chief Minister of UP and Former Governor of Rajasthan
 * Kamalapati Tripathi, Writer, Freedom Fighter and Former Railway Minister
 * Raj Narain, former freedom fighter, royalty and politician.
 * Veena Pandey, Former MLC, Uttar Pradesh
 * Adya Prasad Pandey, Former Vice Chancellor Manipur University, Professor, Banaras Hindu University
 * Ajay Rai 5 times MLA from Pindra

Royalty

 * Raja Chait Singh Zamindar of Benaras
 * Kashi Naresh Maharaja Banaras Vibhuti Narayan Singh
 * Maharani Kiran Rao, Queen of Bhopal
 * Maharani Lakshmibai, Queen of Jhansi

Scientists

 * Bishun Khare, Research Scientist
 * Arvind Mohan Kayastha, Biologist
 * Sanjaya Rajaram, Plant Biologist
 * Subhash Chandra Lakhotia, Cytogenetist and Biologist

Sports

 * Prashanti Singh, Basketball Player
 * Mohammed Shahid, Hockey Player
 * Lalit Upadhyay, Field Hockey Player
 * Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Basketball Player
 * Ram Singh Yadav, Marathon
 * Narsingh Pancham Yadav, Wrestler
 * Bernard Brodhurst, Cricketer
 * Maharajkumar of Vizianagram, Cricketer
 * Divya Singh, Basketball Player
 * Akanksha Singh, Basketball Player
 * Pratima Singh, Basketball Player
 * Punam Yadav, Weightlifter
 * Shivpal Singh, Track and Field

Others

 * Bhagwan Das, Bharat Ratna
 * K. L. Shrimali, Padma Vibhushan
 * Lahiri Mahasaya, Yogi
 * Rai Krishnadasa, Padma Vibhushan
 * Ravidas
 * Sameer, Lyricist
 * Sir James Brooke, Founder of the White Rajah dynasty of Sarawak
 * Sunil Bansal, Politician
 * Arun Pathak, Activist and Politician
 * Ekta Chowdhry, Model
 * Tapan Singhel, managing director and CEO of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance
 * Sitaram Chaturvedi, Educator, Dramatist and Scholar
 * Sachindra Nath Sanyal, Revolutionary and founder of Hindustan Republican Association
 * Manmath Nath Gupta, Revolutionary and Author