Whom did the people of Britain call "the greatest Briton" during the BBC contest in 2002, "100 Great Britons"?

"100 Greatest Britons" was a British television and radio program, produced in 2002 on the television and radio station "BBC". It was dedicated to choosing the one hundred greatest personalities in British history. As part of the program, a special vote was held among residents of the UK to select the one hundred most famous Britons and after a debate choose the greatest representatives of the kingdom. The series of programs included programs dedicated to specific people who were included in the top ten of the list, with viewers having additional opportunities to vote after each program. After the poll, debates took place, according to which the final rating of the British was drawn up.

In the final top ten of the ranking, not one Briton who was alive at the time of the survey made it there. The highest position of those living at that time was occupied by Margaret Thatcher, in 16th. place. The greatest Briton was recognized as Sir Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1955. The rest of the top ten were: Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Diana, Princess of Wales, Charles Robert Darwin, William Shakespeare, Sir Isaac Newton, Elizabeth I, John Lennon, Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, (1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté), and rounding out the top 10, Oliver Cromwell.

Musically: Sir Paul McCartney(19), David Bowie (29), Boy George (46), Freddie Mercury (58), Bob Geldof (79), Bono (86), and John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) (87).

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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63 Comments

Larry Jones

Obvious answer. He rescued England from Chamberlain's incipient incompetence.

Christina McKenzie

I was a war baby in Scotland. We had a budgie who repeated ‘Good old Churchill ‘

Christina McKenzie

Spike Holmes, yes, My uncle was one of them, but, my friend, Churchill kept up and sustained the morale of the people of Great Britain

Barry Lasker

No offense to Johnny Rotten, but seriously?

billyboy915

Val Wilkinson, People who don't understand that both spellings are acceptable make me cringe. The standardization of English spelling occurred simultaneously on both sides of the Atlantic and therefore have minor differences. If you were more of a global citizen, those differences wouldn't bother you. Instead, you would simply use those differences in spelling as clues to tell you a little something extra about the writer. Don't be so negative.

jaijam

Val Wilkinson, his mother was American!

Haunui Royal

it would be interesting to see the list that non Britons would create. I certainly wouldn't rate Boy George above Charlie Chaplin, Francis Drake and Jane Austen or Diana Spencer above Darwin Shakespeare,Newton and Nelson. I suppose if the question was about the greatest celebrity that would be a different matter. My Top ten greatest Brits would be 10 Charles Dickens- One of the worlds greatest novelists, he influenced enormous social change in Victorian England to usher in a modern era, 9 Paul McCartney 8 John Lennon- They both changed the face of popular music forever 7 James Cook- Navigated and explored more of the globe than any other human 6 Winston Churchill- Led Britain in its darkest hour in standing up to one of humanities greatest evils. 5 Lord Nelson- The British empire ruled through its navy and Nelson was its greatest sailor 4 Elizabeth 1 - In an age of peril and threat she led for 44 years single handed. 3 Darwin- The originator of the basis for all study of life on the planet 2 Shakespeare- The world greatest dramatist still being performed 400 years later 1 Issac Newton- A genius whose laws of gravitation and laws of motion revolutionised scientific thought.

ukmcfry

Which just goes to show how deluded a large section of the British public are.

Noelito

So....is John Lennon not deemed "a musician" too?

Cohelian

Chose correctly but Newton seems the top dog IMO.

David Coe

So glad that Brunel, a life long hero of mine did so well in this.

Chrissie

Noreen Kelly, a Briton is an inhabitant of Britain.

Chrissie

No room on that list for James Clerk Maxwell? Great Scot!

Denise75013

Not so sure Irishman Bono would have liked being voted as a great Briton!

teresab

A toss up bet Churchill and Shakespeare. I hedged for the playwright as I have just recently been to see As You Like It, William's brilliance still fresh in my mind.

Jamie

He was merely a mediocre politician with some bad habits. Documented fact.

Colin McPherson

Yes, he was brave and ruthless. He showed great courage and daring in the Boar War. He was also- always- a politician. Every action was calculated to winning a seat in the Parliament.

Colin McPherson

Yes, Larry, he did that in WW2 for Britain. However, Australia owes him very little after his stuffed up Balkans do in Gallipoli and then his attitude to Australia when at risk of being lost to the Japanese. He and our Conservative PM, Bob Menzies, were going to introduce the "Brisbane Line" - let all north of that latitude fall to Japan!

wordster

I knew they were going to name Churchill, but I disagree strongly. Shakespeare changed the world of literature more than any other human being. Isaac Newton advanced science in ways still felt today, as did Charles Darwin. Churchill simply did the job that needed to be done, and people forgot how disastrous his career had been before 1940. Gallipoli, for example, which caused the needles deaths if thousands if Brits and Anzacs. Without the support of FDR and Stalin, he would have lost. Indeed, as soon as the war was over, the voters threw him out.