Famous People Connected to Somerset

Image Right - John Pym

Please add information about people of renown connected to Somerset, England. If the person has a profile on Geni please add their profile to the project and add the link in bold.

To participate in any project

- you do need to first be a collaborator - so please join the project using the request link under "actions" at the top right of the page. Visit Geni Wikitext, Unicode and images which gives a great deal of assistance. See the discussion Project Help: How to add Text to a Project - Starter Kit to get you going!

How to add a link is explained in the attached document - Adding links to Geni profiles in projects.

A

• Arthwyr Pendragon ap Uthyr, High King of Britain According to Visit Somerset
• Alfred the Great, King of the Anglo-Saxons According to Visit Somerset

B

• Acker Bilk (1929 - ) English clarinettist.
• General at Sea Robert Blake (1598-1657) 'Father of the Royal Navy'
• Margaret Bondfield (1873-1953) 1st woman cabinet minister - early 20th century
• Sir Ian Terence Botham OBE (1955 - ) former England Test cricketer and Test team captain - Played for Somerset. He went to Milford Junior School in Yeovil, Somerset, where his "love affair" with sport began, and played for Somerset Under-15s
• Jenson Button (born 1980) racing driver born in Frome

C

• Col John Rouse Merriott Chard VC (1846-1897) Colonel at Rourkes Drift fort - Zulu Wars - died Hatch Beauchamp
• Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS (1917 – 2008) was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) lived in Taunton
• Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) poet & philosopher, lived at Nether Stowey from 1797 to 1799

D

E

• T S Elliot (ashes are in East Coker according to Visit Somerset)

F

• Georgie Fame (born 1943) British rhythm and blues and jazz singer, and keyboard player - (connected to Somerset according to Visit Somerset - haven't established how! CJB)
• Sir Ranulph Fiennes Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, 3rd Baronet, OBE (born 7 March 1944), better known as Ranulph (Ran) Fiennes, is a British adventurer and holder of several endurance records. Fiennes married his childhood sweetheart Virginia ("Ginny") Pepper on 9 September 1970. They ran a country farm estate in Exmoor, Somerset where they raised cattle and sheep.

G

• Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis.

H

I

• Sir Henry Irving (1838-1905) born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era

J

• Gertrude Jekyll (garden designer)

K

L

• Dame Penelope Margaret Lively, DBE, FRSL (born 17 March 1933) is a prolific, popular and critically acclaimed author of fiction for both children and adults. Link according to Visit Somerset - not established
• Sir Edwin Lutyens (garden designer)

M

• Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals including Cats, Oliver and Les Misérables. Link according to Visit Somerset - not established
• John Merriman was born in Street and emigrated to Cape Colony at the age of eight. He was the last Prime Minister of the Cape Colony before it became South Africa.

N

O

P

• Terry Pratchett (author)
• John Pym (politician)

Q

R

S

• Captain Robert Falcon Scott (1868-1912) -explorer. At the age of 63, and in poor health, he was forced to take a job as a brewery manager and move his family to Shepton Mallet, Somerset.
• David Shepherd (artist)
• John Steinbeck (author)

T

• Lord Tedder (Founder of RAF - 1st World War, lived in Taunton)

U

V

W

• William Waldergrave (Baron Waldegrave of North Hill) (Born 1946) English Conservative politician who served in the Cabinet from 1990 until 1997 and is a Life Member of the Tory Reform Group.
• Evelyn Waugh (author) lived in Somerset
• Fay Weldon (author)
• George Williams (founder of YMCA)
• William Wordsworth (1770-1950) lived in Somerset for a year

See also http://www.burrows.co.uk/somerset/06famm.htm

Related Projects on Geni

• Somerset - Main Page
• Historic Somerset Link to follow
• Somerset' - Family Heads