This is a list of notable alumni from the University of Cambridge, featuring members of the University of Cambridge segregated in accordance with their fields of achievement. The individual must have either studied at the university (although they may not necessarily have taken a degree), or worked at the university in an academic capacity; others have held fellowships at one of the university's colleges. Honorary fellows or those awarded an honorary degree are not included and neither are non-executive chancellors. Lecturers without long-term posts at the university also do not feature, although official visiting fellows and visiting professors do.
The list has been divided into categories indicating the field of activity in which people have become well known. Many of the university's alumni/ae have attained a level of distinction in more than one field. These individuals may appear under two categories. In general, however, an attempt has been made to put individuals in the category with which they are most associated.
Cantabrigians is a term for members of the university derived from its Latin name Cantabrigia, a medieval Latin name for Cambridge.
Politics and royalty Monarchs
Charles Vyner Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak (Magdalene) Edward VII of the United Kingdom (Trinity) George VI of the United Kingdom (Trinity) Charles III of the United Kingdom (Trinity) Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji, Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, India (Trinity) Letsie III of Lesotho (Wolfson) Margrethe II of Denmark (Girton) Mutesa II of Buganda, Kabaka of Buganda (Magdalene) Muwenda Mutebi II, Kabaka of Buganda (Magdalene) Peter II of Yugoslavia (Clare)
Royalty
Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (Trinity) Prince Andrew of Yugoslavia (Clare) Prince Asfa-Wossen Asserate of Ethiopia (Magdalene) Prince Chula Chakrabongse of Thailand (Trinity) Prince Chudadhuj Dharadilok of Thailand (Magdalene) Dina al-Hussein of Jordan (Princess Dina Abdul Hamid after 1957 divorce) (Girton) Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh (Jesus) Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (Trinity) Sao Hkun Hkio, Saopha of Mongmit, 4th foreign minister of Myanmar Fra' Matthew Festing, Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta (St John's) Prince Ra'ad bin Zeid of Iraq (Christ's) Princess Rahma bint Hassan of Jordan (Trinity) Prince Rashid bin Hassan of Jordan (Caius) Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Magdalene) Shaikh Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, crown prince of Bahrain (Queens') Princess Sarvath El Hassan of Jordan (unknown) Sofía, Queen Consort of Spain (Fitzwilliam) Princess Takamado of Japan (Girton) Prince Tomislav of Yugoslavia (Clare) Prince Tunku Abdul Rahman of Kedah (St Catharine's) William, Prince of Wales (without college membership, de facto St John's) Prince William of Gloucester (Magdalene) Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh (Trinity) Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad of Iraq (Christ's)
Diplomats Viceroys
Clement Francis Cornwall (Trinity/Magdalene), lieutenant governor of British Columbia (1881–1887) Charles Cornwallis (Clare), governor-general of India (1786–1793) Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon (Trinity), 13th governor general of Canada (1926–1931) Sir Robert George Howe (St Catharine's), governor general of the Sudan (1947–1955) David Lloyd Johnston (Trinity Hall), 28th governor general of Canada (2010–2017) Sir William Manning (Fitzwilliam), governor of Jamaica (1913–1918) and governor of Ceylon (1918–1925) Louis Mountbatten (Christ's), last viceroy of India (1947); first governor general of India (1947–1948) Sarojini Naidu (Girton), first woman to become the president of the Indian National Congress (1925) and governor of Uttar Pradesh (1947–1949) Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough (Trinity), 14th governor general of Canada (1931–1935) Shenton Thomas (Queens'), last governor of the Straits Settlements (1934–1942, 1945–1946) and governor of the Gold Coast (1932–1934) John Winthrop (Trinity), founder and first governor of Massachusetts (1630–1648)
Ambassadors
Nigel Baker (Caius), UK ambassador to Slovakia (2020–) Sir Laurie Bristow (Trinity), UK ambassador to Russia (2016–2020) Laura Clarke, UK high commissioner to New Zealand (2018–2022) Colin Crooks (Fitzwilliam), UK ambassador to North Korea (2018–2022) Brian Davidson (Trinity), UK ambassador to Thailand (2016–2021) Janet Douglas (St Catharine's), UK high commissioner to Barbados (2017–2020) Hugh Elliott (Trinity), UK ambassador to Spain (2019–2024) Nicholas Hopton (Magdalene), UK ambassador to Libya (2019–2021) Frances Lanitou, ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to countries including Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Hungary, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Moldova and the Netherlands Paul Madden (Caius), UK ambassador to Japan (2017–2021) Jane Owen (Trinity), UK ambassador to Switzerland (2018–2023) Jacqueline Perkins, UK ambassador to Belarus (2019–2024) Karen Pierce (Girton), UK ambassador to the United States (2020–) Antony Stokes (Queens'), UK ambassador to Cuba (2016–2022) Leigh Turner (Downing), UK ambassador to Austria (2016–2021) Caroline Wilson (Downing), UK ambassador to China (2020–)
Heads of state and heads of government
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (St Catharine's), president of India 1974–1977 Rupiah Banda (Wolfson), president of Zambia 2008–2011 Sir Francis Bell (St John's), Prime Minister of New Zealand 1925 Stanley Bruce (Trinity Hall), prime minister of Australia 1923–1929 Erskine Hamilton Childers (Trinity), president of Ireland 1973–1974 Oliver Cromwell (Sidney Sussex), first lord protector Alfred Domett (St John's), prime minister of New Zealand 1862–1863 Luc Frieden (Queens'), prime minister of Luxembourg since 2023 Rajiv Gandhi (Trinity), prime minister of India 1984–1989 Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa (Queens'), prime minister of Bahrain since 2020 Awn Al-Khasawneh (Queens'), prime minister of Jordan 2011–2012 John Kotelawala (Christ's), prime minister of Ceylon 1953–1956 Lee Hsien Loong (Trinity), prime minister of Singapore 2004–2024 Lee Kuan Yew (Fitzwilliam), prime minister of Singapore 1959–1990 Elijah Mudenda (Peterhouse), prime minister of Zambia 1975–1977 Khawaja Nazimuddin (Trinity Hall), prime minister of Pakistan 1951–1953 Jawaharlal Nehru (Trinity), prime minister of India 1947–1964 Anand Panyarachun (Trinity), prime minister of Thailand 1991 – early 1992, later 1992 Tunku Abdul Rahman (St Catharine's), prime minister of Malaysia 1957–1970 George Maxwell Richards (Pembroke), president of Trinidad and Tobago 2003–2013 Samir Rifai (Trinity), prime minister of Jordan 2009–2011 Guy Scott (Trinity Hall), president of Zambia 2014–2015 Dudley Senanayake (Corpus Christi), prime minister of Ceylon 1952, 1960, 1965–1970 Tharman Shanmugaratnam (Wolfson), president of Singapore since 2023 Dr Manmohan Singh (St John's), prime minister of India 2004–2014 Jan Smuts (Christ's), prime minister of South Africa 1939–1948 William Waddington (Trinity), prime minister of France 1879
British prime ministers
Robert Walpole (King's), first prime minister 1721–1742 Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle (Clare), prime minister 1754–1756, 1757–1762 Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (St John's), prime minister 1765–1766, 1782 Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton (Peterhouse), prime minister 1768–1770 William Pitt the Younger (Pembroke), prime minister 1783–1801, 1804–1806 Spencer Perceval (Trinity), prime minister 1809–1812 Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich (St John's), prime minister 1827–1828 Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey (Trinity), prime minister 1830–1834 William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (Trinity), prime minister 1834, 1835–1841 George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (St John's), prime minister 1852–1855 Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (St John's), prime minister 1855–1858, 1859–1865 Arthur Balfour (Trinity), prime minister 1902–1905 Henry Campbell-Bannerman (Trinity), prime minister 1905–1908 Stanley Baldwin (Trinity), prime minister 1923–1924, 1924–1929, 1935–1937 Andy Burnham (Fitzwilliam), prime minister 2026–present
Signatories of the American Declaration of Independence
Thomas Lynch Jr. (Caius) Arthur Middleton (Trinity Hall) Thomas Nelson Jr. (Christ's)
From Soviet Union Known:
Anthony Blunt (Trinity) Guy Burgess (Trinity) John Cairncross (Trinity) Donald Maclean (Trinity Hall) Alan Nunn May (Trinity Hall) Kim Philby (Trinity) Michael Whitney Straight (Trinity)
Suspected
Victor Rothschild (Trinity) (for other suspects, see Cambridge Five)
Other political figures A–D
Diane Abbott (Newnham), British shadow cabinet member and Labour Party leadership contender Colin Forbes Adam (King's), civil servant in the Indian Imperial Civil Service Aitzaz Ahsan (Downing), interior minister of Pakistan (1988–1990) Mani Shankar Aiyar (Trinity Hall), Indian minister of Panchayati Raj (2004–2009) Augustus Molade Akiwumi (Fitzwilliam), speaker of the Parliament of Ghana (1958–1960) Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh (Queens'), Jordanian foreign minister (1980–1990), royal state adviser on International Law Musa Alami (unknown), Palestinian nationalist, major contributor to the White Paper of 1939 Choudhary Rahmat Ali (Emmanuel), Pakistani independence leader, credited with inventing the name "Pakistan" Gilberto Arias (Hughes Hall), ambassador of Panama to the United Kingdom (2009–2011) Jorge Arreaza, Venezuelan minister of foreign affairs (2017–2021), former vice president (2013–2016) Sri Aurobindo (King's), member of the Indian National Congress and independence leader Nathaniel Bacon (Sidney Sussex), early American rebel, instigator of Bacon's Rebellion of 1676 Steve Barclay (Peterhouse), Conservative MP and secretary of state for exiting the European Union (2018–2020) Joseph Baptista (Fitzwilliam), founder of the Indian Home Rule Movement (1916) and mayor of Bombay (1925–1926) Johan Baverbrant (St Edmund's), Swedish representative on the Council of Europe Chris Bentley (Wolfson), minister of Aboriginal Affairs in Ontario (2010–11, 2012–2013) Augustine Birrell (Trinity Hall), British chief secretary for Ireland (1907–1916) Hans Blix (Trinity Hall), UN weapons inspector, Swedish foreign minister (1978–1979) Richard Blumenthal (Trinity), US senator from Connecticut (2011–) Maria Böhmer (unknown), current minister of state in the German Chancellery Subhas Chandra Bose (Fitzwilliam), president of the Indian National Congress (1938–1939) and leader of the Indian National Army Kate Brandt, first American chief sustainability officer William Bridgeman, 1st Viscount Bridgeman, British home secretary (1922–1924) Leon Brittan (Trinity), British home secretary (1983–1985) and vice-president of the European Commission (1999) Annette Brooke (Hughes Hall), Liberal Democrats MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole Andy Burnham (Fitzwilliam), British health secretary (2009–2010), mayor of Greater Manchester (2017–2026) and Prime Minister since 2026 Rab Butler (Pembroke), British deputy prime minister (1962–1963), home secretary (1957–1962), foreign secretary (1963–1964) and chancellor of the exchequer (1951–1955) Jerzy Buzek (unknown), president of the European Parliament (2009–2012) P. K. van der Byl (Pembroke), Rhodesian foreign minister (1974–1979) Vince Cable (Fitzwilliam), deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats (2006–2010) and business secretary (2010–2015) Alastair Campbell (Caius), press secretary and director of communications and strategy under Tony Blair Robert Carr (Caius), British home secretary (1972–1974) Fernando María Castiella y Maíz (unknown), Spanish foreign minister (1957–1969) William Cecil (St John's), chief adviser to Queen Elizabeth I, secretary of state (1550–1553 and 1558–1572)