Famous Philosophers from England

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Updated October 14, 201877 items

List of notable or famous philosophers from England, with bios and photos, including the top philosophers born in England and even some popular philosophers who immigrated to England. If you're trying to find out the names of famous English philosophers then this list is the perfect resource for you. These philosophers are among the most prominent in their field, and information about each well-known philosopher from England is included when available.

This list below has a variety of people in it, from Roger Bacon to Mary Wollstonecraft.

This historic philosophers from England list can help answer the questions "Who are some English philosophers of note?" and "Who are the most famous philosophers from England?" These prominent philosophers of England may or may not be currently alive, but what they all have in common is that they're all respected English philosophers.

Use this list of renowned English philosophers to discover some new philosophers that you aren't familiar with. Don't forget to share this list by clicking one of the social media icons at the top or bottom of the page. {#nodes}
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  • Adelard of Bath

    Adelard of Bath

    Dec. at 72 (1080-1152)
    • Birthplace: Bath, United Kingdom
    Adelard of Bath (Latin: Adelardus Bathensis; c. 1080 – c. 1152 AD) was a 12th-century English natural philosopher. He is known both for his original works and for translating many important Arabic and Greek scientific works of astrology, astronomy, philosophy and mathematics into Latin from Arabic versions, which were then introduced to Western Europe. He is known as one of the first to introduce the Arabic numeral system to Europe. He stands at the convergence of three intellectual schools: the traditional learning of French schools, the Greek culture of Southern Italy, and the Arabic science of the East.
  • Ahmad Thomson
    Ahmad Thomson is a British barrister and writer and a member of the Murabitun movement.
  • Alan of Lynn

    Alan of Lynn

    Dec. at 75 (1348-1423)
    Alan of Lynn (c. 1348 – after 1423), or Alanus de Lynna, was a famous English theologian of the first half of the fifteenth century. He flourished about 1420. He was born at Lynn in Norfolk, and studied philosophy and theology at Cambridge with much credit, taking the degree of Doctor of Divinity there. He afterwards returned to his native place, where he entered the order of the Carmelites, and spent the rest of his life. He died in Norwich, where he had lived for many years.Alan of Lynn was a most laborious writer, and left a multitude of books that were the fruits of his pen; but they seem to have been more remarkable for their number, than for any interest they are at present calculated to excite on the part of lay readers. He followed the taste which was common in his age, of expounding scripture allegorically; but he has been praised for his general method of treating theological subjects, and particularly for his diligence in making indexes. Alan de Lynn was much distinguished among his contemporaries for his talent in preaching, and was a friend or spiritual intimate of the mystic and controversialist Margery Kempe of Lynn.
  • Alcuin

    Alcuin

    Dec. at 69 (735-804)
    • Birthplace: York, United Kingdom
    Alcuin of York (; Latin: Flaccus Albinus Alcuinus; c. 735 – 19 May 804 AD) – also called Ealhwine, Alhwin or Alchoin – was an English scholar, clergyman, poet and teacher from York, Northumbria. He was born around 735 and became the student of Archbishop Ecgbert at York. At the invitation of Charlemagne, he became a leading scholar and teacher at the Carolingian court, where he remained a figure in the 780s and '90s. During this period he invented Carolingian minuscule, an easily read manuscript hand using a mixture of upper and lower case letters.Alcuin wrote many theological and dogmatic treatises, as well as a few grammatical works and a number of poems. He was made Abbot of Tours in 796, where he remained until his death. "The most learned man anywhere to be found", according to Einhard's Life of Charlemagne (ca. 817-833), he is considered among the most important architects of the Carolingian Renaissance. Among his pupils were many of the dominant intellectuals of the Carolingian era.
  • Alexander of Hales

    Alexander of Hales

    Dec. at 60 (1185-1245)
    Alexander of Hales (also Halensis, Alensis, Halesius, Alesius ; c. 1185 – 21 August 1245), also called Doctor Irrefragibilis (by Pope Alexander IV in the Bull De Fontibus Paradisi) and Theologorum Monarcha, was a theologian and philosopher important in the development of Scholasticism and of the Franciscan School.
  • Alfred of Sareshel

    Alfred of Sareshel

    Alfred of Sarashel, also known as Alfred the Philosopher, Alfred the Englishman or Alfredus Anglicus, was born in England some time in the 12th century and died in the 13th century. Not much more is known about his life apart from that he moved to Spain and worked in the Toledo School of Translators, where he translated several texts from Arabic and Greek into Latin.