READ Famous Poets from England

Sir James Paul McCartney MBE is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. With John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, he gained worldwide fame as a member of the Beatles, one of the most popular and influential groups in the history of pop music; his songwriting partnership with Lennon is one of the most celebrated of the 20th century. After the band's break-up, he pursued a solo career and formed Wings with his first wife, Linda, and Denny Laine. McCartney has been recognised as one of the most successful composers and performers of all time, with 60 gold discs and sales of over 100 million albums and 100 million singles of his work with the Beatles and as a ...more

Age: 75

Birthplace: Walton, Liverpool, United Kingdom

Also Ranked

#73 on The Best Rock Bands of All Time

#9 on The Best Singers of All Time

#63 on The Greatest Classic Rock Bands

#16 on These Poetic Geniuses Wrote Your Favorite Songs of All Time

Peter "Pete" Doherty is an English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist. He is best known musically for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he formed with Carl Barât in 1997. His other musical project is indie band Babyshambles. In 2005, Doherty became prominent in tabloids, the news media, and pop culture blogs because of his romantic relationship with model Kate Moss and his frequently-publicised drug addictions. ...more

Age: 39

Birthplace: Hexham, United Kingdom

Also Ranked

#24 on The Druggiest Rock Stars of All Time

Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, the childless Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII by second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was executed two and a half years after Elizabeth's birth. Anne's marriage to Henry VIII was annulled, and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate. Her half-brother, Edward VI, ruled until his death in 1553, bequeathing the crown to Lady Jane Grey and ignoring the claims of his two half-sisters, Elizabeth and the Roman Catholic Mary, in spite of statute law to the contrary. Edward's will was set aside ...more

Age: Died at 70 (1533-1603)

Birthplace: Palace of Placentia, London, United Kingdom

Also Ranked

#17 on The Most Important Leaders in World History

#34 on Historical Figures You Most Want to Bring Back from the Dead

#84 on Famous Role Models We'd Like to Meet In Person

#6 on The Most Enlightened Leaders in World History

Thomas Stearns Eliot OM, usually known as T. S. Eliot, was an essayist, publisher, playwright, literary and social critic, and "one of the twentieth century's major poets". He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to an old Yankee family. He immigrated to England in 1914, settling, working and marrying there. He was eventually naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39, renouncing his American citizenship. Eliot attracted widespread attention for his poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, which is seen as a masterpiece of the Modernist movement. It was followed by some of the best-known poems in the English language, including The Waste Land, The Hollow Men, Ash Wednesday, and Four ...more

Age: Died at 77 (1888-1965)

Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America

Also Ranked

#16 on The Best Gay Authors

#21 on The Greatest American Writers of All Time

#4 on The Best American Poets

#26 on The Greatest Poets of All Time