* In the novel Perdido Street Station, by British author China Miéville, engines similar to Babbage's serve as " brains " for the robotic constructs of the city of New Crobuzon.

* Adrian Goldsworthy ( born 1969 ), British historian and author who writes mostly about ancient Roman history

* 1886 – Ruth Manning-Sanders, British author ( d. 1988 )

Helen Beatrix Potter ( 28 July 186622 December 1943 ) was an English author, illustrator, natural scientist and conservationist best known for her imaginative children ’ s books featuring animals such as those in The Tale of Peter Rabbit which celebrated the British landscape and country life.

More recently, William D. Rubinstein, Professor of Modern History at Aberystwyth University, Wales, wrote that Conservative politician and pro-Zionist Leo Amery, as Assistant Secretary to the British war cabinet in 1917, was the main author of the Balfour Declaration.

Cyril Northcote Parkinson ( 30 July 1909 – 9 March 1993 ) was a British naval historian and author of some sixty books, the most famous of which was his bestseller Parkinson's Law, which led him to be also considered as an important scholar within the field of public administration.

Colin Kapp ( 1928 – 3 August 2007 ) was a British science fiction author.

Martin Hewitt, created by British author Arthur Morrison in 1894, is perhaps the first example of the modern style of fictional private detective.

* 1892 – Osbert Sitwell, British author ( d. 1969 )

* 1867 – At Tremont Temple in Boston, British author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States.

* 2003 – Alan Davidson, British author ( b. 1924 )

* 1909 – James Riddell, British champion skier and author ( d. 2000 )

During the same year, British author George MacDonald Fraser published Flash for Freedom !, the third novel in the Flashman series that was set partially in Dahomey.

* 1914 – Alan Bullock, British author of the first biography of Hitler written in any language.

After its first release, this book sold far better than any of Butler's other works — perhaps because the British public assumed that the anonymous author was some better-known figure ( the favorite being Lord Lytton, who had published The Coming Race two years previously ).

* 1857 – Robert Baden-Powell, British soldier, author, and Scout movement founder ( d. 1941 )

* 1912 – George Mikes, Hungarian-born British author ( d. 1987 )

Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century.

* 1929 – Len Deighton, British author

Near its entrance, opposite the new British Library, a contemporary statue of Saint Joan commemorates Shaw as author of that play.

Trent's Last Case is an adaptation of British author E. C. Bentley's 1913 novel of the same name, and had already been adapted to film in England in 1920.

* Thomas Robson, author of The British Herald ( 1830 ).

Other luminaries include Keith Johnstone, the British teacher and writer – author of Impro, who founded the Theatre Machine and whose teachings form the foundation of the popular shortform Theatresports format, Dick Chudnow, founder of ComedySportz which evolved its family-friendly show format from Johnstone's Theatersports, Stan Wells, creator of the " Clap-In " longform style and founder of The Empty Stage Comedy Theatre in Los Angeles, and Bill Johnson, creator / director of The Magic Meathands, who pioneered the concept of " Commun-edy Outreach " by tailoring performances to non-traditional audiences, such as the homeless and foster children.

* 1944 – Jenny Nimmo, British author

* 1836 – John Cheyne ( physician ), British physician, surgeon and author ( b. 1777 )

In England, British Social Anthropology's paradigm began to fragment as Max Gluckman and Peter Worsley experimented with Marxism and authors such as Rodney Needham and Edmund Leach incorporated Lévi-Strauss's structuralism into their work.

In a related use, from 1975, British naturalist Sir Peter Scott coined the scientific term " Nessiteras rhombopteryx " ( Greek for " The monster ( or wonder ) of Ness with the diamond shaped fin ") for the apocryphal Loch Ness Monster.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit is owned by Frederick Warne and Company, The Tailor of Gloucester by the Tate Gallery and The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies by the British Museum.

* Peter Jay's appointment as British Ambassador to the U. S. by his father in law, the then Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan.

The professional head of the British Army is the Chief of the General Staff, currently General Sir Peter Wall KCB CBE ADC Gen.

Julian Bream of Britain managed to get nearly every British composer from William Walton to Benjamin Britten to Peter Maxwell Davies to write significant works for guitar.

Guest was born in New York City, the son of Peter Haden-Guest, a British United Nations diplomat who later became The 4th Baron Haden-Guest, and his second wife, Jean Pauline Hindes, a former vice president of casting at CBS.

* 1943 – Peter Sinfield, British lyricist and producer

Examples include Jamie Baillie, former CEO of Credit Union Atlantic, Graham Day, former CEO of British Shipbuilders, Sean Durfy, former CEO of WestJet, and Charles Peter McColough, former president and CEO of Xerox.

Many British actors have achieved international fame and critical success, including Julie Andrews, Richard Burton, Michael Caine, Charlie Chaplin, Sean Connery, Vivien Leigh, David Niven, Laurence Olivier, Peter Sellers and Kate Winslet.

Hammer would dominate British horror production throughout this period with acclaimed English actors Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee at the forefront, but other companies were created specifically to meet the new demand, including Amicus Productions and Tigon British.

Although it had been funding British experimental films as early as 1952, the British Film Institute's foundation of a production board in 1964 — and a substantial increase in public funding from 1971 onwards — enabled it to become a dominant force in developing British art cinema in the 1970s and 80s: from the first of Bill Douglas's Trilogy My Childhood ( 1972 ), and of Terence Davies ' Trilogy Childhood ( 1978 ), via Peter Greenaway's earliest films ( including the surprising commercial success of The Draughtsman's Contract ( 1982 )) and Derek Jarman's championing of the New Queer Cinema.

British influence can also be seen with the ' English Cycle ' of Disney animated films, which include Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, The Jungle Book, Robin Hood, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone, The Rescuers and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.

* 1940 – Peter Gethin, British racing driver ( d. 2011 )

* 1950 – Peter Hain, British politician

A subplot in the book is Peter Wimsey's role as an informal envoy of the British Foreign Ministry, called upon to help defuse international crises where more conventional diplomats have failed.

Another example is British writer Peter O ' Donnell, who wrote under the pseudonym Madeleine Brent.

* Jim Hillier, Howard Hawks: American Artist, Peter Wollen ( British Film Institute, 1997 )

In 1982, British courts recognised prior art by Peter Chilvers, who as a young boy on Hayling Island assembled his first board combined with a sail, in 1958.

* 1932 – Peter Redgrove, British poet ( d. 2003 )

* 1952 – Peter Tatchell, Australian-born British activist