A list of alumni of Christ Church, Oxford, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its alumni include politicians, lawyers, bishops, poets, and academics.
Thirteen British prime ministers, nine governor-generals/viceroys of India and ten Chancellors of the Exchequer have been educated at Christ Church.
Christ Church has also educated many people who have gone on to take prominent political roles abroad, such as Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (former Prime minister of Pakistan), Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (Chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party), S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike (Prime Minister of Ceylon (later Sri Lanka)) and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.
A number of members of royal families were educated at Christ Church including King Edward VII (1841–1910), King of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India and his brother Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany as well as King William II of the Netherlands, Prince Abbas Hilmi from the Egyptian royal family, and Prince Hassan bin Talal from the Jordanian royal family.
There are numerous former students in the fields of academia and theology including seventeen Archbishops, most recently Rowan Williams (Archbishop of Canterbury 2002–2012). Other students in these areas include George Kitchin (the first chancellor of the University of Durham and Dean of Durham Cathedral), John Charles Ryle (first Bishop of Liverpool), John Wesley (leader of the Methodist movement), Richard William Jelf (Principal of King's College London), Ronald Montagu Burrows (Principal of King's College London) and Bishop William Stubbs (Bishop of Oxford and historian). Prominent philosophers including John Locke, John Rawls, Sir A. J. Ayer and Daniel Dennett also studied at Christ Church.
Albert Einstein was elected to undertake a 5-year Research Studentship in 1931, philosopher and polymath Robert Hooke and developmental biologist Sir John B. Gurdon (co-winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine), physician Sir Archibald Edward Garrod, the Father of Modern Medicine Sir William Osler, biochemist Kenneth Callow, radio astronomer Sir Martin Ryle and epidemiologist Sir Richard Doll are all associated with the college.
A number of successful businessmen have also been educated at Christ Church including Alex Beard (Glencore), Sir Michael Moritz (Sequoia Capital), Crispin Odey (hedge fund manager), Jacob Rothschild (N M Rothschild & Sons), Nicky Oppenheimer (De Beers), Peter Moores (Littlewoods), James A. Reed (Reed group), and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (twins associated with the founding of Facebook).
The college has educated six Olympic gold medalists including Jonny Searle in rowing. Other notable alumni include entrepreneur and founder of Pennsylvania William Penn, broadcaster David Dimbleby, composer Sir William Walton and the writers Lewis Carroll and W. H. Auden.
The college accepted men only for over four centuries, until 1980,Communication from Judith Curthoys, college archivist which explains the dearth of women on this list of notable alumni.
The following list is not comprehensive and a fuller list can be found in the :Category: Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford.
Royalty
Edward VII (1841–1910), King of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany (1853–84), youngest son of Queen Victoria and brother of King Edward VII King William II (1792–1849), King of the Netherlands Prince Abbas Hilmi (1941–), Egyptian prince and financial manager Prince Hassan bin Talal (1947–), son of King Talal Princess Badiya bint Hassan (1974–), Daughter of Prince Hassan bin Talal Prince Paul of Yugoslavia (1893-1976) Prince Regent of Yugoslavia King Vajiravudh (1881-1925), King of Thailand
Politicians and civil servants British prime ministers
NamePartyYears in OfficeAnthony Eden, 1st Earl of AvonConservative1955–1957Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of RoseberyLiberal1894–1895Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of DerbyConservative1852, 1858–1859, 1866–1868George CanningTory1827George GrenvilleWhig1763–1765Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of SalisburyConservative1885–1886, 1886–1892, 1895–1902Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of LiverpoolTory1812–1827Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the HirselConservative1963–1964Sir Robert PeelConservative1834–1835, 1841–1846William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of PortlandWhig (1783), Tory (1807–1809)1783, 1807–1809William Ewart GladstoneLiberal1868–1874, 1880–1885, 1886, 1892–1894William Petty, 2nd Earl of ShelburneWhig1782–1783William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron GrenvilleWhig1806–1807William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath Whig1746 (For two days)
UK Cabinet Members Francis Baring, 1st Baron Northbrook (1796–1866), Chancellor of the Exchequer John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville (1690–1763), diplomat and statesman Sir George Cornewall Lewis (1806–1863), writer, Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary William Dowdeswell (1721–1775), Chancellor of the Exchequer Francis Godolphin Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds (1759–1799), politician and Foreign Secretary Derick Heathcoat-Amory, 1st Viscount Amory (1899–1981), Chancellor of the Exchequer and Chancellor of the University of Exeter Michael Hicks-Beach, 1st Earl St Aldwyn (1837–1916), Chancellor of the Exchequer Quintin McGarel Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone (1907–2001), Lord Chancellor Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby (1932–2023), Chancellor of the Exchequer (1983-1989), Member of Parliament for Blaby (1974-1992), Member of the House of Lords (1992-2022) Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville (1815–1891), politician and Foreign Secretary Frederick Alexander Lindemann, 1st Viscount Cherwell (1886–1957), physicist and cabinet minister George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton (1709–1773), Chancellor of the Exchequer William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield (1705–1793), Lord Chief Justice and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham (1753–1813), Foreign Secretary and statesman George Ward Hunt (1825–1877), Chancellor of the Exchequer John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley (1826–1902), politician and foreign secretary Sir George Young, 6th Baronet (1941–), Leader of the House of Commons (2010-2012), Government Chief Whip (2012–14) Nicholas Vansittart, 1st Baron Bexley (1766–1851), Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir William Wyndham, 3rd Baronet (1688–1740), Chancellor of the Exchequer
Current UK MPs Alex Burghart (1978–), Member of Parliament for Brentwood and Ongar since 2017 Nigel Huddleston (1970–), Member of Parliament for Mid Worcestershire since 2015 Neil O'Brien (1978–), Member of Parliament for Harborough since 2017
Former UK MPs Charles Abbot, 1st Baron Colchester (1757–1829), Speaker of the House of Commons Jonathan Aitken (1942–), Member of Parliament for Thanet East (1977-1983) and Thanet South (1983-1997) Michael Ancram (1945–), Chairman and Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury (1801–1885), politician and philanthropist Felicity Buchan (1970–), Member of Parliament for Kensington (2019-2024) Tom Driberg, Baron Bradwell (1905–1976), politician and writer Edward Boyle, Baron Boyle of Handsworth (1923–1981), MP and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds Randolph Churchill (1911–1968), Member of Parliament for Preston (1940-1945) and son of Sir Winston Churchill Alan Clark (1928–1999), politician and diarist Edward Eliot, 3rd Earl of St Germans (1798–1877), politician Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury (1946–), Conservative politician William Henry Gladstone (1840–1891), MP and son of William Ewart Gladstone Richard Graham (1958–), Member of Parliament for Gloucester (2010-2024) James Gray (1954–), Member of Parliament for North Wiltshire (1997-2024) Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster (1795–1869), MP Privy Council Nicholas Walter Lyell, Baron Lyell of Markyate (1938–2010), Attorney General Sir Ivan Lawrence (1936-), Member of Parliament for Burton (1974 - 1997) Chairman Home Affairs Select Committee and criminal lawyer Sir William Miles, 1st Baronet (1797–1878), politician Louise Mensch (1971–), Member of Parliament for Corby (2010-2012) Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey (1768–1854), soldier and politician Mark Reckless (1970–), Member of Parliament for Rochester and Strood (2010–15) Chris Skidmore (1981–), Historian and Member of Parliament for Kingswood (2010–24) George Spencer-Churchill, 6th Duke of Marlborough MP and great-grandfather of Sir Winston Churchill Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of Londonderry (1852–1915), Conservative politician, Lord President of the Council William Vane, 2nd Viscount Vane (c. 1706 – 1734), Member of Parliament Jamie Wallis (1984–), Member of Parliament for Bridgend (2019-2024) Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington (1807–1884), Son of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, victor of Waterloo David Willetts (1956–), Member of Parliament for Havant (1992-2015), Member of the House of Lords (2015-) William Wingfield (1772–1858), MP, Chief Justice of the Brecon Circuit
Members of the House of Lords Frederick Curzon, 7th Earl Howe (1951–), Hereditary Peer David Douglas-Home, 15th Earl of Home (1943–) Hereditary Peer and son of Alec Douglas-Home William Fox-Strangways, 4th Earl of Ilchester (1795–1865), politician, Art Collector Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond (1818–1903), Leader of the House of Lords, Lord President of the Council John Palmer, 4th Earl of Selborne (1940–), Hereditary Peer Henry Richard Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland (1773–1840), Whig politician and minister The 10th, 11th and 12th Dukes of Northumberland
Members of the European Parliament Charles Wellesley, 9th Duke of Wellington (1949–), Conservative MEP William Legge, 10th Earl of Dartmouth (1949-), UK Independence Party MEP
Foreign politicians Solomon Bandaranaike (1899–1959), Prime Minister of Ceylon from 1956 to 1959 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1928–1979), President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973, and Prime Minister from 1973 to 1977 Murtaza Bhutto (1954–1996), Politician and former chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party of Shaheed Bhutto Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (1988–), Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan from 2022 to 2023, Chairman of the Pakistan People's Party Mark Filip (1966–), Attorney General of the United States Edward (Ted) Bigelow Jolliffe (1909–1998), Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario Edward Pakenham, 6th Earl of Longford (1902–1961) Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1746–1825), early American statesman, diplomat and presidential candidate Thomas Pinckney (1750–1828), early American statesman and diplomat
Civil servants and diplomats Sir Antony Acland (1930–), Head of the Diplomatic Service Robert Armstrong, Baron Armstrong of Ilminster (1927–2020), Head of the Civil Service Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington (1618–1685), diplomat and statesman Ian Blair (1953–2025), Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis Sir Charles Brickdale (1857–1944), Chief Registrar of HM Land Registry Richard Burn (1871–1947), Indologist and civil servant in India David Durie, Sir (1944–) Governor of Gibraltar from 2000 to 2003 Richard Lyons, 1st Viscount Lyons (1817–1877), diplomat Cecil Harmsworth King (1901–1987), director at the Bank of England Maharaja Gaj Singh II (1948–), erstwhile ruler of Marwar-Jodhpur, India, former Member of Parliament and Indian High Commissioner to Trinidad & Tobago Maharaja Meghrajji III of Dhrangadhra-Halvad (1923–2010), Uprajprajpramukh (and sometime Acting Rajpramukh) of Saurashtra, anthropologist Roger Mellor Makins, 1st Baron Sherfield (1904–1996), diplomat Sir Crispin Tickell (1930–2022), Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations Sir Brian Urquhart (1919–2021), Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
Members of the UK Supreme Court