Human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith discusses Robin Hood. Read more
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Robin Hood
Human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith discusses Robin Hood.
Douglas Jardine
Peter White discusses the controversial England cricket captain Douglas Jardine.
Matthew Flinders
Sir Stuart Rose discusses the life of the cartographer who mapped Australia.
Buckminster Fuller
TV producer John Lloyd discusses the life of American architect Richard Buckminster Fuller
Jack Johnson
Matthew Syed chooses the first African-American world heavyweight boxing champion.
Carl Sagan
Physicist Brian Cox reveals how Carl Sagan's Cosmos TV show changed his life.
Charlotte Guest
Sarah Hogg chooses as her champion Lady Charlotte Guest.
Harold Pinter
Matthew Parris introduces the life of writer Harold Pinter, chosen by Diane Abbott MP.
Arthur Wharton
Viv Anderson champions the life of Arthur Wharton, the first black professional footballer
John Lennon
John Lennon is the life nominated by writer John Harris. Matthew Parris presents.
Sappho
Greek poet Sappho - intellectual or vamp?
Richard Nixon
Historian Dominic Sandbrook discusses the life of Richard Nixon.
Mary Carpenter
Camila Batmanghelidjh discusses the life of her Victorian equivalent, Mary Carpenter.
Simone Weil
Eleanor Bron discusses the life of French philosopher and mystic Simone Weil.
Winston Churchill
Lord Digby Jones chooses Winston Churchill, with contribution from Prof David Reynolds.
Golda Meir
Edwina Currie discusses the life of former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir.
Walt Disney
Gerald Scarfe, merciless political cartoon satirist, chooses an icon who created icons.
Michel de Montaigne
Professor Robert Winston chooses a famous writer from the French Renaissance.
Malcolm McLaren
Public relations expert Mark Borkowski discusses the life of the Sex Pistols' manager.
Samuel Beckett
Business guru Sir Gerry Robinson chooses playwright Samuel Beckett.
DH Lawrence
Poet John Hegley chooses the author of Lady Chatterley's Lover, DH Lawrence.
Sammy Davis Jr
Dancer and actor Lionel Blair chooses his friend, Sammy Davis Jr.
Aneurin Bevan
Lord Kinnock chooses the life of Aneurin Bevan, the founder of the NHS.
JB Priestley
Comedian Barry Cryer nods to his Yorkshire roots by choosing JB Priestley.
Marcus Garvey
Playwright Kwame Kwei-Armah on Marcus Garvey, the inspirational 20th-century black leader.
Gertrude Bell
Physicist Jim al-Khalili nominates Gertrude Bell who shaped modern-day Iraq.
Mary Stott
Katharine Whitehorn chooses journalist and campaigner Mary Stott.
Thomas Edison
Sir Clive Sinclair discusses fellow inventor Thomas Edison with Matthew Parris.
Leonard Bernstein
Conductor Charles Hazlewood chooses Leonard Bernstein.
Simone de Beauvoir
Actress Diana Quick selects philosopher Simone de Beauvoir for Great Lives.
Lewis Carroll
Writer Lynne Truss chooses the creator of Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll.