The following comprises lists of notable people associated with Balliol College, Oxford, namely alumni and those who taught at the College or were based at the College or were involved in college life. The alumni are grouped into categories corresponding to fields of work and are arranged chronologically. Almost all the individuals have a wiki page. The majority are men because women were only admitted to the college from 1979.
Alumni
Lists for specific categories
Musicians
Balliol Chancellors of Oxford University Richard FitzRalph (1332) William de Wilton (1374) Thomas Chace (1426); CP 40 / 677; in 1430; Thomas Chace appears as first name, but as defendant in a case of debt, brought by Thomas Coventre. Richard Rotherham (1440) William Grey (1440) Robert Thwaytes (1445) George Neville (1453); (1461) John Morton (1494) George Nathaniel Curzon (1907) Alfred Milner (1925) Edward Grey (1928) Harold Macmillan (1960) Roy Harris Jenkins (1987) Christopher Francis Patten (2003)
College alumni Security, Military and Intelligence Image Name Join Date Field of work Comments RefsCressida Dick1979policecommissioner of the London Metropolitan Policedaughter of Balliol Senior Tutor Marcus DickBalliol College Register (Seventh Edition) by Tom Bewley and John Jones. 2005.Lieutenant-General Simon Mayall1975armyDefence Senior Advisor Middle EastSir John Rennie1932intelligence Director MI6Balliol College Register (Fifth Edition) by John Jones and Sally Viney 1983Group Captain Archie Hope1930RAFDFCRAF pilot WW2Lt Col J. L. Austin1929intelligenceD Day Intelligence LeaderBalliol College Register (Second Edition) by Ivo Elliott 1934Hon Richard Gilbert Hare 1925propagandaHead of Russian propaganda, Ministry of Information WW2Russian art historianBalliol College Register (Second Edition) by Ivo Elliott 1934Lieutenant Arthur Rhys-Davids 1916RFC MC declined scholarship to join the RFCBalliol College Register (Second Edition) by Ivo Elliott 1934Captain John Aidan Liddell 1908 RFC VC MC Balliol College Register (Second Edition) by Ivo Elliott 1934Lieutenant-General Adrian Carton de Wiart 1899army VC left before graduating to fight in Boer WarBalliol College Register (Second Edition) by Ivo Elliott 1934Vice-Admiral William Monson 1581 navyMatriculated at 14. His Naval Tracts describe Navy life The Naval Tracts of Sir William Monson, in Publications of the Navy Records Society, v. 43, 1912 (London, 1913)
Sources of information The main source of information confirming college membership is the relevant edition of The Balliol College Register which lists Fellows and students by year of matriculation, thus providing evidence of existence, dates and some biographical information.
1st edition — 1832–1914(1914, covering matriculations 1832-1914) 2nd edition — 1833–1933(1934, covering matriculations 1833-1933) 3rd edition — 1900–1950(1953, covering matriculations 1900-1950) 4th edition — 1916–1967 5th edition — 1950–1980 6th edition — 1940–1990 7th edition — 1950–2000
Other sources of information include the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and Who's Who and Who was Who both published by Oxford University Press.
Fictional alumni Sir Humphrey Appleby (from TV series Yes Minister) Sir Arnold Robinson (from TV series Yes Minister) The Rev Francis Arabin (from Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope) John Blaylock (from Whitley Streiber's The Hunger) Captain Hook from Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie Captain John Charity Spring (from Flash for Freedom! by George MacDonald Fraser) Lord Peter Wimsey (from novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers)
Notable applicants who did not matriculate Isaiah Berlin Old Pauline Club, 7 July 2020. Accessed 31 December 2024 Did Balliol Make Bill a President? Richard Jenkins, The Spectator, 15 July 2000, Page 15. Archive accessed 31 December 2024 Did Balliol Make Bill a President? Richard Jenkins, The Spectator, 15 July 2000, Page 15. Archive accessed 31 December 2024 What Makes a Philosopher, Daniel Dennett, Autobiography Part 1, Philosophy Now. Accessed 31 December 2024 Oral history interview with A. Hyatt Mayor, Smithsonian Archives of American Art, 1969. Accessed 31 December 2024
As quoted in the book review by Anthony Campbell of Colin McGinn's autobiographical "The Making of a Philosopher, My Journey Through Twentieth-Century Philosophy" accessed 31 December 2024 - served variously as Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer (1873-1954)Dutton, D. J. (2011) . "Simon, John Allsebrook, first Viscount Simon (1873–1954)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press Holroyd, Michael. Lytton Strachey, 1994, ISBN 0-09-933291-4 (paperback) p129
References