History hero

Celebrities and popular figures choose their heroes from history. Browse these interviews to find out more about the people they chose…

My history heroSam Naz chooses Noor Inayat Khan. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

My history heroJeremy Bowen chooses Vincent Sheean. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Paterson Joseph and Ignatius Sancho

My history heroPaterson Joseph chooses Ignatius Sancho. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Adam Henson and Robert Bakewell

My history heroAdam Henson chooses Robert Bakewell. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ian Hislop and Alfred the Great

My history heroIan Hislop chooses Alfred the Great. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert and Edward Jenner

My history heroDame Sarah Gilbert chooses Edward Jenner. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Sarah Smith and Eleanor of Aquitaine

My history heroSarah Smith chooses Eleanor of Aquitaine. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Craig Charles and Muhammad Ali

My history heroCraig Charles chooses Muhammad Ali. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ross Kemp and Jesse Owens

My history heroRoss Kemp chooses Jesse Owens. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

My history heroRory Stewart chooses Thomas More. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Laura Mvulu and Thelonius Monk

My history heroLaura Mvula chooses Thelonious Monk. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Jackie Weaver and Elizabeth I

History heroJackie Weaver chooses Elizabeth I. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Nisha Katona and Samuel Pepys

History heroNisha Katona chooses Samuel Pepys (1633–1703). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A bust of Ashoka the Great

History heroNihal Arthanayake chooses Ashoka the Great (c304–c232 BC). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

History heroSteven Berkoff chooses Laurence Olivier (1907–89)

A colourised portrait of Anton Chekhov, from 1901

History heroWilliam Boyd chooses Anton Chekhov (1860–1904). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Eric Liddell winning the 400-metre final at the 1924 Olympic Games

History heroDan Walker chooses Eric Liddell (1902–45). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Welfare campaigner Emily Hobhouse

History heroAnita Anand chooses Emily Hobhouse (1860–1926). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Former US president Theodore Roosevelt stands on a boat with Cândido Rondon

History heroElla Al-Shamahi chooses Cândido Rondon (1865–1958). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Professor Stephen Hawking in his office at the University of Cambridge, 2003

History heroBobby Seagull chooses Stephen Hawking (1942–2018). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A c1638 oil painting of Katherine Howard, Lady Aubigny

History heroJulia Donaldson chooses Katherine Howard, Lady Aubigny (d1650). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Félix Kir in 1947, when he was the mayor of Dijon

Second World War

History heroSimon Farnaby chooses Félix Kir (1876–1968)

History heroAndrew Marr chooses Charles Darwin (1809–82). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

George Washington Carver in a laboratory

History heroGillian Burke chooses George Washington Carver (c1864–1943). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A 19th-century engraving of Francis Grose

History heroSusie Dent chooses Francis Grose (1731–1791)

Young girl putting garland around Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. (Photo by Dinodia Photos/Getty Images)

History heroFergal Keane chooses Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Krystyna Skarbeck, also called Christine Granville

History heroMichael Morpurgo chooses Krystyna Skarbek (1908–1952). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Mary Seacole as seen in a contemporary photo. Although she became famous for her nursing work in the Crimean War, her story subsequently became largely forgotten. (Photo by Alamy)

History heroBernardine Evaristo chooses Mary Seacole (1805–1881). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Victorian heroine Grace Darling (1815–1842) with her father, lighthouse keeper William Darling. They are rowing from the Longstone Lighthouse on the Farne Islands off Northumberland, to rescue the passengers of the stricken ship 'SS Forfarshire'. (Photo by Nigel Dobinson/Getty Images)

History heroMiriam Stoppard chooses Grace Darling (1815–1842). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

c1935: Beatrice Shilling sits astride her Norton motorcycle. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

History heroCathy Newman chooses Beatrice Shilling (1909–1990). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.