List of people associated with Trinity College, Oxford

This is a list of notable people affiliated with Trinity College at Oxford University, England. It includes former students, current and former academics and fellows, as listed in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography or another available source. The overwhelming maleness of this list is explained by the fact that for over 90% of its history (from its foundation in 1555 until 1979), Trinity was an all-male institution.^[1]

Former students

Academics and explorers

Scientists, engineers and mathematicians

Business

Sir Angus Ogilvy
John Preston (1950-2017), music industry executive^[3]
Sir William Stuttaford
Sir Peter Stothard
Huw van Steenis
Tunku Varadarajan

Clergy and theology

Diplomats, civil servants and colonial administrators

Lawyers

Sir Edward Atkinson
Peter Birks
Rayner Goddard, Baron Goddard (former Lord Chief Justice)
Philip Seaforth James
John Lewger, first secretary and attorney general of Maryland, United States
John McNeill, Crown Advocate of the British Supreme Court for China and chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association

Military

Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse
Major General Lord Michael Fitzalan-Howard
Flight Lieutenant Richard Hillary, RAFVR
Henry Ireton
Lieutenant General Frank Klotz, USAF
Sarah Oakley, Royal Navy officer^[4]
Squadron Leader Dinghy Young, RAFVR

Politicians

Sports people

Andrew Comrie-Picard, X Games medallist and Hollywood stuntman
Simon Danielli, rugby union player for Ulster and Scotland
Walter Henderson, Olympic athlete^[5]^[6]
Frederic Hugh Lee (1855–1924), Trinity College matriculant (1874), England rugby international and Registrar of the Court of Arches
Constantine Louloudis, rower, bronze medallist in the 2012 Summer Olympics and gold medallist in the 2016 Summer Olympics
Bevil Rudd, Olympic athlete^[7]
Bonnie St. John, medal-winning Paralympic skier
Henry Melvin 'Dinghy' Young, RAF pilot and rower in the 1938 Boat Race

Miscellaneous

Michele Acton, Principal, St Hugh's College, Oxford
Sir Arthur fforde
Phil Harvey, Coldplay
Frank Luntz
Kate Mavor, Principal of St Cross College, Oxford
Ross McWhirter
Tom Riordan

Journalists

Fictional characters

Fictional former students include Jay Gatsby, the title character of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby who attends Trinity briefly after World War I, and Tiger Tanaka, an ally of James Bond in Ian Fleming's 1964 novel You Only Live Twice who receives a first in PPE before World War II.

Recent books in which Trinity features prominently are:

Cartwright, Justin (2008). This Secret Garden. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0-7475-7961-8.
von Siemens, Carl (2010). Kleine Herren. Ein Deutscher in Oxford. Frankfurt am Main: Scherz. ISBN 978-3-502-15159-3.
Flintoff, Ian (2015). Gatsby at Trinity. Oxford: YouCaxton-Pitchfork Production. ISBN 978-190964-469-4.

Fellows

John Michael Hammersley (1920–2004), mathematician
Sir Cyril Hinshelwood (1897–1967), physical chemist; Nobel laureate
Sir Henry Stuart Jones (1867–1939), classicist
Martin Kemp (born 1942), art historian
Ronald Knox (1888–1957), theologian
Hans Adolf Krebs (1900–1981), biologist; Nobel laureate
David Lambert Lack (1910–1973), evolutionary biologist
Michael Maclagan (1914–2003), historian
Rodney Robert Porter (1917–1985), biochemist; Nobel laureate
Sir Edwin Southern (born 1938), molecular biologist
Sir Ronald Syme (1903–1989), ancient historian
Gail Trimble (born 1982), classicist
Thomas Warton (1728–1790), historian and poet

Presidents

The head of Trinity College, Oxford, is titled the president.

16th century

Thomas Slythurst (1556–1559; first president)
Arthur Yeldard (1559–1599)
Ralph Kettell (1599–1643)

17th century

Hannibal Potter (1643–1648; first term)
Robert Harris (1648–1658)
Seth Ward (1659–1660)
Hannibal Potter (1660–1664; second term)
Ralph Bathurst (1664–1704)

18th century

Thomas Sykes (1704–1705)
William Dobson (1706–1731)
George Huddesford (1731–1776)
Joseph Chapman (1776–1808)

19th century

Thomas Lee (1808–1824)
James Ingram (1824–1850)
Samuel William Wayte (1866–1878)
John Percival (1879–1887)
Henry George Woods (1887–1897)
Henry Francis Pelham (1897–1907)

20th century

Herbert Edward Douglas Blakiston (1907–1938)
J. R. H. Weaver (1938–1954)
Arthur Norrington (1954–1970)
Alexander George Ogston (1970–1978)
Anthony Quinton (1978–1987)
John Burgh (1987–1996)
Michael Beloff (1996–2006)

21st century

Sir Ivor Roberts (2006–2017)
Dame Hilary Boulding (2017–2025)
Sir Robert Chote (2025–present)

References

↑ Oneltd. "Trinity College – Modern Trinity". www.trinity.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
↑ "James Michie" (obituary), The Independent, 21 November 2007, accessed 8 June 2023
↑ Denselow, Robin (1 December 2017). "John Preston obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
↑ Captain S. E. Oakley Royal Navy Captain Britannia Royal Naval College profile at royalnavy.mod.uk, accessed 7 November 2022
↑ "Oxford Freshmen's Sports". Morning Leader. 15 November 1899. Retrieved 17 April 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
↑ "Walter Henderson". Olympedia. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
↑ "Oxford Freshmen's Sports". Daily News (London). 29 October 1913. Retrieved 17 April 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[1] Oneltd. "Trinity College – Modern Trinity". www.trinity.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 May 2018.

[2] "James Michie" (obituary), The Independent, 21 November 2007, accessed 8 June 2023

[3] Denselow, Robin (1 December 2017). "John Preston obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 December 2017.

[4] Captain S. E. Oakley Royal Navy Captain Britannia Royal Naval College profile at royalnavy.mod.uk, accessed 7 November 2022

[5] "Oxford Freshmen's Sports". Morning Leader. 15 November 1899. Retrieved 17 April 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.

[6] "Walter Henderson". Olympedia. Retrieved 12 March 2021.

[7] "Oxford Freshmen's Sports". Daily News (London). 29 October 1913. Retrieved 17 April 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.

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