LSE People
Inspirational alumni, staff and students in LSE’s history and on the world stage
LSE alumni and faculty members have been awarded 18 Nobel Prizes in economics, peace and literature. At least 34 past or present prime ministers, presidents and premiers have studied at the School.
Discover more about some of the people who have played important roles in LSE’s history and on the world stage.
Famous alumni
George Soros, business magnate
David Rockefeller, philanthropist
Stelios Haji-Ioannou, founder of easyJet
Janet Napolitano, former US Secretary of Homeland Security
B R Ambedkar, Indian politician
Cherie Booth, barrister
Nobel Prize winners
A total of 18 LSE alumni or staff members have been awarded Nobel Prizes.
2016: Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, Nobel Peace Prize
2016: Oliver Hart, Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences (jointly)
2010: Christopher Pissarides, Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences (jointly)
2008: Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences
2007: Leonid Hurwicz, Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences (jointly)
2001: George Akerlof, Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences (jointly)
1999: Robert Mundell, Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences
1998: Amartya Sen, Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences
1991: Ronald Coase, Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences
1990: Merton Miller, Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences
1979: Sir Arthur Lewis, Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences (jointly)
1977: James Meade, Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences (jointly)
1974: Friedrich von Hayek, Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences (jointly)
1972: Sir John Hicks, Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences (jointly)
1959: Lord Noel-Baker, Nobel Peace Prize
1950: Ralph Bunche, Nobel Peace Prize
1950: Bertrand Russell, Nobel Prize in Literature
1925: George Bernard Shaw, Nobel Prize in Literature
Read more about our Nobel Prize winners.
Leading women
Women have always played a fundamental role at LSE. One of the School’s founders was a woman, LSE accepted female students from its earliest days and in 1903 awarded its first doctorates to two women (Alice E Murray on the history of commercial and financial relations between England and Ireland and Amy Harrison on the history of factory legislation).
Here are a few of the leading women from the School’s history who have achieved significant ‘firsts’.
Beatrice Webb, a self-taught economist, socialist and reformer, was one of the co-founders of LSE in 1895. She was a pioneer of social research and policy-making, co-authoring books including ‘The History of Trade Unions’ and ‘Industrial Democracy’. One of her most important legacies was her work that called for the reform of the Poor Law system and established the foundation of the modern welfare state.
Edith Abbott was the first American woman to be appointed the dean of a graduate school in the United States. She studied at LSE in the early 1900s and was influenced by Beatrice and Sidney Webb’s work in social reform. She became Dean of the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy in 1924.
Ellen Marianne Leonard became the first female President of the LSE Students’ Union in 1907. She obtained a first class in the History Tripos at Girton College, Cambridge in 1888 and was awarded an LSE Research Studentship in 1896. She continued as a research student until 1910.
Lilian Knowles became the first female Professor of Economic History in the country in 1921. As a research student at LSE, she gave lectures on ‘The Referendum’ and subsequently became a Lecturer in Economic History in 1903. She was a keen advocate of equal pay and employment rights.
Enid Rosser Locket was one of the earliest female barristers in England. Having studied at Oxford University and the LSE, from 1921-1927 she was Secretary to the Advisory Committee to the Lord Chancellor. Subsequently she worked as a barrister in the south-eastern circuit and the Central Criminal Court.
Audrey Richards was one of the first social anthropologists to carry out applied research in Africa. She read for the Natural Sciences Tripos at Newnham College, Cambridge in 1918-21 and then took up postgraduate study at LSE. She became a special lecturer in Colonial Studies at LSE from 1944-45 and continued as a Reader from 1946-50.
In 2018 the #LSEWomen initiative highlighted even more women's stories. Meet more LSE Leading Women.