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Michael Wood on the great Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang. Read more
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Xuanzang, Chinese monk and traveller
Michael Wood on the great Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang.
Katherine Parr, sixth wife of Henry VIII
Who would marry a serial killer? Katherine Parr, sixth wife of Henry VIII
David Spiegelhalter on Frank Ramsey
Statistician David Spiegelhalter champions the short, brilliant life of Frank Ramsey.
The Great Lives of Great Lives
After 450 episodes, Matthew Parris thinks it's time to find out what makes a great life.
Diane Morgan on Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding
Comedian and actor Diane Morgan chooses the life of Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding
Rob Rinder on Jessica Mitford
Jessica Mitford is championed by Robert Rinder.
David Jonsson on Jean Michel Basquiat
Actor David Jonsson champions artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
Caroline Catz on Delia Derbyshire
Actor Caroline Catz chooses Delia Derbyshire, who realised the theme to Doctor Who.
Rights activist Cesar Chavez nominated by Cori Crider
Human rights lawyer Cori Crider explains why she is inspired by the life of Cesar Chavez.
The Talented Mr Ripley author, Patricia Highsmith
Sometimes known as 'the stalker's balladeer', she is director Jonathan Kent's choice.
Chinua Achebe, Nigerian novelist
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown picks Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe.
Black and British pioneer Kenny Lynch
Veteran black and British entertainer Kenny Lynch.
KT Tunstall on Ivor Cutler
Singer-songwriter KT Tunstall nominates Scottish humorist Ivor Cutler
Jonathan Dimbleby on Harry Hopkins
President Roosevelt's right hand man in World War Two, Harry Hopkins.
Arlo Parks on Elliott Smith
Singer-songwriter Arlo Parks nominates the young life of singer Elliott Smith.
Ben Miller on William Hazlitt
Actor and comedian Ben Miller nominates essayist William Hazlitt.
Rosie Millard on Edward III
Rosie tells Matthew Parris that Edward III was a cultural hero who deserves greater fame.
The Surprise Lives
A runaway rollercoaster of Great Lives.
Hans Christian Andersen
Author of The Little Mermaid and The Emperor's New Clothes, he was 'a very strange orchid'
Yehudi Menuhin
Violinist Tasmin Little on her hero, Sir Yehudi Menuhin.
Althea Gibson
The first black tennis player to win Wimbledon is the choice of Professor Devi Sridhar.
Frantz Fanon
The anti-colonial writer and psychiatrist from Martinique is the choice of Lindsay Johns
Josiah Wedgwood, master potter
Tristram Hunt on Josiah Wedgwood, vase maker general to the universe!
Peggy Seeger on her husband Ewan MacColl
Ewan MacColl - folk singer and labour activist - was born Jimmy Miller in Salford in 1915.
Dorothy Byrne on Catherine of Siena
The president of Murray Edwards College, Cambridge champions the life of the Italian saint
Yanis Varoufakis on Hypatia
The life and brutal death of a gifted mathematician and philosopher from the ancient world
Ruth Rogers on James Baldwin
Ruth Rogers chooses the life of writer James Baldwin.
JRR Tolkien, creator of The Hobbit
Niall Ferguson chooses JRR Tolkien, creator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
Rory Sutherland on Johnny Ramone
The advertising guru Rory Sutherland on the founder of the New York punk band, the Ramones
Jeanne Baret, first woman to sail round the globe
Nina Sosanya picks Jeanne Baret, first woman round the globe.
Noor-Un-Nissa Inayat Khan
The muslim princess who became a WW2 Special Agent
