Look up BA, Ba, or ba in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

BA (or similar) may refer to:

• Bachelor of Arts
• Bashkir language's ISO 639 alpha-2 language code
• Bathroom, in real estate advertising
• Beerenauslese, German late-harvest wine

Companies and organizations[link]

• Bangladesh Army
• Bank of America
• Bell Atlantic, now Verizon Communications
• Birds Australia
• Bloque por Asturies, a regional political party in Asturias, Spain
• Bnei Akiva, a Jewish youth movement
• Boeing stock symbol
• Bombardier Aerospace
• Bright Antenna, Oakland, California record label
• British Airways, IATA airline designator
• British Army
• British Association for the Advancement of Science
• Brussels Airlines
• Burma Army (disambiguation)
• Selskap med begrenset ansvar, a type of Norwegian company with limited liability

Media[link]

• Bad Ass, fictional home of Granny Weatherwax in Lancre in the Discworld universe
• Bad Ass (film)
• Beer Advocate, a website and magazine dedicated to craft beer
• Birds Anonymous, an Oscar-winning animated Merrie Melodies short
• Blaqk Audio, an American electronic project

People[link]

• Ba (surname)
• Ba (given name)
• B. A. Baracus, a character from the television series The A-Team and the 2010 film based on the series
• Demba Ba, a Senegalese footballer for Newcastle United
• Ibrahim Ba, a former football player
• Business angel or angel investor
• Business analyst

Places[link]

• Ba (town), a town in Fiji
  • Ba District, Fiji, an administrative district in Fiji
  • Ba Province, Fiji
  • Ba (Open Constituency, Fiji)
  • Ba River (Fiji)
• Ba (state), a Chinese vassal state during the Zhou Dynasty (1045 - 256 BCE)
• Ba River (China)
• Ba (Ljig), village in Serbia
• Ba (village), village in Tha Tum, Surin Province, Thailand
• Bahia, a Brazilian state
• Bahrain's FIPS 10-4 country code
• Barber County, Kansas' state county code
• Province of Bari, ISO 3166-2:IT code
• Bath, Somerset's UK postal area (first 2 letters of the postcode)
• Bay Area (disambiguation)
• Bibliotheca Alexandrina
• Bosnia and Herzegovina's ISO 2-letter country code
  • .ba, the top-level domain for Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Boston and Albany Railroad's reporting mark
• Bratislava, Slovakia
• Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, a city in northeast Oklahoma
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Business area
• The Bahamas, WMO country code

Science[link]

• Barium, chemical symbol Ba
• Ba Solem, a genus of land snails in the family Charopidae
• barye, the cgs unit of pressure
• 6-Benzylaminopurine, plant hormone
• Benzylamine
• Brodmann area, in the human brain

Sports[link]

• Ba F.C.
• Basketball Australia
• Batting average, a statistic in cricket and baseball

Technology[link]

• Badass, guitar bridge trade name of Leo Quan
• Balanced armature, a type of headphone technology
• British Association screw threads, a largely obsolete standard for small screw threads
• Buoyancy aid, a personal flotation device
• Ford BA Falcon, an Australian car
• NZR B^A class, a steam locomotive classification used by the New Zealand Railways Department

Other[link]

• Ba (Egyptian soul), one part of the ancient Egyptian concept of the soul
• Ba game

See also[link]

• Ya ba, tablets containing a mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine
• BAA

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Sergeant Bosco Albert "B. A." (Bad Attitude) Baracus (pronounced /bəˈrækəs/), played by Mr. T, is a fictional character in the 1980s action/adventure television series The A-Team. B. A. Baracus appeared on The A-Team from the series beginning in 1983 until its cancellation in 1987. He is arguably the breakout character of the series and has become a cult icon worldwide. In the 2010 film version, Baracus was played by mixed martial artist Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

Fictional character biography[link]

The A-Team is a group of ex-United States Army Special Forces who were wrongly convicted of a crime during the Vietnam War. Managing to escape from the Military Police, they fled to Los Angeles where, as fugitives, the A-Team work as soldiers of fortune, using their military training to fight oppression and injustice. B. A., along with Hannibal Smith, Templeton "Faceman" Peck, and H. M. Murdock make up the A-Team.

In the pilot episode, "Mexican Slayride", B. A. is described as follows by a reporter colleague of Amy Allen: "Bosco Baracus. Known as B. A. for 'bad attitude.' The man is a mechanical genius. He also has one of the worst conduct records in the army. He likes to slug officers." A rough-and-tough fighter, the character of B. A. Baracus is basically that of the public persona of Mr. T himself. He is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle (often mistaken for a mohawk hairstyle), and his gold jewelry.

While the other members of the team regularly resort to disguises, scams and subterfuge to achieve their goals, B. A.'s distinctive appearance and confrontational attitude usually lead to a more direct approach to problems, which often involve either his skills at hand to hand combat, or his mechanical talents.

He is a highly-skilled mechanic and has an amazing talent for making impressive machinery out of just about any ordinary parts. He received his initial training in the Jamaican Defense Force.^{[citation needed]} Hannibal once said to B. A., "With a pair of pliers and a little time, you could fix anything but dinner."(season 2) He is an excellent fighter and is invaluable in hand-to-hand combat. Because of his massive size and strength, he has a unique fighting tactic, which involves grabbing his opponents, lifting them over his head, and hurling them in the air. He is easily angered to the point of rage, and often greets people with a growl or a snarl. He is most often upset by Murdock and frequently addresses him with the phrase "You crazy fool!", although Murdock is usually unfazed by B. A.'s gruffness. In fact, B.A. and Murdock are very close friends, as can be seen in "Curtain Call", the Season 2 finale, where Murdock is shot and B.A. is desperate to save him. Despite B. A.'s reputed attitude, he is a kind person who has a special fondness for children, occasionally working at a youth center teaching sports to the kids. It is divulged in a season 2 episode^[when?] that he is from Chicago, another parallel with the real life Mr. T.

A teetotaler, B. A. never touches alcohol,^{[citation needed]} preferring milk instead. He suffers from pteromechanophobia, an intense fear of flying ("I ain't gettin' on no plane!"), especially when the plane in question is flown by Murdock. (Exactly how he was able to overcome this to become Airborne qualified, which is required of all Special Forces personnel is never made clear.) This difficulty is often overcome by other members of the team drugging him, knocking him unconscious, or, as in one episode, hypnotizing him, so he can be transported without objection. In the Season 1 episode "The Beast from the Belly of a Boeing", he is on a plane pretending to be a maintenance technician with Murdock when the plane suddenly takes off. He immediately falls into a catatonic state while Murdock tries to revive him. Furthermore, in two episodes "The Sound of Thunder" and "Quarterback Sneak" B. A. hops onto a helicopter which is piloted by Murdock (although he is said to have gone catatonic during the plane ride in "The Sound of Thunder"). However, there have been points when B. A. chose to fly, such as when it was the fastest way to Chicago (to protect his mother).^[2] At other points, he endured flying because his country "asked him to".^[3]

In the Season 4 episode "Lease with an Option to Die" he temporarily overcomes his fear of flying when he learns his mother (Della Reese) is hurt. In that episode his mother and friends in Chicago are under the impression that he is the leader of The A-Team, which Hannibal and the others go along with for the time being. He becomes a pussycat when his mother is around and accepts her authority. The team is highly amused when his mother calls him by his childhood nickname — Scooter. We learn from his mother that his name is Bosco Albert Baracus. In the Season 2 episode "Diamonds 'n Dust", we learn that B. A.'s father was once beaten up by three men and almost died, giving B. A. a special understanding with the client, Toby, a woman whose father has been murdered.

As revealed in a few episodes, B. A. and Murdock share the same blood type, AB negative, the rarest type. This was a plot device for finding one of them urgently when a transfusion was needed for the other.

B. A. drives a customized 1983 GMC van, painted black and grey with a red stripe, black and red rims, and a rooftop spoiler. B. A. is extremely protective of his van, and becomes furious if it gets any damage. He prefers to drive the van himself and is almost exclusively the driver while he is in the van, although other members of the team would drive the van for a variety of reasons, generally when B. A. was otherwise indisposed. He frequently says, "Nobody drives my van, but me!" He appears to also apply this principle to other vehicles, such as in "The Trouble with Harry," where he insists on driving Hulk Hogan's limousine to follow a young friend from the center he helps at.

The meaning of "B. A."[link]

As revealed in the pilot episode, the "B" in B. A. stands for "bad" In the Season 4 episode "Lease with an Option to Die" we learn from his mother that his full name is Bosco Albert Baracus. When asked what the "B. A." stood for, the standard reply is "Bad Attitude". B. A.'s childhood nickname was "Scooter", which he detested.

Although not canon, Mr. T (a real life Christian) has stated that B. A. now stands for "Born Again".

In syndicated versions of The A-Team aired in Hispanic / Spanish speaking countries, such as Mexico, B. A. Baracus is translated as Mario Baracus. In Spain it was translated to M. A. Barracus, in part for the nickname "Bad Attitude" which translates into "Mala Actitud". In the French version, the meaning of the initials was dodged altogether since the character is constantly called with the nickname "Barracuda" (after the large and ferocious fish species of the same name), and even his second name (Baracus) is rarely used.^[4] In the Italian version, he is named P.E. Baracus, where P.E. stands for P)essimo E)elemento (literally "Worst Element").

For the 2010 movie, which was sponsored by British Airways, B.A.'s initials were jokingly changed to "British Airways" in some marketing. This was considered cynical by fans, as it is well known that B.A. refuses to travel on aircraft.

Name in other countries[link]

• In Latin-American Spanish-speaking countries, he is known as "Mario Baracus," while in Spain, he is M.A., for Mala Actitud, a literal translation of the original
• Italy - his moniker is P.E. for 'Pessimo Elemento' ('Worst Element');
• Russia - he is known as D.N., Durnoi Nrav - the Russian equivalent of "Bad Attitude"
• France - he is referred to as Barracuda
• Japan - Kong (コング), dubbed over by Japanese voice actor Shōzō Iizuka
• Hungary - Rosszfiú (translates as 'Bad Boy')
• Taiwan - Guai Tou (怪頭) (translates as 'Wacky Head' in Chinese)

Awards and decorations[link]

The list below contains B.A.'s awards and decorations as seen in season 1 episode "A Nice Place To Visit". In this episode B.A.'s uniform shows the rank of Specialist First Class instead of Sergeant First Class.

Unit citations

Vietnam Presidential Unit Citation	Vietnam Gallantry Cross

Badges and ribbons

Combat Infantryman Badge
Silver Star	Army Commendation Medal	National Defense Service Medal
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal	Vietnam Service Medal	Vietnam Campaign Medal
Parachutist Badge

His GMC Van[link]

B. A.'s legendary black and metallic gray GMC Vandura van used by the A-Team, with its characteristic red stripe, black and red turbine mag wheels, and rooftop spoiler, has become an enduring pop culture icon. Early examples of the van had a red GMC logo on the front grille, and an additional GMC logo on the rear left door. Early in the second season, these logos were blacked out, although GMC continued to supply vans and receive a credit on the closing credits of each episode.

It is a common error that the van is said to be all-black, whereas, in fact, the section above the red stripe is metallic gray (this error even followed through on to most toy models of the van). The angle of the rear spoiler can also be seen to vary on different examples of the van within the series. Additionally, some versions of the van have a sunroof, whereas others, typically those used for stunts do not. This led to continuity errors in some episodes, such as in the third season's 'The Bells of St. Mary's', in a scene where (the double of) Face jumps from a building onto the roof of the van. There is clearly no sunroof. Moments later, in an interior studio shot, Face climbs in through the sunroof. Also, in many stunts where the van would surely be totaled, other makes have been used, such as a black Ford Econoline with red hubcaps painted to simulate the original red turbine mags.

A number of devices were seen in the back of the van in different episodes, including a mini printing press ('Pros and Cons'), an audio surveillance recording device ('A Small and Deadly War'), and Hannibal's disguise kits in various episodes.

When B. A. lends the van to Captain Murdock, Murdock concludes that B. A. has tuned the van's suspension to compensate for the added weight of his gold jewelry.^[5]

In the 2010 remake of The A-Team, the 1983 GMC Vandura van returned. Filming in Canada made it difficult to source the original vehicle and instead a modified 1994 Chevrolet G20 cargo van was used, but the red stripe is not the same as in the original van.^[6] B. A. tracks the van down in Mexico after leaving it for his career as an Army Ranger. Hannibal hijacks the vehicle and, when B. A. refuses to cooperate, shoots B. A. in the arm. This angers B. A., not because he was shot, but because the round went through him into the van. They rescue Face and pick up Murdock. When the team flees from General Tuco in a medical chopper, Murdock accidentally pilots it into an air-conditioning unit, tipping it off the roof and onto the van, destroying it. This infuriates B. A., prompting him to make death threats against Murdock.^[7]

2010 film[link]

The 2010 film adaptation presents a Bosco "B.A." Baracus (born 1978-06-20 in Phoenix)^[8] who is referred to simply as Bosco for much of the film's first act. In the film, he is a former Corporal when he meets Hannibal, and a Sergeant First Class by the time of the trial.^[9] While B.A. retains his trademark hairstyle, he does not wear gold chains around his neck like his TV counterpart did. Aside from the Army Ranger tattoo on his right arm, he sports tattoos on his knuckles: the left spells "Pity", while the right spells "Fool"—a reference to Mr. T's catch phrase, "I pity the fool." His fear of flying is triggered at the film's start, after Bosco nearly falls out of a helicopter piloted by Murdock. He starts off much like his TV counterpart—he punches first, asks questions later, and still drives his distinctive GMC Vandura van. In the opening sequence, however, the van is accidentally destroyed by Murdock, and when B.A. is sprung from prison later in the film, he is a changed man. Concerned with the violence that has driven his life, Bosco swears a vow to never again end another life, and grows his hair out to help reflect this change. The more peaceful Bosco even allows himself to be beaten into submission by the psychotic killer Pike, until he is rescued by Hannibal. It is not until the film's third act, when informed by Hannibal that even Gandhi "wasn't afraid to fight for something he believed in", that Bosco re-shaves his head, and becomes an unstoppable powerhouse once more. He cites later that his conscience is now clear. B.A. also explains that the reason he started his hairstyle as a child was that everyone in his neighborhood was afraid of him.

References[link]

• The A-Team episodes guide
• The A-Team original TV series

Demba Ba

Ba warming up before a West Ham United game
Personal information
Full name	Demba Ba
Date of birth	(1985-05-25) 25 May 1985 (age 27)
Place of birth	Sèvres, France
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Newcastle United
Number	19
Youth career
1998–2000	Port Autonome du Havre
2000–2001	Frileuse
2001–2004	Montrouge
2004–2005	Watford
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2005–2006	Rouen	26	(22)
2006–2007	Mouscron	12	(8)
2007–2011	1899 Hoffenheim	97	(37)
2011	West Ham United	12	(7)
2011–	Newcastle United	34	(16)
National team‡
2007–	Senegal	12	(5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 May 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 1 February 2012

Demba Ba (born 25 May 1985) is a French-born Senegalese footballer who plays as a striker for Newcastle United and the Senegal national team.

Early career[link]

Ba was born in Sèvres, Hauts-de-Seine, and was the sixth child of seven. He grew up in Saint-Valery-en-Caux, Seine-Maritime. He joined a youth club in Montgaillard in 1992, he played for Port Autonome du Havre between 1998 and 2000, and then for Frileuse between 2000 and 2001.

In 2001, his family moved to Châtillon and Ba played for Montrouge. He played there until 2004, at which point he decided to concentrate on his football. He had trials with Olympique Lyonnais and then with Auxerre, both of which were unsuccessful. He then left France to take part in trials at Watford and Barnsley, and was offered a one-year deal at Watford. After Watford manager Ray Lewington was sacked in 2005, Ba found that he was not in the first team plans of Aidy Boothroyd, and left the club in March 2005.

Career[link]

Rouen[link]

Ba signed with manager Alain Michel because they were both moving to French club Rouen on a one year contract, and Ba enjoyed a highly successful season with the club

Mouscron[link]

Belgian club Mouscron beat off competition from numerous other clubs to win Ba's signature in 2006. Scoring in each of his first three games, he then picked up fractures in his tibia and fibula, and out of action between August 2006 and April 2007. Following his eight month recovery period he scored seven goals in nine games, and picked up his first international cap.

1899 Hoffenheim[link]

Demba Ba, pictured on 31 January 2009

On 29 August 2007, he moved to 1899 Hoffenheim for €3 million. Ba was an integral part of Hoffenheim's promotion to the Bundesliga and their successful first season in the Bundesliga, where they finished seventh after leading during the Christmas break. In that season he scored 14 goals, only missing one game all season. These goals included a hat-trick in a 3–3 game against Stuttgart on 24 February 2009. In all competitions Ba scored 40 goals in 103 appearances for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.^[2] In July 2009, he was due to move to VfB Stuttgart, but the move fell through after he failed a medical.^[3] In December of that year Ba extended his contract at Hoffenheim to 2013.^[4]

Move to England[link]

Ba left Hoffenheim for disputed reasons in January 2011. Claiming the club had gone back on an agreed transfer to a Premier League club, believed to be West Ham United, he refused to travel to Hoffenheim's winter training camp. In response, Hoffenheim's general manager said his contract would be cancelled, he would face legal action, and he would be fined and prevented from moving to another club for six months.^[5][6] The club also later claimed he travelled to England without permission in order to force a move, which they reluctantly agreed needed to happen due to Ba's actions.^[7] The club later agreed to a transfer to Stoke City for a reported fee of £7.1 million, but it fell through after Ba had agreed personal terms but failed his medical for undisclosed reasons.^[8][9] Expressing disappointment, Stoke City manager Tony Pulis said "Obviously they found something which could cause problems later".^[10]

West Ham United[link]

After the collapsed Stoke deal, Ba was sold to West Ham for an undisclosed fee based on appearances. He signed a three year contract on 28 January, on a pay as you play basis due to knee problems found in the Stoke medical.^{[11][12][13][14]} Ba's Premier League debut came on 6 February 2011, as a 75th minute substitute for Robbie Keane during a 1–0 home defeat by Birmingham City.^[15] His first goals followed six days later during his full debut, scoring twice in a 3–3 draw against West Bromwich Albion.^[16] Despite finishing as their top scorer for the season with seven from twelve games including 2 in the last game, Ba's stay with West Ham proved to be short.^[17] Following their relegation after a 3–2 loss away to Wigan Athletic he invoked a release clause in his contract allowing him to leave for free. He turned down a £50,000-a-week salary plus a bonus payment of £500,000 in order to stay in the Premier League with another club, triggering interest from both Everton and Newcastle United.^[18][11]

Newcastle United[link]

On 17 June 2011, Ba signed for Newcastle United on a three-year deal, making his club debut on 13 August 2011 in 0–0 draw against Arsenal.^[19][20] His first goals for the club came on 24 September 2011 with a hat-trick against Blackburn Rovers in a 3–1 home win.^[21] A second hat-trick came in a 3–1 away win at Stoke City, taking his league total to 8 and maintaining the club's 11 game unbeaten league start, taking them to 3rd in the league.^[22][23] Ba's goalscoring form continued despite Newcastle entering a downward spell, and saw him picked in ESPN.com's Premier League Best XI for the first half of the season, and named Premier League Player of the Month for December 2011.^[24][25][26] By the time Ba left to play in the January international tournament the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations his league tally had reached 15, making him second top scorer in the league behind Arsenal's Robin van Persie. He left for the tournament on a high note, scoring the first in a 3–0 home win over Manchester United on 4 January 2012, the team's first victory against the league champions in over a decade.^[27] Such was their form, Ba and club mate Cheick Tioté's departure for the African Cup of Nations was said to be a big miss for Newcastle going into the second half of the season.^[28] While at the tournament, Ba's Senagal team-mate Papiss Cissé also signed for Newcastle.^[29] Ba and Cisse returned earlier than expected after Senegal finished bottom of their group, with Ba having missed three Premier League games and two 2011–12 FA Cup games, the second of which saw Newcastle knocked out of the cup.^[30]

He returned to action against Aston Villa on their visit to St James' Park on 5 February 2012, his return proved to be a goal scoring one as he netted the opener in the game which Newcastle won 2–1.^[31] Ba was voted as the best signing of the 2011–12 season by Premier League managers in March 2012.^[32]

Personal life[link]

Ba is a practicing Muslim, along with fellow Newcastle United players, Papiss Cissé, Hatem Ben Arfa and Cheick Tioté. ^[33]

Shirt number[link]

Ba wore the shirt number 29 and later 9 while at Hoffenheim, and 21 at West Ham United.^[34] Since joining Newcastle he has worn number 19, with the club's iconic number 9 shirt now being worn by Papiss Cissé. It was last worn by Andy Carroll during the 2010-11 season before he was sold to Liverpool in the January transfer window.^[35][36] With his goalscoring form leading to suggestions he could have been given Newcastle's number 9 from the outset, Ba said he would be keeping the number 19 for the rest of his career as it was special to him, for reasons he would possibly reveal after he had retired.^[37]

International career[link]

Ba has played a total of 12 games for Senegal, scoring five goals.^[38] He scored on his debut against Tanzania in June 2007.

Career statistics[link]

As of 14 May 2012

Honours[link]

Individual[link]

• Premier League Player of the Month : December 2011

References[link]

External links[link]

• Demba Ba at National-Football-Teams.com
• Demba Ba – FIFA competition record
• Demba Ba – UEFA competition record
• Demba Ba career stats at Soccerbase
• BBC Profile
• Transfermarkt Profile
• ESPN Soccernet Profile
• Official website
• Demba Ba at fussballdaten.de (German)

v t e Senegal squad – 2012 Africa Cup of Nations 1 Coundoul 2 Gomis 3 Sané 4 Diakhaté 5 Diawara 6 Mangane 7 Sow 8 Niang 9 Camara 10 Dia 11 N'Doye 12 Bayal Sall 13 Faty 14 D. N'Diaye 15 Cissé 16 K. N'Diaye 17 Daf 18 N'Daw 19 Ba 20 Armand Traoré 21 Diamé 22 M'Bengue 23 P. L. N'Diaye Coach: Amara Traoré

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2011)

Geoff Shreeves is a reporter on Sky Sports.^[1] He joined the channel in 1992, the first season of The Premiership.

Shreeves went to Verulam School in St Albans.

He made his reporting debut in 1999 alongside Clare Tomlinson.

He can now be seen on the touch-line in key matches notably on Sky Sports UEFA Champions League and Ford Super Sunday live games.

References[link]

This biographical article relating to a United Kingdom sportsperson is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

100 Greatest Britons was broadcast in 2002 by the BBC. The programme was the result of a vote conducted to determine whom the United Kingdom public considers the greatest British people in history.^[1][2] The series, Great Britons, included individual programmes on the top ten, with viewers having further opportunities to vote after each programme.^[3] It concluded with a debate. All of the top 10 were dead by the year of broadcast.

The poll resulted in candidates including Guy Fawkes, who was executed for trying to blow up the Parliament of England; Oliver Cromwell who created a republican England; Richard III, suspected of murdering his nephews; James Connolly, an Irish nationalist and socialist who was executed by the Crown in 1916; and a surprisingly high ranking of 17th for the former Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em star Michael Crawford. In addition to the Britons, some notable non-British entrants were listed, including two Irish nationals, the philanthropic musicians Bono and Bob Geldof. Furthermore, many candidates were from an era in which Britishness did not exist. The top 19 entries were people of English origin (though Sir Ernest Shackleton and Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, were both born into Anglo-Irish families when what is now the Republic of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom). The highest-placed Scottish entry was Alexander Fleming in 20th place, with the highest Welsh entry, Owain Glyndŵr, at number 23.^[4] Sixty had lived in the twentieth century. The highest-ranked living person was Margaret Thatcher, who placed 16th.^[5] Ringo Starr is the only member of The Beatles not on the list.

Top 10 on the list[link]

Because of the nature of the poll used to select and rank the Britons, the results do not claim to be an objective assessment. They are as follows:

Rank	Name	Time Frame	Image	Occupation	Notability
1	Sir Winston Churchill	(1874–1965)		Politician	Prime Minister during World War II, historically ranked the greatest British prime minister.
2	Isambard Kingdom Brunel	(1806–1859)		Civil engineer	Creator of the Great Western Railway, and designer of numerous significant ships, tunnels and bridges.
3	Diana, Princess of Wales	(1961–1997)		Princess	First wife of Charles, Prince of Wales (marriage 1981–1996), and mother of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Harry.
4	Charles Darwin	(1809–1882)		Naturalist	Originator of the theory of evolution through natural selection and author of On the Origin of Species.
5	William Shakespeare	(1564–1616)		Poet and playwright	Thought of by many as the greatest of all writers.
6	Sir Isaac Newton	(1642–1727)		Physicist, mathematician, astronomer and natural philosopher	Originator of universal gravitation and laws of classical mechanics and laws of motion. His Principia is one of the most influential works in the history of science.
7	Queen Elizabeth I	(1533–1603)		Queen regnant	Popular monarch (reigned 1558–1603) who brought a period of relative internal stability. She is associated with the defeat of the Spanish Armada.
8	John Lennon	(1940–1980)		Musician, philanthropist, peace activist and artist	One of the most influential musicians of all time.
9	Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson	(1758–1805)		Naval commander	Famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars.
10	Oliver Cromwell	(1599–1658),		Military and political leader	1st Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland.

Although the BBC's original ranked list has been removed from their web server and what remains is only an alphabetical list of the Top 100,^[6] several other sources^[7] have preserved the original ranked list.

Several people on the list also appear in Channel 4's list of 100 Worst Britons (a tongue in cheek response to this show), owing to strongly polarised views on their works, lives or legacies — notably this includes Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, and the current monarch, Elizabeth II. Channel 4 refused to take votes for dead figures, with their broadcast considerably lighter in tone.

There was some question as to whether the Richard Burton listed at #96 is the actor or the explorer. A BBC press release makes it clear that they intended the Burton so honoured to be the actor.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Churchill memorial press release
• BBC Great Britons press release
• BBC Great Britons book and links at National Portrait Gallery
• 100 great Britons – A complete list — Mail Online