Great people in the uk

Adam Smith (1723-90)
In a different vein, Adam Smith was an academic and a thinker. His ideas, most famously laid out in The Wealth of Nations, form the basis of the modern globalised economic system – rightly or wrongly – and are therefore very important; his texts are still read by anyone studying economics around the world.
Adam Smith was born in Kirkcaldy, near Edinburgh, went to Glasgow University aged 14 and later became a Professor of Moral Philosophy there, becoming a prominent figure in the Scottish Enlightenment. His lectures there, published as The Theory of Moral Sentiments, won him a European reputation, but it is The Wealth of Nations, which he wrote after returning to Kirkcaldy, that cemented his reputation.
In the short term, his ideas helped to bring about reform and practices in Britain and helped turn our nation into the largest economy in the world. His legacy is the globalised capitalist system of the 20th century and he is the intellectual father of modern capitalism; his ghost is still with us, of course.
William Wilberforce (1759-1833): One of an extraordinary group of men who managed to get slavery abolished.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859): Pioneer of ships, tunnels, bridges, buildings, trains and much more. The great genius of the Industrial Revolution.
Charles Darwin (1809-1882): Made the biggest, most dangerous and far-reaching scientific breakthrough in history. We are not what we once thought we were.
Sir Winston Churchill (1871-1965): Mobilised the English language to stiffen the sinews of a nation after a terrible defeat and the prospect of a long war.
Alan Turing (1912-1954): He was instrumental in the development of computers and also breaking the Nazi top-secret code during the Second World War.