James Anderton, Lynda Baron, and David Warner join Queen Elizabeth II in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The latest update of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography is published on Thursday 9 April 2026 and adds biographies of 229 people who left their mark on the UK, and who died in the year 2022.
Born in Wigan, Sir James Anderton (1932-2022) joined the Manchester city police force in 1953 and became chief constable of Greater Manchester Police from 1976 to 1991. Known in the press as ‘God’s copper’, he brought a harsh approach to law enforcement, and also made highly controversial statements about AIDS, homosexuality, the miners’ strike, and corporal punishment.
Born at 14 Alfred Street, Manchester, and educated at Flixton School for Girls, Lynda Baron (1939-2022) was a dancer, chorus girl, and comic actress who appeared in a wide variety of programmes, including Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life (1964–5), though it was probably as Nurse Gladys in Open All Hours (1976-85) alongside Ronnie Barker which she was best remembered for.
Born at 16 Leighbrook Road, Fallowfield, Manchester, the actor David Warner (1941-2022) scored early successes with his Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1965 and as the anti-hero of Karel Reisz’s Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment on film the following year; his later career was prolific and wide-ranging but never reached such heights.
Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) was the longest-reigning monarch in British history. During the course of her reign, the United Kingdom ceased to be a great power in the world, and changed in many other ways. To all this she adapted, slowly and not always enthusiastically, but on the whole wisely and well.
Other prominent figures in the new edition include politician and inaugural first minister of Northern Ireland David Trimble, Baron Trimble (1944-2022); peace campaigner Bruce Kent (1929-2022); authors Dame Hilary Mantel (1952-2022), Jack Higgins (1929-2022), and Raymond Briggs (1934-2022); inventor of the Jump Jet Ralph Hooper (1926-2022); fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood (1941-2022); artist Dame Paula Rego (1935-2022); theatre director Peter Brook (1925-2022); actors Dame Angela Lansbury (1925-2022) and Robbie Coltrane (1950-2022); singer Dame Olivia Newton-John (1948-2022); jockey Lester Piggott (1935-2022); and 1966 World Cup winner George Cohen (1939-2022).
A full list of new subjects is available from the dictionary.
The Oxford DNB is the national record of people who have shaped British history, worldwide, from prehistory to the year 2022. From April 2026 the dictionary includes biographies of more than 63,000 individuals, written by over 14,000 contributors, and with more than 12,000 portrait images.
