Who's Who for 2010?
The 162nd annual edition of Who’s Who brings together over 33,000 personal vignettes from those whose achievements are notable in today’s society, and it also marks the start of a new decade. With almost 1000 new entries, Who’s Who 2010, published on 7th December, celebrates the diversity of human achievement, recognising the people who have reached the pinnacle of excellence in their field. The uniquely autobiographical entries convey an enlightening and often amusing snapshot of the lives of those of enduring interest from all walks of life.
Who’s new for 2010?
All these people have demonstrated lasting significance. An entry in Who’s Who is for life (not just for Christmas — although the book would make an excellent gift!).
Famous faces from the sporting world
One of the youngest new names is professional tennis player (ranked world number one), Roger Federer. As well as an impressive clutch of international tennis titles, he reveals that in his spare time he also finds time to enjoy golf, soccer, ski-ing, friends, Playstation, music and playing cards. And all this with twin daughters!
From the football world, Who’s Who 2010 welcomes David Moyes, Manager of Everton FC and Samuel Allardyce, Manager of Blackburn Rovers FC. Sadly for these two, Arsenal is the most supported team amongst this years new names (fourteen people have included the team in their recreations). A total of twenty people in Who’s Who list supporting Everton FC amongst their recreations, and seven list Blackburn Rovers.
Entertainment
Bringing a touch of glamour are new entries from the world of entertainment. From Hollywood are actors William Bradley (Brad) Pitt and Morgan Porterfield Freeman. While actress Anna Friel and presenter and writer, Mariella Frostrup represent the ladies.
There are two comedy double-acts new for 2010: actor and presenter duo Declan Joseph Oliver Donnelly and Anthony McPartlin, and actor and writer pair Matt Lucas and David Edward Williams, better known as David Walliams. In his spare time Matt Lucas enjoys ‘eating crisps, watching football, eating chocolate, watching stage musicals, sleeping, eating crumpets’, while David Walliams is a little more active and likes to swim (he swam the Channel to raise over £1million for Sport Relief in 2006).
Ricky Dene Gervais, comedian, actor, director, producer and author is also a new name for 2010, as is writer Paulo Coelho.
Business worlds
From the business world, there is a new entry for Matthew Brittin, Managing Director of Google UK and Ireland, who is kept busy in his spare time by his climbing, cycling and swimming sons. There are also new entries for Michael Belben, restaurateur, Laura Wade-Gery, Chief Executive Officer, Tesco.com and Tesco Direct, and Evelyn Webster, Chief Executive, IPC Media Ltd.
Trivial Pursuits?
Broadcaster and newspaper columnist, and MoneySavingExpert.com, Martin Lewis reveals some interesting recreations in his entry: ‘trying to get my average Scrabble score above 400, reading historic novels, very poor golf, anything with lists, jive, watching athletics, supporting Manchester City’. Aaqil Ahmed, Commissioning Editor of Religion Television and Head of Religion and Ethics at the BBC is a ‘keen cyclist and regular five-a-side football player, coach of kids football, currently learning to master the Arabic language, enthusiastic cook, decorator and gardener, praying for Bolton Wanderers to achieve mid-table mediocrity; listening to the songs of Paul Weller and eating Arabic food are obsessions’.
Perhaps not unexpectedly, Edward (Bear) Grylls, adventurer and Chief Scout, reveals that he fills his spare time with mountaineering, paragliding, sailing, yoga, martial arts and piano.
Actress, singer and dancer, Valentine Ruth Henshall, better known as Ruthie speaks for mothers everywhere: under recreations she says, ‘I’m a mother of two small children—recreation, what’s that?’.
Early starts
Some of the new entrants had unusual beginnings. Malcolm Gluck, author and broadcaster, started his career as a lathe operator, with Rotary Hoes Ltd in 1957 before going on to greater things via a variety of other jobs such as poet, cost clerk at Hackney Springs & Screws and clerk at Spillers Petfoods. Endemol UK’s Chief Executive, Tim Hincks began his working life in a hair gel factory in Billingshurst.
The Old and the Young
The average age of new entrants is 52. The youngest non-hereditary new entrant is MP Chloe Smith, born in May 1982, followed by Roger Federer (August 1981) and violinist Sarah Chang (December 1980). The oldest new entrant is artist and sculptor Louise Bourgeois who will celebrate her 98th birthday on Christmas Day this year, followed by Emeritus Professor Reginald Ward, born March 1925.
Family connections
Sebastian Conran, designer and son of Sir Terence Conran and Shirley Conran, joins his father, mother and brother Jasper in Who’s Who 2010. Actor and director David Morrissey joins father-in-law Lucian Freud.
Published 7th December 2009 by A&C Black Publishers Ltd
Book £200 ~ ISBN: 9781408114148
Print-and-online edition £295 (available from Oxford University Press, visit www.ukwhoswho.com)
Online only edition available to institutions (available from Oxford University Press, visit www.ukwhoswho.com)
PRESS INFORMATION
For further information contact Vicky Atkins at A&C Black
DD: 020 7758 0281 or Email: vatkins@acblack.com
Rosanna Bortoli DD 020 7758 0280
Freelance journalist Dick Barton will be covering the majority of regional news stories with a local angle; if you would like him to write a piece for you, please let me know and I will put you in touch.
Press copies are not available but a 25% press discount is offered, call 01256 302699 to order.
Notes to editors
The first edition of Who’s Who was published in 1849. Then a compact, 250-page volume (one tenth of the size of the 2010 edition), it consisted of an almanac followed by thirty-nine lists of ranks and appointments and the names of those holding them.
Since its acquisition by A&C Black in 1897, Who’s Who has consolidated its status of supreme national importance proving to be invaluable as a research tool and a unique way of measuring social change. During the Second World War Winston Churchill personally intervened to ensure its publication and full circulation was not affected by the paper shortage. Who’s Who is still to this day the definitive reference book relied upon by academics, researchers, business people, government officials and charities, as well as the casual browser.
Oxford University Press, a department of the University of Oxford, furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. The world’s largest and most international university press, Oxford University Press currently publishes more than 6,000 new publications per year, has offices in around fifty countries, and employs some 5,000 people worldwide. It has become familiar to millions through a diverse publishing programme that includes scholarly works in all academic disciplines, bibles, music, school and college textbooks, children’s books, materials for teaching English as a foreign language, business books, dictionaries and reference books, and journals. www.oup.com.
Who’s Who Online
From 7th December 2009, Who’s Who 2010 and Who Was Who, which covers 1897-2009, will be available online from Oxford University Press where the data can be searched extensively and cross-referenced to other works. For more information visit: www.ukwhoswho.com
Since January 2009, the ten most viewed for names in the online edition of Who’s Who are:
J.K. Rowling, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Margaret Thatcher, Barack Obama (new this year), Stephen Fry, David Cameron, Richard Branson, Boris Johnson, and Carol Ann Duffy.
The online edition of Who’s Who will launch on the afternoon of Monday 7th December
For further information about the online edition of Who’s Who, and for preview access from Sunday 6th December
please contact Kate Farquhar-Thomson at OUP
Tel: 01865 353423