Wilson¹, Sir Angus (Frank Johnstone) (1913-91), English novelist and short-story writer. His works display his satiric wit, acute social observation, and a love of the macabre and the farcical. Notable novels: The Old Men at the Zoo (1961).

Wilson², Charles Thomson Rees (1869-1959), Scottish physicist. He is chiefly remembered for inventing the cloud chamber, which became a major tool of particle physicists. Nobel Prize for Physics (1927).

Wilson³, Edmund (1895-1972), American critic, essayist, and short-story writer. He is remembered chiefly for works of literary and social criticism which include Patriotic Gore: Studies in the Literature of the American Civil War (1962).

Wilson⁴, Edward Osborne (b.1929), American social biologist. He has worked principally on social insects, extrapolating his findings to the social behaviour of other animals including humans. Notable works: Sociobiology: the New Synthesis (1975).

Wilson⁵, (James) Harold, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (1916-95), British Labour statesman, Prime Minister 1964-70 and 1974-6. In both terms of office he faced severe economic problems. His government introduced a number of social reforms, including comprehensive schooling, and renegotiated Britain's terms of entry into the European Economic Community, which was confirmed after a referendum in 1975.

Wilson⁶, John Tuzo (1908-93), Canadian geophysicist. Wilson was a pioneer in the study of plate tectonics, introducing the term plate in this context and identifying transform faults.

Wilson⁷, (Thomas) Woodrow (1856-1924), American Democratic statesman, 28th President of the US 1913-21. He eventually took America into First World War in 1917 and played a leading role in the peace negotiations and the formation of the League of Nations. Nobel Peace Prize (1919).