99 Immigrants Who Made Britain Great () von Louis Stewart

INTRODUCTION BY BONNIE GREER. The Contribution of Immigrants to Britain. The American playwright and cultural commentator questions how indigenous anyone or thing is to the British Isles and celebrates the achievement of individuals from elsewhere and improved the UK and the worldAUTHORS' NOTE. 'We started our research in the aftermath of the Brexit vote and the associated negative rhetoric about immigration. We felt ashamed that we were unaware of how many aspects of our modern British lives had been shaped if not created by immigrants... we are forever grateful'ADE ADEPITAN Athlete and TV presenter. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, at 15 months old, Ade contracted polio which left him unable to walk. Aged three, his family moved to London. He represented Great Britain in basketball at the Olympics before presenting The World's Busiest Cities and other TV showsALAN YAU Restaurateur. Alan Yau was born Yau Tak Wai in Hong Kong in 1962 and moved to join his family in Norfolk aged 12. He learnt how to run a food business while helping out his parents at their Chinese restaurant in Wisbech. He founded Thai chain Busaba Eathai and Hakkasan Chinese restaurantALEC ISSIGONIS Car designer. His Greek family fled the Greco-Turkish War in 1922. His most famous creation is the Mini, which became known as the quintessentially British car due to its practicality and popularity with the working class. He worked on Morris Minor, Austin 1100 and Austin MaxiALEK WEK Model. After leaving Sudan, she went into fashion and starred in music videos for artists including Tina Turner and Janet Jackson and became recognised globally. Her success blazed a trail for dark-skinned women at a time when the industry was dominated by white facesALF DUBS Politician. Alf Dubs was born in Prague in 1932. His father was Jewish and the family fled Czechoslovakia when Germany invaded in 1938. He escaped to Britain on the Kindertransport. He became director of the Refugee Council, a Labour life peer and immigration campaignerANDRAS SCHIFF Pianist and conductor. András Schiff was born in Budapest, Hungary, to a Jewish family, the only child of two Holocaust survivors. His interpretations of Mozart, Bach, Beethoven and Schubert have earned him a worldwide following and his discography is renowned for its excellenceANISH KAPOOR Sculptor. Born in India, he has designed several architecturally scaled public artworks; notably Cloud Gate in Chicago's Millennium Park, Sky Mirror in Nottingham, Temenos in Middlesbrough, and Ark Nova, an inflatable concert hall created in the wake of the tsunami in Japan in 2011ANNA FREUD Psychoanalyst. When the Nazis occupied Austria, she moved to England with the rest of her family, aged 43. She continued her work in London, but whereas her father Sigmund Freud's work centred on the analysis of adults, she worked with children, with her friend Dorothy BurlinghamARTHUR WHARTON Footballer. He became the first black footballer in the English football league and the world's first black professional football player when he kept goal for Darlington FC, then Preston North End in the 1880s. Statues of him stand at FIFA HQ in Zurich and FA HQ in the UKBARBARA COOPER RAF officer. Born in Canada, in 2008 Barbara made history when she was made an Air Commodore, becoming the highest-ranked female RAF officer. In 2010, she was put in charge of the Air Cadet Organisation, responsible for training 45,000 teenagers and 15,000 adult volunteersBUSHRA NASIR Headteacher. When she arrived from Pakistan aged eight, Bushra could not speak a word of English. In 23 years as headteacher of Plashet girls school in east London, she worked with staff and pupils to transform it from an underachieving school to one rated outstanding by OfstedCARLOS ACOSTA Ballet dancer. Carlos Acosta's family lived in deprivation in Havana, Cuba, when he was born in 1973, the youngest of 11 siblings.

This beautifully illustrated book celebrates the lives of 99 inspirational immigrants.From Hans Holbein to Raheem Sterling, Freddie Mercury to Judith Kerr, and Joan Armatrading to Malala Yousafzai, these characters made a new life in Britain and helped to make us what we are today.Many of them featured in arrived in Britain penniless, knowing little or no English. They achieved success through their hard work and ingenuity and their legacies shape society. Without Michael Marks, we wouldn't have Marks& Spencer. Without Stelios Haji-Ioannou, holidaymakers would not have jetted abroad on easyJet. Without Ludwig Guttmann, there would be no Paralympics. Without so many others featured in this book, the United Kingdom would be drastically different and immeasurably poorer.Each entry contains an original illustration and a profile of each individual and their incredible achievements. Readers can add a 100th individual who has inspired them. Who would you add? A mother, father, friend, colleague or neighbour?This book is an ideal accompaniment to Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, 100 Great Black Britons and Amazing Muslims Who Changed the World.

Louis Stewart works for an educational company marketing books to schools. He started tweeting stories of inspirational immigrants after listening to a podcast about Brexit. He was taken aback by the warm response these brief biographies received; many people wanted to make them better known. He studied sociology at the University of Sussex. He lives in Brighton. Naomi Kenyon studied Sociology at university and has since worked primarily within women's healthcare in the fields of obstetrics and gynaecology. She has worked both for the NHS and as a researcher for the University of Oxford. She co-wrote and illustrated the book. Bonnie Greer is an American-British playwright, novelist, critic and broadcaster. Born in Chicago, she has lived in the UK since 1986. She is a columnist for the New European, a regular commentator on TV and radio, and Chancellor of the University of Kingston.