Some very famous people have been, or still are, amateur radio operators. This is a list of some that I have come across with their callsign(s) and claim to fame. Some you may not know, others you'll say "really, I never knew that!" The list is sorted alphaneumerically by callsign. Pictures have been included where available.
The list has been compiled from various sources and I have checked the authenticity of the callsigns wherever possible. If there are any inaccuracies please let me know (with proper citation {not just someone else's list!}) so I can put them right, "missing" photos are also welcome. Please see the note at the bottom before sending in corrections.
UPDATE 01/06/2008: It would appear that I was not as diligent as I could have been!
G0KRH, is C P Tarrant of Kent, NOT Christopher John Tarrant OBE, radio and TV personality. That entry has now been removed from this list. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.
All the persons are listed as though they are alive, still holding office/position etc and still operating. Some may have been replaced in their position (politicians etc), or be "silent key" others may have let their licence lapse or just no longer active on the bands.
 1XS (Also VP9F) |
Reginald Aubrey Fessenden | First broadcaster of the human voice and music. Read his short history here. |
| 2CVJ | Robert Hart | First person in USA to receive a transatlantic T V image transmitted by John Logie Baird. |
 3A0AG |
Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi | Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco . |
 7L2NJY |
Dr Mamoru Mohri | Japanese astronaut. |
 8CR |
Powel Crosley Jr | Co-founded the American Automobile Accessory Company and founded the Crosley Radio Corporation, the world's largest radio manufacturer. He was known as "The Henry Ford of Radio". |
 9DRV |
David Packard | Co-Founder of Hewlett-Packard. |
 9K2CS |
Sheikh Dr. Muhammad Yousuf Al-Sabah | Prince of Kuwait and Minister of State for foreign affairs. |
| 9N1MC | Krishna B Khatry | Chief engineer for the Minsstry of Communications Nepal. |
 9N1MM |
Father Marshall Moran | Missionary in Nepal. |
 A41AA |
Sayyid Qaboos bin Sa'id bin Taimur Al ‘Bu Sa'idi GCB, GCMG, GCVO | Sultan of Oman. |
 CN8MH |
King Hassan II | King of Morocco. |
 EA0JC |
King Juan Carlos I | King of Spain. |
 FO5GJ (Also KE6PZH) |
Martin Brandeaux (Marlon Brando) |
Actor. |
 G0DMU |
Ian Morrison | Senior project manager at Jodrell Bank. |
 G0OAN Also operated as: 8P9AF, K6/G0OAN, W4/G0OAN, EA/G0OAN, CT/G0OAN, F/G0OAN, EI/G0OAN, PA/G0OAN, VE/G0OAN. |
Sean Feargal Sharkey (Feargal Sharkey) |
Lead vocalist of pop punk band The Undertones and solo recording aritst. |
 G0VQH |
Jenny Bailey | Mayor of The City of Cambridge. |
 G1EXG |
Dr. Jonathan Hare | Physicist, astronomer, BBC TV presenter. |
| G2XM | Sir Richard Davies, KCVO, CBE, C.Eng, FIEE | A member of The Household of the Duke of Edinburgh. |
| G2BCK | F C Judd | Author of radio amateur books. |
 G2DQU |
Lord Rix of Whitehall, (Formerly Sir Brian Rix Kt CBE DL) | Actor & politician. |
| G3HB | G L Benbow | Author amateur radio and electronics books. |
 G3EUJ |
Hugh William Peel (Gillie Potter) |
Music-hall and BBC radio (1930s & 40s) comedian. |
| G3EUR | Major John Brown | Designer of the WW2 spy B2 suitcase radios & founder of the Duxford Radio Society. |
| G3ITF | Brian S Freeman | One of the Freeman family in Freeman Hardy & Willis shoes. |
 G3KDH (later VK6TP) |
Tommy Price | Speedway rider of Wembley fame and 1949 World Speedway Champion, Later moved to Australia. |
| G3PLX | Peter Martinez | Co- Inventor of the PSK31 digital transmission system. |
| G3TPW | Stephen Webb | Designer of the G3TPW Cobwebb antenna. |
 G3YLA |
Jim Bacon OBE | BBC T V weatherman. |
 G4AEH |
Jim Lee | BBC radio broadcaster & producer. |
| G4RK | Capt. George Thomas Smith-Clarke | Prolific inventor, designed and developed, amongst other things, the the 9-cylinder Alvis Leonides radial engine and a motor scooter. |
 G5RV Plus 54 or so other calls. |
Louis Varney | Designer of the popular G5RV HF antenna. Read his short history here. |
| G7CDK | Alan Florence | Sound engineer. Worked on the Tony Hancock recordings of the Radio Ham & Blood Donor. |
 GM3ITN |
Les Hamilton | He first alerted England of Argentine invasion of the Falklands 1982. |
 HS1A |
Bhumibol Adulyadej also known as Rama IX. |
King of Thailand. |
| HZ1TA | Prince Al-Walid bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud | Prince of Saudi Arabia. |
| HZ1TC | Prince Waleed bin Talal bin Abdel Aziz | Prince of Saudi Arabia. |
 I0FCG |
Francesco Cossiga | Italian President. |
 J3BB (earlier 3BB) |
Masaru Ibuka | Co-founder of  . |
 JA1MP |
Sako Hasegawa | founder of  . |
 JA3FA |
Tokuzo Inoue | Founder of  . |
 JI1KIT |
Keizo Obuchi | Japanese Prime Minister. |
 JK1SIU |
Norio Ohga | Persident, then CEO, then Chairman of the board, then Honourary Chairman of . |
 JP1DPJ |
Akio Morita | Co-founder of . |
 JY1H JY1 |
King Hussein (JY1) shown with his 4th wife, Queen Noor (JY1H (some list as JY1NH, or JY2. tbc)) Formerly Lisa Halaby. |
King and Queen of Jordan. One time, when asked to repeat his full call, King Hussein replied |
 JY2HT |
Prince Halasan Ibn Talal | Brother of King Hussein of Jordan, Prince of Jordan. |
| JY2RZ | Prince Raad Ibn Zeid | Cousin of King Hussein of Jordan, Prince of Jordan and chairman of the Royal Jordan Radio Amateur Society. |
 K0HWY |
Gordon L Beneke (Tex Beneke) |
Big band singer, saxophonist and band leader of the Glenn Miller Orchestra (1946 on). Call now used by Bruce W Long. |
 K1ADJ |
Howard Peter Guber | Successful Hollywood producer and executive producer. Credits include: Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey (1988) Rain Man (1988), and The Deep (1977). |
| K1OKI | Mickey Schulhof | Head of USA. |
 K2AMH |
Dr. Robert Arthur Moog (Bob Moog) |
Inventer of the famous "Moog Synthesizer" amongst many other electronic instruments. |
 K4ZVZ |
Brigadier General Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr (USAF Ret.) |
Pilot of the "Enola Gay" aircraft. (The plane that dropped the first atomic bomb over Hiroshima in WW2) |
| K6RFU | Albert Glasser | Wrote musical scores for around 200 feature films, 300 television shows and 450 radio programs. |
 K9EID |
Robert G Heil (Bob Heil) |
Sound engineer to such groups as The Eagles & The Who and Head of Heil Sound. |
 KA6UXR |
Dr. Alexander Comfort | Prolific author, his most famous work has to be "The Joy of Sex". |
 KA7EVD |
Donald Clark Osmond (Donnie Osmond) |
Singer and T V presenter. |
 KB2GSD |
Walter Leland Cronkite | American broadcast journalist and T V newsreader. Once called "The most trusted man in America." |
 KB5UAC |
Colin Michael Foale, CBE, PhD (Mike Foale) |
British born US astronaut (space shuttle crew, Mir and ISS missions). |
 KB6LQR |
Jeana Yeager | Pilot non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world in the Rutan Voyager aircraft. |
 KB6LQS |
Richard Glenn Rutan (Dick Rutan) | Rutan Voyager aircraft designer and pilot for non-stop, non-refueled flight around the world. |
 KC5ZTC |
David M. Brown | Crew member of the ill fated Space Shuttle Columbia on STS-107. |
 KC5ZSU |
Laurel Blair Salton Clark, M.D. | Crew member of the ill fated Space Shuttle Columbia on STS-107. |
 KD4WUJ |
Patty Lee Ramey (Patty Loveless) |
Country Music Singer. Married to Emory Gordy Jr W4WRO. |
 KD5ESI |
Kalpana Chawla | Crew member of the ill fated Space Shuttle Columbia on STS-107. |
 KD5PLB |
Sunita Williams | U S Naval officer and NASA astronaut. |
 KG6FZX |
Dennis Anthony Tito | U S multimillionaire who gained celebrity status by becoming the first space "tourist", paying for his own ticket. |
 LU1SM |
Carlos Saul Menem | President of Argentina. |
 M0SDX (Also TA2ZF, UT5UDX) |
Serhiy Stanislavovych Rebrov (Sergei Rebrov) |
Professional football (soccer) player. |
 N6FUP |
Stuart Alden Cook (Stu Cook) |
Bass guitar player in American rock band, Creedence Clearwater Revival. |
| N9LC (ex W8ZIS) |
George H Sweigert | Invertor of the cordless phone and envisioned the mobile phone. |
| N9FZX | Dr. Paul A. Flaherty | Co-inventor of the Alta Vista Search Engine. |
 NK7U |
Joseph Oden Rudi (Joe Rudi) |
Major League Baseball player. |
 NY6YOS |
Priscilla Ann Beaulieu Presley | (Licenced as Lou Lou Beaulieu) Film star, businesswoman and wife of Elvis Presley. |
 OD5LE |
Émile Jamil Lahoud | President of Lebanon. |
| SP9VRC | Pawel Jalocha | Co- Inventor of the PSK31 digital transmission system. |
 SU1VN |
Prince Al-Walid bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud | Prince of Saudi Arabia . |
 SV2ASP/A |
Monk Apollo | Elder of the Docheiariou Monastery, Mount Athos, Greece. |
 UA1LO |
Yuri Gagarin | First man in space. |
 UA9AD |
Yury Vladimirovich Usachev | Astronaut, stationed on MIR and ISS. |
| VE3RX | Arthur Kenneth Meen | Member of Provincial Parliament of Ontario and Provincial Court Judge. |
| VK2DIK | Richard Harold Smith (Dick Smith) |
Australian entrepreneur, businessman and aviator. Australian of the Year in 1986. |
 VK5AX Click picture for full view of Alf operating his invention. |
Alfred Hermann Traeger (Alf Traeger) |
Inventor of the Pedal Powered Wireless. |
 VK5NIV |
Ivan Venning | Australian MP and Justice of the Peace. |
 VU2RG |
Rajiv Gandhi | Prime Minister of India. |
 W0CXX |
Arthur Andrew Collins | Founder of Collins Radio. The Collins Amateur Radio Club now hold the call. |
 W1AW (earlier 1AW) |
Hiram Percy Maxim | Son of the prolific inventor, Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim (most famous for inventing the machine gun). Hiram Percy Maxim invented the gun silencer and co-founded the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) who now use W1AW as the club station call. |
 W1GBE |
Percy Lebaron Spencer (Percy Spencer) |
Inventor of the Microwave Oven, Senior Vice President of Raytheon Co. Call now used by Raytheon-Marlborough Amateur Radio Club. |
 W4WRO |
Emory Gordy Jr | Grammy Award winning musician and music producer. Married to Patty Loveless KD4WUJ. |
 W5CY |
Howard Robard Hughes (Howard Hughes) |
Billionaire, inventor, aviator, aircraft designer, engineer, industrialist, film producer/director, philanthropist and (later) recluse. |
 W5LFL |
Owen Kay Garriott, Ph.D. | NASA astronaut who spent 60 days aboard Skylab in 1973 and 10 days aboard Spacelab-1 in 1983. First Amateur Radio operator to operate from space. |
 W6QYI |
Cardinal Roger Michael Mahony | Archbishop of Los Angeles. |
| W6FZZ | Samuel F.B. Morse III | Grandson of Morse code inventor and speed record holder (75 words per minute). |
 W7DUK |
Nolan K. Bushnell | Inventor, Computer Pioneer, Founded Atari and the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza-Time Theaters chain. |
 W8PAL |
Alfred Irving Gross (Al Gross) |
Communications Pioneer. Inventor of the "walkie-talkie"; inventor of the Citizens' Radio Service aka "Citizens' Band." Invented the telephone pager. Read his short history here. |
 W9GTY |
Jack St. Clair Kilby | Invented the integrated circuit in 1958 while working at Texas Instruments (TI). He is also the inventor of the handheld calculator and thermal printer. |
 WA3SWS |
Stephen E. Uhrig | Appeared with Gene Hackman in the film "Enemy of the State" as an electornics store employee (credited as "Steve Uhrig") and was a technical advisor on the same film (credited as "Stephen Uhrig"). |
 WB6ACU |
Joseph Fidler Walsh (Joe Walsh) |
Band member of The Eagles and James Gang. |
 XE1GC |
Guillermo González Camarena | Inventor inventor of a color-wheel type of color television, and introduced color television to Mexico. |
 YU1RL |
Radivoje Lazarevic | Yugoslavian New Democracy Party leader. |
 ZK1AN |
Sir Thomas Davis | Premier of The Cook Islands. |
Note: I have only included people who are famous in their own right. To my mind the brother, sister, cousin, wife etc. (except for royalty) does not make someone famous. If they have a claim to fame in their own right then they're in.
I have not included people who are listed with a Special Event callsign (astronauts operating stations under a special call for example), but do include such people if I can ascertain there usual call.
I do research quite thoroughly to check that the call was (is) issued to the person so claimed, If I find glaring errors then I leave them out. If I can find no errors or, better still, confirmation then in they go.
Example: N6KGB, listed as actor Stewart Granger (many references in lists) - born James Lablache Stewart, died August 1993. The callsign was issued to James J Stewart in December 1994. So Stewart Granger not only changed his middle initial but also applied for his licence over a year after he died! That's just one of many examples of non research and copying verbatum from an erroneous list that I've encountered.