Elton John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947 in Pinner, Middlesex, the eldest child of Stanley Dwight (1925–1991) and only child of Sheila Eileen (née Harris; 1925–2017), and was raised in a council house in Pinner by his maternal grandparents. His parents married in 1945, when the family moved to a nearby semi-detached house. He was educated at Pinner Wood Junior School, Reddiford School and Pinner County Grammar School, until he was 17, when he left just prior to his A-Level examinations to pursue a career in music.
The United Kingdom has had a considerable influence on the history of the cinema. The British directors Alfred Hitchcock, whose film Vertigo is considered by some critics as the best film of all time, and David Lean are among the most critically acclaimed of all-time. Many British actors have achieved international fame and critical success. Some of the most commercially successful films of all time have been produced in the United Kingdom, including two of the highest-grossing film franchises (Harry Potter and James Bond). Ealing Studios has a claim to being the oldest continuously working film studio in the world.
More InfoThere have been a number of authors whose origins were from outside the United Kingdom but who moved to the UK and became British. These include Joseph Conrad, T. S. Eliot, Kazuo Ishiguro and Sir Salman Rushdie. Others have chosen to live and work in the UK without taking up British citizenship, such as Ezra Pound. Historically, a number of Irish writers, living at a time when all of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, also spent much of their working lives in England. These include Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker and George Bernard Shaw.
More InfoThere have been a number of authors whose origins were from outside the United Kingdom but who moved to the UK and became British. These include Joseph Conrad, T. S. Eliot, Kazuo Ishiguro and Sir Salman Rushdie. Others have chosen to live and work in the UK without taking up British citizenship, such as Ezra Pound. Historically, a number of Irish writers, living at a time when all of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, also spent much of their working lives in England. These include Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker and George Bernard Shaw.
More InfoIn 2003, rugby union was ranked the second most popular sport in the UK. The sport was created in Rugby School, Warwickshire, and the first rugby international took place on 27 March 1871 between England and Scotland. England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy compete in the Six Nations Championship; the premier international tournament in the northern hemisphere. Sport governing bodies in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland organise and regulate the game separately. Every four years, England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales make a combined team known as the British and Irish Lions. The team tours Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
More InfoThe 'Queensberry rules', the code of general rules in boxing, was named after John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry in 1867, and formed the basis of modern boxing. Snooker is another of the UK's popular sporting exports, with the world championships held annually in Sheffield. In Northern Ireland Gaelic football and hurling are popular team sports, both in terms of participation and spectating, and Irish expatriates in the UK and the US also play them. Shinty (or camanachd) is popular in the Scottish Highlands. Highland games are held in spring and summer in Scotland, celebrating Scottish and celtic culture and heritage, especially that of the Scottish Highlands.
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