Following on from this news article, Philip Pullman is in the final shortlist for The Telegraph's Great Britons award. The eventual winner "will be announced on January 27, 2005, in a ceremony at the Royal Courts of Justice."
And the nominees are...
We asked you to name the greatest Briton of 2004 and you responded in your thousands.
After voting ended on Monday, December 13, we tallied your requests and reduced them to a shortlist of three per category.
You voted for a diverse and deserving group. They come from all walks of life: from the arts, Ken Loach and Sir Simon Rattle; from sport, Ellen MacArthur and Kelly Holmes; and from campaigning, Jane Tomlinson and Benjamin Zephaniah.
The winners in these three categories, and four others encompassing business, creative industries, public service, and science and innovation, will be announced on January 27, 2005, in a ceremony at the Royal Courts of Justice.
Nominations were invited following a MORI survey commissioned by the RSA and conducted in Britain, America, India and throughout Europe, which defined the key characteristics of Britishness as strength and determination, adaptability, modesty and a sense of humour.
Great Britons '04 Shortlist
Arts
Ken Loach
Deserves recognition for not only being a great director but for his social conscience. The judges felt it was difficult to judge the Arts candidates on modesty as so few practitioners have this attribute. However, Loach was felt to be genuinely modest and uncelebrated in the UK. Despite lengthy periods where he has struggled to get funding he has always remained dedicated to making films about class and the disenfranchised. His 2004 film Vera Drake is typical of his work.
Philip Pullman
Author of the award-winning His Dark Materials trilogy, currently being staged at the National Theatre for the second year running and soon to be turned into a film. Considered by the judges to exhibit genuine modesty and to have raised important issues relating to science and religion.
Sir Simon Rattle
Now based in Germany, where he is principal conductor with the Berlin Philharmonic, he spent many years with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, which flourished under his baton. At the Proms this year, to great acclaim, he conducted Das Rheingold, the first performance in modern times of Wagner on period instruments. As well as his conducting skills, judges felt he deserved recognition for highlighting the decline of music education in Britain and his work to promote music in schools.
Business
Lord John Browne
A titan of industry, John Browne, the chief executive of BP, is a strong leader who has made an indelible mark on the company, transforming it into one of the world's most respected and successful businesses, worth more than
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