The Faculty of History at the University of Cambridge is among the largest and most prestigious history faculties in the world.^[1] Though the study of history at Cambridge dates back centuries, the study of history as a distinct academic discipline in the form of the undergraduate Historical Tripos was only established in the nineteenth century: history had previously been studied as part of the broader 'Moral Sciences' Tripos, and subsequently within the 'Law and History' Tripos.^[2][3] Nevertheless, the Historical Tripos - together with the Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees offered by the Faculty - has produced a large number of alumni who have gone onto occupy a broad range of positions in public life.

The alumni listed on this page have read either Parts I or II, or both parts, of the Historical Tripos. Only a small number of those listed here have only undertaken graduate studies in History at Cambridge, as many of the notable alumni of the Faculty's graduate programmes are professional academics rather than public figures in other fields. Given the sheer volume of professional academics produced by the Faculty, it would be impractical to list them all here.

This following list is not exhaustive and is far from complete. A large potential source for expansion of this list would be those of Ambassadorial rank within Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service and senior members of Her Majesty's Home Civil Service over the past century.