Rowan Sebastain Atkinson was born in Consett County Durham England, on 6 January 1955 His parents were Eric Atkinson, a farmer and company director , and Ella May (née Bainbridge), who married on 29 June 1945. His three older brothers are Paul, who died as an infant; Rodney , a Eurosceptic economist who narrowly lost the UK Independence Party leadership election in 2000 and Rupert. A fter receiving top grade in Sicence A' levels and then He secured a place at Newcastle University , where he received a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. In 1975, he continued for the degree of MSc in Electrical Engineering at The Queen's College, Oxford , the same college where his father matriculated in 1935, and which made Atkinson an Honorary Fellow in 2006 Atkinson briefly embarked in doctoral work before devoting his full attention to acting. First winning national attention in The Oxford Revue at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in