54.5964° N, 5.9301° W

BELFAST

Most Famous People Born in Belfast, United Kingdom

Notable people
1,393
Peak decade
1950s
Median birth year
1949
Most distinctive
Loyalist 272.1×

A divided city whose most distinctive profession in the entire dataset, at more than two hundred times the global rate, is loyalist — paired with republican at more than thirty, the statistical footprint of the Troubles. Belfast's other distinctive shelves are boxers, rugby players (grouped as 'player'), footballers, and cricketers at concentrations that outpace every other city on the island. Van Morrison, George Best, Kenneth Branagh, and C.S. Lewis all grew up within walking distance of the Lagan, and the 19th-century shipbuilding establishment that built the Titanic anchors the older half of the bench.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Belfast during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1950s with 179 notable births.

What Belfast Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Football is Belfast's biggest profession — 23% of all notables (321).

Belfast over-indexes on loyalist272.1× the global rate.

Belfast under-produces painter — only 0.5× the global rate.

  1. Football321
  2. Politician160
  3. Actor77
  4. Player59
  5. Boxer36
  6. Cricket34
  7. Writer32
  8. Sport28
  1. Loyalist21272.1×
  2. Republican1632.3×
  3. Boxer366.5×
  4. Player592.2×
  5. Football3212.1×
  6. Cricket341.9×
  1. Painter180.5×
  2. Writer320.7×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Belfast's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

1700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Politics & Law
  • Film & TV
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Music
  • Other
All1,393
Sort By

Showing 66 of 1,393 notable people

0010 LAW

Chaim Herzog

1918 - 1997

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0111 PRIEST

William Conway (cardinal)

1913 - 1977

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0165 MATHEMATICIAN

John Herivel

1918 - 2011

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0255 ACTIVIST

Seamus Twomey

1919 - 1989

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0258 SCHOLAR

William Bedell Stanford

1910 - 1984

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0260 ACTOR

Sam Kydd

1915 - 1982

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0287 MINISTER

Davis McCaughey

1914 - 2005

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0371 PAINTER

Gerard Dillon

1916 - 1971

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0383 JUDGE

Robert Lowry, Baron Lowry

1919 - 1999

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0389 PAINTER

Colin Middleton

1910 - 1983

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0427 RACER

Artie Bell

1914 - 1972

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0486 JUDGE

Maurice Gibson

1913 - 1987

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0499 POLITICIAN

Gearóid Ó Cuinneagáin

1910 - 1991

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0502 GALLANTRY

James Joseph Magennis

1919 - 1986

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0515 FOOTBALL

Jackie Vernon (footballer)

1918 - 1981

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0519 DRIVER

Ronnie Adams

1916 - 2004

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0526 UNIONIST

Sam Thompson (playwright)

1916 - 1965

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0537 LOYALIST

William McGrath

1916 - 1992

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0566 FOOTBALL

Harry Baird (footballer)

1913 - 1973

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0569 HOCKEY

Sammy McManus

1911 - 1976

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0598 MILITAR

Robin Kinahan

1916 - 1997

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0603 FOOTBALL

Jackie Brown (footballer)

1914 - 1990

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0674 FOOTBALL

Cecil Allan

1914 - 2003

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0683 MINISTER

Ray Davey

1915 - 2012

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0689 HISTORIAN

J. C. Beckett

1912 - 1996

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0693 POLITICIAN

Herbert Kirk

1912 - 2006

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0706 PHILOLOGIST

Frank Pierce

1915 - 1999

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0730 PAINTER

Maurice Canning Wilks

1910 - 1984

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0735 PRIEST

John Armstrong (archbishop of Armagh)

1915 - 1987

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0738 PHILOSOPHER

Sydney Sparkes Orr

1914 - 1966

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0743 RACER

Walter Rusk

1910 - 1940

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0748 JUMPER

Edward Boyce (athlete)

1913 - 1938

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0750 TRADE UNION

Billy Hull

Born 1912

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0803 POLITICIAN

Betty Sinclair

1910 - 1981

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0808 BOXER

Jimmy Warnock

1912 - 1987

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0838 MATHEMATICIAN

Muriel Kennett Wales

1913 - 2009

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0849 PAINTER

Mercy Hunter

1910 - 1989

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0874 CRICKET

Robert Alexander (rugby union and cricket)

1910 - 1943

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0908 PLAYER

Sam Walker (rugby union)

1912 - 1972

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0917 FOOTBALL

Walter McMillen

1913 - 1987

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0951 AUTHOR

John Boyd (Dramatiker)

1912 - 2002

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0958 POLITICIAN

Con Lehane (Irish republican)

1911 - 1983

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0991 FOOTBALL

William Hood (footballer)

1914 - 1992

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0999 FOOTBALL

Norman Kernaghan

1917 - 1997

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1035 FOOTBALL

Jimmy McAlinden

1917 - 1993

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1070 FOOTBALL

Malcolm Butler (Irish footballer)

1913 - 1987

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1075 FOOTBALL

Vic Aicken

1914 - 1972

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1098 FOOTBALL

Sam Kirkwood

1910 - 1980

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1112 ACTIVIST

John Graham (Irish republican)

1915 - 1997

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1135 NAVY

Philip Watson

1919 - 2009

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1142 PHYSICIAN

Joseph Barnes (Irish doctor)

1914 - 2017

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1171 FOOTBALL

John Adair (arbitre)

Born 1919

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1193 PLAYER

Harry McKibbin

1915 - 2001

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1194 FOOTBALL

Bill Corkhill

1910 - 1978

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1237 FOOTBALL

Tommy Priestley

1911 - 1985

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1253 DELEGATE

Séamus McFerran

1916 - 1968

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1292 HURLER

Jimmy Walsh (Antrim hurler)

1911 - 2008

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1298 CRICKET

Charles Posnett

1914 - 1997

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1302 CRICKET

Thomas McMurray

1911 - 1964

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1303 CRICKET

Thomas Newburn

1918 - 2003

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1309 CRICKET

Alfred McMurray

1914 - 1988

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1318 POLITICIAN

William Christie (Ulster politician)

1913 - 2008

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1334 FOOTBALL

Boy Martin

1914 - 1991

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1348 ARTIST

Doris Blair

Born 1915

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1377 GOLF

Max McCready

1918 - 1994

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1384 FOOTBALL

John Lavery (footballer, born 1919)

Born 1919

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