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
Politician160
Sort By

Showing 160 of 1,393 notable people

0007 POLITICIAN

Gerry Adams

Born 1948

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0015 POLITICIAN

Mary McAleese

Born 1951

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0026 POLITICIAN

Peter Robinson (Northern Ireland politician)

Born 1948

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0045 POLITICIAN

James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon

1871 - 1940

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0078 POLITICIAN

Tony Banks, Baron Stratford

1942 - 2006

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0084 POLITICIAN

David Ervine

1953 - 2007

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0103 POLITICIAN

Kate Hoey

Born 1946

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0107 POLITICIAN

Michael Moore (British politician)

Born 1965

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0114 POLITICIAN

Seán MacEntee

1889 - 1984

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0122 POLITICIAN

Gerry Fitt

1926 - 2005

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0132 POLITICIAN

Ian Paisley Jr

Born 1966

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0136 POLITICIAN

Conor Burns

Born 1972

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0137 POLITICIAN

Iris Robinson

Born 1949

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0146 POLITICIAN

James Emerson Tennent

1804 - 1869

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0153 POLITICIAN

Gusty Spence

1933 - 2011

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0160 POLITICIAN

Reg Empey

Born 1947

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0170 POLITICIAN

Danny Morrison (Irish republican)

Born 1953

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0184 POLITICIAN

Frederick Seymour

1820 - 1869

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0190 POLITICIAN

Alex Maskey

Born 1952

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0208 POLITICIAN

Philippa Whitford

Born 1958

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0215 POLITICIAN

Brian Mawhinney

1940 - 2019

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0233 POLITICIAN

Roberta Blackman-Woods

Born 1957

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0247 POLITICIAN

Naomi Long

Born 1971

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0252 POLITICIAN

Gerry Kelly

Born 1953

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0254 POLITICIAN

Mike Nesbitt

Born 1957

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0269 POLITICIAN

Sir Robert Kingsmill, 1st Baronet

1730 - 1805

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0279 POLITICIAN

Eirene White, Baroness White

1909 - 1999

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0286 POLITICIAN

May Blood, Baroness Blood

Born 1938

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0312 POLITICIAN

Kieran Doherty (hunger striker)

1955 - 1981

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0313 POLITICIAN

Frederick C. Alderdice

1872 - 1936

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0327 POLITICIAN

Joseph Connolly (Irish politician)

1885 - 1961

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0334 POLITICIAN

Pat Sheehan (Irish republican)

Born 1958

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0352 POLITICIAN

John Kelly (Sinn Féin politician)

1936 - 2007

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0355 POLITICIAN

Arlene McCarthy

Born 1960

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0365 POLITICIAN

Eileen Paisley, Baroness Paisley of St George's

Born 1931

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0366 POLITICIAN

John M. C. Smith

1853 - 1923

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0372 POLITICIAN

Denis Donaldson

1950 - 2006

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0380 POLITICIAN

Máirtín Ó Muilleoir

Born 1959

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0395 POLITICIAN

Nuala Ahern

Born 1949

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0401 POLITICIAN

Oliver Napier

1935 - 2011

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0404 POLITICIAN

Sammy Wilson (politician)

Born 1953

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0407 POLITICIAN

Billy McKee

1921 - 2019

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0410 POLITICIAN

John Cushnahan

Born 1948

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0421 POLITICIAN

Carál Ní Chuilín

Born 1964

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0424 POLITICIAN

Joseph Devlin

1871 - 1934

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0440 POLITICIAN

Robert McCartney (Northern Irish politician)

Born 1936

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0447 POLITICIAN

Gerald Bartley

1898 - 1974

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0450 POLITICIAN

Denis McCullough

1883 - 1968

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0462 POLITICIAN

Margaret Guilfoyle

1926 - 2020

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0468 POLITICIAN

Paul Wheelhouse

Born 1970

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0474 POLITICIAN

W. Godfrey Hunter

1841 - 1917

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0479 POLITICIAN

Séamus Robinson (Irish republican)

1890 - 1961

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0482 POLITICIAN

Cecil Walker

1924 - 2007

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0489 POLITICIAN

Paddy Devlin

1925 - 1999

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0490 POLITICIAN

Wallace Browne, Baron Browne of Belmont

Born 1947

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0496 POLITICIAN

Jennifer McCann

Born 1960

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0497 POLITICIAN

Brian White (British politician)

1957 - 2016

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0499 POLITICIAN

Gearóid Ó Cuinneagáin

1910 - 1991

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0504 POLITICIAN

William Magennis

1867 - 1946

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0505 POLITICIAN

Niall Ó Donnghaile

Born 1985

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0510 POLITICIAN

Alex Attwood

Born 1959

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0520 POLITICIAN

John H. Graham

1835 - 1895

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0525 POLITICIAN

Danny Kinahan

Born 1958

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0529 POLITICIAN

Martin McAleese

Born 1951

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0535 POLITICIAN

William Smith (loyalist)

1954 - 2016

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0538 POLITICIAN

Joseph Biggar

1828 - 1890

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0551 POLITICIAN

Máiría Cahill

Born 1981

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0558 POLITICIAN

Sammy Duddy

1945 - 2007

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0560 POLITICIAN

Nelson McCausland

Born 1951

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0564 POLITICIAN

Fra McCann

Born 1953

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0570 POLITICIAN

Martin Smyth

Born 1931

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0576 POLITICIAN

Gerry Carroll

Born 1987

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0596 POLITICIAN

Nichola Mallon

Born 1979

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0606 POLITICIAN

Billy McMillen

1927 - 1975

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0616 POLITICIAN

Roy Bradford

1921 - 1998

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0623 POLITICIAN

Margaret Daly

Born 1938

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0638 POLITICIAN

Rafton Pounder

1933 - 1991

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0639 POLITICIAN

Séanna Breathnach

Born 1957

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0640 POLITICIAN

Herbert Dixon, 1st Baron Glentoran

1880 - 1950

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0650 POLITICIAN

Jackie McMullan

Born 1955

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0653 POLITICIAN

Dermot Nesbitt

Born 1947

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0657 POLITICIAN

Sammy Smyth (loyalist)

1929 - 1976

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0663 POLITICIAN

Joe Hendron

Born 1932

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0671 POLITICIAN

Robin Newton

Born 1945

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0681 POLITICIAN

Billy Hutchinson

Born 1955

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0684 POLITICIAN

Martin Meehan (Irish republican)

1945 - 2007

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0691 POLITICIAN

Alban Maginness

Born 1950

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0693 POLITICIAN

Herbert Kirk

1912 - 2006

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0695 POLITICIAN

Andy Tyrie

Born 1940

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0696 POLITICIAN

Michael Savage (politician)

Born 1960

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0700 POLITICIAN

Brian McConnell, Baron McConnell

1922 - 2000

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0716 POLITICIAN

Chris Lyttle

Born 1981

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0723 POLITICIAN

Geraldine Smith

Born 1961

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0729 POLITICIAN

Charles Harding Smith

1931 - 1997

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0731 POLITICIAN

Des O'Hagan

1934 - 2015

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0734 POLITICIAN

Jonathan Bell (politician)

Born 1970

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0749 POLITICIAN

Thomas Moles

1871 - 1937

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0768 POLITICIAN

Michelle McIlveen

Born 1971

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0778 POLITICIAN

Elizabeth Weir

Born 1948

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0782 POLITICIAN

Dawn Purvis

Born 1966

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0784 POLITICIAN

Mervyn Storey

Born 1964

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0788 POLITICIAN

Andy Thompson (Canadian politician)

1924 - 2016

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0791 POLITICIAN

Thomas Sinclair (politician)

1857 - 1940

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0799 POLITICIAN

Jim Rodgers (politician)

Born 1950

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0801 POLITICIAN

Robin Glendinning

Born 1938

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0803 POLITICIAN

Betty Sinclair

1910 - 1981

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0806 POLITICIAN

Christopher Stalford

Born 1983

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0817 POLITICIAN

Dawson Bates

1876 - 1949

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0819 POLITICIAN

Henry Barniville

1887 - 1960

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0831 POLITICIAN

Cedric Wilson

Born 1948

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0846 POLITICIAN

James Patrick Gardner

1883 - 1937

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0864 POLITICIAN

Thomas Loftus Cole

1877 - 1961

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0868 POLITICIAN

John White (loyalist)

Born 1950

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0871 POLITICIAN

Andy Allen (politician)

Born 1988

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0877 POLITICIAN

Norman Boyd

Born 1961

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0881 POLITICIAN

Alastair Ross

Born 1981

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0890 POLITICIAN

Judith Cochrane

Born 1975

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0896 POLITICIAN

Clare Bailey

Born 1970

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0900 POLITICIAN

Joanne Bunting

Born 1974

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0907 POLITICIAN

Rosie McCorley

Born 1957

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0924 POLITICIAN

Jane Morrice

Born 1954

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0937 POLITICIAN

Patricia Lewsley

Born 1957

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0949 POLITICIAN

Laura Smyth

Born 1976

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0954 POLITICIAN

Alan Chambers (Northern Ireland politician)

Born 1947

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0958 POLITICIAN

Con Lehane (Irish republican)

1911 - 1983

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0959 POLITICIAN

Sammy Douglas

Born 1953

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0960 POLITICIAN

Ken Gibson (loyalist)

-

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0968 POLITICIAN

Davy Hyland

Born 1955

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0970 POLITICIAN

Madge Davison

1950 - 1991

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0975 POLITICIAN

Hugh Smyth

1941 - 2014

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0979 POLITICIAN

Michael Copeland (politician)

Born 1954

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0982 POLITICIAN

David Sloan (politician)

Born 1949

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0983 POLITICIAN

George Campbell (Australian politician)

Born 1943

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1008 POLITICIAN

Billy Bell (politician)

Born 1935

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1009 POLITICIAN

William Humphrey (Northern Ireland politician)

Born 1967

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1023 POLITICIAN

Ken Robinson (Northern Ireland politician)

Born 1942

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1061 POLITICIAN

Peter McColl

Born 1980

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1094 POLITICIAN

Patrick Conlon (politician)

Born 1959

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1096 POLITICIAN

John Donovan (Irish politician)

1878 - 1922

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1126 POLITICIAN

Robert Trimble (politician)

1824 - 1899

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1141 POLITICIAN

Brian Kingston

Born 1965

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1147 POLITICIAN

Alfred Allen (Australian politician)

1839 - 1917

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1156 POLITICIAN

Hugh Langwell

1860 - 1933

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1158 POLITICIAN

Arder Carson

Born 1960

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1162 POLITICIAN

Tom Hamilton (politician)

Born 1954

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1164 POLITICIAN

Bob Stoker

-

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1176 POLITICIAN

Joshua Spencer Thompson

1828 - 1880

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1182 POLITICIAN

John Kyle (Northern Ireland politician)

Born 1951

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1196 POLITICIAN

Mark Robinson (Northern Ireland politician)

Born 1959

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1197 POLITICIAN

Lloyd Hall-Thompson

1920 - 1992

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1230 POLITICIAN

Patrick McCarthy (politician)

-

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1234 POLITICIAN

William Johnston Allen

1839 - 1915

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1238 POLITICIAN

David Browne (politician)

-

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1265 POLITICIAN

Adam Brown Crosby

1856 - 1921

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1276 POLITICIAN

James Henderson (Irish politician)

1846 - 1924

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1299 POLITICIAN

John Lyle Robinson

1890 - 1953

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1312 POLITICIAN

William Rea (politician)

1816 - 1881

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1318 POLITICIAN

William Christie (Ulster politician)

1913 - 2008

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1379 POLITICIAN

Harman Tarrant

1844 - 1900

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1381 POLITICIAN

William Law (Canadian politician)

1833 - 1901

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