52.4791° N, 1.9017° W

BIRMINGHAM

Most Famous People Born in Birmingham, United Kingdom

Notable people
1,855
Peak decade
1960s
Median birth year
1945
Most distinctive
Cricket 4.2×

England's second city, and the engine room of the Industrial Revolution. Birmingham's distinctive professions are cricketers, boxers, footballers, and musicians — the last because the city produced an outsized share of the British heavy-metal scene, from Black Sabbath (Ozzy, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward) through Judas Priest and ELO. Matthew Boulton, Francis Galton, and Neville Chamberlain all belong to the 19th-century Midlands establishment that built the place.

Through the Decades

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

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1960s with 216 notable births.

What Birmingham Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Football is Birmingham's biggest profession — 25% of all notables (467).

Birmingham over-indexes on cricket4.2× the global rate.

Birmingham under-produces politician — only 0.3× the global rate.

  1. Football467
  2. Actor117
  3. Cricket99
  4. Politician73
  5. Painter59
  6. Writer57
  7. Singer46
  8. Player46
  1. Cricket994.2×
  2. Boxer263.5×
  3. Football4672.3×
  4. Music431.6×
  1. Politician730.3×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

15001550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Writing
  • Music
  • Art & Design
  • Science
  • Other
All1,855
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Showing 27 of 1,855 notable people

0002 MATHEMATICIAN

Francis Galton

1822 - 1911

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0067 THEOLOGIAN

Brooke Foss Westcott

1825 - 1901

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0085 PRIEST

Edward White Benson

1829 - 1896

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0134 ARCHITECT

Benjamin Mountfort

1825 - 1898

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0178 GUILTY

Edward Oxford

1822 - 1900

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0193 BOTANIST

Charles Walter De Vis

1829 - 1915

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0216 JUDGE

Alfred Wills

1828 - 1912

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0267 FEMINIST

Bessie Rayner Parkes

1829 - 1925

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0423 LITERARY

Clement Mansfield Ingleby

1823 - 1886

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0551 ARCHITECT

William Tutin Thomas

1829 - 1892

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0658 POLITICIAN

William Jay Smith (Tennessee politician)

1823 - 1913

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0672 PAINTER

Harry John Johnson

1826 - 1884

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0688 PAINTER

Samuel Henry Baker

1824 - 1909

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0755 CONDUCTOR

Alfred Mellon

1820 - 1867

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0831 ENGINEER

William Bragge

1823 - 1884

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0865 JOURNALIST

George Linnaeus Banks

1821 - 1881

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0901 ARCHITECT

Allen Edward Everitt

1824 - 1882

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0907 JOURNALIST

John Alfred Langford

1823 - 1903

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0915 NOVELIST

Emma Jane Guyton

1825 - 1887

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0995 POLITICIAN

Arthur Blyth

1823 - 1890

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1215 WORKER

Caroline Emily Clark

1825 - 1911

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1299 WRITER

Julia Goddard

1825 - 1896

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1329 HYMNWRITER

Henry Twells

1823 - 1900

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1338 POLITICIAN

Neville Blyth

1825 - 1890

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1720 TAILOR

Benjamin Nash

1829 - 1890

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1723 POLITICIAN

Robert Alfred Tarlton

1828 - 1918

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1810 WRITER

Jane Bragg Pitman

1825 - 1877

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