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 68 of 1,855 notable people

0001 POLITICIAN

Neville Chamberlain

1869 - 1940

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0009 POLITICIAN

Austen Chamberlain

1863 - 1937

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0097 SURGEON

Henry Tonks

1862 - 1937

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0126 SCIENTIST

Bernard Pyne Grenfell

1869 - 1926

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0174 WRITER

Sepharial

1864 - 1929

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0289 BOXER

Charley Mitchell (boxer)

1861 - 1918

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0409 PAINTER

Arthur Gaskin

1862 - 1928

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0416 PRIEST

George Vale Owen

1869 - 1931

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0516 FOOTBALL

Jack Devey

1866 - 1940

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0519 BIOLOGIST

Thomas Vere Hodgson

1864 - 1926

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0555 SCULPTOR

George William de Saulles

1862 - 1903

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0571 FOOTBALL

Howard Vaughton

1861 - 1937

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0617 THEATRE

Alan Dale (critic)

1861 - 1928

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0630 SINGER

Letty Lind

1861 - 1923

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0654 WORKER

Mary Neal

1860 - 1944

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0655 PAINTER

Henry Payne (artist)

1868 - 1940

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0673 FOOTBALL

Albert Allen

1867 - 1899

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0678 PROFESSOR

Thomas Turner (metallurgist)

1861 - 1951

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0683 JOURNALIST

L. J. Greenberg

1861 - 1931

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0745 BUSINESS

William Adlington Barrow Cadbury

1867 - 1957

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0766 FOOTBALL

Dennis Hodgetts

1863 - 1945

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0794 PARLIAMENT

Ellis Ellis-Griffith

1860 - 1926

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0839 JUDGE

Henry McCardie

1869 - 1933

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0860 ACTOR

Sam Bernard

1863 - 1927

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0909 PRIEST

Beresford Kidd

1864 - 1948

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0944 MAGAZINE

Joseph Finnemore

1860 - 1939

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1023 ART HISTORIAN

Kineton Parkes

1865 - 1938

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1062 FOOTBALL

Frank Mobley

1868 - 1940

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1081 FOOTBALL

Harold Morse

1860 - 1930

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1133 FOOTBALL

Alf Farman

1869 - 1894

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1151 HISTORIAN

Wilmer Cave Wright

1868 - 1951

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1163 ARTIST

Paul Braddon

1864 - 1938

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1184 FOOTBALL

Gershom Cox

1863 - 1940

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1190 ACTOR

Stephen Ewart

1869 - 1953

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1227 MOTORCYCLE

James Lansdowne Norton

1869 - 1925

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1284 FOOTBALL

James Brown (footballer, born 1868)

1868 - 1934

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1289 FOOTBALL

Joe Wilson (footballer, born 1861)

1861 - 1952

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1374 FOOTBALL

Arthur Millard

1869 - 1891

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1380 FOOTBALL

Arthur Turner (footballer, born 1867)

1867 - 1890

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1387 SCULPTOR

Joseph Whitehead (sculptor)

1868 - 1951

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1412 FOOTBALL

Francis Banks

1865 - 1890

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1432 FOOTBALL

Harry Morris (footballer, born 1866)

1866 - 1931

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1473 PLAYER

Patrick Keogh

1867 - 1940

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1499 CHEMIST

Rose Stern

1869 - 1953

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1500 CRICKET

James Rhodes (cricketer)

1866 - 1939

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1510 FOOTBALL

Albert Brown (footballer, born 1862)

1862 - 1930

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1520 CRICKET

Walter Richards (umpire)

1863 - 1917

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1525 CRICKET

Henry Hill (Warwickshire cricketer)

1861 - 1913

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1565 FOOTBALL

Thomas Harrison (footballer)

1867 - 1942

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1578 FOOTBALL

Batty Garvey

1864 - 1932

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1581 FOOTBALL

Oliver Whateley

1861 - 1926

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1601 FOOTBALL

Jack Hughes (footballer)

1866 - 1890

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1602 FOOTBALL

Archibald Barton

1862 - 1889

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1616 FOOTBALL

Eddy Stanley

1860 - 1930

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1629 POLITICIAN

Charles Moffatt Jenkinson

1865 - 1954

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1669 FOOTBALL

Walter Ward (footballer)

1869 - 1890

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1671 CRICKET

Alfred Law (cricketer)

1862 - 1919

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1680 PLAYER

John Rogers (rugby union)

1867 - 1922

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1695 FOOTBALL

Will Devey

1865 - 1935

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1696 FOOTBALL

Harold Oliver (footballer, born 1863)

Born 1863

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1713 FOOTBALL

George Short

1866 - 1895

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1719 FOOTBALL

Harry Devey

1860 - 1924

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1722 FOOTBALL

Albert Evers

1868 - 1890

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1792 FOOTBALL

Ernie Moore

1869 - 1894

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1804 FOOTBALL

Walter Gittins

1865 - 1890

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1811 ORGANBUILDER

Walter James Bird

1863 - 1953

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1825 FOOTBALL

George Smith (footballer, born 1868)

1868 - 1890

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1835 FOOTBALL

Len Curryer

1864 - 1891

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