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.
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 cricket — 4.2× the global rate.
Birmingham under-produces politician — only 0.3× the global rate.
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.
- Sports
- Film & TV
- Writing
- Music
- Art & Design
- Science
- Other
- Filtered to 1900s Clear ×
Barbara Cartland
1901 - 2000
John Wyndham
1903 - 1969
Mona Washbourne
1903 - 1988
Rex Warner
1905 - 1986
Raymond Huntley
1904 - 1990
Cyril Stanley Smith
1903 - 1992
Seton Lloyd
1902 - 1996
Eric Maschwitz
1901 - 1969
Geoffrey Clough Ainsworth
1905 - 1998
Emmy Bridgwater
1906 - 1999
Arthur Wallis Exell
1901 - 1993
Wal Handley
1902 - 1941
H. J. Blackham
1903 - 2009
Sid Field
1904 - 1950
Leslie Perrins
1901 - 1962
Joyce Barbour
1901 - 1977
Minnie Abercrombie
1909 - 1984
Roxbee Cox, Baron Kings Norton
1902 - 1997
Barbara Sleigh
1906 - 1982
Bertram Macdonald
1902 - 1965
Ronald Cartland
1907 - 1940
Anthony E. Pratt
1903 - 1994
Reg Bunn
1905 - 1971
Herman David
1905 - 1974
Edward Musgrave Blaiklock
1903 - 1983
Theodore Tylor
1900 - 1968
Albert Swinden
1901 - 1961
Edward Black (producer)
1900 - 1948
Christopher Evans (theologian)
1909 - 2012
Jack Hood
1902 - 1992
J. S. Mitchell
1909 - 1987
Carlton Wallace
1903 - 1980
Ernie Callaghan
1907 - 1972
Jack Parker (speedway rider)
1905 - 1990
Len Vale-Onslow
1900 - 2004
Francis Carver
1907 - 1986
John Fox (cricketer, born 1904)
1904 - 1961
Francis McLean (engineer)
1904 - 1998
Joe Richardson
1908 - 1977
George Inwood
1905 - 1940
Kenneth Kent (cricketer)
1901 - 1974
Kenneth Bolton
1907 - 1996
Doris Molesworth
1902 - 1976
Edward Hewetson
1902 - 1977
Fred West (footballer, born 1905)
1905 - 1953
Wally Harris (footballer)
1900 - 1933
Henry St John Fancourt
1900 - 2004
Alf Horne
1903 - 1976
Robert Baynton
1900 - 1924
Horace Thompson
1900 - 1922
Edmund King (cricketer, born 1906)
1906 - 1981
Robert Cotton (cricketer)
1909 - 1979
Arnold Jackson (cricketer)
1903 - 1971
Albert Grayland
1900 - 1963
William Roberts (footballer, born 1907)
Born 1907
Fred Corbett (footballer, born 1909)
1909 - 1974
Norman Parker (speedway rider)
1908 - 1999
Frank Bowden (footballer)
1904 - 1934
Bert Perrigo
1903 - 1985
John Cull (footballer)
1900 - 1964
Jack Beacham
1902 - 1982
Bill Pickering (footballer)
1901 - 1971
Arthur Crompton
1903 - 1987
Alf Bishop (footballer, born 1902)
1902 - 1944
Albert Partridge
Born 1901
Frank Glass
1901 - 1988