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 1940s Clear ×
Nick Mason
Born 1944
Steve Winwood
Born 1948
Geezer Butler
Born 1949
Bill Ward (musician)
Born 1948
John Curry
1949 - 1994
Martin Shaw
Born 1945
Kay Parker
Born 1944
Michael Ruse
Born 1940
Martin Barre
Born 1946
John Shrapnel
1942 - 2020
Bev Bevan
Born 1944
Lindsey Davis
Born 1949
David Munrow
1942 - 1976
Mike Pinder
Born 1941
Geoff Nicholls
1948 - 2017
John McEnery
1943 - 2019
John Lodge (musician)
Born 1945
Chris Wood (rock musician)
1944 - 1983
Clare Short
Born 1946
Barriemore Barlow
Born 1949
Rosalind Ayres
Born 1946
John Rostill
1942 - 1973
Muff Winwood
Born 1943
Robert Kilroy-Silk
Born 1942
Daniel Boone (singer)
Born 1942
Carl Wayne
1943 - 2004
David Edgar (playwright)
Born 1948
Richard Tandy
Born 1948
John Nathan-Turner
1947 - 2002
Guy Evans
Born 1947
Simon Jenkins
Born 1943
John Carter (musician)
Born 1942
Peter Watson (intellectual historian)
Born 1943
Michael Bennett (cyclist)
Born 1949
Clint Warwick
1940 - 2004
Ken Hodge
Born 1944
Alan Moore (drummer)
Born 1947
Ian Lavender
Born 1946
Ian Stewart (runner)
Born 1949
John Fitzpatrick (racing driver)
Born 1943
Mike Kellie
1947 - 2017
Tony Hey
Born 1946
Ian Emes
Born 1949
Eric Priest
Born 1943
Graham Webb
1944 - 2017
Paul Blake (actor)
Born 1948
Marjorie Yates
Born 1941
Jon Gerrard
Born 1947
Cilla McQueen
Born 1949
Bryan Turner (sociologist)
Born 1945
Johnnie Walker (DJ)
Born 1945
Bernard Ford
Born 1947
Keith Baker (musician)
Born 1948
Robin Nedwell
1946 - 1999
Anthony Jackson (actor)
1944 - 2006
Way Bandy
1941 - 1986
Tom Butler (bishop)
Born 1940
Graham Miles
1941 - 2014
Polly Brown
Born 1947
David Scott-Morgan
Born 1942
Michael Staniforth
1942 - 1987
Peter J. Barnes (respiratory scientist)
Born 1946
Roy Holder
Born 1946
Trevor Burton
Born 1949
Ken Lewis (songwriter)
1942 - 2015
Richard Morris (archaeologist)
Born 1947
Paul Morgan (engineer)
1948 - 2001
Fred Dinenage
Born 1942
John Mogg, Baron Mogg
Born 1943
Ace Kefford
Born 1946
Michael Gerzon
1945 - 1996
Norman Garwood
1946 - 2019
Margaret Benyon
1940 - 2016
Kim Brown (musician)
1945 - 2011
Geoffrey Filkin, Baron Filkin
Born 1944
Richard Cohen (fencer)
Born 1947
Brian Griffin (photographe)
Born 1948
Leon Coleman
Born 1944
Frank Farrell (musician)
1947 - 1997
Nigel Horton
Born 1948
Janet Sawbridge
Born 1947
Keith O'Nions
Born 1944
John Goldingay
Born 1942
John Croxall
Born 1946
Rick Price (bassist)
Born 1944
Sally Davies (doctor)
Born 1949
Malcolm Cannon
Born 1944
Barry Jackson (athlete)
Born 1941
Terry Breverton
Born 1946
Paul Whetnall
1947 - 2014
Carol McNicoll
Born 1943
Edward Cowie
Born 1943
Bob Woffinden
1948 - 2018
Anthony Slide
Born 1944
Simon Bates
Born 1946
Bob Wilson (footballer, born 1943)
1943 - 2020
Rodney Newton
Born 1945
Andrew MacKay
Born 1949
Paul Henry (actor)
Born 1947
Colette Whiten
Born 1945
William Boughton
Born 1948
Richard B. Flavell
Born 1943
Alan Deakin
1941 - 2018
Mick Brown (angler)
Born 1946
Robert Metcalf (Liedermacher)
Born 1947
Jackie Lawrence (politician)
Born 1948
Allan Rushmer
Born 1944
Dave Cropper
1945 - 2016
Geoff Turton
Born 1944
Trevor Bull
1944 - 2009
Keith Fielding
Born 1949
Jacki Piper
Born 1948
Jack Deverell
Born 1945
Elizabeth Anionwu
Born 1947
Derek Harrison (cyclist)
1944 - 2018
Roger Tonge
1946 - 1981
Don Maclean
Born 1944
William Hoyland
1943 - 2017
Peter Weston
1944 - 2017
Peter Killworth
1946 - 2008
Neil French
Born 1944
Alison Chadwick-Onyszkiewicz
1942 - 1978
David Willey (physicist)
Born 1947
Colin Maitland
Born 1942
Colin Price
Born 1943
Derek Lister
Born 1948
Bob Harriott
Born 1947
Dave Robinson (footballer, born 1948)
1948 - 2016
John Daniels (cricketer)
Born 1942
George Joffé
Born 1940
Laurie Calloway
Born 1945
John Rickard (academic)
Born 1945
Graham Short
Born 1946
Garry Pendrey
Born 1949
Graham Allner
Born 1949
John Chambers (footballer)
Born 1949
Lew Chatterley
Born 1945
Elbert Allen Drummond
1943 - 2012
Peter Wolf (Kameramann)
Born 1945
Dave Latchford
Born 1949
Mel Sutton
Born 1946
J. P. Wearing
Born 1945
Chris Ward (Canadian politician)
Born 1949
Graham Knight (broadcaster)
1949 - 2009
Bobby Gough
Born 1949
Lynne Evans
Born 1948
Derek Trevis
1942 - 2000
Brian Glynn (cricketer)
1940 - 2007
Mike Tindall (footballer)
1941 - 2020
Gwynfor Benson
Born 1941
Laurie Mansfield
Born 1943
Bob Barton
Born 1947
Mike Kenning
Born 1940
Chris Bullivant
Born 1947
John Yeackle
1940 - 2011
Mick Cartwright
Born 1946
Peter Mountford (cricketer)
Born 1940
Roger Jones (composer)
Born 1948
John Hart (speedway rider)
Born 1941
Barry Ansell
1947 - 2018
John Taylor (English footballer, born 1949)
Born 1949
Mick Hopkins
Born 1946
Paul Gibbs (rugby union)
Born 1941
Keith Whiley
Born 1948
Vic Cockcroft
Born 1941