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
Politician73
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Showing 73 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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0061 POLITICIAN

David Willetts

Born 1956

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0100 POLITICIAN

Clare Short

Born 1946

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0136 POLITICIAN

Robert Kilroy-Silk

Born 1942

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0212 POLITICIAN

Colin Jordan

1923 - 2009

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0243 POLITICIAN

Steve Webb

Born 1965

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0273 POLITICIAN

Digby Jones, Baron Jones of Birmingham

Born 1955

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0346 POLITICIAN

John Hemming (politician)

Born 1960

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0349 POLITICIAN

Lee Mantle

1851 - 1934

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0362 POLITICIAN

John Taylor, Baron Taylor of Warwick

Born 1952

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0364 POLITICIAN

Will Thorne

1857 - 1946

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0371 POLITICIAN

Jon Gerrard

Born 1947

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0379 POLITICIAN

Matt Carthy

Born 1977

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0394 POLITICIAN

Denis Howell

1923 - 1998

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0407 POLITICIAN

Keith Bradley, Baron Bradley

Born 1950

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0431 POLITICIAN

Nus Ghani

Born 1972

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0452 POLITICIAN

Jane Davidson

Born 1957

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0461 POLITICIAN

Rob Flello

Born 1966

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0510 POLITICIAN

John Mogg, Baron Mogg

Born 1943

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0522 POLITICIAN

Paul Uppal

Born 1967

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0530 POLITICIAN

Pratap Chitnis, Baron Chitnis

1936 - 2013

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0552 POLITICIAN

Ronald Cartland

1907 - 1940

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0561 POLITICIAN

Geoffrey Filkin, Baron Filkin

Born 1944

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0591 POLITICIAN

Peter Bradley (politician)

Born 1953

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0643 POLITICIAN

Shabana Mahmood

Born 1980

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0645 POLITICIAN

Doris Fisher, Baroness Fisher of Rednal

1919 - 2005

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0658 POLITICIAN

William Jay Smith (Tennessee politician)

1823 - 1913

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0695 POLITICIAN

Jess Phillips

Born 1981

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0716 POLITICIAN

Peter Bennett, 1st Baron Bennett of Edgbaston

1880 - 1957

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0718 POLITICIAN

Ruth Cadbury

Born 1959

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0772 POLITICIAN

Lynne Jones

Born 1951

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0801 POLITICIAN

Preet Gill

Born 1972

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0842 POLITICIAN

Stephanie Peacock (politician)

Born 1986

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0880 POLITICIAN

Andrew MacKay

Born 1949

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0890 POLITICIAN

Eleanor Smith (politician)

-

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0904 POLITICIAN

Julius Elias, 1st Viscount Southwood

1873 - 1946

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0933 POLITICIAN

Mike Foster (Worcester MP)

Born 1963

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0938 POLITICIAN

Eddie Hughes (British politician)

Born 1968

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0978 POLITICIAN

Jackie Lawrence (politician)

Born 1948

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0993 POLITICIAN

Holcombe Ingleby

1854 - 1926

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0995 POLITICIAN

Arthur Blyth

1823 - 1890

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1027 POLITICIAN

Patrick Hall (politician)

Born 1951

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1040 POLITICIAN

John Gunnell

1933 - 2008

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1077 POLITICIAN

Thomas Paterson

1882 - 1952

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1202 POLITICIAN

Cyril Lloyd

1876 - 1963

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1207 POLITICIAN

Tony Dean (Canadian senator)

Born 1953

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1250 POLITICIAN

Bill Anderton

1891 - 1966

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1253 POLITICIAN

Hubert Beaumont (Labour politician)

1883 - 1948

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1266 POLITICIAN

John Hollingworth (politician)

1930 - 2018

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1294 POLITICIAN

Martyn Evans

Born 1953

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1338 POLITICIAN

Neville Blyth

1825 - 1890

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1351 POLITICIAN

Allan Studholme

1846 - 1919

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1386 POLITICIAN

Edgar Allan

1842 - 1905

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1394 POLITICIAN

David Hill (Labour adviser)

-

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1397 POLITICIAN

Cornelius Ham

1837 - 1909

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1440 POLITICIAN

Kenneth Bolton

1907 - 1996

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1450 POLITICIAN

Florence Eshalomi

-

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1495 POLITICIAN

Paul Tilsley

-

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1528 POLITICIAN

Chris Ward (Canadian politician)

Born 1949

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1593 POLITICIAN

Peter Neilson (politician born 1954)

Born 1954

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1629 POLITICIAN

Charles Moffatt Jenkinson

1865 - 1954

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1650 POLITICIAN

Norman Levi

1927 - 2015

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1670 POLITICIAN

James B. Hawkes

1857 - 1936

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1710 POLITICIAN

Edward Corser

1852 - 1928

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1711 POLITICIAN

Thomas Syme Warry

1819 - 1864

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1714 POLITICIAN

Dave Grills

Born 1959

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1723 POLITICIAN

Robert Alfred Tarlton

1828 - 1918

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1728 POLITICIAN

Tony O'Gorman

Born 1958

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1815 POLITICIAN

A. J. McClung

1912 - 2002

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1839 POLITICIAN

Joseph Penzer

1830 - 1905

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1843 POLITICIAN

Freda Westwood

1924 - 2011

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1844 POLITICIAN

Charles F. Cooper (politician)

1852 - 1919

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