53.4668° N, 2.2333° W

MANCHESTER

Most Famous People Born in Manchester, United Kingdom

Notable people
1,751
Peak decade
1960s
Median birth year
1950
Most distinctive
Boxer 3.3×

The first industrial city in the world, and still the one the British music press writes about more than any other. More than a quarter of Manchester's notables are footballers, and the distinctive shelves after that are boxers and actors — the legacy of the Salford and Wythenshawe boxing clubs and a stage tradition that has fed Coronation Street for sixty years. Emmeline Pankhurst, the Pankhurst daughters, David Lloyd George, and the Manchester University labs that built the world's first stored-program computer all belong to this bench too.

Through the Decades

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

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1960s with 202 notable births.

What Manchester Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Football is Manchester's biggest profession — 25% of all notables (437).

Manchester over-indexes on boxer3.3× the global rate.

Manchester under-produces politician — only 0.4× the global rate.

  1. Football437
  2. Actor173
  3. Politician86
  4. Writer63
  5. Singer51
  6. Painter42
  7. Player41
  8. Music35
  1. Boxer233.3×
  2. Football4372.3×
  3. Actor1731.9×
  1. Politician860.4×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

15001550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Music
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Politics & Law
  • Other
All1,751
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Showing 14 of 1,751 notable people

0039 WRITER

William Harrison Ainsworth

1805 - 1882

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0402 LAWYER

Samuel Harrison

1802 - 1867

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0502 AUTHOR

William Rathbone Greg

1809 - 1881

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0578 MUSIC

Alfred Julius Becher

1803 - 1848

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0866 PAINTER

William Bradley (painter)

1801 - 1857

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0908 ACTOR

Mary Warner

1804 - 1854

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0935 PAINTER

Henry Liverseege

1802 - 1832

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0955 POET

Charles Swain (poet)

1801 - 1874

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0970 PAINTER

William Knight Keeling

1807 - 1886

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1051 PAINTER

Frank Stone (painter)

1800 - 1859

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1092 ENGRAVER

James Stephenson (engraver)

1808 - 1886

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1177 WRITER

Mary Hennell

1802 - 1843

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1366 SURVEYOR

James Sprent

1808 - 1863

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1515 INDUSTRIALIST

William McConnel

1809 - 1902

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