53.9542° N, 1.0834° W

YORK

Most Famous People Born in York, United Kingdom

Notable people
713
Peak decade
1960s
Median birth year
1924
Most distinctive
Novelist 2.8×

A cathedral city whose deep bench reads like a thirteen-century ledger, from Alcuin onward: a thick Priest cohort sitting beside an unusually literary Novelist and Mathematician showing, with a Cricket bench that over-indexes in the way only a certain kind of English county town manages. It is the sort of place where the medieval and the Victorian lecture hall somehow share the same page.

Through the Decades

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

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1960s with 59 notable births.

What York Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Football is York's biggest profession — 12% of all notables (89).

York over-indexes on novelist2.8× the global rate.

York under-produces singer — only 0.6× the global rate.

  1. Football89
  2. Politician63
  3. Actor46
  4. Player37
  5. Writer30
  6. Cricket22
  7. Priest20
  8. Painter18
  1. Novelist82.8×
  2. Player372.7×
  3. Botanist72.4×
  4. Cricket222.4×
  5. Mathematician82.3×
  6. Officer102.1×
  7. Diplomat81.9×
  8. Priest201.9×
  1. Singer90.6×

Profession Mix Over Time

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

15001550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Politics & Law
  • Writing
  • Science
  • Film & TV
  • Art & Design
  • Other
All713
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Showing 7 of 713 notable people

0033 POLITICIAN

Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds

1632 - 1712

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0035 POLITICIAN

George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax

1633 - 1695

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0086 POET

Michael Wigglesworth

1631 - 1705

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0217 RELIGIOUS

Maurus Corker

1636 - 1715

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0223 WITCH

Elizabeth Howe

1635 - 1692

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0511 SOLDIER

Daniel Brodhead I

1631 - 1667

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0659 SETTLER

Richard Holmes (Connecticut settler)

1637 - 1704

Preview