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 12 of 713 notable people

0021 ASTRONOMER

William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse

1800 - 1867

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0092 BOTANIST

Hewett Watson

1804 - 1881

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0117 ARCHITECT

Joseph Hansom

1803 - 1882

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0149 ECONOMIST

Robert Pashley

1805 - 1859

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0177 POLITICIAN

Edward Douglas-Pennant, 1st Baron Penrhyn

1800 - 1886

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0178 PAINTER

Mary Ellen Best

1809 - 1891

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0233 DIPLOMAT

Thomas Ward, Baron Ward

1809 - 1858

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0286 POLITICIAN

George Okill Stuart Jr.

1807 - 1884

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0288 POLITICIAN

George Leeman

1809 - 1882

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0327 WRITER

Joseph Barnard Davis

1801 - 1881

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0421 CAMPAIGN

Charles Overton

1805 - 1889

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0542 BUSINESS

Edward Boustead

1800 - 1888

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