List of personalities of the city of Birmingham
The following lists include people born and temporarily resident in Birmingham .
Birmingham-born personalities
This list contains people born in Birmingham, listed chronologically by year of birth. It is irrelevant whether or not the people later had their sphere of activity in Birmingham. Many moved away after their birth and became known elsewhere. The list does not claim to be complete.
Until 1850
- Matthew Boulton (1728-1809), engineer
- Mary Ann Yates (1728–1787), actress and dancer
- Francis Asbury (1745-1816), clergyman
- Mary Linwood (1755–1845), artist and school principal
- David Cox (1783–1859), printmaker and painter
- William Lewis (1787–1870), chess player, author and organizer
- John Cadbury (1801-1889), entrepreneur
- George Richards Elkington (1801–1865), founder of electroplating in England
- Henry Burn (1807–1884), painter, draftsman and lithographer
- Henry Noel Humphreys (1810–1879), writer, draftsman, illustrator and numismatist
- Joseph Beete Jukes (1811–1869), geologist
- Louisa Anne Meredith (1812–1895), illustrator and writer
- Alexander Parkes (1813–1890), metallurgist and inventor
- George Jacob Holyoake (1817–1906), writer and agitator
- Francis Galton (1822–1911), naturalist and writer
- Clement Mansfield Ingleby (1823-1886), literary scholar
- Benjamin Mountfort (1825–1898), architect
- Brooke Foss Westcott (1825-1901), theologian
- Edward Burne-Jones (1833–1898), painter
- George Rignold (1839-1912), Australian actor
- Franklin Taylor (1843–1919), pianist and music teacher
1851 to 1900
- Lee Mantle (1851-1934), politician
- Walter Langley (1852-1922), painter
- Amelia Sarah Levetus (1853–1938), art historian, author and involved in popular education
- Edwin Harris (1855–1906), landscape, genre and portrait painter
- Thomas Espin (1858–1934), astronomer
- Howard Vaughton (1861-1937), football player
- Henry Tonks (1862–1937), doctor and painter
- Austen Chamberlain (1863-1937), politician
- Dennis Hodgetts (1863-1945), football player
- John Devey (1866-1940), football player
- Neville Chamberlain (1869-1940), politician
- Bernard Pyne Grenfell (1869–1926), researcher and Egyptologist
- Emma Barton (1872–1938), photographer
- Ernest William Barnes (1874–1953), mathematician and theologian
- Bert Harris (1874-1897), track cyclist
- Bernard Rice (1874 – after 1917), glass painter
- Walter Hyde (1875–1951), opera singer and vocal teacher
- Albert Ketèlbey (1875–1959), composer and conductor
- Warwick Wright (1875-1945), motor boater
- Thomas Hicks (1876–1952), track and field athlete
- Walter Abbott (1877-1941), football player
- Francis William Aston (1877–1945), chemist and physicist
- Alfred Radcliffe-Brown (1881–1955), pioneer of British social anthropology
- Leo Smith (1881–1952), composer, cellist and music teacher
- Sax Rohmer (1883–1959), crime author and esotericist
- Ralph Kirby (1884–1945), football player and coach
- Gordon Lowe (1884–1972), tennis player
- Sir Sidney Solomon Abrahams (1885–1957), long jumper and sprinter
- Edward Bach (1886–1936), doctor
- Randolph Lycett (1886-1935), tennis player
- Clifford Gray (1887–1941), film actor and composer
- Arthur Edwin Hill (1888-1959), water polo player
- Henry Thomas (1888–1963), boxer
- David Bomberg (1890–1957), painter
- Norman Pett (1891-1960), comic book artist
- Robert Dudley Best (1892–1984), designer and lighting manufacturer
- Fay Holden (1893–1973), theater and film actress
- Oscar Deutsch (1893–1941), founder of the Odeon cinemas
- Victor Saville (1895–1979), film director, producer and screenwriter
- Michael Balcon (1896–1977), film producer
- Melville Cooper (1896–1973), theater and film actor
- Robert Saundby (1896–1971), Air Force officer
- Dorothy Howell (1898–1982), composer and pianist
- William Lancaster (1898–1933), pilot and adventurer
- Bernard William Griffin (1899–1956), Archbishop of Westminster
- Charlie Hall (1899-1959), film actor
- Lilian Elkington (1900–1969), composer, pianist and organist
1901 to 1925
- Barbara Cartland (1901-2000), author
- Eric Maschwitz (1901–1969), entertainer, lyricist, author and television producer
- Wal Handley (1902–1941), motorcycle and automobile racer
- Harold John Blackham (1903-2009), humanist
- Alan Napier (1903–1988), theater and film actor
- Herman David (1905–1974), tennis player and official
- Enoch Powell (1912-1998), politician
- Sam Small (1912-1993), football player
- Paul Grice (1913–1988), philosopher
- John Bentley (1916–2009), actor
- Harry Blackmore Whittington (1916-2010), paleontologist
- Laurie Baker (1917-2007), architect
- Hilary Mason (1917-2006), actress
- Skitch Henderson (1918–2005), pianist and conductor
- Gil Merrick (1922-2010), football goalkeeper and coach
- Elizabeth Jolley (1923-2007), writer
- Doug Lishman (1923-1994), football player
- Murray Walker (* 1923), reporter and TV commentator
- Tony Britton (1924–2019), film and stage actor
- David Cox (* 1924), statistician
- Edward Downes (1924–2009), conductor
- Tony Hancock (1924–1968), comedian
- Bob Maitland (1924-2010), racing cyclist
1926 to 1950
- Donald Broadbent (1926-1993), psychologist
- Wilfred George Lambert (1926–2011), ancient orientalist and archaeologist
- Ronnie Ball (1927–1984), jazz pianist
- Kenneth Tynan (1927–1980), theater critic and author
- David Wheeler (1927-2004), computer pioneer
- Ray Foxley (1928–2002), jazz pianist and arranger
- John Bryan Taylor (* 1928), physicist
- James Lester Hogg (1931–2018), English and religious historian
- Garfield Morgan (1931–2009), actor
- Jon Rollason (1931-2016), actor
- Anne Heywood (born 1932), actress
- Anna Quayle (1932–2019), actress
- Stanley Myers (1933–1993), composer
- Graham Tayar (1933–2016), journalist and jazz pianist
- Kenny Baker (1934-2016), actor
- Ken Matthews (1934-2019), walker
- Mike Rawson (1934-2000), middle distance runner
- John Salisbury (born 1934), sprinter
- Tony Garnett (1936-2020), film and television producer and author
- Barrington J. Bayley (1937-2008), science fiction writer
- Pat Roach (1937-2004), wrestler and film actor
- John Salt (born 1937), painter
- Ann Haydon-Jones (born 1938), tennis player
- Barry Jackson (1938-2013), actor
- Patrick Hughes (born 1939), artist
- Peter Phillips (* 1939), pop artist
- John Walker (* 1939), painter and printmaker
- Thomas Frederick Butler (* 1940), Anglican clergyman
- Michael Ruse (* 1940), science philosopher and science historian
- Mike Pinder (born 1941), rock musician
- Daniel Boone (born 1942), singer
- John Carter (* 1942), singer, songwriter and music producer
- Robert Kilroy-Silk (* 1942), television presenter and politician
- David Munrow (1942–1976), musician and music researcher
- John Rostill (1942–1973), musician
- John Shrapnel (1942-2020), theater and film actor
- John Fitzpatrick (* 1943), racing car driver
- John McEnery (1943–2019), actor
- Carl Wayne (1943–2004), singer and actor
- Ken Hodge (born 1944), ice hockey player
- Denny Laine (* 1944), rock musician
- Nick Mason (* 1944), musician
- Kay Parker (* 1944), porn actress
- Graham Webb (1944-2017), racing cyclist
- Chris Wood (1944-1983), rock musician
- Bev Bevan (* 1945), drummer
- Michael Gerzon (1945–1996), mathematician
- Martin Shaw (born 1945), actor
- Johnnie Walker (* 1945), radio presenter and DJ
- Rosalind Ayres (* 1946), theater and film actress
- Martin Barre (* 1946), guitarist
- Clare Short (* 1946), politician and women's rights activist
- Roy Wood (* 1946), songwriter, singer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist
- Bob Barton (* 1947), jazz musician
- Jeff Lynne (* 1947), musician and record producer
- Robert Metcalf (* 1947), children's songwriter
- Dave Pegg (* 1947), folk rock bassist and singer
- Tony Iommi (* 1948), guitarist
- Paul Morgan (1948-2001), engineer
- Ozzy Osbourne (born 1948), rock musician
- Richard Tandy (* 1948), keyboardist
- Bill Ward (born 1948), drummer
- Steve Winwood (born 1948), multi-instrumentalist and singer
- Barriemore Barlow (born 1949), drummer and percussionist
- Geezer Butler (born 1949), bassist
- John Curry (1949–1994), figure skater
- Lindsey Davis (born 1949), writer
- Ian Stewart (born 1949), long-distance runner
- David Ball (1950-2015), guitarist
- Keith Bradley, Baron Bradley (born 1950), politician
- Lindsay Duncan (born 1950), actress
- Rob Guest (1950–2008), stage actor, singer and presenter
- Carl Palmer (born 1950), drummer
- Ted Turner (born 1950), guitarist
1951 to 1975
- Trevor Eve (born 1951), actor
- Bob Latchford (born 1951), football player
- Tony Attwood (* 1952), psychologist
- Ric Sanders (* 1952), folk and fusion fiddler
- Don Paul Fowler (1953–1999), classical philologist
- Patrick McKinney (* 1954), Catholic Bishop of Nottingham
- Magnus Mills (* 1954), writer
- Jonathan Richards (* 1954), regatta sailor
- Tony Miles (1955-2001), chess grandmaster
- Michael Stone (* 1955), militant Protestant extremist
- Richard C. Harrington (1956-2004), Professor
- Sonia Lannaman (* 1956), track and field athlete
- David Willetts (born 1956), politician
- Al Hunter Ashton (1957-2007), actor and screenwriter
- Tony Martin (born 1957), singer
- Adrian Lukis (* 1957), television and film actor
- Toyah Willcox (born 1958), singer and actress
- Ali Campbell (* 1959), reggae musician
- Stephen Duffy (* 1960), songwriter, singer and guitarist
- Simon Huw Jones (* 1960), musician, singer and photographer
- Jocelyn Pook (* 1960), composer and violinist
- Nigel John Taylor (born 1960), musician
- Roger Andrew Taylor (* 1960), drummer
- Mark Billingham (born 1961), author
- Jonathan Coe (born 1961), writer
- Edward Atterton (born 1962), film actor
- Philip Brown (born 1962), track and field athlete
- Joanna Quinn (* 1962), animator and advertising artist
- Blaze Bayley (born 1963), rock musician
- Andy Cleyndert (* 1963), jazz musician
- Gillian Wearing (* 1963), artist
- Lincoln Asquith (born 1964), track and field athlete
- Simon Hale (* 1964), composer and arranger
- Dennis Rollins (* 1964), jazz musician
- Mark Walters (born 1964), football player
- Justin Jones (* 1964), musician and guitarist
- Wilf O'Reilly (* 1964), short tracker
- Theo Travis (* 1964), saxophonist
- Simon Fowler (* 1965), singer and guitarist
- Phylis Smith (born 1965), track and field athlete
- Andrew Tiernan (born 1965), actor
- Julian Argüelles (* 1966), tenor saxophonist and composer
- Mick Harris (* 1967), drummer in the band Napalm Death and co-founder of grindcore
- Kelvin Burt (* 1967), racing driver
- David Busst (* 1967), football player
- Adrian Lester (* 1968), television and theater actor
- Parm Sandhu (* 1968), manager
- Justin K. Broadrick (born 1969), musician
- Mark "Barney" Greenway (* 1969), rock musician
- Richard Hammond (* 1969), radio and television presenter.
- Mike Gayle (born 1970), writer
- Shazia Mirza (* 1972), comedian
- Martin Corry (born 1973), rugby union player
- Dean Sturridge (born 1973), football player
- Kelli Ali (* 1974), singer and guitarist
- Lee Carsley (born 1974), football player
- John Light (* 1974), film, television and theater actor
- Roger Hiorns (* 1975), artist
From 1976
- Ian Ashbee (born 1976), football player
- Orlando le Fleming (* 1976), cricketer and jazz musician
- Adam Rachel (* 1976), soccer goalkeeper
- Matt Carthy (born 1977), politician
- Lee Hendrie (born 1977), football player
- Gavin Mahon (* 1977), football player
- John Oliver (* 1977), comedian, satirist, author, actor and presenter
- The Streets (born 1978), rapper
- Susan Fletcher (* 1979), writer
- Visanthe Shiancoe (born 1980), football player
- Nikeata Thompson (* 1980), dancer, choreographer and actress
- Ruhal Ahmed (* 1981), spent two years in Guantanamo without charge, victim of torture
- Jamelia (* 1981), pop and contemporary R&B singer and songwriter
- Craig Fagan (born 1982), football player
- Mark Lewis-Francis (* 1982), track and field athlete
- Joleon Lescott (* 1982), football player
- Matthew Macklin (* 1982), professional boxer
- Zeshan Rehman (* 1983), football player
- Felicity Jones (born 1983), actress
- Lewis Gobern (* 1985), football player
- Scott Mansell (* 1985), racing driver
- Gabriel Agbonlahor (* 1986), football player
- Daniel Martin (* 1986), racing cyclist
- Luke Moore (* 1986), soccer player
- Isaiah Osbourne (born 1987), football player
- Micah Richards (born 1988), soccer player
- James Vaughan (born 1988), football player
- Sone Aluko (* 1989), soccer player
- Daniel Sturridge (* 1989), football player
- Khalid Saeed Yafai (* 1989), boxer
- Agam Darshi (* before 1990), actress
- Nathan Delfouneso (* 1991), football player
- Elliot Giles (* 1994), track and field athlete
- Demarai Gray (born 1996), football player
Famous residents of Birmingham
This list contains personalities living in Birmingham from time to time, listed chronologically according to the year of birth. The list does not claim to be complete.
- Barbara Cartland - romantic literature writer, step-grandmother of Diana, Princess of Wales
- Arthur Neville Chamberlain - British Prime Minister from 1937 to 1940
- Samuel Johnson - Scholar and Writer
- Nigel Mansell - Formula 1 world champion from 1992
- Thomas Rickman - architect and builder of countless churches in neo-Gothic style
- JRR Tolkien - the author of The Lord of the Rings spent his childhood here
- James Watt - developed the steam engine for series production in Birmingham
- David Lodge - English author of humorous works such as Nice Work; taught at the English Department from 1960 to 1987
- Prince Michael of Kent
- John Goss - writer and biographer of Robert Bage (1728–1801)
- Malala Yousafzai - child rights activist from Pakistan