# List of Freemen of the City of Liverpool

The title of Freedom of the City is an honorary title granted by a city or corporation. It is granted to individuals to recognise exceptional services, usually to the city, or occasionally to the nation. Since the enactment of the Honorary Freedom of Boroughs Act 1885, councils of boroughs and cities in England and Wales have been permitted to resolve to admit "persons of distinction" to be honorary freemen. This list is based on that published by the Liverpool City Council. The Honour can also be awarded to Military Units or other Uniformed Services. when done this is referred to as the "Freedom of Entry".
| Name | Dates | Appointed | Notes |
| Lieutenant General Sir Andrew Clarke | 1824–1902 | 7 July 1886 | Military engineer, then colonial official who became Governor of the Straits Settlements; earlier he helped to stabilise the dam at Lake Vyrnwy. |
| Sir Andrew Barclay Walker | 1824–93 | 9 November 1889 | Developer of breweries, local politician, benefactor, and founder of the Walker Art Gallery. |
| William Cliff | | 7 January 1891 | Liverpool merchant who paid for the building of the Home for Ancient Mariners. |
| William Rathbone MP | 1819–1902 | 3 June 1891 | Liverpool merchant who worked to improve the nursing services in the city, and helped to found Liverpool University; he was MP for the Liverpool constituency. |
| Henry Tate | 1819–99 | 3 June 1891 | Sugar refiner in Liverpool, founder of the Tate Gallery, and benefactor of Liverpool University. |
| William Ewart Gladstone MP | 1809–98 | 5 October 1892 | Politician, born in Liverpool, who was Prime Minister four times. |
| Samuel Greg Rathbone | 1823–1903 | 14 February 1894 | Merchant who established considerable trade between Britain and China. Long time member of the city council and promoter of elementary education. |
| Thomas Hughes | c1838–1923 | 27 October 1897 | Mayor of Liverpool 1889–1890 and Lord Mayor 1896–1897. Took a prominent part in securing the extension of the city boundaries in 1895. As a magistrate worked for the reform of the licensing of public houses. Later knighted. |
| John Brancker | c1818–1903 | 17 January 1900 | Businessman and banker, chairman of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board |
| Benn Wolfe Levy | | 24 April 1901 | Born in New South Wales, established the David Lewis Trust for the benefit of the working classes of Liverpool and Manchester. |
| Henry Yates Thompson | 1838–1928 | 24 April 1901 | Born in Liverpool, a collector of illuminated manuscripts, proprietor of the Pall Mall Gazette, and benefactor. |
| Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Earl Roberts | 1832–1914 | 24 April 1901 | Army officer in charge of British troops in the Second Boer War. |
| Sir William Bower Forwood | 1840–1928 | 4 June 1902 | Merchant, ship owner and politician; involved in financing the building of Liverpool Cathedral. First chairman of the Liverpool Overhead Railway. |
| Frederick Arthur Stanley, Earl of Derby | 1841–1908 | 3 February 1904 | Politician and Governor General of Canada. |
| Robert Durning Holt | 1832–1908 | 3 February 1904 | Liverpool's first Lord Mayor. |
| Andrew Carnegie | 1835–1919 | 3 August 1911 | Steelmaker and philanthropist who founded many free public libraries. |
| Robert Gladstone | 1833–1919 | 3 August 1911 | Merchant who gave his name to Gladstone Dock: chairman of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, and involved in the founding of Liverpool University and the planning of Liverpool Cathedral. |
| Edward George Villiers Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby | 1865–1948 | 3 July 1912 | Politician who twice became Secretary of State for War and was the British Ambassador to France from 1918 to 1920. |
| William Morris Hughes | 1862–1952 | 29 March 1916 | Prime Minister of Australia 1915–1923 |
| Sir William Benjamin Bowring | 1837–1916 | 6 September 1916 | Senior partner in a shipping firm, and local politician who gave the Roby Hall estate to the city; it is now known as Bowring Park, Knowsley. He married Isabel Maclean Jarvis, who was sympathetic to the suffering and needy among the poor of Liverpool. |
| Sir Charles Petrie | | 6 June 1917 | Chairman of the Tramways Committee. |
| Admiral Sir David Beatty | 1871–1936 | 4 December 1918 | Admiral in the First World War and later First Sea Lord. |
| Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig | 1861–1928 | 4 December 1918 | Commander of the British Expeditionary Force in the First World War. |
| John Rankin | | 7 December 1921 | An early benefactor of what was to become the University of Liverpool. |
| Sir Archibald Tutton Salvidge | 1863–1928 | 2 September 1925 | Political organiser, once described as 'the king of Liverpool'. |
| Sir Thomas White | | 24 September 1934 | Chairman of the Joint Tunnel Committee who developed the Queensway Tunnel. |
| Sir James Sexton | 1856–1938 | 24 September 1934 | Trade unionist who was head of the National Union of Dock Labour in Liverpool and a founder member of the Independent Labour Party. |
| Sir Frederick Charles Bowring | 1856–1936 | 24 September 1934 | Chairman of C T Bowring & Co., merchants and shipowners. Lord Mayor of Liverpool 1925–1927. |
| Frederick Marquis, Lord Woolton | 1883–1964 | 1 May 1946 | Businessman and politician who was involved in the management of Lewis's department store, was Minister of Food in the Second World War, and later Chairman of the Conservative Party. |
| Admiral Sir Max Kennedy Horton | 1883–1951 | 1 May 1946 | Submarine commander in the First World War and commander-in-chief of the Western Approaches in the Second World War. |
| Alfred Earnest Shennan | 1887–1959 | 1 May 1946 | Architect who designed many of Liverpool's art deco cinemas. |
| Sir Charles Sydney Jones | 1872–1947 | 1 May 1946 | Partner in Alfred Holt & Co., benefactor of Liverpool University and Lord Mayor of Liverpool. |
| Lord Cohen of Birkenhead | 1900–1977 | 30 April 1970 | Birkenhead-born doctor who became the senior physician at Liverpool Royal Infirmary, Professor of Medicine at Liverpool University, and served in other major positions in the medical profession. |
| Major Sir Arthur Harold Bibby | 1889–1986 | 30 April 1970 | A partner in the Bibby Line and the first Bibby baronet. |
| Sir Joseph Jackson Cleary | 1902–1993 | 30 April 1970 | Politician who was Labour MP for the Liverpool Wavertree constituency and later Lord Mayor of Liverpool. |
| Sir Alan Cecil Tod | 1887–1970 | 30 April 1970 | Chairman of the Liverpool Cathedral Executive Committee who helped to raise money towards its building. |
| Elizabeth Margaret Braddock MP | 1899–1970 | 30 April 1970 | Known as "Bessie" Braddock, a trade union activist and Labour MP for the Liverpool Exchange constituency. |
| Sir John Moores | 1896–1993 | 30 April 1970 | Businessman and philanthropist who established Littlewoods Football pools and Littlewoods mail-order business. Liverpool John Moores University is named after him. |
| Robert Paisley | 1919–1996 | 23 November 1983 | Better known as Bob Paisley; player for Liverpool F.C., then captain, and later manager and director of the club. |
| John Lennon | 1940–1980 | 7 March 1984 | Musician, composer, and political activist; member of The Beatles. |
| George Harrison | 1943–2001 | 7 March 1984 | Musician and composer; member of The Beatles. |
| Paul McCartney | 1942 – | 7 March 1984 | Musician, composer and animal rights activist; member of The Beatles. |
| Richard Starkey | 1940 – | 7 March 1984 | Better known as Ringo Starr, drummer of The Beatles. |
| Eric Heffer MP | 1922–1991 | 27 March 1991 | Left-wing politician, president of the Liverpool Trades Council, later MP for the Liverpool Walton constituency. |
| President Mandela | 1918 –2013 | 6 July 1994 | Anti-apartheid activist who became the first black President of South Africa. |
| David Sheppard, Bishop of Liverpool | 1929–2005 | 24 August 1994 | International cricketer who became Bishop of Liverpool. Worked closely with Archbishop Derek Worlock. |
| Derek Worlock, Archbishop of Liverpool | 1920–1996 | 24 August 1994 | Bishop of Portsmouth, then Archbishop of Liverpool. Worked closely with Bishop David Sheppard. |
| Roy Castle | 1932–1994 | 24 August 1994 | Entertainer and charity worker; the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation is named after him. |
| Ken Dodd | 1927 – 2018 | 31 January 2001 | Liverpool comedian, actor, singer, composer, entertainer, and charity worker. |
| Adrian Henri | 1932–2000 | 31 January 2001 | Birkenhead-born poet and painter; one of the Liverpool poets. |
| Roger McGough | 1937 – | 31 January 2001 | Liverpool-born poet; one of the Liverpool poets. |
| Brian Patten | 1946 – | 31 January 2001 | Liverpool-born poet and author of children's books; one of the Liverpool poets. |
| Terry Leahy | 1956 – | 31 January 2001 | Businessman born in Liverpool who became the chief executive of Tesco. |
| Simon Weston | 1961 – | 31 January 2001 | British soldier injured in the Falklands War who later became recognised for his charity work. |
| Professor Rex Makin | 1925–2017 | 11 June 2003 | Liverpool solicitor who has been involved in high profile and controversial cases. |
| Gerry Marsden | 1942 – 2021 | 28 January 2009 | Musician; onetime leader of Gerry & the Pacemakers |
| Norah Button | | 28 January 2009 | Principal of the Liverpool Theatre School |
| Professor Peter Toyne | 1939– | 3 March 2010 | First Vice-Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University |
| Stephen Yip | | 18 January 2012 | Founder of the children's charity Kind. |
| Lord Heseltine | 1933– | 13 March 2012 | President of the Board of Trade (nicknamed "Minister for Merseyside") for helping to rebuild the city after the 1981 Toxteth riots. |
| Wally Brown | | 7 November 2012 | Former principal of Liverpool Community College; mediator in the 1981 Toxteth riots. |
| 97 Hillsborough victims | | 22 September 2016 | All those who died in the Hillsborough disaster of 1989. |
| Bishop James Jones | 1948– | 19 January 2017 | Chairman of the Hillsborough Independent Panel. |
| Tony McGann | | 1 July 2017 | Chairman of the Eldonians Community Based Housing Association. |
| BBC Radio Merseyside | 1968- | 15 March 2018 | Local radio |
| Phil Redmond | 1949– | 2 November 2018 | Television producer and writer |
| Thomas Williams | 1948– | 30 September 2021 | Auxiliary Bishop of Liverpool. |
| James Stanley McGovern | 1949– | 19 March 2022 | English Screenwriter and Producer. |
| Jürgen Klopp | 1967– | 2 November 2022 | German football manager of Liverpool F.C. |
| Sue Johnston | 1943– | 19 June 2024 | English Actress |