# List of people from Yorkshire

This is a list of people from Yorkshire. Yorkshire is the largest historic county in both England and the United Kingdom. Some of the most notable figures from the county are:

## Lawyers and Jurists

Brenda Hale, President of the British Supreme Court, 2017–present

## Inventors, explorers, scientists and pioneers

| Name | Place | Life | Comments |
| Edward Victor Appleton | | 1892–1965 | Nobel Prize in Physics in 1947 |
| James Henry Atkinson | Leeds | 1849–1942 | inventor of the mousetrap |
| Donald Bailey | | 1901–1985 | inventor of the Bailey Bridge |
| William Bateson | | 1861–1926 | geneticist; first to use term "genetics" |
| George Birkbeck | | 1776–1841 | doctor, philanthropist, founder of Birkbeck College |
| Joseph Bramah | Barnsley | 1748–1814 | invented hydraulic press; one of two founders of hydraulic engineering |
| Harry Brearley | | 1871–1948 | Sheffield inventor of stainless steel |
| Henry Briggs | | 1561–1630 | perfected system of logarithms used today by astronomers, navigators |
| Phil Burgan | | 1951– | pharmacist; CEO and Chairman of MMCG |
| Ralph Burton | | d.1768 | British soldier and Canadian settler |
| Sir George Cayley | born in Scarborough | 1773–1857 | engineer, one of the most important people in the history of aeronautics |
| Capt. James Cook | Marton, Middlesbrough | 1728–79 | Georgian oceanic explorer |
| Rick Dickinson | | 1956(?) | industrial designer responsible for the ZX80, ZX81, ZX Spectrum and Sinclair QL keyboards and cases |
| John Harrison | Foulby | 1693–1776 | horologist and mathematician |
| Amy Johnson | born in Hull | 1903–41 | aviator |
| Joseph Priestley | born in Birstall | 1733–1804 | physicist and chemist |
| Augustus Pitt Rivers | | 1827–1900 | British Army officer, ethnologist, anthropologist and archaeologist |
| Nicholas Saunderson | Thurlstone | 1682–1739 | Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, University of Cambridge |
| Helen Sharman | born in Sheffield | 1963– | first British astronaut, first Western European woman in space |
| Percy Shaw | born in Halifax | 1889–1975 | inventor of the cat's eyes reflecting roadstuds |
| John Smeaton | | 1724–92 | civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses |
| Frederick Walton | born in Sowerby Bridge | 1834–1928 | inventor of Linoleum |
| John Wycliffe | | 1330–84 | theologian, reformist, pioneering translator |
| Sīlācāra | born in Hull | 1871–1951 | one of the earliest western Buddhist monk in modern times |

## Politicians and activists

| Name | Place | Life | Comments |
| H. H. Asquith | born in Morley | 1852–1928 | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1908–16 |
| William Bradford | born in Austerfield | 1590–1657 | Plymouth governor, pilgrim father |
| Guy Fawkes | York | 1570–1606 | Yorkshire-born soldier, part of the Gunpowder Plot |
| Roy Hattersley | born in Sheffield | 1933– | British Labour politician, author and journalist |
| Elizabeth Smith Middleton | born in Yorkshire | 1814–1898 | British-born Canadian temperance leader |
| William Wilberforce | born in Kingston upon Hull | 1759–1833 | social campaigner who brought about the abolition of slavery |
| Harold Wilson | born in Huddersfield | 1916–1995 | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1964–70 and 1974–76 |

## Writers

| Name | Place | Life | Comments | Reference |
| Simon Armitage | born Huddersfield | 1963– | Poet, writer | |
| W. H. Auden | born York | 1907– 1973 | Poet, critic, essayist | |
| Alcuin of York | born near York | 732–804 | Early Middle Ages scholar, ecclesiastic, poet and teacher | |
| Alan Bennett | born in Leeds | 1934– | playwright and actor | |
| Barbara Taylor Bradford | born in Leeds | 1933– | best-selling British-American novelist, debut novel, A Woman of Substance | |
| Anne Brontë | born in Thornton | 1820–49 | writer, author of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall | |
| Branwell Brontë | born in Thornton | 1817–48 | writer and artist | |
| Charlotte Brontë | born in Thornton | 1816–55 | writer, author of Jane Eyre | |
| Emily Brontë | born in Thornton | 1818–48 | writer, author of Wuthering Heights | |
| Cædmon | born Whitby | 657–684 | Earliest English poet | Bede's Historia ecclesiastica. |
| Ian Clayton | born in Featherstone | 1959– | Writer and broadcaster | |
| Margaret Drabble | born in Sheffield | 1939– | literary Prize-winning writer | |
| Stanley Ellis | born in Bradford | 1926–2009 | English linguistics scholar, writer and broadcaster, English regional dialects. | |
| Helen Fielding | born in Morley, West Yorkshire | 1958– | novelist and screenwriter, Bridget Jones's Diary (1996), The Edge of Reason (1999) | |
| Roger Hargreaves | born in Cleckheaton | 1935–1988 | writer of the Mr. Men and Little Miss books | |
| Joanne Harris | born in Barnsley | 1964– | English author, award-winning novel Chocolat | |
| Tony Harrison | born in Leeds | 1964– | Poet, translator, critic, dramatist | |
| Susan Hill | born Scarborough, North Yorkshire | 1942– | novels include The Woman in Black and I'm the King of the Castle, Somerset Maugham Award (1971). Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2012 | |
| Barry Hines | born Hoyland Common near Barnsley | 1939–2016 | Novelist, television script-writer. A Kestrel for a Knave (1968), Kes | |
| Richard Hoggart | born in Potternewton, Leeds | 1918–2014 | Writer on English literature, sociology and cultural studies | |
| Winifred Holtby | Rudston, East Riding of Yorkshire | 1898 - 1935 | Novelist of works based on 1920-1930 Yorkshire women's empowerment, her works include South Riding (novel), The Land of Green Ginger, A Crowded Street, Anderby Wold | |
| Ted Hughes | born in Mytholmroyd | 1930–98 | poet laureate of United Kingdom, 1984–1998. | |
| Anne Lister | born in Halifax, West Yorkshire | 1791-1840 | English landowner, diarist, and mountaineer. | |
| Andrew Marvell | born in Winestead-in-Holderness, East Riding of Yorkshire | 1621–78 | poet | |
| Ian McMillan | born in Darfield, South Yorkshire | 1956– | poet | |
| Julie O'Neill | | 1971– | author | |
| J. B. Priestley | born in Bradford | 1894–1984 | writer, novelist and broadcaster | |
| Christopher Riley | born in Bridlington | 1967– | Science and history writer and documentarian | |
| Ray Robinson | born in Northallerton | 1971– | English novelist and screenwriter, award-winning novel Electricity | |
| Sally Wainwright | born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire | 1963– | English television writer, producer, and director: Scott & Bailey (2011–2016), Last Tango in Halifax (2012–2016), Happy Valley (2014–present), and Gentleman Jack (2019–present). | |
| Keith Waterhouse | born in Hunslet, Leeds | 1929–2009 | British novelist, newspaper columnist, many television series, novels: Billy Liar (1959) | |
| Stanley Wells | born in Hull | 1930– | Shakespearean scholar, writer, professor and editor who has been honorary president of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, professor emeritus at the University of Birmingham | |

## Saints

| Name | Place | Life | Comments |
| Margaret Clitherow | born in York | 1556–1586 | saint, martyr |
| Edwin of Northumbria | Not born in Yorkshire | 585–633 | saint, King of Northumbria |
| John of Beverley | Harpham and Beverley | d. 721 | bishop, founder and patron saint of Beverley |
| John Fisher | Beverley | 1469–1535 | bishop, cardinal, saint, martyr |
| Hilda of Whitby | | 614–680 | princess, nun, nurse, founding abbess of Whitby Abbey and patron saint of Whitby |
| Blessed Nicholas Postgate | Egton | 1596–1679 | martyr |

## Entertainers
### Actors and actresses

| Name | Place | Life | Comments |
| Mark Addy | York | | actor |
| Julian Barratt | Leeds | | actor, comedian |
| Keith Barron | Mexborough | | actor |
| Sean Bean | Sheffield | 1959– | actor |
| Brian Blessed | Mexborough | 1936– | actor |
| Chuckle Brothers | Rotherham | 1944–2018, 1947– | TV actors |
| Sir Tom Courtenay | Hull, East Riding | | actor |
| Dame Judi Dench | York | | actress |
| Peter Firth | Bradford | | actor |
| James Frain | Leeds | | actor |
| Brian Glover | Sheffield (raised in Barnsley) | | actor, comedian |
| Charlie Heaton | Bridlington | 1994– | actor |
| Elizabeth Henstridge | Sheffield | 1987- | actress, model, fashion designer, YouTuber, podcaster and director |
| Ralph Ineson | Leeds | | actor |
| Gorden Kaye | Huddersfield | 1941–2017 | Actor, comedian |
| Sir Ben Kingsley | Scarborough | | actor |
| Charles Laughton | Scarborough | 1899–1962 | actor, screenwriter, and director of the film The Night of The Hunter |
| Matthew Lewis | Leeds | | actor |
| James Mason | Huddersfield | 1909–1984 | actor |
| Michael Palin | Sheffield | 1943– | actor, comedian |
| Andrew-Lee Potts | Bradford | | actor |
| Dame Diana Rigg | Doncaster | 1938–2020 | actress |
| Jack Shepherd | Leeds | | actor |
| Peter O'Toole | Leeds | | actor |
| Sir Patrick Stewart | Mirfield | | actor |
| Laura White | Yorkshire | 1996– | actress |
| Liz White | Rotherham | 1979– | actress |
| Jodie Whittaker | Skelmanthorpe | | actress |
| Tom Wilkinson | Leeds | | actor |

### Television performers

| Name | Place | Life | Comments |
| Jeremy Clarkson | Doncaster | | presenter and former host of BBC TV's Top Gear |
| Angela Crow | Wharfedale | 1938– | actress |
| Rodney Bewes | Bingley, Bradford | 1937–2017 | comedian, actor |
| Roy Castle | Scholes | 1932–1994 | comedian, singer, actor, television presenter |
| Paul Daniels | South Bank, Middlesbrough | 1938–2016 | illusionist, quiz show host |
| Adrian Edmondson | Bradford | 1957– | comedian, actor |
| Leigh Francis (Keith Lemon) | Beeston, Leeds | 1973– | comedian, entertainer |
| Frankie Howerd | York | 1917–1992 | comedian |
| Gorden Kaye | Huddersfield | 1941–2017 | actor |
| Bob Mortimer | Acklam, Middlesbrough | 1959– | comedian, entertainer |
| Wendy Richard | Middlesbrough | 1943–2009 | actress |
| Paul Shane | Thrybergh, Rotherham | 1940–2013 | comedian, actor |
| Mollie Sugden | Keighley | 1922–2009 | actress |
| Dame Penelope Wilton | Scarborough | 1946– | actress |
| Ernie Wise | Bramley | 1925–1999 | comedian |

### Musicians and bands

| Name | Place | Life | Comments |
| Danny Sapko | Bradford | 1993- | Musician and YouTuber |
| Arctic Monkeys | formed in Sheffield | | indie band |
| James Arthur | born in Middlesbrough | 1988– | singer |
| Asking Alexandria | formed in York | | metalcore band |
| Mel B | Leeds | | member of the Spice Girls |
| Dame Janet Baker | | | opera singer |
| John Barry | York | | best known for his soundtracks for James Bond films and Midnight Cowboy |
| The Beautiful South | formed in Hull | | popular music band |
| Bring Me the Horizon | formed in Sheffield | | metalcore band |
| Arthur Brown | | | rock singer |
| Tony Christie | Conisbrough | | singer |
| Joe Cocker | Sheffield | | rock singer |
| David Coverdale | born in Saltburn-by-the-Sea | | lead vocalist for Deep Purple and Whitesnake |
| The Cribs | formed in Wakefield | | indie band |
| Kiki Dee | Bradford | | singer-songwriter |
| Def Leppard | formed in Sheffield | | hard rock group |
| Frederick Delius | | | composer |
| Gang of Four | formed in Leeds | | post-punk group |
| Vin Garbutt | born in South Bank, Middlesbrough | | folk singer |
| Lesley Garrett | Doncaster | | opera singer |
| Gareth Gates | born in Bradford | | singer |
| Heaven 17 | | | 80s band |
| The Human League | formed in Sheffield | | synthpop band |
| Kaiser Chiefs | formed in Leeds | | indie band |
| Zayn Malik | born in Bradford | | Singer-songwriter and former member of boy band One Direction |
| Jane McDonald | born in Wakefield | | singer |
| John McLaughin | born in Doncaster | 1942– | jazz guitarist |
| John Newman | born in Settle | 1990– | soul singer |
| Robert Palmer | Batley | 1949–2003 | singer |
| Pulp | formed in Sheffield | | popular music band |
| Corinne Bailey Rae | born in Leeds | | singer |
| Chris Rea | born in Middlesbrough | | singer |
| Paul Rodgers | born in Middlesbrough | 1949– | rock singer-songwriter, best known for his success in the 1970s as a member of Free and Bad Company |
| Kate Rusby | | | folk singer |
| Shed Seven | formed in York | | indie-rock band |
| Ed Sheeran | born in Hebden Bridge | | singer |
| Benson Taylor | born in Bradford | | Composer |
| Kimberley Walsh | born in Bradford | | member of pop group Girls Aloud |
| Christopher Wolstenholme | born in Rotherham | | bassist of Muse |
| Louis William Tomlinson | born in Doncaster | | Singer-songwriter and member of boy group One Direction, currently solo |
| Dominic Harrison | born in Doncaster | | Singer Yungblud |
| Saxon (band) | formed in Barnsley | | Heavy Metal band part of the NWOBHM |

## Sport

| Name | Place | Life | Comments |
| David Bairstow | born in Bradford, Yorkshire | 1951 – January 1998 | cricketer |
| Jonathan Bairstow | born in Bradford | 1989– | Yorkshire CCC and England cricketer and son of David. (Above) |
| Gordon Banks | born in Sheffield | 1937-2019 | Goal keeper, England World Cup Winner 1966 |
| Geoffrey Boycott | born in Fitzwilliam | 1940– | Yorkshire CCC and England cricketer |
| Alistair Brownlee | born in Dewsbury | 1988– | Olympic gold medalist, world champion in triathlon |
| Jonathan Brownlee | born in Leeds | 1990– | Olympic silver medalist, world champion in triathlon |
| Brian Clough | born in Middlesbrough | 1935–2004 | footballer and football manager |
| Jessica Ennis | born in Sheffield | 1986– | Olympic gold medalist, world champion in heptathlon |
| Lewis Cook | born in York | 1997– | footballer, midfielder for AFC Bournemouth and England |
| Josh Coburn | born in Bedale | 2002- | footballer, formerly for Sunderland Football Club, current forward for Middlesbrough Football Club |
| Ben Godfrey | born in York | 1997– | footballer, defender/midfielder for Norwich City |
| Darren Gough | born in Barnsley | 1970– | cricketer |
| Alan Hinkes | | 1954– | mountaineer, first Briton to climb world's highest 14 peaks |
| Len Hutton | born in Pudsey | 1916–90 | cricketer, Ashes-winning captain |
| Innes Ireland | born in Mytholmroyd | | Formula One driver |
| Kevin Keegan | born in Doncaster | 1951– | footballer, 2 x European footballer of the year |
| Harry Maguire | born in Sheffield | 1993 – | football player for Manchester United and England |
| Steve McClaren | born in York | 1961– | football manager and former player |
| Jamie Reeves | born in Sheffield | 1962– | world champion strength athlete, World's Strongest Man of '89 |
| Joe Root | Sheffield | 1990 | Cricketer for Yorkshire CCC and England |
| David Seaman | born in Rotherham | 1963 | footballer, goalkeeper for Arsenal and England |
| John Stones | born in Barnsley | 1994– | footballer, Centre back,for Manchester City and England |
| Jane Tomlinson | | 1964–2007 | amateur athlete and cancer charity fundraiser |
| Fred Trueman | | 1931 – July 2006 | cricketer |
| Jamie Vardy | born in Sheffield | 1987– | footballer, striker for Leicester City and England |
| Danny Willett | born in Sheffield | 1987– | golfer, second Englishman to win The Masters |
| Tom Pidcock | born in Leeds | 1999– | cyclist, olympic champion |

## Artists and sculptors

| Name | Place | Life | Comments |
| Gertrude Spurr Cutts | Scarborough | 1858–1941 | painter |
| John Atkinson Grimshaw | Leeds | 1836–1893 | painter |
| Barbara Hepworth | Wakefield | 1903–1975 | artist |
| Alexander Keighley | Keighley | 1861–1947 | photographer |
| David Hockney | Bradford | 1937– | artist |
| Henry Moore | Castleford | 1898–1986 | sculptor |
| Robert Thompson | Kilburn | 1876–1955 | carpenter, furniture maker recognised for his mouseman furniture, exclusively using Yorkshire Oak |
| Andy Goldsworthy | Cheshire, raised in Leeds | 1956– | British sculptor, photographer and environmentalist producing site-specific sculpture and land art situated in natural and urban settings |
| William Etty | York | 1787–1849 | English artist best known for his history paintings containing nude figures |
| Damien Hirst | grew up in Leeds | 1965– | artist |
| Patrick Heron | Leeds | 1920–1999 | artist |
| Trevor Bell | Leeds | 1930–2017 | artist |
| Norman Ackroyd | Leeds | 1938– | artist |
| Ian Berry | Huddersfield | 1984– | artist |
| Joash Woodrow | Leeds | 1927–2006 | artist |
| Jacob Kramer | Leeds based | 1892–1962 | artist |
| Matthew Krishanu | Bradford | 1980– | artist |
| Pete McKee | Sheffield | 1960– | artist |

## Crime

| Name | Place | Life | Comments |
| Mary Bateman | born in Asenby, worked in Thirsk | 1768–1809 | "Yorkshire Witch"; convicted of fraud and murder, hanged |
| John Christie | born in Illingworth | 1899–1953 (Hanged) | serial killer, known as "The Rillington Place Strangler" |
| Stephen Griffiths | born in Dewsbury | 1969– | serial killer, known as "The Crossbow Cannibal" |
| Mark Hobson | born in Wakefield | 1969– | 'spree killer' who murdered four people |
| Donald Neilson | born in Dewsbury | 1936–2011 | armed robber, serial killer, known as "The Black Panther" |
| Jimmy Savile | born in West Riding | 1926–2011 | Prolific sex abuser of both adults and children, TV presenter, celebrity, charity fund-raiser |
| Edward Simpson | born in Sleights | 1815–? | infamous forger of prehistoric flint tools, sold to many notable museums |
| Peter Sutcliffe | born in Bingley | 1946–2020 | serial killer, known as "The Yorkshire Ripper" |

## People in fiction

* Dracula by Bram Stoker: A Russian ship, the Demeter, having weighed anchor at Varna, runs aground on the shores of Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, during a fierce tempest. Whitby continues to celebrate its link with Dracula, as well as its Victorian gothic past
* Beedle the Bard: In J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter wizarding world, he is the fictional author of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Beedle was born in Yorkshire in the 15th century.
* Robinson Crusoe: The title character from the novel by Daniel Defoe is from York
* Robin Ellacott, Cormoran Strike's detective partner in the Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith, was raised in Masham, North Yorkshire

## Others

* Thomas Wedders, circus sideshow performer.