Northampton () is a big market town and a local government district of the East Midlands part of the United Kingdom.  The district has a population of 200,100 people.

Northampton has a major entertainment centre called the Derngate.

Twin towns 
  Marburg in Germany
  Poitiers in France

Notable residents 
Modern

 Steve Flint, aged 19, represented Northamptonshire at the 1980 Inter-Counties Championships One Mile, winning in a time of 3 minutes 58 seconds, making him one of only four teenage sub-four minute milers in the UK.

 Composer William Alwyn (1905-1985) was born in the town.
 Composer Sir Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006) was born in Northampton.
 Judy Carne, born Joyce Botterill on April 27, 1939 in the town, is an actress who may be best remembered for her introducing the phrase "Sock it to me!" while a regular on Laugh-In.
 Comedian Alan Carr attended what is now Weston Favell School. His father Graham Carr managed the Town's football club at the time.
 Scientist Francis Crick, born in the town in 1916, along with James D. Watson discovered the structure of DNA, and went on to win a Nobel Prize. In December 2005, a public sculpture called Discovery by Lucy Glendinning was erected in Abington Street as a memorial to Crick .
 Journalist and broadcaster Andrew Collins is from Northampton and wrote about growing up in the town in his memoir Where Did It All Go Right?.
 Actress Joan Hickson, famous for playing Miss Marple, comes from Kingsthorpe.
 Birds of a Feather actress Lesley Joseph grew up in the town.
 Actor Robert Llewellyn (Kryten from Red Dwarf) was also born in the town, and lived at 47 Booth Rise until the age of 13 (source: Anglian TV's Celebrity Going Home: Robert Llewellyn (2004))
 Writer Alan Moore, creator of V for Vendetta, Watchmen, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, is a lifelong resident of Northampton. His novel Voice of the Fire is a fictionalized history of the town.
 BBC radio presenter Anna Murby comes from the county.
 Nanette Newman, actress and author, was born in Northampton.
 Des O'Connor lived in Northampton, worked at Church's for some years and played for the Cobblers (Northampton Town Football Club).
 Myrea Pettit, renowned fantasy artist of fairies, flowers and butterflies learned her craft in Northamptonshire.
 Jo Whiley, the BBC Radio 1 DJ was born in the town in 1965.
 The late Delia Derbyshire, who was behind the original version of the Doctor Who theme tune, spent her final years in the town.
 Blue Peter's Peter Purves lived in the nearby village of Cogenhoe.
 Composer Edmund Rubbra (1901-1986) was born in the town.
 Professional wrestler Norman Smiley was born in the town.
 Nearby is Althorp, the country estate of Earl Spencer where Diana, Princess of Wales is buried. Charles Spencer, the current and 9th Earl Spencer (b. 1964) is her brother.
 Television presenter Michael Underwood lives in the town.
 Marc Warren, who plays Danny Blue in the BBC's Hustle series, was born in Kingsthorpe.
 Stuart Pearson Wright, award winning artist was born in Northampton in 1975.
 Lorna Fitzgerald, who plays Abi Branning in Eastenders lives in Hunsbury
 Issim Ullah, acclaimed late Bangladeshi businessman, landlord and soldier lived in Spencer.

Historical
 Elizabeth Bowen, 20th century Anglo-Irish writer, lived here after her marriage.
 Charles Bradlaugh, the famous radical MP, was a member for the town.
 Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672)- a puritan poet later based in Massachusetts.
 Alban Butler (1710-1773) - the author of Lives of the Saints
 John Clare, the poet, was sectioned in the local madhouse, where he remained until his death in 1864.
 Errol Flynn acted in the Northampton Repertory Theatre between 1933 and 1935.
 Jerome K. Jerome, author of Three Men in a Boat and other works, died in Northampton in 1927.
 Spencer Perceval was a local MP and Prime Minister. He was shot in the House of Commons by assassin John Bellingham in 1812.
 Victorian cricketer and pioneer missionary Charles ("C.T.") Studd who played in the first Ashes test, was born at Spratton.

Musical
 Bauhaus (band)
 The Departure
 Mark Griffiths, bass player with Shadows, Cliff Richard, David Essex, Matthews Southern Comfort
 Faye Tozer, singer from pop group Steps

Other
 Northampton was used as the town location for Keeping Up Appearances between 1990-1995.

Other websites 
 Northampton Borough Council
 Northamptonshire County Council
 The University of Northampton website
 Northampton with Vision

References 

County towns in England