#1Sports
John Middleton
1578–1623English giant commonly known as the Childe of Hale
7 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Hale, Cheshire
From 1578 to 1905, Hale was the birthplace of 2 famous people
With articles in 7 languages, John Middleton is the most widely known. The list has one more: the British magazine editor Audrey Withers. John Middleton was born in 1578. A short trip away, Liverpool (7 mi) counts 2,441 famous people, John Lennon among them.
Born here
2
notable people
Best known
John Middleton
in 7 Wikipedia languages
First
1578
John Middleton
Youngest
1905
Audrey Withers
Most common field
Sports
1 people
The best known
Born in Hale
#1AW#2
Writing & Arts
Audrey Withers
1905–2001British magazine editor (1905-2001)
5 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Known for
What Hale is known for
The largest field is Sports, with 1 people.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns nearby, 7 have famous names listed.
Questions about famous people from Hale
Who is the most famous person from Hale?
John Middleton (English giant commonly known as the Childe of Hale) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 7 languages. Next come Audrey Withers.
How many famous people were born in Hale?
2 people born in Hale have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 4 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Hale known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 1 of the 2. That is 50% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Hale?
John Middleton, born in 1578. The youngest on the list was born in 1905.
Who counts as from Hale?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Hale’s built-up area (the ONS 2022 boundary), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a bigger area (“London”), another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary (Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (8)
- John Middleton: Sue Adair, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Lennon: Tony Barnard, Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Charles Glover Barkla: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Rex Harrison: Allan warren, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Steven Gerrard: Эдгар Брещанов, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Joe Mercer: Dr. David France, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Hall Caine: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Gary Barlow: vagueonthehow from Tadcaster, York, England, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.