#1Science & Medicine
Hugh Lee Pattinson
1796–1858English industrial chemist (1796-1858)
6 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Alston, Cumbria
From 1796 to 1958, Alston was the birthplace of 3 famous people
Most widely known is Hugh Lee Pattinson, the English industrial chemist, with articles in 6 languages. Behind the leader come Fiona Reynolds and Jeff Wright. Go 11 mi to Haltwhistle and the list grows to 11, with Paul Boertien at the top. The list’s best known name, Hugh Lee Pattinson, dates from 1796.
Born here
3
notable people
Best known
Hugh Lee Pattinson
in 6 Wikipedia languages
First
1796
Hugh Lee Pattinson
Youngest
1958
Fiona Reynolds
Most common field
Science & Medicine
1 people
The best known
Born in Alston
Hugh Lee Pattinson has articles in 6 languages, Fiona Reynolds in 4 and Jeff Wright in 3.
#1FR#2
Politics & Law
Fiona Reynolds
born 1958British civil servant and academic administrator
4 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
JW#3
Known for
What Alston is known for
The field with the most names is Science & Medicine: 1.
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
Around it, Haltwhistle has the most people on record, 11 of them.
Questions about famous people from Alston
Who is the most famous person from Alston?
Hugh Lee Pattinson (English industrial chemist (1796-1858)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 6 languages. Next come Fiona Reynolds and Jeff Wright.
How many famous people were born in Alston?
3 people born in Alston have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace.
What is Alston known for?
Among its famous people, scientists and doctors: 1 of the 3. That is 33% of the town’s list, against 7% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Alston?
Hugh Lee Pattinson, born in 1796. The youngest on the list was born in 1958.
Who counts as from Alston?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Alston’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 (2)
- Hugh Lee Pattinson: unknown early photographer, before 1858, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Paul Boertien: en:user:TuborgLight, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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.