RL#1
Famous people · Ilkeston, Derbyshire
Athletes stand out among the 42 famous people born in Ilkeston
Robert Lindsay, the British actor, is the most widely known, written about in 17 languages. The next two names are Chick Churchill and Frank Sugg. The first birth on record is John Blackner’s, in 1770, and the last John Brough’s, in 1973. Only 2 towns in Derbyshire list more.
Born here
42
notable people
Best known
Robert Lindsay
in 17 Wikipedia languages
First
1770
John Blackner
Youngest
1973
John Brough
Most common field
Sports
33 people
What stands out about Ilkeston’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Ilkeston is known for
Ilkeston has 1.6× the usual share of athletes.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Ilkeston
Languages with an article: 17 for Robert Lindsay, 10 for Chick Churchill, 7 for Frank Sugg.
#2
#3Through the years
When Ilkeston’s famous people were born
No decade has more births than the 1940s, at 8.
SportsWriting & ArtsScience & MedicineFilm, TV & StageMusicFaith
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Ilkeston
Still to come: 39 more, from 1770 to 1973.
Robert Jackson
born 1945English educational researcher, jazz musician and poet
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns nearby, 6 have famous names listed.
Questions about famous people from Ilkeston
Who is the most famous person from Ilkeston?
Robert Lindsay (British actor) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 17 languages. Next come Chick Churchill and Frank Sugg.
How many famous people were born in Ilkeston?
42 people born in Ilkeston have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 46 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Ilkeston known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 33 of the 42. That is 79% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Ilkeston?
John Blackner, born in 1770. The youngest on the list was born in 1973.
Who counts as from Ilkeston?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Ilkeston’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 (13)
- Chick Churchill: Stefan Brending (2eight), CC BY-SA 3.0 de, Wikimedia Commons
- Frank Sugg: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Mel Ramsden: Art & Language, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert Jackson: Thor Nielsen/NTNU, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Walter Sugg: Photo by R W Thomas of London, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Brian Duncan Shaw: Aspdin, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Elijah Wheatley: Ogden's Cigarette Cards, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Blackner: John Blackner, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Henry Garnet: anonymous, European School., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- D. H. Lawrence: Unknown authorUnknown author (passport office), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Henry Ireton: Attributed to Robert Walker / After Samuel Cooper / After Anthony van Dyck, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jamie Peck: Ji-Elle, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Sir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet: Daniel Orme, Public domain, 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.