#1Famous people · Oldham, Greater Manchester
Performers stand out among the 280 famous people born in Oldham
Most widely known is Brian Cox, the English physicist and musician, with articles in 43 languages. In the 20th century, 143 were born, the most of any period. Only 4 of the 73 towns in Greater Manchester with anyone on record list more. Over 431 years of births, the list goes from Ralph Cudworth (1572) to Oliver Patrick (2003).
Born here
280
notable people
Best known
Brian Cox
in 43 Wikipedia languages
First
1572
Ralph Cudworth
Youngest
2003
Oliver Patrick
Most common field
Sports
155 people
What stands out about Oldham’s famous people
Still making namesThe most recent birth on the list came in 2003, among 169 since 1950.A town of performersAmong the 280 people born here, 48 are performers: 2 times the usual share.Known worldwideRead in 43 languages, Brian Cox is known far beyond the town.280 notable peopleWith 280 notable people, the list is longer than most towns’.
★ What stands out · Through the years
When Oldham’s famous people were born
More were born in the 1960s than in any other decade: 45.
SportsFilm, TV & StageWriting & ArtsMusicPolitics & LawScience & MedicineMilitaryBusinessNotableFaith
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Oldham is known for
Set against the usual town, performers come out 2 times as common.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Oldham
By how many languages cover them, Brian Cox comes first (43), then Olivia Cooke (43) and Louise Brown (42).
#1
#2LB#3
Everyone
Everyone else born in Oldham
277 more; the 197 best known are listed here.
Henry Taylor
1885–1951British swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, former world record-holder (1885-1951)
SportsWikipedia ↗
John Robert Clynes
1869–1949British politician and trade unionist (1869-1949)
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
Ralf Little
born 1980English actor, writer, and semi-professional footballer (born 1980)
Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
Brian Clarke
1953–2025British painter, architectural artist, sculptor, writer, printmaker and set designer (1953–2025)
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Iestyn Harris
born 1976English rugby league footballer and coach, and rugby union footballer
SportsWikipedia ↗
Kevin Sinfield
born 1980English rugby union coach and former professional rugby league player
SportsWikipedia ↗
Leslie Haden-Guest, 1st Baron Haden-Guest
1877–1960British author, journalist, doctor, Labour Party politician (1877-1960)
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Sir Lees Knowles, 1st Baronet
1857–1928British barrister, historian, philanthropist and Conservative politician (1857–1928)
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
Ada Summers
1861–1944British local politician and justice of the peace (1862–1944)
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
James Fitton
1899–1982English painter, lithographer and theatre set designer (1899–1982)
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
John Frederick Lees
1809–1867British landowner and Liberal Conservative MP (1809–67)
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Ashton-under-Lyne has the longest list next door: 134.
Ashton-under-Lyne · 3 miGeoff Hurst & 133 more
Middleton · 4 miSteve Coogan & 33 more
Droylsden · 4 miHoward Donald & 20 more
Chadderton · 2 miDavid Platt & 14 more
Failsworth · 3 miJim Ratcliffe & 13 more
Royton · 2 miJack Wild & 10 moreGKMossley · 3 miGerard Kearns & 9 more
Lees · 2 miAnnie Kenney & 7 moreQuestions about famous people from Oldham
Who is the most famous person from Oldham?
Brian Cox (English physicist and musician) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 43 languages. Next come Olivia Cooke and Louise Brown.
How many famous people were born in Oldham?
280 people born in Oldham have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 308 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Oldham known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 155 of the 280. That is 55% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Oldham?
Ralph Cudworth, born in 1572. The youngest on the list was born in 2003.
Who counts as from Oldham?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Oldham’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 (94)
- Brian Cox: Duncan.Hull, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Olivia Cooke: Patrick.suechan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ian Kershaw: Amrei-Marie; cropped by Beyond My Ken 05:47, 1 May 2015 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Carl Cox: Str1ke from (optional), CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Bernard Cribbins: Brian Minkoff London Pixels, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Mark Owen: Marc E., CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Walter Winterbottom: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ryan Kent: Jim Easton, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Quentin Skinner: Peter Stone, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Simon Wright: The original uploader was Ac-dcfreak785 at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Henry Taylor: unrecorded, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Warren Clarke: Stanley Kubrick, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Karen Elson: Jason Persse from Brooklyn, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ricky Whittle: Florida Supercon, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jordan Rhodes: RoverTheBendInSussex, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Siobhan Finneran: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQrJgMBT1_JJTkTgmiBo5Zw Mooobys], CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Andrew Driver: Nbrooks503, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David May: Stew jones, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Matt Walls: Nicola, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Will Buckley: James Boyes from UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Anne Kirkbride: richiiebam, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Anna Moorhouse: Hameltion, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ben Pearson: joshjdss, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Mark Ashton: Johnny Orr, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tony Radakin: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Annie Whitehead: Andrew Fawcett York, England UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- George Ford: UKinUSA, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Harry Bunn: Jon Candy from Cardiff, Wales, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ellis Simms: Werner100359, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Eva Turner: uncredited, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Robert Clynes: Walter Stoneman, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ralf Little: Theatre Tickets Direct, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Bobby Ball: SolomanMcKenzie at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jo Hartley: British Independent Film Awards, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Andrew Sherratt: Clare Sherratt, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Phillip Schofield: Number 10, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Stephen Timms: ©House of Commons / Jessica Taylor, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tony Brown: Oosoom at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Brian Clarke: Martin Booth, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Chris Curtis: Jack de Nijs for Anefo / Anefo, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Jabez Edwin Mayall: John Jabez Edwin Mayall, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Wayne Marshall: Raimond Spekking, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Danny Philliskirk: Footballpublisher264, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Nicola Stephenson: Pgant11, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Christopher Biggins: Allan warren, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Helen Fraser: Ben Salter, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Whittaker: Euro Realist Newsletter, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Caroline O'Connor: Cazoconnor, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cieran Slicker: ITFC1234, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Donald Hardman: Royal Australian Air Force., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jonathan Lord: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Phil Stockman: JRA_WestyQld2 Talk, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Shobna Gulati: University of Salford Press Office, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Stephen Gaukroger: Wagtailquale, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Stephen Humphrys: MonDon2019, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Vinny Burns: Darren Wharton, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Clint Boon: VEO15, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Iestyn Harris: Mortonstalker, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jacob Scott: Cs-wolves, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Stapleton: Waggers, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kevin Sinfield: Mortonstalker, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Leslie Haden-Guest, 1st Baron Haden-Guest: Bassano Ltd, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Liz McInnes: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Mike Ford: Dubosc Jean Marie, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Stephen J. Gordon: Stefan64, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Albert Warburton: unknown, deritative work by Misiek2, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Billy Broadbent: Brentford FC, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Hollie-Jay Bowes: andre almeida, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Luke Procter: Dave Morton, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Marc Sneyd: Gerard Barrau, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Nick Taylor: England Squash Masters, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Paul Harrison: Naturalistic, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Sir Lees Knowles, 1st Baronet: Charles Van Havermaet, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Tanisha Gorey: Meena, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Oldham Barlow: Walter William Ouless, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Tommy Cannon: SolomanMcKenzie at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Chris Bridge: Mortonstalker, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Danny Bridge: Kevin Blackburn, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kyle Eastmond: Charlie, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Mark Flanagan: Naparazzi, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ryan Rydel: MGPetch, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tony Ferraro Barber: Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Alex Carter: MrsWoman, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Barrie McDermott: Nathan Dainty, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Eamon O'Carroll: Mortonstalker, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Greenwood: Fleets, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Joe Greenwood: http://picasaweb.google.com/barrau.gerard, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Geoff Hurst: Keven Law from Los Angeles, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Steve Coogan: Gordon Correll, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Howard Donald: Marc E., CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David Platt: Egghead06, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jim Ratcliffe: Staff photographer, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jack Wild: Joost Evers / Anefo, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Annie Kenney: Colonel Linley Blathwayt, 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.