#1Science & Medicine
James Hopwood Jeans
1877–1946British mathematician and astronomer (1877 – 1946)
59 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Ormskirk, Lancashire
Of the 68 famous people born in Ormskirk, an unusual share are soldiers and sailors
James Hopwood Jeans, the British mathematician and astronomer, is the most widely known, written about in 59 languages. In the 20th century, 31 were born, the most of any period. Births since 1970 account for 24 of the names. From William Thomas Lewis to Ben Wiggins, the births on the list run from 1746 to 2005.
Born here
68
notable people
Best known
James Hopwood Jeans
in 59 Wikipedia languages
First
1746
William Thomas Lewis
Youngest
2005
Ben Wiggins
Most common field
Sports
41 people
What stands out about Ormskirk’s famous people
Known worldwideRead in 59 languages, James Hopwood Jeans is known far beyond the town.Still making names44 were born since 1950, the youngest in 2005.A town of soldiers and sailorsAmong the 68 people born here, 4 are soldiers and sailors: 1.6 times the usual share.68 notable peopleWith 68 notable people, the list is longer than most towns’.
★ What stands out · The best known
Born in Ormskirk
Two of the three are athletes.
#1
#2
#3Through the years
When Ormskirk’s famous people were born
More of them were born in the 1990s than in any other ten years, 12 in all.
SportsScience & MedicineWriting & ArtsPolitics & LawMilitaryFilm, TV & StageMusicBusinessNotable
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Ormskirk is known for
The field furthest above the usual share is soldiers and sailors, at 1.6 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Ormskirk
The rest number 65, with 39 athletes among them.
Lestock Adams
1887–1918English cricketer and World War I military person (1887-1918)
SportsWikipedia ↗
William Edward Heaton
1875–1941English soldier (1875–1941); recipient of the Victoria Cross
MilitaryWikipedia ↗
Andrew Mitchell
born 1967British diplomat (-1967). Ambassador to Sweden 2007-2011, Director, Prosperity, Foreign and Commonwealth Office 2012-2015
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Close by, Southport counts 162 famous people, the most of its neighbours.
Southport · 7 miMiranda Richardson & 161 moreWCFormby · 7 miWilliam Guy Carr & 14 moreJASkelmersdale · 5 miJohn Anderton & 8 moreABAintree · 6 miAndy Burnham & 7 moreBLBurscough · 3 miBobby Langton & 4 moreDORainford · 6 miDanny O'Donnell & 3 more
Maghull · 4 miJames Graham & 2 moreEPAppley Bridge · 7 miEva Pope & 2 moreQuestions about famous people from Ormskirk
Who is the most famous person from Ormskirk?
James Hopwood Jeans (British mathematician and astronomer (1877 – 1946)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 59 languages. Next come Stephen Warnock and Kieran Dowell.
How many famous people were born in Ormskirk?
68 people born in Ormskirk have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 75 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Ormskirk known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 41 of the 68. That is 60% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Ormskirk?
William Thomas Lewis, born in 1746. The youngest on the list was born in 2005.
Who counts as from Ormskirk?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Ormskirk’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 (27)
- James Hopwood Jeans: Kokorik (Uploader), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Stephen Warnock: Mr. Phillip Chambers, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- Kieran Dowell: Mattythewhite, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Robbie Slater: Camw, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tony Morley: stavros1, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ben Wiggins: Nicola, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Les Pattinson: Andwhatsnext, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Mayumi Pacheco: James Boyes from UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Michael Jones: Dave Morton, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Euphemia Lamb: Ambrose McEvoy, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Max Dean: Joost Pauwels, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ronan Darcy: Kane Brooker, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tom Hartley: Dave Morton, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jon Culshaw: SPakhrin, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lucy Whipp: James Boyes from UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Nisha Katona: Nisha Katona, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Wes Fletcher: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sophiethesax/, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David Hulme: Wikibwpi, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Joe Owen: Lawson Speedway, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ted Needham: Swiss Studios, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Edward Heaton: Gardiner, Ormskirk (no individual credited), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Matthew De Abaitua: Matthew J Humphreys, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Paul Nanson: DOD photo by Glenn Fawcett, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Thomas Lewis: Gainsborough Dupont, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Adam Brocklebank: Jack86mkII, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Miranda Richardson: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Graham: Gérard Barrau, 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.