#1Famous people · Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside
Of the 25 famous people born in Newton-le-Willows, an unusual share are athletes
Rick Astley, the British singer, is the most widely known, written about in 62 languages. Most were born in the 20th century: 19 of them. 2 of them were born since 1970. Per 10,000 residents, the town has 10.1, close to the 10.1 of the typical Merseyside town.
Born here
25
notable people
Best known
Rick Astley
in 62 Wikipedia languages
First
1887
Tommy Farrell
Youngest
1996
Aaron Smith
Most common field
Sports
20 people
What stands out about Newton-le-Willows’ famous people
★ What stands out · The best known
Born in Newton-le-Willows
Two of the three are scientists and doctors.
#1
#2Science & Medicine
Rodney Robert Porter
1917–1985English biochemist and Nobel laureate (1917–1985)
52 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
JR#3
Science & Medicine
John Turton Randall
1905–1984British physicist (1905–1984)
15 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Known for
What Newton-le-Willows is known for
Newton-le-Willows 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.
Through the years
When Newton-le-Willows’s famous people were born
Births peak in the 1960s, with 4 people born in that decade.
SportsScience & MedicineMusicMilitary
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Newton-le-Willows
22 more, from 1887 to 1996.
Robin Herd
1939–2019English engineer, designer, and businessman (1939–2019)
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns nearby, 8 have famous names listed.
Warrington · 4 miTim Curry & 253 more
St Helens · 4 miDavid Yates & 223 more
Golborne · 3 miDavey Boy Smith & 19 more
Billinge · 4 miKen Owen & 17 moreJCAshton-in-Makerfield · 3 miJune Croft & 13 more
Haydock · 2 miEdmund Arrowsmith & 11 more
Platt Bridge and Abram · 5 miSydney Battersby & 6 more
Culcheth · 5 miDonald Adamson & 4 moreQuestions about famous people from Newton-le-Willows
Who is the most famous person from Newton-le-Willows?
Rick Astley (British singer) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 62 languages. Next come Rodney Robert Porter and John Turton Randall.
How many famous people were born in Newton-le-Willows?
25 people born in Newton-le-Willows have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 28 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Newton-le-Willows known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 20 of the 25. That is 80% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Newton-le-Willows?
Tommy Farrell, born in 1887. The youngest on the list was born in 1996.
Who counts as from Newton-le-Willows?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Newton-le-Willows’ 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 (11)
- Rick Astley: Wjack12, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Rodney Robert Porter: MRC National Institute for Medical Research, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Robin Herd: Raimund Kommer, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Aaron Smith: Fleets, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tim Curry: Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David Yates: Joella Marano, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Davey Boy Smith: James, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ken Owen: Shadowgate, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Edmund Arrowsmith: Arrowsmith, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Sydney Battersby: photographer of IOC, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Donald Adamson: RHaworth, CC BY-SA 4.0, 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.