#1Famous people · Holt, Norfolk
8 famous people were born in Holt from 1485 to 1976
Matthew Pinsent, the English rower and broadcaster, is the most widely known, written about in 21 languages. Second and third on the list are Charles Burkill and Natasha Firman. The list reaches back to Richard Gresham, born in 1485, one of 2 born before the Georgians. The biggest group are athletes: 3.
Born here
8
notable people
Best known
Matthew Pinsent
in 21 Wikipedia languages
First
1485
Richard Gresham
Youngest
1976
Natasha Firman
Most common field
Sports
3 people
The best known
Born in Holt
Two of the three are athletes.
#1CB#2
Science & Medicine
Charles Burkill
1900–1993British mathematician (1900–1993)
6 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
NF#3
Through the years
When Holt’s famous people were born
The 1970s alone account for 2 of the births charted here.
SportsPolitics & LawScience & MedicineWriting & ArtsNotable
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Holt is known for
The largest field is Sports, with 3 people.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Holt
Of the other 5, 2 are leaders.
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns nearby, Cromer lists the most people: 12.
Questions about famous people from Holt
Who is the most famous person from Holt?
Matthew Pinsent (English rower and broadcaster) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 21 languages. Next come Charles Burkill and Natasha Firman.
How many famous people were born in Holt?
8 people born in Holt have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 12 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Holt known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 3 of the 8. That is 38% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Holt?
Richard Gresham, born in 1485. The youngest on the list was born in 1976.
Who counts as from Holt?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Holt’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 (7)
- Matthew Pinsent: Keith Page, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Edmund Rogers: Emma Hardinge Britten, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Gresham: Flemish school, artist unknown., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James Dyson: Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Joseph Thomas Clover: Photographer unknown, but apparently set up by and on behalf of Clover himself for publicity purposes. Uploaded by Chiswick Chap at en.wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Craig Murray: FreeCraigMurray, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Peter Russell: Ministry of Information Photo Division Photographer, 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.