DK#1
Famous people · Ripon, North Yorkshire
Scientists and doctors stand out among the 40 famous people born in Ripon
At the top of the list is the English footballer Derek Kevan, covered in 22 languages. Frederick Orpen Bower is second and Simon Grayson third. The largest group, 18, was born in the 20th century. Births since 1970 account for 5 of the names.
Born here
40
notable people
Best known
Derek Kevan
in 22 Wikipedia languages
First
1659
Edmund Jenings (governor)
Youngest
1999
Billie Marten
Most common field
Sports
12 people
What stands out about Ripon’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Ripon is known for
No other field is as far above the usual share as scientists and doctors, at 3 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Through the years
When Ripon’s famous people were born
More were born in the 1960s than in any other decade: 6.
SportsScience & MedicineWriting & ArtsMusicPolitics & LawFilm, TV & StageBusinessNotableFaith
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
The best known
Born in Ripon
Athletes take two of the three places.
#2Science & Medicine
Frederick Orpen Bower
1855–1948British botanist (1855–1948)
21 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
#3Sports
Simon Grayson
born 1969English footballer and manager (born 1969)
20 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Everyone
Everyone else born in Ripon
Of the other 37, 10 are athletes.
Richard Bartle
born 1960British writer, video game designer and computer scientist (born 1960)
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Peter Squires
1951–2026English county cricketer and international rugby union player (1951–2026)
SportsWikipedia ↗
Amanda Louise Staveley
born 1973British businesswoman and former NUFC co–owner (2021-24)
BusinessWikipedia ↗
Christopher Harrisson
?–2026Person who murdered British scientist Brenda Page
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Harrogate leads the towns around it, with 123 names.
Harrogate · 10 miH. L. A. Hart & 122 more
Knaresborough · 9 miMother Shipton & 18 more
Thirsk · 10 miHenry Eeles Dresser & 16 moreCMBedale · 11 miChristopher Mace & 6 more
Boroughbridge · 6 miIsabella Bird & 5 moreLVHampsthwaite · 8 miLaura Veale & 1 more
Dishforth · 5 miWilliam GraingeTCKillinghall · 8 miTony ClarksonQuestions about famous people from Ripon
Who is the most famous person from Ripon?
Derek Kevan (English footballer (1935-2013)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 22 languages. Next come Frederick Orpen Bower and Simon Grayson.
How many famous people were born in Ripon?
40 people born in Ripon have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 49 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Ripon known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 12 of the 40. That is 30% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Ripon?
Edmund Jenings (governor), born in 1659. The youngest on the list was born in 1999.
Who counts as from Ripon?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Ripon’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 (19)
- Frederick Orpen Bower: Bain News Service, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Simon Grayson: BradfordCityFC, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David George Kendall: Konrad Jacobs, Erlangen, Copyright is MFO, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, Wikimedia Commons
- Richard Bartle: J. G. Bartle, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Billie Marten: Paul Hudson from United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Julie Ward: JackListerEU, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Edward James Glave: Valerian Gribayedoff, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Paul Grayson: The original uploader was Kroome111 at English Wikipedia., CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Edmund Ayrton: John Hoppner, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Michael J. C. Gordon: Taken by Katriel Cohn-Gordon, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Wilfred Walter: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Edmund Jenings (governor): Godfrey Kneller, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Mark Sowerby: Robin Myerscough, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Simon Turney: SJATurney, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- H. L. A. Hart: Robespierre 7, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Mother Shipton: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Henry Eeles Dresser: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Isabella Bird: G.P. Putnam's Sons, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Grainge: Thomas Holroyd (d.1904), 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.