BC#1
Famous people · Acomb, Northumberland
2 famous people were born in Acomb
Articles in 5 languages make the English footballer Billy Cowell the best known. The only other name is the British politician Gordon Banks. A short trip away, Hexham (2 mi) counts 72 famous people, Fraser Forster among them. From Billy Cowell in 1902 to Gordon Banks in 1955, the births cover 53 years.
Born here
2
notable people
Best known
Billy Cowell
in 5 Wikipedia languages
First
1902
Billy Cowell
Youngest
1955
Gordon Banks
Most common field
Sports
1 people
The best known
Born in Acomb
#2Known for
What Acomb is known for
Share of Acomb’s famous people in each field.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns around it, Hexham has the most on record: 72.
Questions about famous people from Acomb
Who is the most famous person from Acomb?
Billy Cowell (English footballer (born 1902)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 5 languages. Next come Gordon Banks.
How many famous people were born in Acomb?
2 people born in Acomb have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace.
What is Acomb known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 1 of the 2. That is 50% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Acomb?
Billy Cowell, born in 1902. The youngest on the list was born in 1955.
Who counts as from Acomb?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Acomb’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 (4)
- Gordon Banks: Scottish Labour, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Fraser Forster: Timmy96, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Steve Bruce: Ronnie Macdonald, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ben Alnwick: Phil Butcher, 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.