#1Writing & Arts
Richard Swinburne
born 1934British philosopher of religion
27 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Smethwick, West Midlands
Most of the 71 famous people born in Smethwick came into the world in the Victorian era
The best known is the British philosopher of religion Richard Swinburne, with articles in 27 languages. 3 of them were born since 1970. Douglas Fox (1840) and David Davis (1991) mark the two ends of the list. For every 10,000 residents there are 12.6 on the list, well above the typical West Midlands town’s 5.7.
Born here
71
notable people
Best known
Richard Swinburne
in 27 Wikipedia languages
First
1840
Douglas Fox
Youngest
1991
David Davis
Most common field
Sports
51 people
What stands out about Smethwick’s famous people
The best known
Born in Smethwick
The three are covered in 27, 20 and 19 languages: Richard Swinburne, Ken Wharton and Nancy Mackay.
#1
#2
#3Through the years
When Smethwick’s famous people were born
Births peak in the 1870s, with 12 people born in that decade.
SportsWriting & ArtsFilm, TV & StageScience & MedicinePolitics & LawMilitary
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Smethwick is known for
Compared with the usual town, athletes are the most over-represented field, at 1.5 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Smethwick
Of the other 68, 49 are athletes.
Dudley Docker
1862–1944English cricketer, businessman and philanthropist (1862-1944)
SportsWikipedia ↗
Cherry Raymond
1925–2006English-born New Zealand broadcaster, columnist and community worker
Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Close by, the fullest list is Birmingham’s, at 2,167 names.
Birmingham · 4 miNeville Chamberlain & 2,166 more
Dudley · 5 miDuncan Edwards & 114 moreGCWednesbury · 5 miGarry Cook & 61 more
Tipton · 5 miMargaret MacDonald & 39 more
Oldbury · 2 miJack Judge & 28 more
Halesowen · 4 miMorgan Rogers & 26 moreBADarlaston · 6 miBill Arblaster & 16 moreCPCradley Heath · 4 miCharles Palmer & 13 moreQuestions about famous people from Smethwick
Who is the most famous person from Smethwick?
Richard Swinburne (British philosopher of religion) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 27 languages. Next come Ken Wharton and Nancy Mackay.
How many famous people were born in Smethwick?
71 people born in Smethwick have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 78 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Smethwick known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 51 of the 71. That is 72% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Smethwick?
Douglas Fox, born in 1840. The youngest on the list was born in 1991.
Who counts as from Smethwick?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Smethwick’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 (18)
- Richard Swinburne: Andrzej Zet, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ken Wharton: Daan Noske / Anefo, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Nancy Mackay: Unknown (Toronto Star Archives), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- David Davis: Birmingham City F.C., CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lee Hughes: https://www.flickr.com/photos/harriers-online/, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Sydney Barnes: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Oswald Rayner: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Frank Brettell: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Bobby Thomson: Joop van Bilsen for Anefo, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cherry Raymond: Courtesy of Horowhenua Historical Society inc, Levin, New Zealand, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Harry Davis: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Roland James: Thebees1889, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Freddy Marks: Janetblake, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Neville Chamberlain: Lafayette Ltd, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Duncan Edwards: ChrisTheDude, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Margaret MacDonald: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jack Judge: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Morgan Rogers: Bryan Berlin, 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.