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Famous people · Brighouse, West Yorkshire

Of the 19 famous people born in Brighouse, an unusual share are writers and artists

Most widely known is Barbara Young, the English actress, with articles in 7 languages. The American activist Ballington Booth ranks second, ahead of Divina de Campo. In the Victorian era, 9 were born, the most of any period. Fewer than a quarter of the 90 towns in West Yorkshire with famous people list more.

#2 best knownBallington BoothPolitics & Law · 1857–1940
+15more
Born here
19
notable people
Best known
Barbara Young
in 7 Wikipedia languages
First
1819
Susan Sunderland
Youngest
1997
Max Clegg
Most common field
Writing & Arts
8 people

What stands out about Brighouse’s famous people

★ What stands out · Known for

What Brighouse is known for

The field furthest above the usual share is writers and artists, at 3.6 times.

The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.

The best known

Born in Brighouse

Two of the three are leaders.

BY#1
Film, TV & Stage

Barbara Young

1931–2023

English actress (1931–2023)

7 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Ballington Booth#2
Politics & Law

Ballington Booth

1857–1940

American activist (1857-1940)

6 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Divina de Campo#3
Politics & Law

Divina de Campo

born 1984

English drag queen

5 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years

When Brighouse’s famous people were born

More were born in the 1890s than in any other decade: 3.

GeorgianVictorianThe 20th centuryToday18001850190019502000F. L. LucasDivina de CampoBarbara Young
Writing & ArtsPolitics & LawSportsFilm, TV & StageMusic

Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.

Everyone

Everyone else born in Brighouse

The rest number 16, with 8 writers and artists among them.

F. L. Lucas

F. L. Lucas

1894–1967

British writer and classical scholar (1894–1967)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
JW

John Warhurst

American film sound editor

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Joseph Fisher

Joseph Fisher

1834–1907

South Australian newspaper editor and politician (1834-1907)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Josiah Firth

Josiah Firth

1826–1897

New Zealand politician, entrepreneur and pastoralist

Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
BM

Blakey Martin

1891–1940

English footballer (1891-1940)

CC

Charles Clay

1885–1978

English antiquarian and librarian (1885-1978)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
GW

George Weldrick

1882–1953

English cricketer (1882-1953)

Susan Sunderland

Susan Sunderland

1819–1905

[née Sykes] (1819–1905), British singer

Thomas Holroyd

Thomas Holroyd

1821–1904

English painter (1821–1904)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Wilf Lunn

Wilf Lunn

1942–2023

English prop maker (1942–2023)

Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
MA

Mark Ambient

1860–1937

English dramatist, lyricist

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
MS

Miles Balmford Sharp

1897–1973

British painter (1897-1973)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
VB

Violet Brunton

1878–1951

British artist, painter, sculptor, illustrator, and miniaturist (1878–1951)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
WS

Walter Stansfield

1917–1984

British police officer and Chief Constable of Derbyshire (1917-1984)

Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
WN

William Nicholl

1868–1922

English rugby union and rugby league footballer (1868-1922)

Next door

Famous people from the towns next door

The neighbour with the most names is Huddersfield, at 325.

Questions about famous people from Brighouse

Who is the most famous person from Brighouse?

Barbara Young (English actress (1931–2023)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 7 languages. Next come Ballington Booth and Divina de Campo.

How many famous people were born in Brighouse?

19 people born in Brighouse have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 24 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.

What is Brighouse known for?

Among its famous people, writers and artists: 8 of the 19. That is 42% of the town’s list, against 12% across UK towns.

Who is the earliest-born famous person from Brighouse?

Susan Sunderland, born in 1819. The youngest on the list was born in 1997.

Who counts as from Brighouse?

People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Brighouse’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 (13)

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.