RH#1
Writing & Arts
Roger Hargreaves
1935–1988British author and illustrator (1935–1988)
30 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire
17 famous people were born in Cleckheaton, most of them in the 20th century
At the top of the list is the British author and illustrator Roger Hargreaves, covered in 30 languages. Nancy Tyson Burbidge and Edward Wadsworth follow. The list comes to 14.6 for every 10,000 residents, against 5 in the typical town in West Yorkshire. The earliest on the list is Harry Varley, born in 1867, and the youngest Luke Dean, born in 1991.
Born here
17
notable people
Best known
Roger Hargreaves
in 30 Wikipedia languages
First
1867
Harry Varley
Youngest
1991
Luke Dean
Most common field
Sports
11 people
The best known
Born in Cleckheaton
By how many languages cover them, Roger Hargreaves comes first (30), then Nancy Tyson Burbidge (17) and Edward Wadsworth (14).
#2Science & Medicine
Nancy Tyson Burbidge
1912–1977Australian botanist, conservationist and herbarium curator (1912–1977)
17 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
#3Writing & Arts
Edward Wadsworth
1889–1949British artist, printmaker, and camoufleur (1889-1949)
14 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years
When Cleckheaton’s famous people were born
No decade has more births than the 1930s, at 3.
SportsWriting & ArtsScience & MedicineMusic
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Cleckheaton is known for
The field furthest above the usual share is writers and artists, 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 Cleckheaton
14 more names, born between 1867 and 1991.
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns around it, Dewsbury has the most on record: 155.
Dewsbury · 5 miOwen Willans Richardson & 154 more
Batley · 3 miJoseph Priestley & 33 moreBYBrighouse · 3 miBarbara Young & 18 more
Mirfield · 3 miPatrick Stewart & 16 more
Heckmondwike · 2 miThomas Archer Hirst & 8 moreSHLiversedge · 1 miSusan Hearnshaw & 4 moreMTGomersal and Birkenshaw · 2 miMary Taylor & 4 moreCHGildersome · 4 miClifford Holliday & 3 moreQuestions about famous people from Cleckheaton
Who is the most famous person from Cleckheaton?
Roger Hargreaves (British author and illustrator (1935–1988)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 30 languages. Next come Nancy Tyson Burbidge and Edward Wadsworth.
How many famous people were born in Cleckheaton?
17 people born in Cleckheaton have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 20 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Cleckheaton known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 11 of the 17. That is 65% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Cleckheaton?
Harry Varley, born in 1867. The youngest on the list was born in 1991.
Who counts as from Cleckheaton?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Cleckheaton’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)
- Nancy Tyson Burbidge: Colin Totterdell, CSIRO, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Edward Wadsworth: Coburn, Alvin Langdon, 1882-1966 -- Photographer, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Wilf Barber: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Owen Willans Richardson: Nobel foundation, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Joseph Priestley: Ellen Sharples, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Patrick Stewart: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Archer Hirst: Unknown, believed to be in the PD., 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.