#1Of the 18 famous people born in Rothwell, an unusual share are athletes
Alan Smith leads the list, covered in 43 languages. The next two names are Jack Hunt and Bryan Edwards. 7 of them were born in the 20th century, more than in any other period. Births since 1970 account for 6 of the names.
What stands out about Rothwell’s famous people
What Rothwell is known for
Rothwell has 1.7× the usual share of athletes.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Born in Rothwell
The three are covered in 43, 13 and 7 languages: Alan Smith, Jack Hunt and Bryan Edwards.
#1
#2Bryan Edwards
1930–2016English footballer and manager (1930-2016)
When Rothwell’s famous people were born
The busiest decade was the 1980s, with 3 births.
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone else born in Rothwell
A further 15 follow, born between 1738 and 1993.



Martha Burton Woodhead Williamson
1843–1922American malacologist and journalist (1843–1922)



No one matches both filters.
Famous people from the towns next door
Wakefield leads the towns around it, with 293 names.
Questions about famous people from Rothwell
Who is the most famous person from Rothwell?
Alan Smith (English footballer, born 1980) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 43 languages. Next come Jack Hunt and Bryan Edwards.
How many famous people were born in Rothwell?
18 people born in Rothwell have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 19 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Rothwell known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 15 of the 18. That is 83% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Rothwell?
Thomas Taylor, born in 1738. The youngest on the list was born in 1993.
Who counts as from Rothwell?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Rothwell’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)
- Alan Smith: Toni Marsh, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jack Hunt: CLEMENATOR, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- May Sybil Leslie: University of Leeds, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Sid Jones: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Martha Burton Woodhead Williamson: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jason Golden: Mortonstalker, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jamie Thackray: Mortonstalker, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Taylor: Charles H Kelly, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Barbara Hepworth: Erling Mandelmann, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Martin Frobisher: Cornelis Ketel, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James Gullen: Aaron Hemsley, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Lowther: Leslie Ward, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Kenneth Murray: Rob Bogaerts for Anefo, 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.




