Guest, Sign inJoin
Famous people · Rothwell, West Yorkshire

Of 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.

#1 best knownAlan SmithSports · born 1980
+14more
Born here
18
notable people
Best known
Alan Smith
in 43 Wikipedia languages
First
1738
Thomas Taylor
Youngest
1993
Lloyd Allinson
Most common field
Sports
15 people

What stands out about Rothwell’s famous people

★ What stands out · Known for

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.

The best known

Born in Rothwell

The three are covered in 43, 13 and 7 languages: Alan Smith, Jack Hunt and Bryan Edwards.

Alan Smith#1
Sports

Alan Smith

born 1980

English footballer, born 1980

43 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Jack Hunt#2
Sports

Jack Hunt

born 1990

English footballer (born 1990)

13 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
BE#3
Sports

Bryan Edwards

1930–2016

English footballer and manager (1930-2016)

7 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years

When Rothwell’s famous people were born

The busiest decade was the 1980s, with 3 births.

GeorgianVictorianThe 20th centuryToday175018001850190019502000Alan SmithBryan EdwardsMay Sybil Leslie
SportsScience & MedicineWriting & ArtsFaith

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

Everyone

Everyone else born in Rothwell

A further 15 follow, born between 1738 and 1993.

JB

Jack Birkenshaw

born 1940

Cricket player of England. (born 1940)

May Sybil Leslie

May Sybil Leslie

1887–1937

English chemist (1887–1937)

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Sid Jones

Sid Jones

1921–1977

English footballer (1921-1977)

AF

Alan Fowler

1911–1944

Association football player (1911-1944)

LA

Lloyd Allinson

born 1993

Association football player (born 1993)

Martha Burton Woodhead Williamson

Martha Burton Woodhead Williamson

1843–1922

American malacologist and journalist (1843–1922)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Jason Golden

Jason Golden

born 1985

English rugby league footballer

BW

Ben Wheelhouse

1902–1985

English footballer (1902-1985)

BC

Bernard Cromack

born 1937

Cricketer (born 1937)

HB

Henry Bell

1838–1919

English cricketer and Anglican clergyman (1838-1919)

JE

Jack Ellis

1912–2007

English rugby union footballer

Jamie Thackray

Jamie Thackray

born 1979

English rugby league and rugby union footballer

MF

Mark Field

born 1984

English rugby league footballer

Thomas Taylor

Thomas Taylor

1738–1816

English Methodist minister and writer

Next door

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)

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.