Famous Yorkshiremen and women:
* James Henry Atkinson, inventor of the mousetrap
* Lords Baltimore the founding colonists of Avalon Peninsula and Maryland
* Donald Bailey, inventor of the Bailey Bridge
* Joseph Bramah, invented hydraulic press; one of two founders of hydraulic engineering
* Harry Brearley, Sheffield inventor of stainless steel
* George Cayley, engineer, father of aerodynamics
* Sir John Douglas Cockroft, Nobel Prize for Physics in 1951
* Capt. James Cook, Georgian oceanic explorer
* Thomas Crapper, part-inventor of flush toilet
* Joseph Hansom, architect, inventor of the Hansom cab
* John Harris, legendary settler and businessman
* John Harrison, horologist and mathematician
* Amy Johnson, aviator
* Benjamin Latrobe, architect of Washington's Capitol
* Joseph Locke, major 19th century railway engineer
* John Metcalfe, aka "Blind Jack of Knaresborough", pioneering road builder
* George Porter, Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1967
* Joseph Priestley, chemist and discoverer of oxygen
* Owen Willans Richardson, Nobel Prize for Physics in 1928
* Augustus Pitt Rivers, archaeologist, ethnologist, army officer
* Percy Shaw, inventor of Cat's Eyes
* John Smeaton, father of civil engineering
* Oliver Smithies, Nobel Prize in Physiology, or Medicine 2007
* John E. Walker, Nobel Prize for Chemistry 1997
* Geoffrey Wilkinson, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1973
Royalty and nobles
* Eirik Bloodaxe, 2nd King of Norway and last King of Jorvik
* Henry Beauclerk, Norman King of England
* Ivar the Boneless, conqueror of Northumbrian Deira from the Angles
* Olaf Cuaran, King of Dublin and Jorvik
* Oswiu of Northumbria, first Angle King of all Northumbria and also Bretwalda
* The Neville family, prior second family of Yorkshire after royal family
* Edward Plantagenet, Yorkist Prince of Wales.
* Halfdan Ragnarsson, first King of Jorvik
* The Scrope family of nobles
Politicians and activists
* Herbert Henry Asquith, Liberal MP, Prime Minister 1908-1916
* David Blunkett, Labour MP for Sheffield Brightside, Home Secretary 2001-2004
* Betty Boothroyd, former Labour MP, Speaker of the House of Commons
* Barbara Castle, Labour MP, former Minister of Transport who introduced the breathalyser
* Derek Enright, linguist and Labour MP
* Sir Marcus Fox, Conservative MP for Shipley (1970-1997), former chairman of the 1922 Committee
* William Hague, MP and former leader of the Conservative Party
* Roy Hattersley, former deputy leader of the Labour Party
* Denis Healey, former Labour MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1974–1979
* Sir Bernard Ingham, former press secretary to Margaret Thatcher
* Roy Mason, former Labour MP and cabinet minister
* Richard Oastler, educationalist, activist
* James Pickles, former High Court judge
* Arthur Scargill, miners' union leader
* William Wilberforce, social campaigner who brought about the abolition of slavery
* Harold Wilson, Labour MP, Prime Minister 1964-70 and 1974-76
Writers
* John Arden, playright
* Simon Armitage, West Yorkshire poet
* Kate Atkinson, York-born novelist
* W.H. Auden, poet, born in York in 1907
* Simon Beaufoy, screenwriter, author of The Full Monty
* Alan Bennett, playwright and actor
* Sir Malcolm Bradbury, Sheffield-born novelist and academic
* Barbara Taylor Bradford, popular novelist
* John Braine, novelist and playwright
* Asa Briggs, historian, professor
* Anne Brontë, writer, author of "The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall"
* Branwell Brontë, writer and artist
* Charlotte Brontë, writer, author of "Jane Eyre"
* Emily Brontë, writer, author of "Wuthering Heights"
* AS Byatt, novelist
* Bruce Chatwin, Sheffield-born novelist and travel writer
* Lindsay Clarke, novelist
* Roy Clarke, comedy writer, author of Last Of The Summer Wine, Open All Hours
* Andrea Dunbar, playwright, author of Rita, Sue and Bob Too
* Margaret Drabble, novelist
* Helen Dunmore, novelist
* Sir William Empson, author of "Seven Types Of Ambiguity"
* Helen Fielding, author of Bridget Jones' Diary
* George Gissing, novelist, author of New Grub Street
* John Godber, West Yorkshire playwright
* Willis Hall, playwright
* Tony Harrison, Leeds-born poet
* Justin Hill, Author and poet
* Barry Hines, Author and film producer ("Kes")
* Sir Fred Hoyle, astronomer and author of "A For Andromeda"
* Ted Hughes, former poet laureate
* Eric Knight, writer
* Bryony Lavery, playwright
* George MacBeth, poet
* Andrew Marvell, poet
* Ian McMillan, poet from Barnsley
* Kay Mellor, TV writer
* David Mercer, playwright, TV writer, screenwriter
* Blake Morrison, writer and poet
* David Peace, novelist
* Gervase Phinn, comic novelist
* Alan Plater, playwright
* J.B. Priestley, man of letters
* Robert Raikes the Elder, printer, founder of Gloucester Journal
* Sir Herbert Read, great art critic
* Joe Simpson, writer and mountaineer, author of Touching The Void
* Laurence Sterne, Irish-born, Yorkshire-raised and educated author of Tristram Shandy
* David Storey, Booker Prize-winning novelist
* Charles Stross, science fiction writer (Singularity Sky)
* Keith Waterhouse, journalist and author
Artists and sculptors
* Andy Goldsworthy, artist
* Doug Binder, artist
* John Bratby, artist
* John Atkinson Grimshaw, artist
* Barbara Hepworth, artist
* David Hockney, artist
* Percy Metcalfe, artist
* Henry Moore, sculptor
Actors
* Sean Bean, actor
* Brian Blessed, actor
* Sir Tom Courtenay, actor
* Judi Dench, actress
* Michael Denison, actor
* Peter Firth, actor
* Brian Glover, actor and former wrestler
* Richard Griffiths, actor
* Gail Harris, actress and model
* Jimmy Jewel, actor
* Gordon Kaye, actor, star of 'Allo 'Allo
* Ben Kingsley, actor
* Charles Laughton, actor and director of classic Night of The Hunter
* James Mason, actor
* Malcolm McDowell, actor (A Clockwork Orange)
* Eric Portman, actor
* Peter O'Toole, actor
* Wilfred Pickles, actor, comedian and quizmaster
* Diana Rigg, actress, "Emma Peel" in The Avengers
* Patrick Stewart, actor, "Jean-Luc Picard" in Star Trek: The Next Generation
* Mollie Sugden, actress (Are You Being Served?)
* Timothy West, actor
* Billie Whitelaw, actress
* Helen Worth, soap opera actress (Coronation Street)
Comedians
* Julian Barratt, comedian, actor and writer (The Mighty Boosh)
* Marti Caine, comedienne
* Chuckle Brothers, comedians Barry and Paul Elliot
* Johnnie Casson, Halifax comedian, Peter Kay's "idol"
* Alun Cochrane, comedian
* Barry Cryer, writer and comedian
* Adrian Edmondson, comedian and actor (The Young Ones)
* Marti Caine, comedienne
* Norman Collier, comedian
* Jeremy Dyson, comedian, actor and scriptwriter of League of Gentleman
* Graham Fellows, comedian, creator of John Shuttleworth
* Boothby Graffoe (comedian), surreal comedian with BBC4 series
* Daniel Kitson, comedian, won Perrier in 2002
* Maureen Lipman, actress and comedian
* Bob Mortimer, comedian from Middlesbrough
* Michael Palin, actor and comedian (Monty Python's Flying Circus)
* Sandy Powell, comedian
* Vic Reeves, Leeds-born comedian
* Paul Shane, actor and comedian
* Reece Shearsmith, actor, comedian and scriptwriter of League of Gentleman
* Count Arthur Strong, character created by comedian Steve Delaney; on BBC Radio 4
* Charlie Williams, comedian and footballer
* Ernie Wise, comedian
Musicians
* Arctic Monkeys, Sheffield rock group
* Dame Janet Baker, opera singer
* John Barry, composer, best known for his soundtracks for James Bond films and Midnight Cowboy
* Arthur Brown, rock singer
* Findlay Brown, folk singer
* Tony Capstick, folk singer and actor
* Kaiser Chiefs, indie band from Leeds
* Tony Christie, singer
* Jarvis Cocker, lead singer of Pulp
* Joe Cocker, rock singer
* Kiki Dee, singer/songwriter
* Frederick Delius, composer
* Keith Emerson, organist
* Martin Fry, lead singer of ABC
* Gang of Four (band), Leeds post-Punk group
* Lesley Garrett, opera singer
* Gareth Gates, singer
* Richard Hawley, Sheffield singer and guitarist
* Allan Holdsworth, "jazz fusion" guitarist and composer
* Geoff Love, bandleader
* John McLaughlin, jazz guitarist, founder of the Mahavishnu Orchestra
* Phil Oakey, musician, lead singer of the Human League
* Robert Palmer, singer
* Corinne Bailey Ray, Leeds singer
* Chris Rea, singer
* Mick Ronson, guitarist with David Bowie's Spiders From Mars
* Steve Rothery, guitarist with Marillion
* Kate Rusby, folk singer
* Sisters of Mercy, Goth group from Leeds
* Jake Thackray, folk singer
* Fanny Waterman, concert pianist, music teacher, founder of the Leeds International Piano Festival
* Chris Wolstenholme, musician in the English band, Muse
Television presenters
* Richard Alexander, producer and presenter
* Roy Castle, late singer, dancer and TV presenter
* Jeremy Clarkson, broadcaster
* John Craven, television presenter
* John Noakes, television presenter, known best for presenting Blue Peter
* Michael Parkinson, chat show host
* Sir Jimmy Savile, disc-jockey and broadcaster
* Alan Titchmarsh, TV presenter and gardener
* Richard Whiteley, television presenter, Countdown
Others
* Harry Corbett, puppeteer, creator of "Sooty and Sweep"
* Jonti Picking, creator of the Weebl and Bob cartoon series
* Marco Pierre White, Hell's Kitchen chef
Athletics
* Peter Elliott, athlete
* Sam Ellis, athlete
* Jessica Ennis, athlete
* Dorothy Hyman, athlete
* John Sherwood, athlete
Boxing
* Richard Dunn, boxer
* Herol "Bomber" Graham, boxer
* "Prince" Naseem Hamed, boxer
* Junior Witter, boxer
Cricket
* Bob Appleyard, cricketer
* Harold "Dickie" Bird, cricket umpire
* Geoffrey Boycott, cricketer
* Bill Bowes, cricketer
* Brian Close, cricketer
* Darren Gough, cricketer
* George Herbert Hirst, cricketer
* Matthew Hoggard, cricketer
* Sir Leonard Hutton, cricketer, Ashes-winning captain
* Raymond Illingworth, cricketer, Ashes-winning captain
* Frank Stanley Jackson, cricketer, and Ashes-winning captain
* Jim Laker, cricketer and broadcaster
* Barry Leadbeater, cricketer
* Maurice Leyland, cricketer
* Thomas Lord, builder of Lord's Cricket Ground in London
* Don Mosey, cricket commentator and journalist, nicknamed "The Alderman"
* Wilfred Rhodes, cricketer
* Ryan Sidebottom, cricketer
* Herbert Sutcliffe, cricketer
* Fred Trueman, cricketer
* Hedley Verity, cricketer
* Michael Vaughan, Manchester-born cricketer, Ashes-winning captain
* Johnny Wardle, cricketer
* Willie Watson, duel international in cricket and football
Football
* Gordon Banks, footballer, part of the England World Cup-winning team of 1966
* Brian Clough, football manager with Derby County and Nottingham Forest
* Kevin Davies, footballer
* Kevin Keegan, former England footballer, now football manager
* Stuart McCall, footballer, Bradford City, Everton, Rangers and Scotland
* Steve McClaren, footballer, former manager of England
* Don Revie, footballer and manager of Leeds United and England
* David Seaman, footballer, 75 caps as England goalkeeper
* Len Shackleton, England footballer, known as the "Clown Prince"
* Alan Smith, footballer
* Frank Worthington, footballer
Rugby
* John Bentley, rugby league and union player
* Stuart Fielden, rugby league player
* Neil Fox, rugby league player
* Albert Goldthorpe, rugby player
* Ellery Hanley, rugby league player
* Alan Hardisty, rugby league player
* Brian Noble, rugby league player and coach
* Jonty Parkin, rugby league player
* Mal Reilly, rugby league player and coach
* Jason Robinson, rugby union
* Clive Sullivan, rugby league player
* Harold Wagstaff, rugby league player
* Eddie Waring, rugby league commentator
Others
* Karen Inman (nee Briggs), world and Olympic judo champion
* Beryl Burton, cyclist
* Kenny Carter, former world speedway champion
* Howard Clark, Ryder Cup golfer
* Shirley Crabtree, wrestler, better known as Big Daddy
* George Duffield, jockey
* Alan Hinkes, first Briton to climb world's highest 14 peaks
* Les Kellett, wrestler and pig farmer
* Adrian Moorhouse, Olympic swimmer
* Harvey Smith, showjumper and racehorse trainer
* Roger Taylor, tennis player, Wimbledon men's semi-finalist in 1973
Miscellaneous
* Richard Bentley, 17th/18th century theologian, scholar, critic
* William Bradley, the tallest ever Britishman.
* Thomas Chippendale, furniture designer and maker
* Guy Fawkes, of the Gunpowder Plot
* John Fisher, 15th/16th century cardinal, bishop, martyr
* Robin Hood (Robert of Loxley), legendary outlaw and folk hero <-- Beat that, Montana!
* Thomas Spencer, co-founder of Marks and Spencer in Leeds market
* Andy Strangeway, record-breaking islomaniac and travel writer
* Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper
* Jane Tomlinson, cancer charity fundraiser
* John Wycliffe, 14th century theologian, first English translator of bible
