List of people from Manchester

A–C

• Daniel Adamson engineer born in Durham who designed the Manchester Ship Canal; one of the directors of the Manchester chamber of commerce; Justice of the Peace for Cheshire and Manchester; buried in Withington
• Chris Addison stand-up comedian, writer and actor
• Mark Addy Manchester-born Albert Medal recipient
• Caroline Aherne BAFTA Award-winning actress, comedian and writer, The Mrs Merton Show
• William Harrison Ainsworth historical novelist born in Manchester
• Sir John Alcock aviator who, with Arthur Whitten Brown, made the first nonstop transatlantic flight
• Adam Anderson synthesist, one half of synth-pop duo Hurts.
• Don Arden Cheetham Hill-born music manager and businessman, who oversaw the careers of rock groups the Small Faces, Electric Light Orchestra and Black Sabbath.
• Anthony Arthur Olympic weightlifter
• George Arthurs, songwriter and author
• George Aspull an English musician.
• Rob Atha table football player
• Michael Atherton former England cricket captain and commentator
• Ambrose Barlow a canonized Benedictine monk.
• Thomas Barritt an early British antiquary.
• Joshua Bayes a nonconformist minister.
• Norman Beaker from Longsight, blues guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, band leader and record producer, inducted as a Legend in the Blues Hall of Fame in 2017.
• Kathryn Beaumont actress, known for playing the title role in Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland, born in Victoria Park.
• William Worby Beaumont automotive engineer and inventor
• Max Beesley English actor and musician
• Thomas Bellot an English naval surgeon and philologist.
• Michael Bisping UFC Middleweight Champion
• Niamh Blackshaw actress, portrayed Juliet Nightingale in Hollyoaks
• John Blackwall naturalist with a particular interest in spiders.
• John Booker an English astrologer with a career for over 30 years.
• Stan Bowles born and brought up in Collyhurst; Manchester City, QPR, Nottingham Forest and England International footballer in the 1970s
• Maud Boyd actress and operatic singer
• John Bradford English Reformer, prebendary of Old St Paul's Cathedral, and martyr.
• William Bradley an English portrait artist.
• Benjamin Brierley weaver, who took up writing in Lancashire dialect.
• John Briggs prelate of the Roman Catholic Church and Bishop of Beverley from 1850 to 1860.
• Edward Brotherton English Swedenborgian and educational reform campaigner.
• Joe Brown born in Ardwick, climber and mountaineer
• Wes Brown former Manchester United footballer
• Jabez Bunting Wesleyan Methodist leader.
• Anthony Burgess Manchester-born and educated author, poet, playwright, musician, linguist, translator and critic, known for novel A Clockwork Orange
• Frances Hodgson Burnett, a British-American novelist and playwright, she wrote Little Lord Fauntleroy.
• Henry James Byron dramatist, editor, journalist, director, theatre manager, novelist and actor.
• Darren Campbell former sprinter representing Great Britain
• John Cassell was an English publisher, printer, writer and editor, founded Cassell & Co.
• Thomas George Cassell YouTuber and Twitch streamer
• John Cassidy Irish-born sculptor and painter who lived in Manchester
• Tom Chantrell designer of many film posters including The Sound of Music and Star Wars
• Sir Humphrey Chetham merchant and benefactor of Chetham's Library; born in Crumpsall
• Saira Choudhry, actress, born in Cheetham Hill
• Stanley Chow artist and illustrator
• Samuel Clegg engineer, he developed the gas works process.
• John Clowes cleric, Rector of St John's Church, Manchester, disciple of Emanuel Swedenborg.
• Richard Cobden Sussex-born industrialist who moved to Manchester, where he was politically active
• Ellen Melicent Cobden writer, radical campaigner and suffragist; daughter of Richard Cobden
• Kenneth Colley actor who played Admiral Piett in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi
• Roy Collins cricketer who played for Lancashire and Cheshire; born in Clayton
• Verona Conway plant ecologist
• George Cooke an English actor.
• George Cooke cricketer
• Mary Corkling artist and food reformer, was born at Withington
• Lisa Cross IFBB professional bodybuilder
• Kevin Cummins award-winning professional photographer, responsible for iconic Joy Division photographs and for charting the rise of punk rock and Britpop, born in Withington
• Peter Cundall horticulturist and television presenter; born in Manchester
• Ian Curtis musician and singer in Joy Division

D–G

• Mark Davies Roman Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury
• Aaron Davis his stage name Bugzy Malone, rapper and actor, grime genre artist
• Les Dawson comedian, born in Collyhurst
• Arthur Delaney painter, influenced by L. S. Lowry
• Lee Dixon former professional footballer and ITV Sport football pundit
• DJ Semtex disc jockey and presenter for BBC Radio 1Xtra digital radio station, presents the hip-hop show Friday Nights
• Robert Donat film and stage actor; known for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps and Goodbye, Mr. Chips, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor
• Edith Escombe fiction writer and essayist
• Rachel Fairburn popular comedian and one half of the true crime serial killer comedy podcast All Killa No Filla
• Thomas Falkner a Jesuit missionary, explorer and physician, active in Patagonia.
• Benjamin Rawlinson Faulkner an English portrait-painter.
• Judy Finnigan TV presenter and columnist; usually co-presents with her husband, Richard Madeley; as a pair they are Richard and Judy
• Wayne Fontana real name Glyn Geoffrey Ellis, singer with the Mindbenders
• Norman Foster architect; founder and chairman of Foster and Partners studios; raised in Levenshulme
• Dean Furman professional footballer
• Liam Gallagher lead singer of Manchester band Oasis
• Noel Gallagher songwriter and lead guitarist for High Flying Birds and formerly Oasis
• George Garrett submarine pioneer who built Resurgam; brought up in Moss Side
• Max George singer, songwriter, actor and member of boy band the Wanted
• Andy Gibb singer and actor; born in Stretford
• Barry Gibb singer and musician, member of the Bee Gees; brought up in Chorlton-cum-Hardy
• Maurice Gibb singer and musician, member of the Bee Gees; brought up in Chorlton-cum-Hardy
• Robin Gibb singer and songwriter, member of the Bee Gees; brought up in Chorlton-cum-Hardy
• Jimmy Golder professional footballer, played 145 games for Hyde United F.C.
• Jimi Goodwin bassist, vocalist and guitarist for the Doves
• Holliday Grainger actress, known for her roles in The Borgias, Strike or The Capture TV series
• William Green artist, poet, writer and landscape painter.
• William Rathbone Greg an English essayist.
• Trevor Griffiths dramatist, co-writer of screenplay for the film Reds; born in Ancoats
• Nick Grimshaw Manchester-born Radio 1 DJ
• Sydney Grundy English dramatist, he adaptated European plays.

H–M

• Andrew Hall Cheshire cricketer
• Arthur Harden Manchester-born Nobel Prize–winning biochemist
• Charles Christian Hennell an English merchant, and a Unitarian apologist.
• Mary Hennell a reforming writer from a notable family of writers.
• William Henry an English chemist, developed Henry's law.
• Benjamin Heywood prominent Manchester citizen, philanthropist and politician
• Oliver Heywood banker and philanthropist
• Thomas Heywood antiquarian, involved in the Chetham Society.
• George Hibbert merchant, politician, ship-owner, botanist and book-collector; co-founded of the West India Dock Company and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in 1824.
• Bernard Hill film, stage and television actor, known for playing Yosser Hughes in Boys from the Blackstuff and roles in blockbuster films, including Titanic, The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and True Crime
• Matt Hill science fiction and horror writer
• Richard Hollinworth an English clergyman of presbyterian views.
• Ray Honeyford headmaster and writer, known for highlighting the failures of multiculturalism in Bradford
• John Hopkinson physicist, electrical engineer, he invented the three-wire wiring system.
• Keith Hopwood guitarist with Herman's Hermits, born in Davyhulme
• Shotty Horroh real name Adam Rooney, well known rapper, singer and actor
• Myra Hindley Gorton-born serial killer who, along with her accomplice, Ian Brady, claimed the lives of five victims in Manchester in the 1960s
• Peter Hook bassist of the bands Joy Division and New Order
• Mick Hucknall lead singer of the band Simply Red
• Charles Hulbert businessman and writer.
• Nat Jacobs amateur and professional boxer
• Howard Jacobson Man Booker Prize-winning British Jewish author and journalist, best known for writing comic novels that often revolve around the dilemmas of British Jewish characters
• Edward James MP QC barrister and Liberal Party politician.
• Davy Jones actor; singer of the band the Monkees
• Michelle Keegan an actress on Coronation Street
• Brian Kidd football coach; assistant manager at Manchester City since December 2009; former player; assistant manager to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in the 1990s; born in Collyhurst
• Foo Foo Lammar drag queen, real name Francis Joseph Pearson born in Ancoats
• Ann Lee, commonly known as Mother Ann Lee, was the founding leader of the Shakers.
• Harold Lever Labour politician and Baron Lever
• Emmanuel Levy painter, teacher and art critic
• Martin Lewis Withington-born financial journalist who founded MoneySavingExpert.com
• Harvey Lisberg music and sporting manager who discovered Herman's Hermits
• David Lloyd George born in Chorlton-in-Medlock; British Prime Minister during the First World War; member of the Liberal Party.
• Sunny Lowry Longsight-born swimmer who was the first British woman to swim the English Channel
• Francis Maceroni soldier, diplomat, revolutionary, balloonist, author and inventor.
• Bernard Manning Ancoats-born stand-up comedian
• Ernest Marples politician, Postmaster-General and Minister of Transport; born in Levenshulme
• Johnny Marr songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist, harmonica player and singer; the guitarist in the Smiths
• Ian McShane actor who grew up in Manchester
• Peter Mellor American football goalkeeper and coach played 512 games before moving to USA
• Mohyeldeen Mohammad Islamist activist who studied in Saudi Arabia prior to his deportation
• Thomas Molineux stenographer and schoolteacher.
• Steven Patrick Morrissey singer-songwriter and frontman in the Smiths, writer and poet. Born in Old Trafford,
• Daniel Moult concert organist, organ tutor and animateur, ensemble player and presenter of films about music
• Gary Mounfield known as Mani, bassist, formerly of the Stone Roses and later in ''Primal Scream''

N–R

• Doug Naylor comedy writer, created the comedy series Red Dwarf
• Matt O'Connor marketing consultant, political activist and gender equality activist; founded of Fathers 4 Justice
• Samuel Ogden a priest of Church of England, an academic and popular preacher.
• Alfred Ollivant an academic who became Bishop of Llandaff.
• Jason Orange singer, songwriter, dancer, former member of Take That
• Daniel Orme artist, publisher and official Historical Engraver to George III.
• Nigel Osborne composer, teacher and aid worker
• John Owens merchant and philanthropist, he helped found part of the University of Manchester.
• Nathan Paget an English physician, active during the English Civil War.
• Emmeline Pankhurst political activist and suffragette, born in Moss Side
• Joseph Parry a British painter and engraver.
• David William Paynter an English author of poetry and drama.
• Henry Pendleton an English churchman, a theologian and controversialist.
• Duncan Perry cricketer
• Anshel Pfeffer journalist
• Karl Pilkington podcaster, author and TV presenter; known for his work with Ricky Gervais
• Fee Plumley digital artist, technology evangelist and digital consultant.
• John Polanyi chemist, brought up in Manchester; won the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research in chemical kinetics
• Simon N. Powell born in Manchester; cancer researcher and radiation oncologist
• Victoria Princewill – born in Manchester; novelist and author of In the Palace of Flowers and The Diary of Sarah Forbes Bonetta
• Thomas de Quincey born in Manchester; author and intellectual; known for his Confessions of an English Opium-Eater
• Dorning Rasbotham an English writer, antiquarian and artist.
• Marcus Rashford footballer; plays for Barcelona and England
• Lee Rigby of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers; originally from Middleton, Greater Manchester; Lee, whilst off-duty and walking back to barracks, was killed by two Islamic extremists on 27 May 2013 as a terror attack
• Marc Riley musician; alternative rock critic and radio DJ on BBC 6 Music; former member of the Fall
• Samuel Robinson an industrialist and scholar of Persian who founded the Dukinfield Village Library.
• John Bolton Rogerson an English poet.
• Andy Rourke bass guitarist best known for being a former member of the Smiths
• Lee Rourke novelist best known for The Canal, Vulgar Things and Glitch
• James Rowley an English first-class cricketer.
• Shaun Ryder vocalist and songwriter with the Happy Mondays who became famous in the Madchester era

S–Z

• Peter Saville Manchester-born artist and designer, best known for his work with Factory Records
• James Saxon an English portrait painter.
• Ceallach Spellman actor and presenter
• John Squire guitarist with the Stone Roses
• Paul Stenning author, brought up in Davyhulme
• James Stephenson an English engraver.
• Nobby Stiles born in Collyhurst, former football midfielder. One of only three Englishmen to have won both World and European Cups
• Frank Stone an English painter.
• Bernard Sumner singer-songwriter, guitarist, keyboard player and producer, founding member of two bands, Joy Division and New Order
• Julia Sutcliffe engineer
• John Thaw actor; known for his roles in The Sweeney, Inspector Morse and Kavanagh QC; born in Longsight, brought up in Burnage
• Katie Thistleton CBBC presenter and Radio 1 DJ
• John Thomas recipient of the Victoria Cross
• Edmund Thomson cricketer and British Army officer
• Elihu Thomson engineer and inventor who helped found several major electrical companies in the United Kingdom, France, and the United States
• John Thompson a British wood-engraver.
• J. J. Thomson physicist and Nobel laureate; credited with the discovery of the electron and of isotopes, and the invention of the mass spectrometer; awarded the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the electron and his work on the conduction of electricity in gases
• Robert Thyer writer and literary editor, best known as Chetham's Librarian.
• Charles Henry Timperley an English printer and writer.
• Mabel Tylecote adult educationist
• Shayne Ward singer who won the second series of The X Factor
• Mary Warner 1804–1854) actress and theatre manager.
• Sir Edward Watkin, 1st Baronet MP and railway entrepreneur.
• Simon Webbe singer/songwriter. Member of boyband Blue
• Danny Webber footballer, formerly of Manchester United and Sheffield United
• Danny Welbeck footballer who plays for Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
• Charles White physician, co-founded the Manchester Royal Infirmary.
• James William Whittaker a British watercolour painter.
• John Whitaker an English historian and Anglican clergyman.
• John William Whittaker an English Anglican clergyman.
• Sir Joseph Whitworth engineer, entrepreneur, inventor and philanthropist
• Andy Williams drummer and vocalist of the Doves
• Jez Williams guitarist/songwriter of the Doves
• Tony Wilson co-founder of Factory Records and Granada Reports reporter
• Michael Wood historian and broadcaster; has presented numerous TV documentary series, and made over 80 documentary films
• Walter B. Woodbury an inventor and pioneering English photographer.
• Alan Wren known as Reni; drummer of the Stone Roses
• Thomas Wright a prison philanthropist.
• Katie Zelem footballer for England women