List of people from Preston

This is a list of the famous and notable people from Preston, Lancashire, England. For other Prestons see Preston.

List of famous people from Preston

Table of contents: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

• Richard Arkwright (1732–1792) — inventor of the water frame which revolutionised the cotton making industry in the late 18th century
• Fiona Armstrong (born 1956) — journalist, newsreader

B

• Professor Sir George Grenfell Baines, OBE (1908–2003) — architect, pioneer of multi-disciplinary design, and founder of the Building Design Partnership
• Kenny Baker (born 1934) — actor who played R2D2 in Star Wars
• Roy Barraclough (born 1935) — actor from Coronation Street
• Leo Baxendale (born 1930 in Preston) — cartoonist, ex-PCC and creator of Beano strips Little Plum (1953), Minnie the Minx (1953), The Bash Street Kids
• Stu Bennett (born 1980) — wrestler signed to WWE under the name Wade Barrett
• Tom Benson — marathon walker who held six world records^[1]
• Angela Brazil — writer of schoolgirls' stories
• Jim Burns (born 1936) — poet, writer and magazine editor

C

• Eddie Calvert (1922–1978) — trumpeter, "The Man With the Golden Horn"
• Chris Canavan (1929-2013) — television and theatre actor, extra on Coronation Street from 1962 to 2013^[2]
• Arthur Catterall (1883-1943) — concert violinist and conductor
• Belle Chrystall (1910-2003) — actress, born in Preston
• Helen Clitheroe (born 1974) — athlete, 1500m and 3000m steeplechase, went to Broughton High School^[3]

D

• Joseph Delaney (born 1945) — author of science fiction and fantasy books, born in Preston
• Michael Dempsey (born 1945) — Lancashire dialect monologue writer^[4][5][6][7]
• Anthony Devis (1729–1816) Half-brother of the artist Arthur Devis.
• Arthur Devis (1712–1728) Portrait artist, born and lived in Preston.
• Gregory Doran (born 1958) — Associate Director, Royal Shakespeare Company
• Tupele Dorgu (born 1977) — actress, known for role of Kelly Crabtree in Coronation Street
• Joseph Dunn (1746–1827) — owner of the coal-gas lighting company, the Preston Gaslight Company
• Anulka Dziubinska (born 1950) — actress and model

F

• Tim Farron (born 1970) — Leader of the Liberal Democrats and MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale
• Sir Tom Finney (1922 - 2014) — footballer
• Andrew Flintoff (born 1977) — cricketer
• Don Foster, Baron Foster of Bath (born 1947) — Liberal Democrat politician

G

• Zara Glover (born 1982) — international ten-pin bowler

H

• Susan Hanson (born 1943) —actress, Crossroads
• A.J. Hartley (1964) — popular novelist
• George Haydock (1556–1584) — Catholic priest, martyr
• James Hebblethwaite (1857–1921) — poet
• John Horrocks (1768-1804) — Member of Parliament for Preston
• Henry Hunt (1773–1835) — politician, noted for his campaigns that drastically improved the lives of working-class people

I

• John Inman (1935–2007) — comedy actor and pantomime artist

J

• Phil Jones, footballer

K

• Ian Kirkham — saxophone player, Simply Red

L

• General Sir Percy Henry Noel Lake — first Chief of the Canadian General Staff, commander of the 7th Indian Division and Chief of the Indian General Staff
• Mark Lawrenson (born 1957) — footballer turned football pundit
• Joseph Livesey (1794–1884) — social reformer and pioneer of the temperance movement in the 19th century^[8]
• Sir John Francis Lockwood — Master of Birkbeck College, London, 1951-1965, and Vice-Chancellor of the University of London, 1955-1958
• Andy Lonergan (born 1983) — footballer at Bolton Wanderers, ex-Preston North End

M

• James Mawdsley (1848–1902), English trade unionist^[9]
• Ian McCulloch (born 1971) — snooker player who reached career highest ranking of #16^[10]
• David Moyes (born 25 April 1963) — former footballer; former manager of English Premier League club Manchester United; lives in Preston

N

• Ken Nicol (born 1951) — musician and guitarist in electric folk band Steeleye Span

P

• Nick Park (born 1958) — animator famous known for Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run claymation
• Stuart Pettman (born 1975) — snooker player
• Peter Purves — Blue Peter presenter

R

• Edith Rigby (1872–1948) — suffragette

S

• Robert W. Service (1874–1958) —poet, known for his writings about the Yukon and the Klondike
• Ranvir Singh —BBC news presenter and journalist
• Mark Strange —martial arts expert and film producer
• Johnny Sullivan (1932–2003) — British boxer and Commonwealth Middleweight Champion^[11]

T

• Jessica Taylor (born 1980) —singer with Liberty X
• Francis Thompson (1859–1907) — poet
• John Thompson —actor

W

• John Wall (1620–1679) — martyr and saint
• Dick Wilson (1916–2007) — actor

References

1. "Walker Tom Benson dies aged 80". Lancashire Evening Post. Johnston Publishing. 2013-06-12. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
2. "Family and friends pay tribute to Preston's Coronation Street stalwar". Lancashire Evening Post. 2013-03-01. Retrieved 2013-03-28.
3. "Broughton Business and Enterprise College Newsletter No 23" (PDF). 2011-03-07. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
4. "Mike Dempsey Index". monologues.co.uk.
5. "mike dempsey". ntlworld.com.
6. "Wigan Dialect, Lancashire Dialect Poetry Site, Phrases, Poems, Photographs". wigandialect.co.uk.
7. "Poems and Stories". funforall.co.uk.
8. Hothersall, Barbara. "Joseph Livesey". Fulwood Methodists. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
9. Bythell, Duncan (May 2006). "Mawdsley, James (1848–1902)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/34951. Retrieved 17 August 2010
10. "Profile: Ian McCulloch". BBC. 2006-03-29. Retrieved 2013-06-21.
11. "Former champion boxer dies". The Bolton News. Newsquest (North West). 2003-02-06. Retrieved 2013-06-21.