This is a list of people from the City of Bradford, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. This list includes people from Bradford, and the wider metropolitan borough, and includes people from Keighley, Shipley, Bingley and Ilkley and other areas. This list is arranged alphabetically by surname:
__NOTOC__ 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
Steve Abbott – (born 28 July 1954) film producer and executive producer. His credits include A Fish Called Wanda, American Friends, Blame it on the Bellboy, Brassed Off and Fierce Creatures. Abbott was born in Bradford. Christa Ackroyd – (born 1957) television and radio presenter, born in Eccleshill. Richard Alexander – (born 1971) television presenter, producer & director, born in Wibsey. Eric Anderson, – (1915–1943) recipient of the Victoria Cross. Born in Fagley, Bradford. Natalie Anderson – (born 24 October 1981) English actress best known for her roles as Alicia Gallagher in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale and Stella Davenport in the medical drama The Royal, was born in Bradford. Sir Edward Appleton – (1892–1965) physicist and Nobel prizewinner, born in Bradford. Richard J. Appleton – (1856–1946) a camera manufacturer and film maker, Appleton devised a tri-partite apparatus which he called the Cieroscope, combining the functions of camera, printer and projector, first put into use in November 1896. Robert Appleyard (27 June 1924 – 17 March 2015) Yorkshire and England cricketer. He was one of the best English bowlers of the 1950s, a decade which saw England develop its strongest bowling attack of the twentieth century. Born in Bradford. Tasmin Archer – (born 1963) pop singer, born in Bradford.
B David Bairstow – (1951–1998) was a cricketer, born in Bradford, who played for Yorkshire CCC and England. He also played football for Bradford City.
Jonny Bairstow – (born 1989) cricketer, born in Bradford, who plays first-class cricket for Yorkshire CCC and England. Bruce Bannister – (born 14 April 1947) retired professional footballer who played for Bradford City FC. Bannister founded a successful sports clothing and footwear business, SportsShoes.com. Born in Bradford. Juliet Barker – (born 1958) British historian, specialising in the Middle Ages and literary biography. Linda Barker – (born 6 October 1961) English interior designer and television presenter. Educated at Bradford Girls' Grammar School. Wright Barker – (1863–1941) English painter, born in Great Horton, Bradford. Geoffrey Barraclough – (10 May 1908 – 26 December 1984) British historian, known as a medievalist and historian of Germany. Born in Bradford John Bateman – (born 30 September 1993) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as second-row, loose forward and centre for the Canberra Raiders in the NRL, and England and Great Britain at international level. Born in Bradford. Ivy Bean – (1905–2010) oldest Twitter user, one of the oldest Facebook users, and a centenarian Simon Beaufoy – (born 1967) Academy Award-winning screenwriter, born in Keighley. Sir Jacob Behrens – (1806–1889) Anglo-German textile merchant. He was a founder of the Bradford Chamber of Commerce in 1851. Gerard Benson – (1931–2014) originally from London, Bradford's first and only poet laureate. Gerard was a Quaker, a poet and a teacher. Lived in Manningham. David Berglas – (1926–2023) psychological magician, mentalist, and mnemonist. Sharon Beshenivsky – (1967–2005) police constable, born in Bradford, who was killed in the line of duty on Friday 18 November 2005. Tony Bevan – (born 1951) British painter. He studied at Bradford School of Art from 1968 to 1971, followed by Goldsmiths' College, London from 1971 to 1974, and the Slade School of Fine Art from 1974 to 1976. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in London as an Academician in 2007. Born in Bradford.
Rodney Bewes – (1937–2017) English television actor and writer. Born in Bingley. William Binnie – (1867–1949) civil engineer educated at Bradford Grammar School. David Blamires – (born 16 March 1957) English Grammy award-winning musician, born in Bradford. Ernst Wilhelm Bohle – (1903–1960) was the leader of the Foreign Organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP/AO) from 1933. Born in Bradford Tim Booth – (born 4 February 1960) English singer, dancer and actor best known as the lead singer from the band James. Born in Bradford. Aidy Boothroyd – (born 1971) football coach and manager, born in Baildon. Bill Bowes – (25 July 1908 – 4 September 1987) one of the best bowlers of the interwar period and, for a time, the most important force behind Yorkshire's then dominance of the County Championship. Lived in Menston. John Gerard Braine – (1922–1986) novelist, born in Bingley. Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs – (born 7 May 1921) English historian known for his work on the Victorian era. Anne Brontë – (1820–1849) novelist and poet, born in Thornton on the outskirts of Bradford. Charlotte Brontë – (1816–1855) novelist and poet, born in Thornton. Emily Brontë – (1818–1848) novelist and poet, born in Thornton. Patrick Branwell Brontë – (1817–1848) painter, writer and poet, born in Thornton. Alfred J. Brown – (1894–1969) travel writer, novelist (pseudonym: Julian Laverack) and poet.
C Alastair Campbell – (born 1957) political aide and Labour Party strategist associated with Tony Blair. Born in Keighley. Bobby Campbell – (1956–2016) former Northern Irish footballer, played for Bradford City Football Club Horace James Cannon – (1895–1975) was awarded the George Cross. Date and place of the action: 26 January 1918 Spitalgate, Grantham, Lincolnshire. Born in Bradford. Maurice Carter ( – 2011), New Zealand property developer and local politician born in Bradford. Barbara Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn – (1910–2002) British Labour Party politician. Her family lived in Bradford from when she was 12; she was educated at Bradford Girls' Grammar School. Dean Cavanagh – (born 1966) writer for screen, film and theatre. Born in Allerton. George William Chafer – (1894–1966) English recipient of the Victoria Cross. Born in Bradford. Kathleen Chambers – became the first female Lord Mayor of Bradford in 1945. Enzo Cilenti – (born 8 August 1974) English actor, educated at Bradford Grammar School. Born in Bradford. Helen Clare – (29 November 1916 – 15 September 2018) Singer on BBC Radio and with British dance bands in the 1930 and 1940s; born in Bradford, she also lived in Shipley when growing up. John Coates – (29 June 1865 – 16 August 1941) leading English tenor, who sang in opera and oratorio and on the concert platform. Born in Bradford. Harry Corbett – (1918–1989) puppeteer, born in Bradford. Known as the creator in 1948 of the long running 'Sooty' glove puppet character. Richard Corbett – (born 6 January 1955) Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Yorkshire & Humber 1999–2009 and 2014–2020 and the last Leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party (EPLP) 2017–2020, lived in Saltaire and then Wrose (Shipley). Tom Cleverley – (born 1989) footballer who was brought up in Bradford and started his career at Bradford City. Ian Clough – (1937–1970) mountaineer, born in Baildon, who was killed on an expedition to climb the south face of the Himalayan massif Annapurna. Albert Crewe – (1927–2009) American physicist born in Bradford, inventor of the modern scanning transmission electron microscope. Bryan R. Cullen – (born 1951) professor of molecular genetics and microbiology at Duke University Medical Center Joe Cullen – (born 1989) PDC professional darts player born in Bradford
D
Ann Daniels, British polar explorer Sir Benjamin Dawson, 1st Baronet (1878–1966) – chairman of Joseph Dawson Ltd., cashmere textile manufacturers. Kiki Dee – (born 1947) singer, born Pauline Matthews in Little Horton. Frederick Delius – (1862–1934) composer born in Bradford. Fabian Delph – (born 1989) footballer, born in Bradford, who plays as a midfielder for Everton and has represented his country at Senior level. Joolz Denby – (born 1955) poet, novelist and artist based in Bradford. A A Dhand – British Asian crime writer and pharmacist who grew up in Bradford. William Henry Drew – (1854–1933) textile worker, early trade unionist and one of the founders of the Independent Labour Party, who worked and died in Bradford. Andrea Dunbar – (1961–1990) Bradford born playwright best known for the autobiographical drama and film, Rita, Sue and Bob Too Richard Dunn – (born 1945) professional boxer; a former European, British and Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion who lived in Bradford. Dynamo – (Steven Frayne, born 1982) street magician and TV personality, born in Bradford. Sir Frank Watson Dyson – (1868–1939) astronomer Royal 1910–1933. Brought up in Bradford from an early age.
E
Adrian Edmondson – (born 24 January 1957) comedian, writer, director, actor, and musician. Born in Bradford. Friederich Wilhelm Eurich – (1867–1945) professor of forensic medicine and bacteriologist who worked and lived in Bradford and did much to conquer anthrax in the wool trade. Richard Eurich – (1903–1992) artist and landscape painter born in Bradford.
F
Charles Edward Fairburn – (5 September 1887 – 12 October 1945) Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. Born in Bradford Susan Fassbender – (1959– 1992) English singer, songwriter and musician. Born in Bradford. Antonio Fattorini (Tony) – watchmaker, jeweller, chess enthusiast, well known local sportsman, Olympic timekeeper and founder member of Bradford City Football Club. John Enrico Fattorini – (1878–1949) jeweller, entrepreneur, founder of the Bradford mail order firm Grattan. Wilfred Fienburgh – (1919–1958) British Labour Party politician. He was brought up in Bradford. John Foster (1798–1879) was the founder of Black Dyke Mills. Walter C. Foster – (1887–1929) artist who studied at the Royal College of Art. His work was exhibited at Cartwright Hall between 1911 and 1919. Born in Bingley. Alfred Fowler (22 March 1868 – 24 June 1940) was an English astronomer. Born in Wilsden. Samson Fox – (1838–1903) engineer, industrialist and philanthropist, born in Bowling, Bradford. Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron – "Black Tom" (1612–1671) general and parliamentary commander-in-chief during the civil war. Born at Denton Hall, Otley. Peter Firth – (born 1953) actor born in Bradford. William Edward Forster – (1818–1886) industrialist, philanthropist and Liberal Party statesman. MP for Bradford, he is commemorated by a statue, and Forster Square is named after him. Rodney Friend – (born 1940) violinist. He won a scholarship aged 12 to the Royal Academy of Music. In 1964 Friend became the youngest ever leader of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Born in Bradford.
G Kenneth Garside – (1913–1983) librarian, information theorist and World War II British Intelligence Corps officer. Born in Bradford. Gareth Gates – (born 1984) singer-songwriter born in Bradford. William Gay – (1814–1893) landscape gardener, surveyor and cemetery designer. Lisa Gormley – (born 1984) actress in Home and Away. Born in Bradford, moved to Australia at age 3. John William Gott – (1866–1922) from Bradford, last person in Britain to be tried for blasphemy. Harry Gration – (1950–2022) journalist and broadcaster based in Leeds. He is one of the main anchors for the BBC Yorkshire regional magazine programme Look North. Born in Bradford. Mason Greenwood (born 1 October 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United and the England under-21 team.
H Rory Haines – (born 22 June 1984) BAFTA nominated screenwriter and showrunner known for the TV series Informer. Born in Bradford.