Many famous people were born in Portsmouth, or have lived here during their lives. Some of them are shown below.

Famous people who were born in Portsmouth

• Henry Ayers (1821-1897), Premier of the colony of South Australia and had Ayers Rock named after him
• Walter Besant (1836-1901), novelist and historian
• Denise Black (b 1959), actress
• Roger Black (b 1966), Olympic medallist and TV presenter
• Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859), engineer and creator of the Great Western Railway
• James Callaghan (1912-2005), former Prime Minister
• Jeremiah Chubb (1793-1870), inventor of the Chubb lock - his brother Charles improved it and founded the Chubb company
• Marilyn Cole (b 1949), former Playboy Playmate and married Hugh Heffner in 1984
• Charles Dickens (1812-1870), novelist
• Murray Gold (b 1969), composer - provides the music for the current series of 'Doctor Who'
• Brian Howe, vocalist with Bad Company
• Paul Jones (b 1942), vocalist with Manfred Mann, solo singer and radio presenter
• Roger Kitter (b 1950), actor
• Thomas Ellis Owen (1805-1862), architect and developer responsible for many of the buildings in Southsea
• Alan Pascoe (b 1947), Olympic medallist
• Michael Ripper (1913-2000), actor best know for supporting roles in Hammer films
• Peter Sellers (1925-1980), actor and comedian
• Percy F Westerman (1876-1959) and John F C Westerman (1901-?), father and son novelists of adventure books for boys

Famous people who have lived in Portsmouth

• Admiral George Anson (1697-1762), noted for his circumnavigation of the globe
• Sir Francis Austen (1774-1865), Admiral of the Fleet and brother of Jane Austen
• Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), novelist and creator of Sherlock Holmes
• Helen Duncan (1897-1956), last woman to be tried and charged with witchcraft in the UK
• Joe Jackson (b 1954), singer/songwriter
• John Fredrick Thomas Jane, known as Fred T Jane (1865-1916), founding editor of "Jane's Fighting Ships"
• Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), novelist
• Neville Shute Norway (1899-1960), novelist under the name of Neville Shute and aviation engineer
• H G Wells (1866-1946), novelist