Famous Bristol

Bristol has plenty to boast about when it comes to famous people, places and stories. Have a look at just some of the claims to fame below, and if you know of any that we might have missed, then please get in touch and we'll be happy to add it to the list.

• Made in Bristol - Find out which popular products and brands have been and still are made in Bristol today.
• Filmed in Bristol - See if you can spot the Bristol locations that have appeared in these famous feature films and TV programmes throughout the years.
• Literary Bristol - Read about the famous writers, poets and wordsmiths who lived in Bristol or drew inspiration from its ancient streets and atmospheric locations.

Famous Residents of Bristol (past and present)

• Derren Brown
• Tony Robinson
• Ewan Blair (Son of Tony Blair PM)
• Adam Hart Davies
• Thomas Chatterton
• Sophie Anderton (Model)
• Tony Benn (MP)
• Tony Bullimore (Mariner)
• Robin Cousins
• J K Rowling
• Beryl Cook
• Damien Hirst
• Keith Floyd
• Robert Southey
• Nick Park
• Colin Pillinger
• Johnny Ball
• Carol Vorderman
• Sir Humphry Davy
• Blackbeard the Pirate (Edward Teach)

Actors and Comedians

• Cary Grant
• Jeremy Irons
• Paul McGann
• James Redmond
• Mark Watson
• Stephanie Cole
• Anthony Head
• Dave prowse (Darth Vader)
• Hugo Weaving
• Justin Lee Collins
• Lee Evans
• Bill Bailey
• Matt Lucas and David Walliams (Little Britain)
• John Cleese

Musicians

• Massive Attack
• Tricky
• Roni Size
• Portishead
• Kosheen
• Bananarama
• Sean Moore (Manic Street Preachers)
• Elizabeth Frasier (Cocteau Twins)
• Russ Conway
• Neneh Cherry
• Dame Clara Butt
• Beth Rowley
• Andy Shepherd (Saxophonist)
• Alison Goldfrapp

Through the ages

John Cabot (1450 - 1498)
Italian-born explorer who sailed from Bristol to Newfoundland on the Matthew in 1497. Local historians believe him to have lived in St Nicholas Street in Bristol's Old City. To commemorate the 400th anniversary of his voyage, the Cabot Tower was erected on Brandon Hill in 1897 and still stands today.

John Wesley (1703 - 1791)
Founder of the Methodist Church, Wesley worked and preached in Bristol. His statue can be seen outside the New Room in Broadmead - the first Methodist Chapel ever to have been built.

Hannah More (1745-1833)
Writer and social campaigner, Hannah More was born and raised in Bristol.

John Loudon McAdam (1746-1836)
Scottish engineer John McAdam moved to Berkeley Square, Bristol in 1801 to help build and develop a new road system for the city. During his time with the Bristol Turnpike Trust, he developed a new process of road construction, which involved layering different types of crushed stone and gravel on top of one another, followed by a final layer of tar to make the road surface more durable. This method soon became known as tarmacadam (tar + McAdam), and was eventually shortened to Tarmac, which is still used on roads throughout the world today.

Sir Humphrey Davy (1778-1829)
Famous for discovering laughing gas and inventing the miners' safety lamp, Sir Humphrey Davy had a laboratory in Dowry Square, Hotwells.

Princess Caraboo (1791 - 1864)
Princess Caraboo appeared in Almondsbury, near Bristol in 1817, speaking a strange and foreign language. The quest to identify her became a local sensation. A mystery visitor claimed she had identified herself as Princess Caraboo of Javasu, and had escaped from a ship to whose captain she had been sold by pirates. She was later exposed as being Mary Willcocks of Devon, a cobbler's daughter, and her life story was made into a major feature film, not surprisingly titled 'Princess Caraboo'.

Harvey's Bristol Cream
John Harvey started a wine importing business in Bristol in the 19th Century, before creating a new blend of sherry, Harvey's Bristol Cream, available today across the world.

Elizabeth Blackwell
The first female doctor was born in Bristol and lived there for most of her life.

Samuel Plimsoll (1824 - 1898)
Plimsoll was born in Colston Parade, Bristol. He campaigned against overloading ships with cargo, resulting in the introduction of the Plimsoll line on every ship to show its maximum load capacity.

Billy Butlin
Butlin lived in Bristol as a small boy and attended St Mary Redcliffe school. He returned to Bristol as an adult and had his first taste of entertainment for the masses when he opened a hoop-la stall in Lock's Yard, Bedminster.

Paul Dirac (1902 - 1984)
Born in Bishopston, Bristol in 1902, Paul Dirac was considered to be one of the greatest and most influential theoretical physicists of his time. He formulated the Dirac Equation, and was responsible for leading the way towards the discovery of antimatter. He was a close friend of Albert Einstein's, and during his life won a shared Nobel Prize in physics with Erwin Schrödinger.

Cary Grant (1904 - 1986)
Born Archibald Leach in Horfield, Bristol, Grant's first role in theatre was working at the Bristol Hippodrome. He made over 70 films and became one of the best-loved actors of all time. He remained a regular visitor to Bristol, usually staying in the Royal Hotel, now known as the Bristol Marriott Royal. In 2001, to mark the 70th anniversary of Grant's arrival in Hollywood, Bristol unveiled a new Cary Grant statue in Millennium Square by the harbourside.

Banksy
Controversial local grafitti artist famed throughout the world for his street art. Some of his pieces have sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds, with Hollywood A-listers and celebrities being some of the top collectors of his work.