Famous Residents
Main article: List of residents of WolverhamptonThere are a number of notable people who are associated with Wolverhampton.
Political figures include Enoch Powell MP, Sir Charles Pelham Villiers MP – who holds the record for the longest serving MP, Helene Hayman, Baroness Hayman who was the first Lord Speaker within the House of Lords, former Cabinet minister Stephen Byers, Boris Johnson who briefly worked as a writer for the Express & Star, David Wright, a former UK Ambassador to Japan and Button Gwinnett, who was a signatory of the US Declaration of Independence and briefly served as Governor of Georgia.
There are many sportspeople associated with the city, with footballers such as Billy Wright, Steve Bull, Bert Williams and Jimmy Mullen; along with Percy Stallard and Hugh Porter within the world of cycling, the Olympic medallist swimmer Anita Lonsbrough, professional darts player Wayne Jones, racing driver and winner of the 24 hours of Le Mans Richard Attwood as well as athletes such as Tessa Sanderson and Denise Lewis and cricketer Vikram Solanki who grew up here and played for Wolverhampton Cricket Club before joining Worcestershire.
Entertainers include actors Nigel Bennett, Goldie, Frances Barber, Meera Syal and Eric Idle; and musicians Noddy Holder, Dave Hill, Beverley Knight, Dave Holland, Maggie Teyte, Edward Elgar, Mitch Harris, One Direction band member Liam Payne, Robert Plant, and Paul Raven; and television presenters Suzi Perry, Mark Rhodes and the late Mark Speight.
Within the area of commerce and industry, Sir Alfred Hickman (first Chairman of Tarmac), Sir Geoffrey Mander, John Marston (founder of the Sunbeam company), John 'Iron Mad' Wilkinson (pioneer of Cast Iron) and Mervyn King Governor of the Bank of England are amongst the most notable.
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Famous quotes containing the words famous and/or residents:
“London, thou art of townes A per se.
Soveraign of cities, semeliest in sight,
Of high renoun, riches, and royaltie;
Of lordis, barons, and many goodly knyght;
Of most delectable lusty ladies bright;
Of famous prelatis in habitis clericall;
Of merchauntis full of substaunce and myght:
London, thou art the flour of Cities all”
—William Dunbar (c. 1465–c. 1530)
“In most nineteenth-century cities, both large and small, more than 50 percent—and often up to 75 percent—of the residents in any given year were no longer there ten years later. People born in the twentieth century are much more likely to live near their birthplace than were people born in the nineteenth century.”
—Stephanie Coontz (20th century)