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Famous People
of Plymouth
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| Plymouth lays claim to many famous sons and daughters over hundreds of years, many of whom are true Janners. The famous 16th century sea captain and privateer, Sir Francis Drake, hailed from Tavistock and later became mayor of Plymouth. His statue stands tall on Plymouth Hoe, as if still watching out for the Spanish Armada. Sir John Hawkins was born in Plymouth, was knighted for his services as a commander against the Spanish Armada in 1588, and acted as Treasurer to the navy between 1573-1589. |
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William Bligh is thought to have been born in Plymouth and lived from 1754 to 1817. He was chosen by Joseph Banks to command HMS Bounty on a voyage to Tahiti in order to collect breadfruit plants and introduce them to the West Indies. On the return voyage Fletcher Christian and 18 other men were cast adrift after their famous mutiny.
Sir Robert Falcon Scott, well-known explorer and later to become Scott of the Antarctic, was born in Devonport in 1868. He too is commemorated by a memorial in Mount Wise park. Captain James Cook and Charles Darwin both set off from Plymouth on their own explorations.
Lady Nancy Astor brought fame to Plymouth when she became the first ever female MP in 1919, taking over the constituency of Plymouth Sutton when her husband stood down.
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Another famous politician was Michael Foot who was born in Lipson, Plymouth, in 1913 and later became leader of the Labour Party. Foot was an avid Plymouth Argyle supporter and in recognition of his 90th birthday he was registered with the Football League as an honorary player, thereby becoming the oldest registered professional player in the history of football.
David Owen was born in Plymouth in 1938. He held the post of Foreign Secretary from 1977 to 1979 and resigned from the Labour party in 1981 when he became one of the founders of the Social Democratic Party, known as the ‘Gang of 3’. He then led the SDP from 1983-1987 and the reformed SDP from 1988 -1990. He became a favourite on ‘Spitting Image’ if not with the electorate.
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| Guy Burgess was born in Devonport, Plymouth, in 1910. He hit the headlines when it was discovered that he was a British double agent feeding the Soviet Union with secret information whilst working for MI5. Luckily we can blame Cambridge University for his recruitment in becoming an agent for the Soviets during his education there at Trinity College. |
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| Culturally Plymouth has an equally proud tradition. The 18th-century painter renowned for his portraits, Sir Joshua Reynolds, was born and educated in Plympton. More recently, Beryl Cook carved a career from painting simplistic but comical pictures of people she met in and around Plymouth. A more controversial artist and, like Cook, never accepted by the art establishment but popular with the public, was Robert Lenkiewicz. Again like Cook, Lenkiewicz only moved to Plymouth in the 1960s, coming to notice when he painted a huge mural in the Barbican. Lenkiewicz’s paintings almost exclusively depict vagrants, drug addicts, and the mentally ill and he died almost penniless having opened his doors to those less fortunate than him throughout his life. On a different cultural front, the ballet dancer Wayne Sleep was also born and educated in Plymouth. |
| From the world of television, Plymouth also has its celebrities. Probably the most well-known is the comedienne Dawn French who spent much of her young life in the city being educated at the former St Dunstan's Abbey School boarding school. French appeared in the hit comedy sketch show French & Saunders and later warmed viewers’ hearts as the Vicar of Dibley. Born in Plymouth in 1923, Sir Donald Sinden also loved comedy, particularly farces popular in the theatre in the 1960s and 70s. His most famous TV role was probably that of the butler in Two’s Company in 1975 which was a huge success in both Britain and the USA. Another Plymothian, Angela Rippon, also enjoys a humorous side – her appearance as a high-kicking dancer in the 1976 Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show is one of the most oft-repeated television clips. Rippon, born and raised in Plymouth, is best-known as a newsreader and journalist and started out in TV when she joined BBC South West in 1966. |
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On the sporting front Plymouth has several icons, one of the most famous being Sharron Davies, after whom a new sports and leisure complex is named – the Sharron Davies Life Centre. Davies was born and educated in Plymouth, attending the independent Kelly College in Tavistock, and went on to win gold and silver medals at the 1978 Commonwealth Games and 1980 Olympics respectively. Following in her footsteps is the up-and-coming Plymothian Antony James who won silver and bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games in 2010 with the butterfly stroke. Another famous athlete based at the swimming pool is the superb diver Tom Daley. Daley won two gold medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games with dives from the 10 metre platform. |
| In football, Plymouth’s most celebrated export is Trevor Francis. Born in Plymouth in 1954, he never played for Plymouth Argyle but had enormous success with Nottingham Forest and was capped for England 52 times. He was the first £1 million football player and went on to be a football manager for Sheffield Wednesday, Birmingham City, and Crystal Palace. |
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