Kingston Upon Hull - Notable People

Notable People

Most of the notable people associated with the city can be found in the People from Kingston upon Hull and People associated with the University of Hull categories.

People from Hull are called "Hullensians" and the city has been the birthplace and home to many notable people. Among the most notable persons of historic significance with a connection to Hull are William Wilberforce who was instrumental in the abolition of slavery and Amy Johnson, aviator who was the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia. Notable entertainers from the city include actor John Alderton and actress Maureen Lipman. Playwrights Richard Bean, John Godber and Alan Plater have close connections with Hull. Musicians include Paul Heaton of the Housemartins and The Beautiful South and guitarist Mick Ronson who worked with David Bowie. The logician John Venn hailed from Hull. The poet Philip Larkin lived in Hull for 30 years and wrote much of his mature work in the city. Chemist Professor George Gray, who had a 45 year career at the university, developed the first stable liquid crystals that became an immediate success for the screens of all sorts of electronic gadgets. Notable sportspeople include Clive Sullivan, rugby league player, who played for both of Hull's professional rugby league teams and was the first black Briton to captain any national representative team. The main A63 road into the city from the Humber Bridge is named after him (Clive Sullivan Way). Another is Dean Windass, who had two spells with Hull City and scored the goal which helped the club to promotion to the top flight of English football for the first time in the club's history. On accepting a peerage, Welsh-born Baron Prescott of Kingston-upon-Hull (former MP and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott) took his title from his adopted home city of Hull.