This article provides a non-exhaustive list of famous people born, educated or prominent in Bath, Somerset, England, or otherwise associated with it. The sections and the names in each section are alphabetical. Bathonian describes a person who comes from Bath.
Acting
Ann Street Barry (1734–1801), singer, dancer and stage actress. George Bartley (1782?–1858), stage comedian. Paul Bedford (1792?–1871), comedian. Jennifer Biddall (born 1980), actress who played Jessica Harris in Hollyoaks. Patricia Brake (1942–2022), actress in Porridge, and Going Straight Adam Campbell (born 1980), actor in Epic Movie and Date Movie. Julia Davis (born 1966), actress, comedian, director and writer. Henry Gattie (1774–1844), actor and singer. Michael Gwynn (1916–1976), actor Anthony Head (1954-2026), actor, singer and performer in musical theatre. Jonathan Hyde (born 1948), Australian-English actor. Kym Jackson (born 1981), Australian actress and author. Andrew Lincoln (born 1973), actor, brought up in Bath. Jonathan Lynn (born 1943), actor, writer and director. Angelica Mandy (living), actress in Vanity Fair, and in the Harry Potter series as Gabrielle Delacour Leo McKern (1920–2002), actor in Rumpole Tom Payne (born 1982), actor. Arnold Ridley (1896–1984), playwright and actor.Dad's Army star's First World War heroics, The Daily Telegraph, 26 July 2008 Sarah Siddons (1755–1831), actress Daniel Terry (1780?–1829), actor and playwright. Indira Varma (born 1973), actress. Harriet Waylett (1798–1851), actress and theatre manager. Benjamin Nottingham Webster (1797–1882), actor-manager and dramatist. Sarah West (1790–1876), actress.
Architecture
Robert Adam (1728–1792) – architect of Pulteney Bridge, also produced unbuilt designs for the Assembly Rooms and Bathwick estate. Thomas Baldwin (c. 1750–1820) – architect of Great Pulteney Street and Bath Guildhall. Sir Reginald Blomfield (1856–1942) – architect of the Bath War Memorial and extension of the Holbourne Museum. Thomas Fuller (1823–1898) – emigrated to Canada, where he co-designed the Parliament House in Ottawa. Frederick Gibberd (1908–1984) – architect of Bath Technical College. Henry Goodridge (1797–1864) – architect of Beckford's Tower, Cleveland Bridge and The Corridor shopping arcade Sir Thomas Graham Jackson (1835–1924) – architect of the World War I memorial aisle Bath Abbey. Charles Harcourt Masters (born 1759) – active in Bathwick including Sydney Gardens. William Eden Nesfield (1835–1888) – architect, one of the leaders of the Gothic revival in England. John Palmer (c. 1738–1817) – architect of the Pump Room and Lansdown Crescent. Charles J. Phipps (1835–1897) – Theatre Royal, Bath and other theatres around Britain. John Pinch the Elder (1769–1827) – the original Royal United HospitalRobert Bennet, The last of the Georgian architects of Bath: the life and times of John Pinch, Bath History IX (2002) 87–103 H. M. Colvin, A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects, 1600–1840 (1997) John Pinch the Younger (1796–1849) – architect George Gilbert Scott (1811–1878) – restoration of Bath Abbey, architect of St Andrew's church destroyed by World War II bombing Frederick William Stevens (1847–1900) – architect, emigrated to India. John Wood, the Elder (1704–1754) – architect of Queen Square and the Circus. John Wood, the Younger (1728–1772) – architect of the Royal Crescent.
Arts
Roy Ascott (born 1934), new media artist Daniel A. Baker (living), artist and producer of alternative comics. Thomas Jones Barker (1813–1882), historical, military and portrait painter. Thomas Haynes Bayly (1797–1839), poet, songwriter, dramatist and writer. Manolo Blahnik (born 1942), shoe designer Sir Peter Blake (born 1932) lived in Wellow village, near Bath, in the 1970s. Peter Brown (born 1967), painter Claire Calvert (born 1988), first soloist ballet dancer at The Royal Ballet William Duffield (1816–1863), still-life painter. Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788), painter Heywood Hardy (1842–1933), painter Thomas Lawrence (1769–1830), painter Edwin Long (1829–1891), genre, history, biblical and portrait painter. Willis Maddox (1813–1853), painter. Kayleigh Pearson (born 1985), glamour model John Robinson (1715–1745), portrait-painter. John Sanders (1750–1825), painter. Albert Way (1805–1874), an antiquary, and principal founder of the Royal Archaeological Institute. HAUI (born 1990), multidisciplinary artist
Education
Marie Bethell Beauclerc (1845–1897) – England's first female shorthand teacher Raymond Carr (1919–2015) – historianCarr, Sir Albert Raymond Maillard in International Who's Who of Authors and Writers online (19th edition, Europa Publications, London and New York, 2004) p. 93 William Harbutt (1844–1921) – headmaster and inventor of plasticine Roderick Kedward (born 1937) – historian Edward Vansittart Neale (1810–1892) – barrister, cooperator, and Christian socialist. Isaac Pitman (1813–1897) – inventor of shorthand
Exiles Haile Selassie I (1892–1975) – during World War II Louis XVIII (1755–1824) – before ascending the French throne
Film and TV Bill Bailey (born 1965) – comedian, musician, actor, TV and radio presenter and author Jesse Honey (born 1977) – BBC Mastermind champion 2010 Russell Howard (born 1980) – comedian, TV presenter and actor David Lassman (living) – screenwriter Ken Loach (born 1936) – film director Charlotte McDonnell (born 1990) – YouTuber, filmmaker and screenwriter David Robinson (born 1930) – film critic and author, official biographer of Charlie Chaplin, lives in Bath.
Literature
Jane Austen (1775–1817) – novelist: Joan Aiken reports that Austen did not love the city: when she learnt her family were moving to Bath "she fainted dead away." Thomas Haynes Bayly (1797–1839) – poet, songwriter, dramatist and writer. William Beckford (1760–1844) – wrote Vathek and a series of works on travel. Henrietta Maria Bowdler (1750–1830) – novelist and editor.ODNB: M. Clare Loughlin-Chow, "Bowdler, Henrietta Maria (1750–1830)" Retrieved 15 March 2014, pay-walled. Jane Bowdler (1743–1784) – poet and essayist, was born and died at Ashley.ODNB: Sidney Lee, "Bowdler, Jane (1743–1784)", rev. Rebecca Mills Retrieved 15 March 2014, pay-walled. John Bowdler (1746–1823) – moral reformer and religious writer.ODNB: Peter B. Nockles, "Bowdler, John (1746–1823)" Retrieved 15 March 2014, pay-walled. Thomas Bowdler (1754–1825) – physician and expurgator of Shakespeare.ODNB: M. Clare Loughlin-Chow, "Bowdler, Thomas (1754–1825)" Retrieved 15 March 2014, pay-walled. Angela Carter (1940–1992) – novelist who lived in Bath in the early 1970s.Edmund Gordon: "The Invention of Angela Carter: A Biography" (2016). John Collins (1742–1808), an entertainer and poet. Charles Dickens (1812–1870) – novelist and frequent visitor to Bath, who set much of the Pickwick Papers there Richard Lovell Edgeworth (1744–1817) – an Anglo-Irish politician, writer and inventor. Henry Fielding (1707–1754) – novelist Prince Hoare (1755–1834), painter, art critic, dramatist and librettist. William Hone (1780–1842) – writer, satirist and bookseller. Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938) – known as "Rita", wrote A Grey Life, a novel set in Bath. She lived at Combe Down from about 1923 and is buried in Bath Abbey Cemetery."Rita" The Forgotten Author. By Paul Jones L.R.P.S. Morag Joss (born 1955) – novelist David Lassman (living) – novelist born in Bath, co-author of the Regency Detective series Robert Montgomery – poet and minister. Mary Shelley (1797–1851) – novelist, author of Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816) – playwright Tobias Smollett (1721–1771) – physician, surgeon and novelist, who partly set The Expedition of Humphry Clinker in the city and wrote an essay on the Bath waters. Richard Tickell (1751–1793), playwright and satirist. Geoffrey Trease (1909–1998) – children's novelist, author of the Bannermere series Horace Twiss (1787–1849) – English writer and politician. Jacqueline Wilson (born 1945) – children's author born in Bath
Military
General Sir Alfred Horsford (1816–1885), a senior Army officer and Military Secretary. Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Macarthur (1789–1872), lieutenant-general in the British Army, Commander-in-chief in Australia. Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (1758–1805) – admiral, freeman of Bath. William Edward Parry (1790–1855) – rear-admiral and Arctic explorer. Harry Patch (1898–2009) – supercentenarian and last trench veteran of World War I, lived in Combe Down. George Wade (1673–1748) – field marshal and MP for Bath 1722 James Wolfe (1727–1759) – major general
Music
Lucy Anderson (bap. 1795–1878), pianist. Gabrielle Aplin (born 1992) – singer-songwriter Danny Byrd (born 1979) – drum and bass producer with Hospital Records Eddie Cochran (1938–1960) – rock and roll musician who died in Bath The Family Rain (formed in 2011) – blues rock band Henry Ibbot Field (1797–1848), a classical pianist who also played Bath Abbey organ. Fred V & Grafix – drum and bass production duo educated at Bath Spa University Peter Gabriel (born 1950) – singer, songwriter, and musician. Interview (1977–1981) – New wave band Alison Goldfrapp (born 1966) – singer of Goldfrapp Peter Hammill (born 1948) – singer-songwriter Raymond Leppard (1927–2019) – conductor, educated Beechen Cliff School Naked Eyes (formed 1982) – new wave musical group Elizabeth Ann Linley (1754–1792), singer, often painted by Thomas Gainsborough Mary Linley (1758–1787), singer, daughter of Thomas Linley the elder. Thomas Linley the elder (1733–1795) – bass and musician Thomas Linley the younger (1756–1778), a precocious composer, violinist and performer. William Linley (1771–1835), author and musical composer. Edward Loder (1809–1865), composer and conductor. George Loder (1816–1868), conductor and composer of orchestral music, operas and songs. John David Loder (1788–1846), violinist, later a professor of the violin. PinkPantheress (born 2001) singer-songwriter and record producer. Propellerheads (formed in 1995) – electronic music duo Peter Salisbury (born 1971) – drummer and percussionist of The Verve Alberto Semprini (1908–1990) – pianist Innes Sibun (born 1968) – blues singer, guitarist and songwriter Frank Tapp (1883–1953), composer, pianist and conductor Tears for Fears (formed 1981) – new wave musical group Midge Ure (born 1953), singer-songwriter and record producer. William Litton Viner (1790–1867), an organist and composer of church music.
Public service
Ralph Allen (1693–1764) – postal reformer, quarrier and mayor, who set up the first nationwide cross-country postal network Sir Henry Cole (1808–1882) – civil servant. John Ford Davis (1773-1864), physician and mayor of Bath in 1830. Don Foster (born 1947) – MP for Bath, 1992–2015 Beau Nash (1674–1761) – master of ceremonies in Georgian Bath John Palmer (1742–1818) – inventor of a lightweight mail coach Chris Patten – MP for Bath 1979–1992, then Governor of Hong Kong 1992–1997 William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (1708–1788) – Prime Minister and MP for Bath, 1757–1766 William Pitt the Younger (1759–1806) – Prime Minister Sir William Tite (1798–1873) – architect and MP for Bath, 1855–1873 Edward Vansittart Neale (1810–1892), barrister, cooperator, and Christian socialist.
Religion
Joseph Brown (1796–1880), a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. Louisa Daniell (1809–1871) – evangelical philanthropist and missionary1871 England Census for Louisa Daniell, Hampshire, Aldershot: Ancestry.com Thomas Grinfield (1788–1870), clergyman and hymn-writer. John Hales (1584–1656) – cleric, theologian and writer. Edward Hawkins (1789–1882), churchman and academic, Provost of Oriel College, Oxford. William Jay (1769–1853) – preacher Oliver King (c. 1432–1503) – Bishop of Bath and Wells, set up rebuilding of Bath Abbey Richard Laurence (1760–1838), Hebraist and Anglican churchman, Archbishop of Cashel.