Birmingham’s most notable people revealed including Ozzy Osbourne, Neville Chamberlain and Felicity Jones

Birmingham certainly isn’t short of famous names, but who are the ‘most notable’ people of all? Researchers from the University of Paris have put together a new digital tool compiling all the big names from around the globe and it tells us just that.

The map, developed by Topi Tjukanov, lets users scroll and search for the most significant people born in various cities and towns, and the answers can be divided into categories including sport, science, culture and leadership. Who is the most notable is decided by a variety of factors including the number of Wikipedia entries and how many references are made in endnotes.

It’s not just people from the modern day; with Charlie Chaplin showing up biggest for London, Sean Connery for Edinburgh, and John Lennon for Liverpool. But what about Birmingham? We had a look through the map and selected some of the most notable figures as portrayed by the map.

Who are the most notable people from Birmingham?

With a search covering all categories on the incredible new interactive map, 73-year-old singer-songwriter and TV personality Ozzy Osbourne, who was born in Aston, is the most notable person from Birmingham. Osbourne rose to fame in the 1970s as the lead singer of heavy metal band Black Sabbath and has since grown in popularity on television.

Following closely behind Ozzy Osbourne is Neville Chamberlain, who preceded Sir Winston Churchill as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom between May 1937 and May 1940. Chamberlain, born in Edgbaston, is well known for signing the Munich Agreement on 30 September 1938.

Another key Birmingham figure represented on the map is the famous Samuel Johnson, a 1700s writer born in Lichfield, just to the north of the city. Often referred to as Dr Johnson, he is best known for writing the original Dictionary of the English Language.

Felicity Jones, a film and TV actress born in Birmingham, is famed for films including ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’ and ‘The Theory of Everything’. The 38-year-old is one of the highest regarded and is the most influential Birmingham-born woman on the interactive map.

Looking under the category of sport, Ronnie O’Sullivan, the joint-most successful snooker player of all time, leads the way in terms of notability. Born in Wordsley, just west of Birmingham, O’Sullivan has won the World Snooker Championship seven times.

Another famous sportsperson listed highly on the interactive map is former England and Liverpool footballer Daniel Sturridge, who was born in Birmingham city centre. The 32-year-old is currently a free agent after being released by Australian A-League club Perth Glory.

Some other notable points of reference on the map include the Edgbaston-born Julie Walters, who is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, and Robert Plant (born in West Bromwich), who is best known for being the lead singer of rock band Led Zeppelin.

To find out who else from Birmingham is notable enough to make the cut, check out Topi Tjukanov’s interactive map here.