NOTTINGHAM CITY LIBRARY & INFORMATION SERVICES Nottinghamshire Notables: Biographies of notable Nottingham and Nottinghamshire people - famous and infamous, real and legendary, living and dead. Below is a list of many well known Nottinghamshire people, the list is not exhaustive, we hope to add more names in the future. You can find out more about these people and the local places connected to them by visiting the Local Studies Library at Nottingham Central Library. Suggestions for further additions to this list are welcome, please send names via [email protected] with the subject heading Nottinghamshire notables. A – H ABEL SMITH Colonel Richard Francis (1933 - 2004) Farmer & Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire Born at Kensington Palace, London, Richard Abel Smith was a great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria through her youngest son Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany. After a career in the Army he settled at Blidworth Dale House, Ravenshead where he was a successful farmer. He was High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire from 1978 to 1979 and was Vice-Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire from 1991-1999. He died in 2004. ADAM, Ruth nee KING (1907 - 1977) Author and feminist Ruth Adam nee King was born on the 14th December 1907, the daughter of the Reverend Rupert William King the vicar of Arnold Nottinghamshire. She was educated in Yorkshire and became a teacher in Nottinghamshire. In May 1932 she married a journalist on the Manchester Guardian, Kenneth Adam. They had four children, born between 1937 and 1947. Later, Kenneth Adam worked for the BBC, eventually becoming Director of Television. During the Second World War, Ruth Adam worked for the Ministry of Information and began writing - several novels, scripts for the BBC, broadcasts for BBC Woman's Hour and regular columns for the Church of England newspaper. The family lived communally with other families in a large house outside London. Ruth Adam wrote twelve novels between 1937 and 1961, all of them concerned with social issues. She also co-authored, with Kitty Muggeridge, a biography of Beatrice Webb - A Woman's Place. Ruth Adam died in 1977. ADAMS Thomas (1807 - 1873) Lace manufacturer Born in Worksop in 1807, the son of a maltster, Thomas Adams learned the lace trade as an apprentice in London and came to Nottingham in 1830 to start his own business. By the middle of the 19th Century, the Lace Market was expanding rapidly and in 1855 Adams opened his palatial new warehouse - now known as the Adams Building, part of New College Nottingham. He was a renowned philanthropist, aiding local educational and religious organisations. He died at his home in Lenton on 16 May 1873. ADLINGTON, Rebecca (1989 - ) Swimmer Born in Mansfield Rebecca won two gold medals in the 2008 Olympic Games in the 400m and 800m freestyle events. Rebecca Adlington is Britain's first Olympic champion since 1988, the first British swimmer to win two gold medals since 1908 and Great Britain's most successful Olympic swimmer in 100 years. 1 NOTTINGHAM CITY LIBRARY & INFORMATION SERVICES AFRICANUS, George (c1763 -1834) Negro slave and successful entrepreneur Born in Sierra Leone, Africa, George arrived in England as a slave at the age of three. He came to Nottingham as a free man in the 1780s and went on to become a 'freeholder' owning his own home , as well as owning several other properties. he was buried in St Mary's Church, Nottingham and in 2003 a plaque was erected in the churchyard to mark the resting place of Nottingham's first black entrepreneur. ANDERSON Vivian Alexander (1956 - ) Footballer Born in Nottingham, Viv Anderson was the first black footballer to represent England in a full International match. He won two European Cups, 30 international cups and many domestic honours. He played for Nottingham Forest from 1974 - 1984 before transferring to Arsenal. He retired from professional football in 2001. ARKWRIGHT Richard (1732 - 1792) Inventor & Industrialist Richard Arkwright is generally considered to be the father of the modern industrial factory system; his inventions were a catalyst for the Industrial Revolution. Born in poverty in Preston in 1732, his first business venture was making wigs from discarded human hair which he travelled around the country to collect. It was during these travels that he became involved in a project to produce a textile spinning machine. The result was the Spinning Frame which could produce thread faster and stronger than his rival James Hargreaves, inventor of the Spinning Jenny. He received financial support for his invention from Nottingham banker Ichabod Wright. Arkwright established many factories throughout the North West and the Midlands. It is estimated that two-thirds of his workforce were children who started in the factories at age 6. When he died, on 3rd August 1792, Arkwright's fortune was reported to be over £500,000. For further information visit http://www.arkwrightsociety.org.uk/ ASPLEY Lucy see HUTCHINSON Lucy BAGULEY Wilf See under ILIFFE Richard BAINS Sat (1971 - ) Restaurateur Sat Bains and his wife Amanda run Nottingham's Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms , which in 2003 was awarded the city's first ever Michelin star. Sat, who comes from a Punjabi family, was born in Derby and moved to Nottingham when he was 21. In 2007 Sat appeared in the BBC TV programme The Great British Menu . BALL Captain Albert VC (1896 - 1917) Fighter pilot Captain Albert Ball was one of the greatest fighter pilots of his time. During the First World War, he shot down 43 enemy aeroplanes and an observation balloon. He was nicknamed the 'English Richthofen' by the Germans after their own hero, the Red Baron. Son of a wealthy Nottingham property developer, Ball, who grew up in Lenton and The Park, Nottingham, was educated at Nottingham High School, and Trent College, Long Eaton. He joined the Sherwood Foresters in September 1914 and eventually transferred to the Royal Flying Corps. In 1917, following the award of a DSO, he was granted home leave and returned to Nottingham where he was made an Honorary Freeman of the City. He returned to active service in April 1917 and on May 7th he led his formation of 11 planes in search of the enemy. During a dogfight over German held territory, Ball's plane was seen to fly into a 2 NOTTINGHAM CITY LIBRARY & INFORMATION SERVICES thick cloud, it then crashed. Albert Ball died shortly after the crash. After his death he was awarded the Victoria Cross. BECKINSALE Richard (1947 - 1979) Actor Richard Beckinsale was born in Carlton, Nottingham in 1947. His acting talent was first noticed at Alderman White Secondary Modern School and was developed at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, London. He enjoyed a meteoric rise to stardom, and is best remembered for his character Lennie Godber in the TV sitcom Porridge . He died of a heart attack in March 1979 at the age of only 31. BENDIGO See THOMPSON, William Abednego BIRD John (b. 1936 - ) Satirist and actor Born in Nottingham, John Bird lived in Basford and was educated at High Pavement School, Nottingham and King's College, Cambridge. While researching a PhD, Bird decided to concentrate on a career in the arts. He went to London in 1959, joined the Royal Court Theatre as a director and starred at Peter Cook's satirical nightclub The Establishment. He has had a long career on television and is currently best known for his working partnership with fellow actor John Fortune and for their regular slot on Channel 4's Rory Bremner Show . BIRKIN Richard (1805 - 1870) Lace manufacturer Richard Birkin was one of a number of pioneers who took William Lee's (q.v.) invention of the framework knitting machine and developed it from a cottage industry to an industrial process. Born in Belper, Derbyshire, he began working in a local mill at the age of six before moving to Nottingham. In 1825 Birkin bought his first lace machine and began manufacturing in a small building in Gladstone Street, New Basford. By the 1850s he was a successful businessman and a prominent Nottingham citizen, being elected mayor of Nottingham on several occasions. He lived at Aspley Hall, Nottingham. Richard Birkin's son, Thomas, was created 1st Baronet Birkin of Ruddington Grange in 1905. BLOWER Tom (1913 - 1955) Long Distance Swimmer Tom Blower, from Hyson Green, was known as 'Torpedo' in the 1930s and 1940s after a series of long distance swims. In August 1937 the 23 year old smashed the cross Channel record, swimming from France to England in 13 hours 29 minutes. He was also the first swimmer of the North Channel between Northern Ireland and Scotland. He died in 1955 aged 42 and is buried in Bulwell Cemetery, Nottingham. BONINGTON Richard Parkes (1802 - 1828) Artist Richard Parkes Bonington was a significant Anglo-French artist of the Romantic Movement. He was born in Arnold in 1802 and moved to France with his family in 1817. Whilst in France, he painted many fine works - in both oil and watercolour - and exhibited at the Paris Salon and eventually at the Royal Academy in London. He returned to England in 1826 and died two years later at the age of 25 following a long period of ill health. Nottingham Castle Art Gallery has several of Bonington's works. A statue of him was donated to the School of Art in Nottingham by architect Watson Fothergill (q.v.). BOOT Jesse (1850 - 1931) Retail & manufacturing chemist Jesse Boot was born in Nottingham the son of a medical herbalist. When Jesse was 10 his father died and he left school to begin working in the family business. He showed an early skill in promoting his products and rapidly expanded the business.