Famous People Who Were Born or Lived in Portsmouth | ILC English Blog

Portsmouth is famous for its naval history, but it has also been home to some of Britain's best-known writers, engineers and performers. Here are a few you may have heard of.

Charles Dickens (writer, 1812–1870)

One of the most famous English novelists, the author of Oliver Twist, Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol, was born in Portsmouth. The house where he was born is now the Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel (engineer, 1806–1859)

Brunel, one of the greatest engineers in history, was born in Portsmouth. He designed the Great Western Railway, the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol and revolutionary steamships such as the SS Great Britain.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (writer, 1859–1930)

Conan Doyle worked as a doctor in Southsea, Portsmouth, in the 1880s. It was there that he wrote A Study in Scarlet, the first Sherlock Holmes story.

Rudyard Kipling (writer, 1865–1936)

The author of The Jungle Book spent several years of his childhood in Southsea, an unhappy time he later wrote about.

Peter Sellers (actor, 1925–1980)

The comic actor famous for playing Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther films and for Dr. Strangelove was born in Southsea, where a blue plaque marks his birthplace.

Learn English in Portsmouth

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