List of people from Barisal

The following is a list of prominent people who were born in/lived in or around the city of Barisal as well as Barisal division in Bangladesh.

Government and politics

 * Abul Hasanat Abdullah, politician, former Chief Whip (Bangladesh)
 * Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah, Mayor of Barisal
 * Hafizuddin Ahmed, Bir Bikrom, politician, former Minister of Water Resources, former Minister of Commerce
 * Amir Hossain Amu, politician, former Minister of Industries
 * Mirza Agha Baqer, Mughal jagirdar after whom Bakerganj was named after
 * Abdur Rahman Biswas, President of Bangladesh (1991–1996)
 * Mohammad Ali Bogra, (1909-1963), Bengali politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Pakistan
 * Gurudas Dasgupta, member of the Indian Parliament
 * Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, noted Congress politician, former Union Minister and member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Raiganj of West Bengal and was a member of the Indian National Congress party.
 * Dr. Kamal Hossain, lawyer and politician, 1st Law Minister of Bangladesh, Creator of the Constitution of Bangladesh.
 * M Sakhawat Hossain, Election Commissioner of Bangladesh (2007–2012)
 * Shawkat Hossain Hiron, Former Member of Parliament, Mayor of Barisal (2008-2013)
 * Sher-e-Bangla A. K. Fazlul Huq, Prime Minister of Bengal (1937–1943), Chief Minister of East Bengal (1954) and Governor of East Pakistan (1956–1958)
 * Syed Azizul Huq, politician and former Member of Parliament.
 * Abdul Jabbar Khan, Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan (1965–1969)
 * Khan Bahadur Hasem Ali Khan, Politician, lawyer, former cabinet minister. peasant movement leader
 * Sabi Khan, Mughal faujdar of Bakla
 * Wazil Khan, governor of Bakla under Sultan Ruknuddin Barbak Shah
 * Kazi Golam Mahbub, language movement activist and politician
 * Jogendra Nath Mandal, One of the Founding Fathers of Pakistan, First Law Minister of Pakistan
 * Jahangir Kabir Nanak, politician, former State Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives
 * Shahjahan Omar, Bir Uttam, politician, former State Minister of Law
 * Abdur Rahim, founding leader of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami
 * Nasreen Jahan Ratna, politician, former member of parliament
 * Majibur Rahman Sarwar, politician, former Mayor of Barisal and former member of parliament for Barisal-5
 * Delwar Hossain Sayeedi, vice-president of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami
 * Manikuntala Sen, revolutionary
 * Abdur Rab Serniabat, cabinet minister

Art, literature, journalism, and philosophy

 * Muhammad Reazuddin Ahmad, Islamic writer, journalist, and thinker.
 * Jogesh Chandra Bagal, Indian journalist, historian and writer.
 * Abdul Gaffar Choudhury, an author, columnist, lyricist.
 * Asad Chowdhury, poet, writer, translator, radio, television personality and journalist,
 * Jibanananda Das, Bengali poet, writer, novelist and essayist.
 * Kusumkumari Das, poet, writer and social activist
 * Mukunda Das, Bengali poet, ballad singer, composer
 * Narayan Gangopadhyay, writer and academic
 * Buddhadeb Guha, writer
 * Ahsan Habib, poet and journalist
 * Abul Hasan, poet and journalist
 * Shamsuddin Abul Kalam, writer
 * Sufia Kamal, poet
 * Tofazzal Hossain Manik Miah, founding editor of The Daily Ittefaq
 * Aroj Ali Matubbar, philosopher
 * Ghulam Murshid, Bangladeshi author, scholar, and journalist, based in London
 * Abu Zafar Obaidullah, Bengali poet and language movement activist
 * Bazlur Rahman, journalist and editor of The Sangbad
 * Kamini Roy, Bengali poet, social worker and feminist
 * Golam Sarwar, journalist and writer, founding editor of daily Samakal and Jugantor.
 * Barun Sengupta, journalist, political critic, founder-editor of daily Bartaman

Film, television, theater, and radio

 * Tania Ahmed, Television actress and model
 * Atiqul Haque Chowdhury, media personality
 * Arundhati Devi, actress and director
 * Utpal Dutt, actor, director, and playwright
 * Alamgir Kabir (filmmaker), renowned film director and cultural activist
 * Mosharraf Karim, Film and Television actor
 * Shahidul Islam Khokon, filmmaker and producer
 * Golam Mustafa, Film actor
 * Suborna Mustafa, Film and Television actress
 * Sohel Rana, Film actor, director and producer
 * Masum Parvez Rubel, Film actor
 * Mir Sabbir, Television actor and director
 * Omar Sani, Film actor
 * Hanif Sanket, television host, writer and producer, best known as the creator and host of popular television show Ittyadi
 * Nikhil Sen, dramatist

Singers and instrumentalists

 * Anil Biswas, film song composer
 * Nachiketa Chakraborty, Indian musician
 * Nikhil Ghosh, musician and teacher
 * Pannalal Ghosh renowned musician and flutist
 * Parul Ghosh, playback singer
 * Abdul Latif (musician), singer, musician, and lyricist.
 * Altaf Mahmud, musician and language movement activist
 * Khalid Hassan Milu, singer
 * Manabendra Mukhopadhyay, music composer and a famous singer of Nazrul geeti
 * Papia Sarwar, singer

Performing arts

 * Jewel Aich, renowned magician and bansuri player
 * Laxman Das, wrestler, weight lifter, circus performer and the founder of Royal Pakistan Circus

Educationist and reformers

 * Abala Bose, educator and social reformer
 * Ashwini Kumar Dutta, Bengali educationist, philanthropist, social reformer.
 * Sal Khan, American educator, mathematician and entrepreneur, Founder of Khan Academy

Freedom fighters and revolutionary

 * A. B. Bardhan, Indian politician, trade union leader and the former general secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI)
 * Kirtinarayan Basu, 17th-century Raja of Chandradwip who converted to Islam
 * Kanai Chatterjee, Indian maoist ideologue, founder of the Maoist Communist Centre of India
 * Gurudas Dasgupta, Indian politician and a leader of Communist Party of India
 * Mohiuddin Jahangir, Bir Shreshto, Liberation War veteran
 * Major M A Jalil, sector 9 commanders during Bangladesh liberation war
 * Mostafa Kamal, freedom fighter in Bangladesh liberation war
 * Hayat Mahmud, feudal lord, commander and founder of Miah Bari Mosque
 * Niranjan Sengupta, revolutionary
 * Tarakeswar Sengupta, revolutionary

Science and academia

 * Swadesh Bose, Bengali language movement activist and economist
 * Basudeb DasSarma, chemist
 * Kadambini Ganguly, first South Asian female physician, social activist
 * Biswajit Ghosh, professor, essayist and researcher
 * Debaprasad Ghosh, Indian mathematician and politician
 * Ranajit Guha, historian of the Indian subcontinent and founding member of the Subaltern Studies Group
 * Hiranmay Sen Gupta, nuclear physicist
 * A. M. Harun-ar-Rashid, physicist and professor of physics at the University of Dhaka
 * Ehsan Hoque, medical doctor and philanthropist
 * Sardar Fazlul Karim, scholar, academic, philosopher and essayist
 * Nazia Khanum,, academic and management consultant
 * Amal Kumar Raychaudhuri, physicist, known for his research in general relativity and cosmology
 * Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri, historian
 * Tapan Raychaudhuri, historian
 * Sukharanjan Samaddar, professor, educationalist, and martyred freedom fighter in the Bangladesh Liberation War
 * Kaliprasanna Vidyaratna, Indian scholar of Sanskrit

Islam

 * Nesaruddin Ahmad (1873–1952), inaugural Pir of Sarsina and founder of Darussunnat Kamil Madrasa
 * Ayub Ali (1919–1995), former Principal of Government Madrasah-e-Alia, Dhaka
 * Fazlul Karim (1935–2006), former Pir of Charmonai and founder of Islami Andolan
 * Rezaul Karim (born 1971), current Pir of Charmonai and leader of Islami Andolan
 * Syed Faizul Karim (born 1973), senior vice-president of Islami Andolan
 * Maqsudullah (1883–1961), inaugural Pir of Talgasia and founder of Ashraful Uloom Madrasa
 * Abu Zafar Mohammad Saleh (1915–1990), former Pir of Sarsina and Independence Award recipient

Other

 * Edith Langridge aka Mother Edith - led the Sisterhood of the Epiphany in Barisal
 * Boro Maa, Hindu leader and a matriarch of the Matua Mahasangha

Sports

 * Zahid Hasan Ameli, footballer
 * Sukalyan Ghosh Dastidar, Indian footballer of the 1970s
 * Sohag Gazi, cricketer
 * Alamgir Hasan, footballer
 * Mehidy Hasan, cricketer
 * Salman Hossain, cricketer
 * Tanvir Islam, cricketer
 * Golam Kabir, cricketer
 * Golam Kibria, cricketer
 * Mohammad Manik, cricketer
 * Zakaria Masud, cricketer
 * Shahriar Nafees, cricketer
 * Kamrul Islam Rabbi, cricketer
 * Paresh Lal Roy, Father of Indian Boxing
 * Golam Sarwar Tipu, footballer