However, while most recognise important places and buildings, less than 20 plaques honour people who made their mark on Wearside.
We’ve rounded up some of the other people honoured in the city, from Sunderland’s first female MP to the civil engineer credited with helping to combat cholera.
5. Lewis Carroll, Holy Trinity Rectory, Southwick
Lewis Carroll visited family in Sunderland during his long summer holidays from Oxford, and there are countless tales of how our city inspired characters and settings in his books. The author, who is most famed for Alice in Wonderland, stayed at Holy Trinity Rectory in 1872 and 1887 visiting his sister Mary who lived here with her husband, the Rev.
Collingwood, rector of this parish. Photo: JPI Media
6. Gertrude Bell, Dame Margaret Hall, Washington
Gertrude Bell, who was born in Washington’s Dame Margaret Hall, became the first woman to achieve a first class degree in Modern History from Oxford University. She was an extraordinary woman who made significant contributions in so many different areas, including archaeology, exploration and the politics of the Middle East. She developed a passion for Arabic cultures and became so familiar with the Middle East that she ended up working at a high level with British military intelligence in Mesopotamia, during the First World War. She was the only woman present at Winston Churchill’s post-war conference to discuss the future of the region and by the time of her death in Baghdad in 1926 had helped oversee the creation of modern Iraq. Photo: submitted
7. Bobby Gurney, Silksworth
Born in Stewart Street, Silksworth, Bobby first played for Silksworth Boys in the Sunderland and District Schools League. He played for Sunderland A.F.C. from 1925-1939 and was capped for England in 1935. His record of 288 goals scored for Sunderland AFC. still stands. A mural also stands nearby on the side of the Golden Fleece pub depicting the footballing hero. Photo: JPI Media
8. George Maling VC, Mowbray Road
George Maling displayed extraordinary bravery in the First World War, leading to him becoming Sunderland's only soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross. George, who was born in Carlton House, in Mowbray Road, was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corps in January 1915 and sent to France. On September 25 that year, a group of British soldiers were trapped in an area of No Man’s Land near Fauquissart, surrounded and under heavy bombardment. George worked for more than 24 hours, collecting and treating more than 300 men, despite being under heavy shelling the entire time. Maling was gazetted for the VC for his actions in November and presented with the medal by King George V at Buckingham Palace in January 1916. Photo: JPI Media