#1Writing & Arts
Gerald Steadman Smith
1929–2015Canadian artist
3 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Famous people · Barrington, Nova Scotia
7 famous people were born in Barrington, more of them leaders than in most towns
Most widely known is Gerald Steadman Smith, the Canadian artist, with articles in 3 languages. 3 of them were born before Confederation, more than in any other period. As early as 1814, Thomas Coffin Doane was born here, one of 3 born before Confederation. Per 10,000 residents, the town has 10.4, close to the 10.9 of the typical Nova Scotia town.
Born here
7
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Gerald Steadman Smith
3 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1814
Thomas Coffin Doane
Youngest
1929
Gerald Steadman Smith
Most common field
Politics & Law
4 people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Barrington is known for
Barrington has 2.6× the usual share of leaders.
For comparison, the usual town: how the people listed across Canadian towns split by field. Tap a field to list its people.
Through the years
When Barrington’s famous people were born
The busiest decade was the 1810s, with 2 births.
Politics & LawWriting & ArtsNotable
Every person is a dot in the column of the decade they were born.
The best known
Born in Barrington
Writers and artists take two of the three places.
#1
#2Writing & Arts
Thomas Coffin Doane
1814–189619th century Canadian photographer
3 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
#3Politics & Law
Thomas Robertson
1852–1902Canadian civil servant, entrepreneur and politician
3 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Everyone
Everyone else born in Barrington
4 more, from 1817 to 1919.
No one matches both filters.
Questions about famous people from Barrington
Who is the most famous person from Barrington?
Gerald Steadman Smith (Canadian artist) heads the list, ranked by how many Wikipedias cover them. Next come Thomas Coffin Doane and Thomas Robertson.
How many famous people were born in Barrington?
Wikidata places 8 here in all; the others lack an article that agrees.
What is Barrington known for?
57% here, set against 22% for Canadian towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Barrington?
Thomas Coffin Doane, from 1814; the most recent birth on the list is from 1929.
Who counts as from Barrington?
Wikidata has to place the birth inside Barrington’s municipal boundary (Statistics Canada’s 2021 census subdivision), counting its hospitals and districts, and an English or French Wikipedia article has to say the same. Adult performers, people known mostly for crimes and anyone who only lived here stay off the list.
Why is someone missing?
The likeliest reasons: a birthplace recorded only as a province or as Canada, a hamlet or rural area with no page of its own, or an article that gives another place or none. Fixing Wikidata or Wikipedia brings them onto the list at the next refresh, as long as the two then agree.
Birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations and the count of Wikipedia and sister-site articles come from Wikidata (CC0). Each birthplace is checked against the person’s English Wikipedia article, or the French one where English says nothing or has no article; the articles are linked, never quoted. Wikidata’s Statistics Canada code, the place’s name or its point inside the 2021 census outline puts a birth in a town, and a birth given only as a split city stays on that city’s page. Fields are read from the description and occupations, and the list runs by number of articles. “The usual town” is everyone listed across Canadian towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (4)
- Gerald Steadman Smith: Capesabledreamer, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Coffin Doane: Topley Studio / Library and Archives Canada / PA-025356 (copyright expired), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Robertson: William James Topley, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Coffin: William James Topley, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).