#1Military
Charles Smith Rutherford
1892–1989Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross
5 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Famous people · Colborne, Ontario
5 famous people were born in Colborne
The best known, counted by the languages that write about them, is the Canadian recipient of the Victoria cross Charles Smith Rutherford. George Albertus Cox, the Canadian politician, comes second, with William Ernest Payne third. More than half were born before Confederation, 3 in all. 3 of them were born before Confederation, the first William Wilson Webb in 1826.
Born here
5
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Charles Smith Rutherford
5 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1826
William Wilson Webb
Youngest
1892
Charles Smith Rutherford
Most common field
Politics & Law
4 people
★ What stands out · Through the years
When Colborne’s famous people were born
The 1840s alone account for 2 of the births charted here.
Politics & LawMilitary
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
The best known
Born in Colborne
Two of the three are leaders.
#1
#2Politics & Law
George Albertus Cox
1840–1914Canadian politician
3 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
WP#3
Politics & Law
William Ernest Payne
1878–1943Canadian politician
2 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Known for
What Colborne is known for
The field furthest above the usual share is leaders, at 3.6 times.
Each field is set against the usual town, its share among everyone listed in Canadian towns. Tap one to see who is in it.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Colborne
Of the other 2, 2 are leaders.
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
The best known from each town within 20 km of Colborne, with how many people each has.
Questions about famous people from Colborne
Who is the most famous person from Colborne?
The top name is Charles Smith Rutherford (Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross), going by Wikipedia coverage. Next come George Albertus Cox and William Ernest Payne.
How many famous people were born in Colborne?
Wikidata places 7 here in all; the others lack an article that agrees.
What is Colborne known for?
That is 80% of the town’s list, against 22% across Canadian towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Colborne?
The earliest is William Wilson Webb, born in 1826, and the latest birth listed is 1892.
Who counts as from Colborne?
Wikidata’s record must put the birth inside Colborne’s municipal boundary (Statistics Canada’s 2021 census subdivision) or one of its hospitals or districts, and an English or French Wikipedia article must agree. The list leaves out adult performers, people known mainly for crimes and anyone born elsewhere.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata record may stop at the province, point to a rural area we have no page for, or name a different town, and their article may disagree or say nothing. Only a birthplace both sources share is listed; edits to either are picked up at the next refresh.
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 (3)
- Charles Smith Rutherford: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- George Albertus Cox: Charles Melville Hays / Library and Archives Canada, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Wilson Webb: Notman & Fraser, 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).