TN#1
Famous people · Goderich, Ontario
Of the 27 famous people born in Goderich, an unusual share are leaders
At the top of the list is the illustrator Ted Nasmith, covered in 18 languages. Larry Jeffrey and Gary Doak follow. 8 of them were born before Confederation, more than in any other period. As early as 1838, C. E. McIntosh was born here, one of 8 born before Confederation.
Born here
27
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Ted Nasmith
18 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1838
C. E. McIntosh
Youngest
1994
Brock Dykxhoorn
Most common field
Politics & Law
11 people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Goderich is known for
Goderich has 1.9× the usual share of leaders.
Each field is set against the usual town, its share among everyone listed in Canadian towns. Tap one to see who is in it.
The best known
Born in Goderich
Two of the three are athletes.
LJ#2
Sports
Larry Jeffrey
1940–2022Canadian ice hockey player
9 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
#3Sports
Gary Doak
1946–2017Canadian ice hockey defenceman
7 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Through the years
When Goderich’s famous people were born
The 1940s alone account for 4 of the births charted here.
Politics & LawSportsWriting & ArtsScience & MedicineFaithNotable
Every person is a dot in the column of the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Goderich
24 more, 11 of them leaders.
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns nearby, Clinton lists the most people: 10.
Questions about famous people from Goderich
Who is the most famous person from Goderich?
The top name is Ted Nasmith (illustrator), going by Wikipedia coverage. Next come Larry Jeffrey and Gary Doak.
How many famous people were born in Goderich?
Wikidata places 33 here in all; the others lack an article that agrees.
What is Goderich known for?
41% here, set against 22% for Canadian towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Goderich?
C. E. McIntosh, from 1838; the most recent birth on the list is from 1994.
Who counts as from Goderich?
Wikidata has to place the birth inside Goderich’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?
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 (12)
- Gary Doak: Boston Bruins, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Julie-Anne Staehli: JStaehli, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jennifer Robinson: Photo by Vesperholly, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- Walter Cameron Nichol: Government of British Columbia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Aaron Feltham: Robert Thivierge (Thivierr), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Eadie Fraser: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ron Van Horne: Legislative Assembly of Ontario, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Herbert A. Parkyn: Portrait of Dr. Parkyn in his Hypnotism book 1900, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Whitey Merritt: Herbert Welfond, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Franklin Kerr: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Inglis McLaren: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ryan O'Reilly: Fanny Schertzer, CC BY 3.0, 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).