#1Science & Medicine
Donna Strickland
born 1959Canadian physicist, Nobel laurate
91 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Famous people · Guelph, Ontario
Of the 174 famous people born in Guelph, none is better known than Donna Strickland
Articles about Donna Strickland exist in 91 languages. Musicians are unusually common here: 16, 1.6 times the usual share. The list runs from George Turner Orton, born in 1837, to Kiara Lylyk, born in 2004. Since 1970, 52 were born, the most of any period.
Born here
174
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Donna Strickland
91 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1837
George Turner Orton
Youngest
2004
Kiara Lylyk
Most common field
Sports
71 people
What stands out about Guelph’s famous people
★ What stands out · The best known
Born in Guelph
Two of the three are scientists and doctors.
#1
#2Film, TV & Stage
Neve Campbell
born 1973Canadian actress
63 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
#3Science & Medicine
David Card
born 1956Canadian economist and university teacher
45 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Through the years
When Guelph’s famous people were born
More of them were born in the 1950s than in any other ten years, 26 in all.
SportsPolitics & LawWriting & ArtsMusicFilm, TV & StageScience & MedicineNotableMilitaryBusinessFaith
Every person is a dot in the column of the decade they were born.
Known for
What Guelph is known for
No other field is as far above the usual share as musicians, at 1.6 times.
Compared with the usual town (everyone listed in Canadian towns, split by field). Tap a field to see the people in it.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Guelph
171 more, from 1837 to 2004.
John McCrae
1872–1918Canadian poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Victor Davis
1964–1989Canadian swimmer, Olympic gold medallist, world champion, former world record-holder
SportsWikipedia ↗
Zoë Keating
born 1972Canadian avant-garde cellist and composer based in San Francisco
MusicWikipedia ↗
Aurora James
born 1984Canadian creative director, activist, writer, poet and fashion designer
Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
Joseph Dewey Soper
1893–1982Canadian ornithologist, explorer, zoologist, and writer
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Joseph Petric
born 1952Canadian concert accordionist, musicologist, teacher, and author
MusicWikipedia ↗
Cody Beals
born 1990SportsWikipedia (French) ↗
Donald Arthur Hatch
1930–2020Canadian agrologist, aviator, writer, and humanist
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Towns around it with someone on record: 3.
Questions about famous people from Guelph
Who is the most famous person from Guelph?
The top name is Donna Strickland (Canadian physicist, Nobel laurate), going by Wikipedia coverage. Next come Neve Campbell and David Card.
How many famous people were born in Guelph?
Wikidata places 240 here in all; the others lack an article that agrees.
What is Guelph known for?
Across Canadian towns the figure is 38%; here, 41%.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Guelph?
George Turner Orton, from 1837; the most recent birth on the list is from 2004.
Who counts as from Guelph?
The list takes people born within Guelph’s municipal boundary (Statistics Canada’s 2021 census subdivision), its hospitals and districts too, as Wikidata records it and an English or French Wikipedia article confirms. It leaves out residents born elsewhere, adult performers and people chiefly known for crimes.
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 (74)
- Donna Strickland: Bengt Nyman from Vaxholm, Sweden, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Neve Campbell: GabboT, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David Card: Roxanne Makasdjian and Alan Toth for the University of California, Berkeley, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John McCrae: William Notman and Son, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Christopher Collins: Mykola Swarnyk, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Logan Couture: mark6mauno, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert Wickens: Henry Mineur, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kirk Maltby: Dave O from North Vancouver, CANADA, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Duncan J. Watts: Doc Searls, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Joe Sawyer: D. Ross Lederman, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ned Sparks: my own screen capture of public domain trailer, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Oswald West: Bain, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Edward Patrick Johnson: Mishkin Studio, New York, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Esther Hill: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Gavin Smith: Photos by flipchip / LasVegasVegas.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David Jones: Resolute, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Mark Rogers: Wilson Wong (Wikipedia Wwongbc ), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Andrea Seccafien: Ricardo Augusto, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- George McPhee: The White House, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Shaun Benson: George Pimentel Photography - Canadian Film Centre from Toronto, Canada, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- George A. Drew: Louis Lyonde, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Hugh Guthrie: Canada Dept. of National Defence, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jack Purcell: rando111us, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Brian MacLellan: Resolute, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jus Reign: Gagan64, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Micheal Haley: Michael Miller, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Scott Diamond: Sports Crazy on Flickr (Original version) UCinternational (Crop), CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Zoë Keating: PopTech from Camden, Maine and Brooklyn, NY, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Aurora James: Ryan Jace, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jade Chung: Tabercil, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lou Fontinato: TCG Topps Gum Cards, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Andrea Lindsay: Erin Ilagan (My Sister/ma soeur), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Brian Dickinson: KSMF Webmaster, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dorothy Maclean: Soulscribe, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Frank Doyle: TheAHL, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Art Brooks: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Bryan May: Laurelrusswurm, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dick Carroll: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Doug Stinson: Shamwowzer, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Frank Carroll: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Frank Valeriote: ChrisInKW, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Greg Jacina: TheAHL, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jim Guthrie: Exile on Ontario St from Montreal, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Joseph Petric: Simonius-p, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Yip Foster: New York Daily News, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Annie Damer: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Bob Emslie: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Bunk Congalton: American Tobacco Company, sponsor, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Connor Bunnaman: JoyOnBroad, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Kenneth Macalister: Veterans Affairs Canada, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Josiah Bruce: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Katherine Bobak: David W. Carmichael, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Liz Sandals: Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs | Ontario Ministry of Housing, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- William Courtleigh: Unknown photographer, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Adriana LaGrange: Ribbet32, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Clifford R. Evans: Dylan Spanish, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Daniel Harcourt Galbraith: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- David Lush: Government of Alberta, Provincial Archives of Alberta, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Douglas Lochhead: Janet Crawford, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- George Turner Orton: William James Topley, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Allan: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Paul Devorski: Marcusvfx, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Shawn Burke: Cmm3, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- W. S. Johnston: Rogers, A.D. .mw-parser-output .messagebox{margin:4px 0;width:auto;border-collapse:collapse;border:2px solid var(--border-color-progressive,#6485d1);background-color:var(--background-color-neutral-sub, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Charles Kingsmill: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Edward P. Foster: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Gabriel Carrer: Jordan J Chute, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- J.M. Frey: JM Frey, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jake Reinhart: Cmm3, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John William McIntosh: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Miranda Mulholland: Tabercil, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Albert Henderson: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Cullen: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James J. Hill: Editor Mary Griffin Webb and Edna Lenore Webb, 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).