#1Science & Medicine
Gordon Danby
1929–2016American physicist
7 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Famous people · Richmond, Ottawa
Leaders stand out among the 7 famous people born in Richmond
The best known, counted by the languages that write about them, is the American physicist Gordon Danby. Close behind are John Short and George Hamilton Pettit. Before Confederation, 4 were born, the most of any period. The list reaches back to John Short, born in 1836, one of 4 born before Confederation.
Born here
7
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Gordon Danby
7 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1836
John Short
Youngest
1929
Gordon Danby
Most common field
Politics & Law
5 people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Richmond is known for
No other field is as far above the usual share as leaders, at 3.3 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.
Through the years
When Richmond’s famous people were born
Births peak in the 1870s, with 2 people born in that decade.
Politics & LawScience & MedicineSports
Dots are people, stacked in the decade of their birth.
The best known
Born in Richmond
Leaders take two of the three places.
#1JS#2
GP#3
Politics & Law
George Hamilton Pettit
1872–1953Canadian politician (Conservative)
3 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Everyone
Everyone else born in Richmond
Another 4, the earliest born in 1857.
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Questions about famous people from Richmond
Who is the most famous person from Richmond?
Gordon Danby (American physicist) comes first, by the number of Wikipedia languages that cover them. Next come John Short and George Hamilton Pettit.
What is Richmond known for?
That is 71% of the town’s list, against 22% across Canadian towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Richmond?
John Short, born in 1836. The youngest on the list was born in 1929.
Who counts as from Richmond?
Wikidata’s record must put the birth inside Richmond’s neighbourhood outline (the census tracts it is drawn from) 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. In a city split into neighbourhoods (Toronto, Montréal, Ottawa and the others), someone recorded as born only “in the city” stays on the city’s own page; a neighbourhood lists only births recorded in it.
Why is someone missing?
Often Wikidata names only Canada or a province as the birthplace, or a rural area, a hamlet or another town; sometimes the Wikipedia article names somewhere else, or nowhere. A person appears here once both agree, so a correction on either site reaches this page 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 (1)
- Gordon Danby: U.S. Department of Energy from United States, 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).