#1Writing & Arts
Billy Bishop
1894–1956Canadian aviator and author
23 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Famous people · Owen Sound, Ontario
The 58 famous people born in Owen Sound, led by Billy Bishop
The best known is the Canadian aviator and author Billy Bishop, with articles in 23 languages. Between Confederation and 1913, 18 were born, the most of any period. For every 10,000 residents the town has 24.1, while at least half the towns in Ontario list nobody born there. Births since 1970 account for 14 of the names.
Born here
58
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Billy Bishop
23 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1850
Matthew McCauley
Youngest
1990
Jessica Cameron
Most common field
Sports
21 people
What stands out about Owen Sound’s famous people
★ What stands out · Through the years
When Owen Sound’s famous people were born
Births peak in the 1970s, with 8 people born in that decade.
SportsPolitics & LawWriting & ArtsScience & MedicineFilm, TV & StageNotableFaithMilitaryMusic
Every person is a dot in the column of the decade they were born.
The best known
Born in Owen Sound
#1
#2
#3Film, TV & Stage
Dean Armstrong
born 1973Canadian actor
13 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Known for
What Owen Sound is known for
No other field is as far above the usual share as scientists and doctors, at 1.5 times.
The usual town is the share across everyone listed in Canadian towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Owen Sound
Here are 55 more, born from 1850 to 1990.
Henry James Price
1919–1989Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament, 1955-1971
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
William Herbert Price
1877–1963Canadian Barrister, Soldier and Politician, served as Ontario Attorney General from 1926–1934
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
Carol Anne Letheren
1942–2001Former secretary general of the Canadian Olympic Committee
MilitaryWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
The longest list nearby is Georgian Bluffs’, with 2.
Questions about famous people from Owen Sound
Who is the most famous person from Owen Sound?
By our measure the best known is Billy Bishop (Canadian aviator and author); the spotlight above gives the details. Next come Larisa Yurkiw and Dean Armstrong.
How many famous people were born in Owen Sound?
Wikidata places 73 here in all, and those missing from the list lack a confirming article.
What is Owen Sound known for?
36% here, set against 38% for Canadian towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Owen Sound?
Matthew McCauley, from 1850; the most recent birth on the list is from 1990.
Who counts as from Owen Sound?
Anyone Wikidata records as born at a place inside Owen Sound’s municipal boundary (Statistics Canada’s 2021 census subdivision), hospitals and districts within it included, whose English or French Wikipedia article confirms it. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes are left out.
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 (22)
- Billy Bishop: William Rider-Rider, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Larisa Yurkiw: Christian Jansky, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dean Armstrong: Dean Armstrong, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Curtis Sanford: Mister Leung, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Hap Day: Unknown, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Elizabeth Hay: Giulia Forsythe from Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Chris Minard: Dan4th Nicholas from Cambridge, MA, USA, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cody Bass: Sarah Connors, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Elizabeth Laird: No photographer credited, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Heather Hiscox: Nicholas Moreau, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Martha Meir Allen: Ernest Hurst Cherrington, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William John Ward: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William S. McKinnon: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Cheryl Hickey: Cristiano Del Riccio, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jock McKeen: William Meyer, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Johnston: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Arthur Llewllyn Williams: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Henry Horton Miller: Unknown author , Published by Montreal Perrault Print. Co, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Joy Laking: Joy Laking, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Matthew McCauley: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Herbert Price: Louis Lyonde, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Lillian Foster: Sale, Madison, 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).