#1Sports
Syl Apps
1915–1998Canadian ice hockey player and politician
15 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Famous people · Paris, Ontario
Leaders stand out among the 24 famous people born in Paris
Articles in 15 languages make the Canadian ice hockey player and politician Syl Apps the best known. George Bernard Flahiff and Alma Duncan follow. 10 of them were born before Confederation, the first Charles Henry Fowler in 1837. The largest group, 10, was born before Confederation.
Born here
24
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Syl Apps
15 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1837
Charles Henry Fowler
Youngest
1989
Zac Dalpe
Most common field
Politics & Law
8 people
★ What stands out · Through the years
When Paris’s famous people were born
More were born in the 1850s than in any other decade: 5.
Politics & LawSportsWriting & ArtsFaithNotableScience & MedicineMusic
One dot per person, piled up by decade of birth.
Known for
What Paris is known for
Compared with the usual town, leaders are the most over-represented field, at 1.5 times.
The usual town is the share across everyone listed in Canadian towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Paris
#1GF#2
Faith
George Bernard Flahiff
1905–1989Canadian Catholic prelate
13 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
AD#3
Writing & Arts
Alma Duncan
1917–2004Canadian painter, artist, filmmaker
8 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Everyone
Everyone else born in Paris
21 more, from 1837 to 1989.
John McPherson
1855–1944Canadian politician, postmaster of Spruce Grove, Alberta
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Close by, Brantford counts 132 famous people, the most of its neighbours.
Questions about famous people from Paris
Who is the most famous person from Paris?
Syl Apps (Canadian ice hockey player and politician) heads the list, ranked by how many Wikipedias cover them. Next come George Bernard Flahiff and Alma Duncan.
How many famous people were born in Paris?
Wikidata counts 49 born here, but only those an article confirms are listed.
What is Paris known for?
Across Canadian towns the figure is 22%; here, 33%.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Paris?
Charles Henry Fowler (1837). At the other end, the youngest was born in 1989.
Who counts as from Paris?
The list takes people born within Paris’ 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?
Some have no birthplace below the province on Wikidata, some were born in a hamlet without a page here, and some have an article that names another place or none at all. The page lists only what Wikidata and Wikipedia agree on, and it follows their corrections at each 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 (15)
- Syl Apps: Globe and Mail, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Charles Henry Fowler: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jay Wells: Los Angeles Kings / NHL, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Zac Dalpe: Benjamin Reed, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Mickey Ion: Stuart Thomson, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Peter Bryce: Lancefields of Ottawa, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Arthur Heming: M.O. Hammond, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Greg Rickford: Milton Chan, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John McPherson: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Randy Rowe: DMighton, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Samuel Dickie: Samuel Dickie, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William "Lady" Taylor: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Wayne Gretzky: The original uploader was Hakandahlstrom at English Wikipedia . Later versions were uploaded by IrisKawling at en.wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Babe Siebert: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Kyle Clifford: Lisa Gansky, CC BY-SA 2.0, 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).