#1Sports
Billy Smith
born 1950Canadian ice hockey player
15 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Famous people · Perth, Ontario
36 famous people from Perth, many of them leaders
Most widely known is Billy Smith, the Canadian ice hockey player, with articles in 15 languages. Behind the leader come Sultana Frizell and Francis John Spence. 11 of them were born before Confederation, more than in any other period. As early as 1824, John Robson was born here, one of 11 born before Confederation.
Born here
36
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Billy Smith
15 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1824
John Robson
Youngest
1991
Jared Coreau
Most common field
Politics & Law
17 people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Perth is known for
No other field is as far above the usual share as leaders, at 2.2 times.
The usual town is the share across everyone listed in Canadian towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Through the years
When Perth’s famous people were born
The 1870s top the chart, with 5 births in the decade.
Politics & LawSportsNotableWriting & ArtsMilitaryFaithBusinessScience & Medicine
Every person is a dot in the column of the decade they were born.
The best known
Born in Perth
#1SF#2
Notable
Sultana Frizell
born 1984Canadian hammer thrower
12 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
FS#3
Faith
Francis John Spence
1926–2011Canadian Catholic prelate
10 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Everyone
Everyone else born in Perth
33 more, 17 of them leaders.
Mike Brown
born 1984Canadian swimmer, Olympic athlete, Commonwealth Games gold medallist
SportsWikipedia ↗
William Neilson
1854–1903Canadian physician and political figure in Manitoba
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Herbert Taylor Reade
1828–1897Canadian military surgeon (1828–1897); recipient of the Victoria Cross
MilitaryWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Close by, Smiths Falls counts 18 famous people, the most of its neighbours.
Questions about famous people from Perth
Who is the most famous person from Perth?
By our measure the best known is Billy Smith (Canadian ice hockey player); the spotlight above gives the details. Next come Sultana Frizell and Francis John Spence.
How many famous people were born in Perth?
Wikidata places 50 here in all; the others lack an article that agrees.
What is Perth known for?
That is 47% of the town’s list, against 22% across Canadian towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Perth?
John Robson, from 1824; the most recent birth on the list is from 1991.
Who counts as from Perth?
Wikidata’s record must put the birth inside Perth’s municipal boundary (Statistics Canada’s 2021 census subdivision) 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.
Why is someone missing?
The likeliest reasons: a birthplace recorded only as a province or as Canada, a hamlet or rural area with no page of its own, or an article that gives another place or none. Fixing Wikidata or Wikipedia brings them onto the list at the next refresh, as long as the two then agree.
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 (16)
- Billy Smith: Horge, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Robson: User Digging.holes on fr.wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Alexander Morris: William James Topley, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jared Coreau: TheAHL, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Joseph McCann: Paul Horsdal, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Graham Haggart: William James Topley, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Roy Kellock: Frank Royal, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Malcolm Colin Cameron: William James Topley, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Deacon: Notman & Fraser, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Brad Trivers: Brad Trivers, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lorne Argyle Campbell: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Russ Deacon: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Neilson: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Wilson Cain: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Herbert Taylor Reade: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Kirk Wagar: Department of State, 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).