#1Military
William Sowden Sims
1858–1936United States admiral
12 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Famous people · Port Hope, Ontario
24 famous people were born in Port Hope, more of them scientists and doctors than in most towns
William Sowden Sims, the united States admiral, is the most widely known, written about in 12 languages. As early as 1821, Gilbert Belnap was born here, one of 11 born before Confederation. The largest group, 11, was born before Confederation. Fewer than a quarter of the 386 towns in Ontario with famous people list more.
Born here
24
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
William Sowden Sims
12 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1821
Gilbert Belnap
Youngest
1983
Shane O'Brien
Most common field
Sports
8 people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Port Hope is known for
Set against the usual town, soldiers and sailors come out 8.2 times as common.
The usual town is the share across everyone listed in Canadian towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Through the years
When Port Hope’s famous people were born
Count by decade and the 1850s come out on top, with 4 births.
SportsScience & MedicinePolitics & LawMilitaryBusinessFilm, TV & StageWriting & ArtsFaith
Every person is a dot in the column of the decade they were born.
The best known
Born in Port Hope
The three are covered in 12, 8 and 7 languages: William Sowden Sims, Shane O'Brien and John Alexander Low Waddell.
#1
#2Sports
Shane O'Brien
born 1983Canadian ice hockey player
8 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
#3Science & Medicine
John Alexander Low Waddell
1854–1938Civil engineer
7 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Everyone
Everyone else born in Port Hope
21 more, from 1821 to 1975.
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Towns around it with someone on record: 2.
Questions about famous people from Port Hope
Who is the most famous person from Port Hope?
The top name is William Sowden Sims (united States admiral), going by Wikipedia coverage. Next come Shane O'Brien and John Alexander Low Waddell.
How many famous people were born in Port Hope?
Wikidata has 35 born here; the ones not shown have no article that agrees, or none at all.
What is Port Hope known for?
33% of the list, where Canadian towns come to 38%.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Port Hope?
Gilbert Belnap, from 1821; the most recent birth on the list is from 1983.
Who counts as from Port Hope?
Born inside Port Hope’s municipal boundary (Statistics Canada’s 2021 census subdivision) on Wikidata’s record, with an English or French Wikipedia article to back it up: that is the test, hospitals and districts within the outline included. Someone who just lived here does not pass it, and adult performers and people known mainly for crimes are excluded.
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 (18)
- William Sowden Sims: RJHall, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Shane O'Brien: Resolute, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Alexander Low Waddell: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Albert Schultz: Canadian Film Centre, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dennis O'Brien: Dennis O'Brien, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- Victor Williams: Steele and Company, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Arthur Trefusis Heneage Williams: Notman & Fraser, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Bob Addy: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Clara Benson: University of Toronto, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Henry Alfred Ward: Unknown author , Published by Montreal Perrault Print. Co, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Gilbert Belnap: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- J. J. Hagerman: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Volney V. Ashford: James J. Williams, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jack Brown: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James Walter Curry: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- W. J. King: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Marie Dressler: MGM, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Mina Benson Hubbard: Unknown author, 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).