#1Music
Richard Manuel
1943–1986Canadian musician and composer
21 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Famous people · Stratford, Ontario
Musicians stand out among the 81 famous people born in Stratford
The best known is the Canadian musician and composer Richard Manuel, with articles in 21 languages. Second place goes to the Canadian actor Shawn Roberts, third to Jared McCann. 22 of them were born between 1914 and 1945, more than in any other period. The list is still growing: 21 were born since 1970.
Born here
81
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Richard Manuel
21 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1852
Thomas Mayne Daly
Youngest
1996
Ally Haran
Most common field
Sports
32 people
What stands out about Stratford’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Stratford is known for
The field furthest above the usual share is musicians, at 1.7 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 Stratford’s famous people were born
The 1970s alone account for 12 of the births charted here.
SportsPolitics & LawWriting & ArtsMusicFilm, TV & StageScience & MedicineNotable
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
The best known
Born in Stratford
#1
#2Film, TV & Stage
Shawn Roberts
born 1984Canadian actor
21 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
#3Sports
Jared McCann
born 1996Canadian ice hockey player
17 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Everyone
Everyone else born in Stratford
A further 78 follow, born between 1852 and 1996.
Julia Wilkinson
born 1987Canadian swimmer, Olympic athlete, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist
SportsWikipedia ↗
Beatrice Nasmyth
1885–1977Beatrice Sifton Nasmyth was a Canadian suffragette and war correspondent
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns around it, St. Marys has the most on record: 25.
Questions about famous people from Stratford
Who is the most famous person from Stratford?
Richard Manuel (Canadian musician and composer) comes first, by the number of Wikipedia languages that cover them. Next come Shawn Roberts and Jared McCann.
How many famous people were born in Stratford?
Wikidata counts 104 born here, but only those an article confirms are listed.
What is Stratford known for?
Here the share is 40%; across Canadian towns it is 38%.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Stratford?
The earliest is Thomas Mayne Daly, born in 1852, and the latest birth listed is 1996.
Who counts as from Stratford?
The list takes people born within Stratford’s 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?
Wikidata may give their birthplace only as Canada or a province, as a rural area or hamlet without a page here, or as another town; or their article may name a different place, or none. Only people both sources agree on are listed, and a fix on Wikidata or Wikipedia shows up here 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 (28)
- Richard Manuel: Heinrich Klaffs, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Shawn Roberts: SHAWNBRIAN, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jared McCann: Jenn G from Seattle, WA, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Frederick McCarthy: Sylvia Fox McCarthy Bevan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Pattie Mallette: LeRoyMobley, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Katherine Bitting: Purdue University, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Andrew Pyper: Dan Harasymchuk, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Chris Taylor: TheAHL, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Esthero: Photo by Glenn Francis of: www.PacificProDigital.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Frank Rankin: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Joey Hishon: TheAHL, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Allan Stratton: Dan Harasymchuk, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Craig Hartsburg: Michael Miller, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Devin DiDiomete: Leech44, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lloyd Robertson: Christine Rondeau, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dayna Manning: DallasFletcher, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Mayne Daly: Topley Studio, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Beatrice Nasmyth: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Hank Monteith: Detroit Red Wings, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- J. Waldo Monteith: Arthur Roy, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Larry Murray: Youngjim, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David Ridgen: ChrisOke, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Frank Switzer: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Larry Landreth: Tiefel & Associates, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Walter Alexander Riddell: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Howard Hesson: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Hugh Edighoffer: Legislative Assembly of Ontario, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Arthur Meighen: 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).