#1Politics & Law
Frank L. Shaw
1877–1958American politician
7 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Famous people · Watford, Ontario
Of the 13 famous people born in Watford, an unusual share are leaders
The best known is the American politician Frank L. Shaw, with articles in 7 languages. Albert G. Rutherford, the American politician, comes second, with George Henry Cowan third. Between Confederation and 1913, 9 were born, the most of any period. Over 90 years of births, the list goes from John Allan Auld (1853) to Jim Jones (1943).
Born here
13
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Frank L. Shaw
7 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1853
John Allan Auld
Youngest
1943
Jim Jones
Most common field
Politics & Law
11 people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Watford is known for
Watford has 3.9× the usual share of leaders.
The usual town is the share across everyone listed in Canadian towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Watford
Counted by languages, Frank L. Shaw is ahead of Albert G. Rutherford and George Henry Cowan: 7, 4 and 4.
#1
#2Politics & Law
Albert G. Rutherford
1879–1941American politician
4 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
#3Politics & Law
George Henry Cowan
1858–1935Canadian politician
4 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Through the years
When Watford’s famous people were born
The 1870s top the chart, with 3 births in the decade.
Politics & LawNotableSports
Dots are people, stacked in the decade of their birth.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Watford
The other 10 span the years 1853 to 1943.
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Nearby towns with at least one name on record: 1.
Questions about famous people from Watford
Who is the most famous person from Watford?
Frank L. Shaw (American politician) heads the list, ranked by how many Wikipedias cover them. Next come Albert G. Rutherford and George Henry Cowan.
How many famous people were born in Watford?
15 are placed here on Wikidata; the rest have no article to confirm it.
What is Watford known for?
They make up 85% here, compared with 22% across Canadian towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Watford?
John Allan Auld, born in 1853. The youngest on the list was born in 1943.
Who counts as from Watford?
Wikidata has to place the birth inside Watford’s municipal boundary (Statistics Canada’s 2021 census subdivision), counting its hospitals and districts, and an English or French Wikipedia article has to say the same. Adult performers, people known mostly for crimes and anyone who only lived here stay off the list.
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 (7)
- Frank L. Shaw: Los Angeles Daily News, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Albert G. Rutherford: Harris & Ewing, photographer. U.S. Government Printing Office, publisher., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- George Henry Cowan: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- David Wesley Bole: Unknown author , Published by Montreal Perrault Print. Co, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Glenville MacLachlan: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Samuel A. Barnes: Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Arthur Currie: Unknown photographer, 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).