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Famous people · Montluel, Ain

Of the 9 famous people born in Montluel, an unusual share are writers and artists

Joseph Crétin is the best known, with articles in 8 languages. Between the Revolution and the Second Empire, 4 were born, the most of any period. Born in 1743, Claude André is the first name on record, and Joël Sternheimer, born in 1943, the most recent. Fewer than a quarter of the 131 towns in Ain with famous people list more.

#1 best knownJoseph CrétinFaith · 1799–1857
+5more
Born here
9
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Joseph Crétin
8 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1743
Claude André
Youngest
1943
Joël Sternheimer
Most common field
Writing & Arts
4 people

What stands out about Montluel’s famous people

★ What stands out · Known for

What Montluel is known for

Montluel has 1.8× the usual share of writers and artists.

The usual town: the share across everyone listed in French towns. Tap a field to see its people.

The best known

Born in Montluel

Two of the three are writers and artists.

Joseph Crétin#1
Faith

Joseph Crétin

1799–1857

First Roman Catholic Bishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota (1799-1857)

8 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Jules Gros#2
Writing & Arts

Jules Gros

1829–1891

French journalist

6 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
AD#3
Writing & Arts

André d'Arbelles

1767–1825

French journalist (1767-1825)

3 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Through the years

When Montluel’s famous people were born

Count by decade and the 1820s come out on top, with 3 births.

Ancien RégimeRevolution to EmpireBelle ÉpoqueThe 20th century17501800185019001950Jules GrosEmmanuel SoyAndré d'ArbellesJoseph Crétin
Writing & ArtsFaithPolitics & LawScience & MedicineSports

Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.

Everyone

Everyone else born in Montluel

6 more, 2 of them writers and artists.

Joël Sternheimer

Joël Sternheimer

1943–2023

Physicist, independent researcher and singer (1943–2023)

Science & MedicineWikipedia (French) ↗
Next door

Famous people from the towns next door

Of the towns around it, Dagneux has the most on record: 2.

Questions about famous people from Montluel

Who is the most famous person from Montluel?

Joseph Crétin (First Roman Catholic Bishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota (1799-1857)) is the best known by our measure: 8 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come Jules Gros and André d'Arbelles.

How many famous people were born in Montluel?

9 people born in Montluel have a French Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace (and an English one that agrees, when there is one). Wikidata places 12 people here; the rest aren’t listed because an article names somewhere else or no town, or a check couldn’t be completed.

What is Montluel known for?

Among its famous people, writers and artists: 4 of the 9. That is 44% of the town’s list, against 25% across French towns.

Who is the earliest-born famous person from Montluel?

Claude André, born in 1743. The youngest on the list was born in 1943.

Who counts as from Montluel?

People whose Wikidata birthplace is Montluel itself, matched by its INSEE code (a commune merged into it counts when the dates allow), whose French Wikipedia article agrees, and their English article too when they have one. A hospital or neighbourhood recorded without its commune isn’t matched. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.

Why is someone missing?

Their Wikidata birthplace may be a hospital, a neighbourhood or a wider area, another commune, or missing, or their articles may not name a birthplace. We only list people the sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.

From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations, how many Wikipedia and sister-site articles cover each person) and French and English Wikipedia (each person’s articles confirm the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are matched to the commune by INSEE code and its history of mergers (INSEE COG 2026). Ranked by the number of articles. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across French towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the license below (our copy, resized).

Photo credits (5)

Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.