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Famous people · Pleaux, Cantal

From 1736 to 1942, Pleaux was the birthplace of 4 famous people

Articles in 2 languages make the French engineer André Merlin the best known. Second and third on the list are François Laporte and Jean-Pierre Pagis. 2 of them are leaders, more than in any other field. André Merlin, the best known, was born in 1942.

Born here
4
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
André Merlin
2 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1736
François Laporte
Youngest
1942
André Merlin
Most common field
Politics & Law
2 people
The best known

Born in Pleaux

André Merlin has articles in 2 languages, François Laporte in 2 and Jean-Pierre Pagis in 2.

AM#1
Science & Medicine

André Merlin

born 1942

French engineer

2 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia (French) ↗
FL#2
Politics & Law

François Laporte

1736–1822

French politician (1736-1822)

2 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia (French) ↗
JP#3
Faith

Jean-Pierre Pagis

1835–1908

Bishop of Verdun (1835-1908)

2 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia (French) ↗
Through the years

When Pleaux’s famous people were born

The 1940s saw the most births of any decade: 1.

Ancien RégimeRevolution to EmpireBelle ÉpoqueThe 20th century17501800185019001950Jean-Baptiste Charles Vacher de TournemineJean-Pierre PagisAndré Merlin
Politics & LawScience & MedicineFaith

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

Known for

What Pleaux is known for

Politics & Law leads the fields, with 2 people.

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

Everyone

Everyone else born in Pleaux

1 more, best known first.

JT

Jean-Baptiste Charles Vacher de Tournemine

1755–1840

French politician (1755-1840)

Next door

Famous people from the towns next door

The neighbour with the most names is Mauriac, at 9.

Questions about famous people from Pleaux

Who is the most famous person from Pleaux?

André Merlin (French engineer) is the best known by our measure: 2 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come François Laporte and Jean-Pierre Pagis.

How many famous people were born in Pleaux?

4 people born in Pleaux have a French Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace (and an English one that agrees, when there is one). Wikidata places 5 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 Pleaux known for?

Among its famous people, leaders: 2 of the 4. That is 50% of the town’s list, against 24% across French towns.

Who is the earliest-born famous person from Pleaux?

François Laporte, born in 1736. The youngest on the list was born in 1942.

Who counts as from Pleaux?

People whose Wikidata birthplace is Pleaux 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 (1)

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.