Félix Rocquain
1833–1925French historian and archivist (1833-1925)
Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Félix Rocquain, the French historian and archivist, is the most widely known, written about in 4 languages. The French soldier Laurent Augustin Pelletier de Chambure ranks second, ahead of Gustave Chapuis. Between the Revolution and the Second Empire, 5 were born, the most of any period. 4 of them were born before the Revolution, the first Jean-Marie Ponsard in 1747.
Vitteaux has 1.7× the usual share of leaders.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed in French towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The 1850s saw the most births of any decade: 2.
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
By how many languages cover them, Félix Rocquain comes first (4), then Laurent Augustin Pelletier de Chambure (3) and Gustave Chapuis (2).
French historian and archivist (1833-1925)
French soldier
French politician
7 more, best known first.
No one matches both filters.
Around it, Semur-en-Auxois has the most people on record, 16 of them.
Félix Rocquain (French historian and archivist (1833-1925)) is the best known by our measure: 4 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come Laurent Augustin Pelletier de Chambure and Gustave Chapuis.
10 people born in Vitteaux have a French Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace (and an English one that agrees, when there is one). Wikidata places 13 people here; the rest aren’t listed because an article names somewhere else or no town, or a check couldn’t be completed.
Among its famous people, leaders: 4 of the 10. That is 40% of the town’s list, against 24% across French towns.
Jean-Marie Ponsard, born in 1747. The youngest on the list was born in 1882.
People whose Wikidata birthplace is Vitteaux 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.
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.
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.