#1Henri Basnage de Franquesnay
1615–1695French lawyer
Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
At the top of the list is the French lawyer Henri Basnage de Franquesnay, covered in 3 languages. 3 of them were born between the Revolution and the Second Empire, more than in any other period. The list’s best known name, Henri Basnage de Franquesnay, dates from 1615. Fewer than a quarter of the 123 towns in Manche with famous people list more.
Henri Basnage de Franquesnay leads with articles in 3 languages, ahead of Paul Cirou (3) and Édouard Hasley (2).
#1French lawyer
French painter (1869-1951)
Catholic archbishop of Cambrai (1825-1888)
Count by decade and the 1860s come out on top, with 2 births.
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
The field with the most names is Politics & Law: 2.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed in French towns. Tap a field to see its people.
A further 3 follow, born between 1861 and 1934.

No one matches both filters.
Close by, Valognes counts 38 famous people, the most of its neighbours.
Henri Basnage de Franquesnay (French lawyer) is the best known by our measure: 3 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come Paul Cirou and Édouard Hasley.
6 people born in Sainte-Mère-Église have a French Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace (and an English one that agrees, when there is one). Wikidata places 9 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: 2 of the 6. That is 33% of the town’s list, against 24% across French towns.
Henri Basnage de Franquesnay, born in 1615. The youngest on the list was born in 1934.
People whose Wikidata birthplace is Sainte-Mère-Église 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. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the license below (our copy, resized).
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.