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L'église St-Nicolas de Craon et vue sur le vieux bourgPhoto: Andegave 999 · CC0
Famous people · Craon, Mayenne

4 famous people come from Craon, Volney the best known

With articles in 34 languages, Volney is the most widely known. Second and third on the list are Ferdinand Le Pelletier and François Houtin. François Houtin, born in 1950, is the youngest, and François-Joachim Esnue-Lavallée, born in 1751, the first on record. Per 10,000 residents, the town has 9, close to the 6.3 of the typical Mayenne town.

Born here
4
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Volney
34 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1751
François-Joachim Esnue-Lavallée
Youngest
1950
François Houtin
Most common field
Writing & Arts
2 people
The best known

Born in Craon

Writers and artists take two of the three places.

V#1
Writing & Arts

Volney

1757–1820

French philosopher, historian, orientalist, and politician (1757-1820)

34 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
FP#2
Politics & Law

Ferdinand Le Pelletier

1864–1939

French politician

1 Wikipedia or sister-site articleWikipedia (French) ↗
FH#3
Writing & Arts

François Houtin

born 1950

French engraver

1 Wikipedia or sister-site articleWikipedia (French) ↗
Through the years

When Craon’s famous people were born

No decade has more births than the 1750s, at 2.

Ancien RégimeRevolution to EmpireBelle ÉpoqueThe 20th century17501800185019001950VolneyFrançois HoutinFerdinand Le Pelletier
Writing & ArtsPolitics & Law

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

Known for

What Craon is known for

The largest field is Writing & Arts, 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 Craon

1 more, best known first.

Next door

Famous people from the towns next door

The most names next door are in Château-Gontier-sur-Mayenne: 49.

Questions about famous people from Craon

Who is the most famous person from Craon?

Volney (French philosopher, historian, orientalist, and politician (1757-1820)) is the best known by our measure: 34 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come Ferdinand Le Pelletier and François Houtin.

How many famous people were born in Craon?

4 people born in Craon have a French Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace (and an English one that agrees, when there is one). Wikidata places 15 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 Craon known for?

Among its famous people, writers and artists: 2 of the 4. That is 50% of the town’s list, against 25% across French towns.

Who is the earliest-born famous person from Craon?

François-Joachim Esnue-Lavallée, born in 1751. The youngest on the list was born in 1950.

Who counts as from Craon?

People whose Wikidata birthplace is Craon 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 (3)

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.