FrançaisGuest, Sign inJoin
Famous people · Houdain, Pas-de-Calais

4 famous people come from Houdain, Hervé the best known

Hervé leads the list, covered in 22 languages. Second place goes to the French chemist Philippe Gengembre, third to Paul Imiéla. Per head, the list is long: 5.8 for every 10,000 residents, where the typical town in Pas-de-Calais has 2.3. More are athletes than anything else, 2 in all.

#1 best knownHervéMusic · 1825–1892
+2more
Born here
4
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Hervé
22 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1764
Philippe Gengembre
Youngest
1943
Paul Imiéla
Most common field
Sports
2 people
The best known

Born in Houdain

Languages with an article: 22 for Hervé, 5 for Philippe Gengembre, 4 for Paul Imiéla.

Hervé#1
Music

Hervé

1825–1892

French singer, composer, librettist, conductor and scene painter (1825–1892)

22 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Philippe Gengembre#2
Science & Medicine

Philippe Gengembre

1764–1838

French chemist (1764-1838)

5 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia (French) ↗
PI#3
Sports

Paul Imiéla

1943–2024

French association football player (1943–2024)

4 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Through the years

When Houdain’s famous people were born

The 1820s saw the most births of any decade: 1.

Ancien RégimeRevolution to EmpireBelle ÉpoqueThe 20th century17501800185019001950Michel SénéchalPhilippe GengembreHervé
SportsMusicScience & Medicine

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

Known for

What Houdain is known for

2 of them work in Sports, the biggest field.

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

Everyone

Everyone else born in Houdain

1 more, best known first.

Next door

Famous people from the towns next door

Of the towns nearby, Auchel lists the most people: 15.

Questions about famous people from Houdain

Who is the most famous person from Houdain?

Hervé (French singer, composer, librettist, conductor and scene painter (1825–1892)) is the best known by our measure: 22 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come Philippe Gengembre and Paul Imiéla.

How many famous people were born in Houdain?

4 people born in Houdain 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 Houdain known for?

Among its famous people, athletes: 2 of the 4. That is 50% of the town’s list, against 19% across French towns.

Who is the earliest-born famous person from Houdain?

Philippe Gengembre, born in 1764. The youngest on the list was born in 1943.

Who counts as from Houdain?

People whose Wikidata birthplace is Houdain 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.