Witternesse has yet to put a famous person on the list
A short trip away, Auchel (8 mi) counts 15 famous people, Xavier Beauvois among them. Famous people are on record for 228 of the towns in Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne-sur-Mer’s 164 names make the longest list in Pas-de-Calais. After Boulogne-sur-Mer, the next longest list in Pas-de-Calais is Arras’, with 124.
Who’s listed here
We list people whose Wikidata birthplace is Witternesse (by its INSEE code) and whose French Wikipedia article agrees, and their English article too when they have one. Wikidata has nobody with a French article born in Witternesse yet.
Famous people born near Witternesse
Close by, the fullest list is Auchel’s, at 15 names.
Lillers · 6 miHenri Leconte & 6 moreMOIsbergues · 4 miMarcel Ourdouillié & 3 more
Arques · 9 miOctave Pradels & 3 more
Blendecques · 8 miAlfred Machin & 2 more
Cauchy-à-la-Tour · 8 miPhilippe Pétain & 2 moreJRBurbure · 7 miJean Réveillon & 1 moreQuestions about famous people from Witternesse
Who counts as from Witternesse?
People whose Wikidata birthplace is Witternesse 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 (4)
- Henri Leconte: Andrew Campbell, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Octave Pradels: Nadar, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Alfred Machin: Georges Monca (1914), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Philippe Pétain: Imprimerie Draeger à Montrouge en région parisienne, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
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.