HD#1
Politics & Law
Henri II d'Angleterre
1133–1189King of England from 1154 to 1189
85 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Famous people · Le Mans, Sarthe
No town in Sarthe has more famous people than Le Mans: 160
Henri II d'Angleterre leads the list, covered in 85 languages. The list has 2.2 times the usual share of athletes, 68 in all. Since 1970, 70 were born, the most of any period. Over 866 years of births, the list goes from Henri II d'Angleterre (1133) to Gaëtan Poussin (1999).
Born here
160
confirmed by Wikipedia
Best known
Henri II d'Angleterre
85 Wikipedia and sister-site articles
First
1133
Henri II d'Angleterre
Youngest
1999
Gaëtan Poussin
Most common field
Sports
68 people
What stands out about Le Mans’ famous people
Known worldwideRead in 85 languages, Henri II d'Angleterre is known far beyond the town.A town of athletes68 of the 160 people born here are athletes, 2.2× the usual share in France.Still making namesThe most recent birth on the list came in 1999, among 104 since 1950.160 notable peopleWith 160 notable people, the list is longer than most towns’.
★ What stands out · The best known
Born in Le Mans
First, Henri II d'Angleterre (85 languages), then François Fillon (84) and Jean II de France (67).
FF#2
Politics & Law
François Fillon
born 1954Prime minister of France (2007-2012)
84 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
JF#3
Politics & Law
Jean II de France
1319–1364Monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1350 until his death
67 Wikipedia and sister-site articlesWikipedia ↗
Known for
What Le Mans is known for
Compared with the usual town, athletes are the most over-represented field, at 2.2 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed in French towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Through the years
When Le Mans’ famous people were born
The 1990s saw the most births of any decade: 25.
SportsPolitics & LawFilm, TV & StageWriting & ArtsMusicScience & MedicineNotableMilitaryFaith
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Le Mans
157 more, 68 of them athletes.
Christelle Daunay
born 1974French long distance runner who specialises in road running
SportsWikipedia ↗
Julien Canal
born 1982Racing driver for G-Drive Racing in the World Endurance Championship
SportsWikipedia ↗
Georges Marie Jacques Moulière
1866–1944French politician (1866-1944)
Politics & LawWikipedia (French) ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Yvré-l'Évêque has the longest list next door: 2.
Questions about famous people from Le Mans
Who is the most famous person from Le Mans?
Henri II d'Angleterre (King of England from 1154 to 1189) is the best known by our measure: 85 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come François Fillon and Jean II de France.
How many famous people were born in Le Mans?
160 people born in Le Mans have a French Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace (and an English one that agrees, when there is one). Wikidata places 455 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 Le Mans known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 68 of the 160. That is 43% of the town’s list, against 19% across French towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Le Mans?
Henri II d'Angleterre, born in 1133. The youngest on the list was born in 1999.
Who counts as from Le Mans?
People whose Wikidata birthplace is Le Mans 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 (73)
- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: si.robi, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Sébastien Bourdais: Zach Catanzareti Photo, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Joseph Caillaux: Agence Rol, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jean Françaix: Olivier Françaix, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- François Migault: Martin Lee from London, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Stéphane Le Foll: Jackolan1, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jean Lucas: Unknown photographer, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Roger Vercel: Agence de presse Meurisse, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Roger de La Fresnaye: Roger de La Fresnaye, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Alexis Blin: S. Plaine, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Christelle Daunay: Smdl - Stephane Mace de Lepinay, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Francis Smerecki: Steindy 22:52, 13 June 2013 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- René de Froulay de Tessé: Hyacinthe Rigaud, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Alexis-Armand Charost: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Louis Rossi: Eric HOUDAS, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Alexia Chartereau: Jérémy Kergourlay, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- François Anthoine: Paul Castelnau, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Lucie Debay: Vera de Kok, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Quentin Beunardeau: Steindy 22:52, 13 June 2013 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Samuel Bouhours: Jacbernard, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Anthony Koura: Fejinho, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David Guion: Adrien33000, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Fanchone: User Kermaguer on Flickr : https://www.flickr.com/photos/39839693@N04/, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Julien Canal: KVYTICAL, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Christelle Morançais: Nitriel, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Henri Fournier: Agence de presse Meurisse, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Julien Quesne: Pvt pauline, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Raphaël Dubois: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Marcel-Marie Dubois: Barsupilami1512 avec l'autorisation de l'archiviste, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Alix Payen: Inconnu (19th century), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Christian de Bonchamps: Not known who the artist was but it was commissioned and published by Charton in his 'Tour du Monde' magazine in 1893. Charton died in 1890 and his magazines are in the public domain (see www.collin.francois.free.fr), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Claude Arribas: Panini, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Muriel Hermine: Gregballot, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Bruno Lochet: YanRB, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Nonna Debonne: Pierre-Yves Beaudouin, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Paul Rigot: Timan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Philippe Dupont: Grégoire Dupont, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Sylvie Tolmont: Marielambert, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Guy Hascoët: Gariq, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jérémy Leloup: Photo Claude TRUONG-NGOC, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Marc Bernier: Maya-Anaïs Yataghène from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Pascale Fontenel-Personne: G.Garitan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Sereine Mauborgne: OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Loïc Lambert: Panini, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jean-Baptiste Maille: BiggySmoov, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jean-Carles Grelier: MThomas85, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Valentin Gnahoua: Cmm3, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Arnold Robin: nabtifal, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jonas Lenn: Ji-Elle, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Laura Gasnier: Warinhari, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Louis-Jean de Nicolaÿ: Jdklvll, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dominique Le Mèner: Département de la Sarthe, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Julie Delpech: TrisHR, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Éric Martineau: TrisHR, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Arnaud Cormier: HubertduMaine, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jacques Maury: Nuvolari, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Rod Janois: Julien Manceau, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Élise Prod'homme: Bigmatbasket, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Simon de la Bretèche: Jean-Luc Goude, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Alphonse Leret d'Aubigny: Mayer et Pierson, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Charles Sauvestre: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Frédéric Prilleux: Dinkley, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Gilles Kervella: Jean-Luc Prou, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Nathalie Mauclair: Thierry Caro, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Pierre Dubreuil: Stéphane Lesbats, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Pierre Richard: Atelier Nadar. Photographe, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert de Vanssay: Martin06, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Sylvain Nouet: Fédération française de handball, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Yolande Folliot: JEANVERNE, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Emmanuel Schaeffer: Clesch55, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jean Anglès d'Auriac: Thierry Anglès d’Auriac, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Joël Sadeler: Fanf72, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- René Van Droogenbroeck: Alan Petard, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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.