#1Pierre Dumayet
1923–2011French journalist (1923-2011)
Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most widely known is Pierre Dumayet, the French journalist, with articles in 6 languages. Close behind are Adolphe de Saint-Valry and Louise Denise Damasse. Between 1914 and 1969, 3 were born, the most of any period. The list’s best known name, Pierre Dumayet, dates from 1923.

Pierre Dumayet has articles in 6 languages, Adolphe de Saint-Valry in 2 and Louise Denise Damasse in 2.
#1French journalist (1923-2011)
French poet (1797–1867)
French painter (1901-1987)
The 1920s alone account for 2 of the births charted here.
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Houdan has 3.2× the usual share of writers and artists.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed in French towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Still to come: 2 more, from 1925 to 1954.
No one matches both filters.
The longest list nearby is Dreux’s, with 71.
Pierre Dumayet (French journalist (1923-2011)) is the best known by our measure: 6 Wikipedia and sister-site articles in different languages. Next come Adolphe de Saint-Valry and Louise Denise Damasse.
5 people born in Houdan 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, writers and artists: 4 of the 5. That is 80% of the town’s list, against 25% across French towns.
Adolphe de Saint-Valry, born in 1797. The youngest on the list was born in 1954.
People whose Wikidata birthplace is Houdan 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.