#1Famous people · Shrewsbury
Leaders stand out among the 15 famous people born in Shrewsbury
Best known of all is Mike Birbiglia, written about in 18 languages. 6 of them were born before independence, more than in any other period. As early as 1727, Artemas Ward was born here, one of 6 born before independence. The list comes to 3.9 for every 10,000 residents, about the same as the typical town in Massachusetts, at 4.5.
Born here
15
notable people
Best known
Mike Birbiglia
in 18 Wikipedia languages
First
1727
Artemas Ward
Youngest
1978
Matthew Beaton
Most common field
Politics & Law
8 people
Also called it home
2
notable residents
What stands out about Shrewsbury’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Shrewsbury is known for
Compared with the usual town, leaders are the most over-represented field, at 2.5 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone born in the towns gathered so far. Tap a field to see its people.
Through the years
When Shrewsbury’s famous people were born
The 1970s alone account for 3 of the births charted here.
Politics & LawFilm, TV & StageBusinessMilitaryWriting & ArtsSports
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
The best known
Born in Shrewsbury
By how many languages cover them, Mike Birbiglia comes first (18), then Artemas Ward (15) and Gregory Mcdonald (10).
#1
#2GM#3
Everyone
Everyone else born in Shrewsbury
Another 12, 8 of them leaders.
Peter Sullivan
born 1976American screenwriter, film director, and film producer
Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
A chosen home
Also called Shrewsbury home
2 notable people born elsewhere made the town home, Hannah Kane the best known.
The town’s pick
Town Square →Who’s the most famous person from Shrewsbury?
Pick one and say why. Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Your pick
No picks yet
Be the first to say who Shrewsbury’s most famous person is.
Or tell us
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Worcester leads the towns around it, with 28 names.
From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Shrewsbury and whose English Wikipedia article agrees, ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. People known mainly for crimes, and adult performers, aren’t listed. “The usual town” = everyone born in the towns gathered so far.
Photo credits (12)
- Mike Birbiglia: Photographer: Brian Friedman. Copyright holder: Mike Lavoie, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Artemas Ward: inc, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Karyn Polito: Office of the Governor of Massachusetts, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Artemas Ward Jr.: Mathew Benjamin Brady, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Matthew Beaton: Office of the Governor of Massachusetts, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Kenneth S. Apfel: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Luke Knowlton: Charles Henry Wright Stocking (B. 1835), author. Knickerbocker Press (New York, NY), publisher., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Hannah Kane: Mass OSD, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert H. Goddard: NASA, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Adams Whipple: Francis D'Avignon (1813-1861), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Eli Whitney: Samuel Finley Breese Morse, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Davis: Mathew Benjamin Brady, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons