Born near Romancoke: 17 famous people within 35 miles
Barbara Kingsolver is the most widely known, written about in 47 languages. Closest of all is Jacob Bender, from Mayo, 8 mi away. No famous person has yet been confirmed as born in Romancoke. The longest list of any town in Maryland belongs to Frederick, with 55.
What stands out about Romancoke’s famous people
Famous people born near Romancoke
The 17 best known born within 35 miles, nearest first.

Barbara Kingsolver
born 1955American author, poet and essayist

James M. Cain
1892–1977American novelist, short story writer, journalist

Charles Carroll of Carrollton
1737–1832American planter and signatory of the Declaration of Independence


Travis Pastrana
born 1983American professional motorsports competitor and stunt performer

Jack Andraka
born 1997American scientist, inventor and cancer researcher

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From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Romancoke and whose English Wikipedia article agrees, ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Nearby people are those born in a town within 35 miles; distances are town center to town center. People known mainly for crimes, and adult performers, aren’t listed. “The usual town” = everyone born in the towns gathered so far.
Photo credits (7)
- Barbara Kingsolver: Terry Ballard, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James M. Cain: Crowell-Collier Publishing Company, photograph by George W. Vassar, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Charles Carroll of Carrollton: Michael Laty (died 1848), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Debbie Meyer: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jack Andraka: XPRIZE Foundation, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Maggie Rogers: Mickwiki, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Travis Pastrana: Rob Street, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons