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Famous people · Nashville

Nashville’s famous people span 174 years: 5 births from 1809 to 1983

Roy Cooper, the American attorney and politician, is the most widely known, written about in 30 languages. Second and third on the list are Harold Dunbar Cooley and Archibald Hunter Arrington. Per head, the list is long: 8.7 for every 10,000 residents, where the typical town in North Carolina has 1.8. The list’s best known name, Roy Cooper, dates from 1957.

#1 best knownRoy CooperPolitics & Law · born 1957
+3more
Born here
5
notable people
Best known
Roy Cooper
in 30 Wikipedia languages
First
1809
Archibald Hunter Arrington
Youngest
1983
J. J. Arrington
Most common field
Politics & Law
3 people

What stands out about Nashville’s famous people

★ What stands out · Through the years

When Nashville’s famous people were born

The 1950s alone account for 1 of the births charted here.

A new nationMills & railroadsThe American centuryToday18001850190019502000Harold Dunbar CooleyRoy Cooper
Politics & LawMusicSports

Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.

The best known

Born in Nashville

The three best known are all leaders.

Roy Cooper#1
Politics & Law

Roy Cooper

born 1957

American attorney and politician

30 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Harold Dunbar Cooley#2
Politics & Law

Harold Dunbar Cooley

1897–1974

American politician

9 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
AA#3
Politics & Law

Archibald Hunter Arrington

1809–1872

American politician

3 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Known for

What Nashville is known for

Leaders stand out most, at 2.9 times the usual share.

The usual town: the share across everyone born in the towns gathered so far. Tap a field to see its people.

Everyone

Everyone else born in Nashville

Still to come: 2 more, from 1925 to 1983.

BH

Bill Harris

1925–1988

American jazz guitarist and singer

JA

J. J. Arrington

born 1983

American football player, running back

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From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Nashville 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 (2)