#1Famous people · Exeter
No town in New Hampshire has more famous people than Exeter: 62
Most widely known is Dan Brown, the American novelist, with articles in 110 languages. The list has 1.9 times the usual share of writers and artists, 12 in all. 19 of them were born in the early republic, more than in any other period. Births since 1970 account for 10 of the names.
Born here
62
notable people
Best known
Dan Brown
in 110 Wikipedia languages
First
1738
Joseph Gilman
Youngest
2002
Matt King
Most common field
Politics & Law
18 people
Also called it home
2
notable residents
What stands out about Exeter’s famous people
★ What stands out · The best known
Born in Exeter
Writers and artists take two of the three places.
#1
#2Writing & Arts
John Irving
born 1942American novelist and screenwriter
58 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
#3Known for
What Exeter is known for
No other field is as far above the usual share as writers and artists, at 1.9 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 Exeter’s famous people were born
The 1960s alone account for 5 of the births charted here.
Politics & LawSportsWriting & ArtsNotableScience & MedicineFilm, TV & StageMusicFaith
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Exeter
Another 59, the earliest born in 1738.
John Amen
1898–1960US Army Intelligence officer; prosecutor and head of the Interrogation Division, Nuremberg trials
NotableWikipedia ↗
William Perry Fogg
1826–1909American author and inspiration for Phileas Fogg
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
James Monroe Whitfield
1822–1871American poet, abolitionist and political activist
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Otis Bigelow
1920–2007Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
A chosen home
Also called Exeter home
2 notable people born elsewhere made the town home, Casey Phair the best known.
The town’s pick
Town Square →Who’s the most famous person from Exeter?
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Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Stratham leads the towns around it, with 4 names.
From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Exeter 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 (48)
- Dan Brown: Zuzana Homolka Fedorová, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Irving: Dr. Jost Hindersmann Krimidoedel, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lewis Cass: Daniel Huntington, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Elizabeth Jane Gardner: William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Nicholas Gilman: Albert Rosenthal, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Matt King: FISU, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Matthew Cardarople: Birdie Thompson, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ted King: Connor Mah, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Chris Carpenter: Barbara moore, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Granville Hicks: Clara Sipprell, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Taylor Gilman: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Victoria Arlen: Bmalkinson, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Daniel Cartier: LizSailsDiagonallyAcrossTheSet, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ambrose Swasey: E. G. Williams & Bro. N.Y., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Andrew Coburn: Daughter of subject. Rights belong to the subject., CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Henry Alexander Scammell Dearborn: gilbert stuart, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Charles J. Gilman: Julian Vannerson (1827-1875), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Frank C. Archibald: Prentiss C. Dodge, author. Ullery Publishing Company (Brattleboro, VT), publisher., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Amen: OMGUS Germany, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Ladd: engraving by WH Tappan from a picture by Harris, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Perry Fogg: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Dan Zanes: Southcherryentropy, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dudley Leavitt: Walter Ingalls, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Edward Tuck: Georges Chevalier, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Frank Conner: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Winslow Bissell: U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Joseph Gilman: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Tyler Goodspeed: Econterms, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Benjamin Ives Gilman: Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Chad Eaton: Seattle Municipal Archives from Seattle, WA, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dudley Dudley: Dudley Dudley, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James Monroe Whitfield: Exchange33, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- William Bourne Oliver Peabody: Daderot, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Charles Folsom: William Edgar Marshall (American, 1837–1906), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ed Hart: footballfoundation.org, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Kevin Romine: Boston Red Sox Photo Cards Series I & II, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Otis Bigelow: Otis Bigelow, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Augustus Lord Soule: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Edward M. Hartwell: Fred Eugene Leonard, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Nicholas Bridle: Nickynacho, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- William M. R. French: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Casey Phair: Egud899, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Samuel Tenney: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Daniel Clark: Mathew Benjamin Brady, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Francis Ormand Jonathan Smith: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Josiah Bartlett Jr.: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Badger: James Frothingham (1786-1864), artist, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Roland Douglas Sawyer: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons