#114 famous people were born in Sparta, more of them leaders than in most towns
James W. Throckmorton, the American politician, is the most widely known, written about in 10 languages. 5 of them were born in the early republic, more than in any other period. From Joseph H. Defrees in 1812 to Ethan Roberts in 1997, the births cover 185 years. Per head, the list is long: 28.3 for every 10,000 residents, where the typical town in Tennessee has 2.9.
What stands out about Sparta’s famous people
What Sparta is known for
Set against the usual town, leaders come out 1.7 times as common.
The usual town: the share across everyone born in the towns gathered so far. Tap a field to see its people.
Born in Sparta
Two of the three are leaders.
#1
#2
#3When Sparta’s famous people were born
Count by decade and the 1820s come out on top, with 2 births.
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone else born in Sparta
Still to come: 11 more, from 1812 to 1997.





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From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Sparta 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 (8)
- James W. Throckmorton: Mathew Benjamin Brady / Levin Corbin Handy, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Foster V. Brown: An Illustrated Congressional Manual. The United States Red Book, 1896, (detail), Collection of U.S. House of Representatives, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- George Gibbs Dibrell: Mathew Benjamin Brady / Levin Corbin Handy, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John C. Floyd: U.S. Congress, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Joseph H. Defrees: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Tom Rogers: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- L. D. Smith: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Lefty Stewart: Goudey, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons