#1The 19 famous people born in Gainesville, led by Jake Roberts
Most widely known is Jake Roberts, the American professional wrestler, with articles in 31 languages. Charley Paddock and Gene Austin follow. In the age of mills and railroads, 10 were born, the most of any period. The first birth on record is Claude Weaver’s, in 1867, and the last Kevin Mathis’, in 1974.
Born in Gainesville
Two of the three are athletes.
#1
#2Charley Paddock
1900–1943American athlete and Olympic gold medalist
#3When Gainesville’s famous people were born
More were born in the 1950s than in any other decade: 4.
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
What Gainesville is known for
The field furthest above the usual share is performers, at 1.7 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone born in the towns gathered so far. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone else born in Gainesville
16 more names, born between 1867 and 1974.





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From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Gainesville 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)
- Jake Roberts: GabboT, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Charley Paddock: New York Evening Journal, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Gene Austin: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Edwin Carewe: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Frank Buck: Frank Buck, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Claude Weaver: The original uploader was Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) at English Wikipedia., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Joseph Weldon Bailey, Jr.: "Sunday American-Statesman" (Austin, TX)., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James D. Thurman: US Army, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons