AH#1
Politics & Law
Arnold Wienholt Hodson
1881–1944British Colonial Governor
6 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Photo: Derek Harper · CC BY-SA 2.0Famous people · Bovey Tracey, Devon
Bovey Tracey is the birthplace of 4 famous people
Arnold Wienholt Hodson, the British Colonial governor, is the most widely known, written about in 6 languages. The next two names are Cuthbert Girdlestone and Tony Ekins. The earliest on the list is Walter Tapper, born in 1861, and the youngest Tony Ekins, born in 1944. The list comes to 6.4 for every 10,000 residents, about the same as the typical town in Devon, at 4.7.
Born here
4
notable people
Best known
Arnold Wienholt Hodson
in 6 Wikipedia languages
First
1861
Walter Tapper
Youngest
1944
Tony Ekins
Most common field
Politics & Law
1 people
The best known
Born in Bovey Tracey
The three are covered in 6, 3 and 3 languages: Arnold Wienholt Hodson, Cuthbert Girdlestone and Tony Ekins.
CG#2
TE#3
Through the years
When Bovey Tracey’s famous people were born
Count by decade and the 1880s come out on top, with 1 births.
Politics & LawMusicSportsWriting & Arts
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Bovey Tracey is known for
Leaders are the most numerous, 1 of them.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Bovey Tracey
1 more, best known first.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Close by, Ashburton counts 9 famous people, the most of its neighbours.
Questions about famous people from Bovey Tracey
Who is the most famous person from Bovey Tracey?
Arnold Wienholt Hodson (British Colonial Governor) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 6 languages. Next come Cuthbert Girdlestone and Tony Ekins.
How many famous people were born in Bovey Tracey?
4 people born in Bovey Tracey have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 5 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Bovey Tracey known for?
Among its famous people, leaders: 1 of the 4. That is 25% of the town’s list, against 9% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Bovey Tracey?
Walter Tapper, born in 1861. The youngest on the list was born in 1944.
Who counts as from Bovey Tracey?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Bovey Tracey’s built-up area (the ONS 2022 boundary), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a bigger area (“London”), another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary (Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (4)
- Richard Carlile: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James Jackson: Saint-Mémin, Charles Balthazar Julien Fevret de, 1770-1852, artist, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Edward Fortescue Wright: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Lettice Curtis: RAF, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.