#1Science & Medicine
Thomas Savery
1650–1715English inventor and engineer
42 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Modbury, Devon
3 famous people come from Modbury, Thomas Savery the best known
Most widely known is Thomas Savery, the English inventor and engineer, with articles in 42 languages. The next two names are William Battie and Paul Wyatt. For more famous names, Plymouth is 11 mi away: its list has 565, led by Robert Falcon Scott. Over 339 years of births, the list goes from Thomas Savery (1650) to Paul Wyatt (1989).
Born here
3
notable people
Best known
Thomas Savery
in 42 Wikipedia languages
First
1650
Thomas Savery
Youngest
1989
Paul Wyatt
Most common field
Science & Medicine
2 people
What stands out about Modbury’s famous people
★ What stands out · The best known
Born in Modbury
Thomas Savery has articles in 42 languages, William Battie in 7 and Paul Wyatt in 3.
#1WB#2
PW#3
Known for
What Modbury is known for
Scientists and doctors are the most numerous, 2 of them.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns nearby, 8 have famous names listed.
Questions about famous people from Modbury
Who is the most famous person from Modbury?
Thomas Savery (English inventor and engineer) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 42 languages. Next come William Battie and Paul Wyatt.
How many famous people were born in Modbury?
3 people born in Modbury have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace.
What is Modbury known for?
Among its famous people, scientists and doctors: 2 of the 3. That is 67% of the town’s list, against 7% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Modbury?
Thomas Savery, born in 1650. The youngest on the list was born in 1989.
Who counts as from Modbury?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Modbury’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 (7)
- Thomas Savery: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert Falcon Scott: Henry Maull (1829–1914) and John Fox (1832–1907), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ian Bryce: Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Steve Owsley, USN, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Giselle Ansley: fourthandfifteen, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Luke Summerfield: Mattythewhite, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Richard Peek: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Antony Jinman: Markrglover, CC BY 3.0, 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.