GS#1
Famous people · Northam, Devon
6 famous people were born in Northam from 1870 to 1974
Articles in 3 languages make the British scientist George Stapledon the best known. Jack Rowe is second and Merlin Cadogan third. The largest group, 5, was born in the Victorian era. The list’s best known name, George Stapledon, dates from 1882.
Born here
6
notable people
Best known
George Stapledon
in 3 Wikipedia languages
First
1870
Jack Rowe
Youngest
1974
Merlin Cadogan
Most common field
Sports
4 people
The best known
Born in Northam
Ranked by languages covered: George Stapledon with 3, then Jack Rowe with 2 and Merlin Cadogan with 2.
#2MC#3
Writing & Arts
Merlin Cadogan
born 1974Escapologist, juggler, breath holder
2 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years
When Northam’s famous people were born
The 1880s alone account for 3 of the births charted here.
SportsScience & MedicineWriting & Arts
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Northam is known for
Northam has 1.4× the usual share of athletes.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Northam
Another 3, 3 of them athletes.
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Around it, Barnstaple has the most people on record, 75 of them.
Questions about famous people from Northam
Who is the most famous person from Northam?
George Stapledon (British scientist) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 3 languages. Next come Jack Rowe and Merlin Cadogan.
How many famous people were born in Northam?
6 people born in Northam have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace.
What is Northam known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 4 of the 6. That is 67% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Northam?
Jack Rowe, born in 1870. The youngest on the list was born in 1974.
Who counts as from Northam?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Northam’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 (6)
- Jack Rowe: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Josh Taylor: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Gay: Godfrey Kneller, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Richard Grenville: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Johnson Cory: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Edward Calvert: Edward Calvert, 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.