EL#1
Science & Medicine
Edmund Leach
1910–1989British social anthropologist (1910–1989)
23 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Sidmouth, Devon
The 16 famous people born in Sidmouth, led by Edmund Leach
Edmund Leach, the British social anthropologist, is the most widely known, written about in 23 languages. Close behind are William Saville-Kent and Bruce Hamilton. In the Victorian era, 7 were born, the most of any period. Born in 1779, Arthur Broome is the first name on record, and Gary Marks, born in 1963, the most recent.
Born here
16
notable people
Best known
Edmund Leach
in 23 Wikipedia languages
First
1779
Arthur Broome
Youngest
1963
Gary Marks
Most common field
Sports
5 people
The best known
Born in Sidmouth
Scientists and doctors take two of the three places.
#2Science & Medicine
William Saville-Kent
1845–1908British biologist (1845-1908)
9 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
#3Through the years
When Sidmouth’s famous people were born
No decade has more births than the 1840s, at 2.
SportsScience & MedicineFaithPolitics & LawMilitaryNotable
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Sidmouth is known for
Set against the usual town, ministers and preachers come out 10.7 times as common.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Sidmouth
13 more, from 1779 to 1963.
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
The best known from each town within 12 miles of Sidmouth, with how many people each has.
Questions about famous people from Sidmouth
Who is the most famous person from Sidmouth?
Edmund Leach (British social anthropologist (1910–1989)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 23 languages. Next come William Saville-Kent and Bruce Hamilton.
How many famous people were born in Sidmouth?
16 people born in Sidmouth have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 19 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Sidmouth known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 5 of the 16. That is 31% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Sidmouth?
Arthur Broome, born in 1779. The youngest on the list was born in 1963.
Who counts as from Sidmouth?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Sidmouth’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 (9)
- William Saville-Kent: The photogravure is by Waterlow & Sons, the negative by Maull & Fox, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Bruce Hamilton: Dormskirk at en.wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Francis Fulford: Photo: William Notman, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Hope Patten: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Sir Walter Barttelot, 3rd Baronet: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Pauline Collins: Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Joanne Pavey: SNappa2006, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Samuel Cousins / After Washington Allston, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Sir George Yonge, 5th Baronet: Edmund Scott, published by Samuel William Fores, after Mather Brown, 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.