#1Military
Francis Drake
1540–1596English sailor and privateer (c. 1540 – 1596)
121 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Tavistock, Devon
Of the 34 famous people born in Tavistock, none is better known than Francis Drake
The English sailor and privateer Francis Drake is written about in 121 languages. 4 of them are soldiers and sailors, 3.2 times the share across UK towns. The largest group, 13, was born in the 20th century. Francis Drake, born in 1540, is the earliest name and Kevin Willcock, born in 1973, the latest.
Born here
34
notable people
Best known
Francis Drake
in 121 Wikipedia languages
First
1540
Francis Drake
Youngest
1973
Kevin Willcock
Most common field
Sports
13 people
What stands out about Tavistock’s famous people
★ What stands out · The best known
Born in Tavistock
By how many languages cover them, Francis Drake comes first (121), then Pete Quaife (18) and Andy Hicks (16).
#1
#2
#3Known for
What Tavistock is known for
Compared with the usual town, soldiers and sailors are the most over-represented field, at 3.2 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Through the years
When Tavistock’s famous people were born
Births peak in the 1970s, with 5 people born in that decade.
SportsPolitics & LawMilitaryMusicScience & MedicineWriting & ArtsNotableFaith
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Tavistock
Another 31, the earliest born in 1590.
Antony Andrewes
1910–1990English classical scholar and historian (1910–1990)
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Francis George Stevens
born 1891British civil engineer who founded Scouting in Sri Lanka
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Nearby, Plymouth has the most on record, with 565.
Questions about famous people from Tavistock
Who is the most famous person from Tavistock?
Francis Drake (English sailor and privateer (c. 1540 – 1596)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 121 languages. Next come Pete Quaife and Andy Hicks.
How many famous people were born in Tavistock?
34 people born in Tavistock have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 39 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Tavistock known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 13 of the 34. That is 38% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Tavistock?
Francis Drake, born in 1540. The youngest on the list was born in 1973.
Who counts as from Tavistock?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Tavistock’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 (14)
- Francis Drake: Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Pete Quaife: Unknown photographer, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Andy Hicks: Benutzer:Bill da Flute, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Surman: bagoum, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Withycombe: The original uploader was Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) at English Wikipedia., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Angela Mudge: DeLarge, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Mary Ellen Smith: No photographer named in original source., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Maurice Wilder-Neligan: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Maynard: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Francis George Stevens: Scouting magazine, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Mary Colling: Thomas Anthony Dean, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert Falcon Scott: Henry Maull (1829–1914) and John Fox (1832–1907), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Ball Barratt: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Beale: Charles John Robertson (born 1779?), 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.