#1Science & Medicine
Robert Recorde
1510–1558Welsh mathematician and inventor of the symbol '='
45 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Tenby, Dyfed
21 famous people were born in Tenby, more of them writers and artists than in most towns
Best known of all is Robert Recorde, written about in 45 languages. Second and third on the list are Augustus John and Kenneth Griffith. In the 20th century, 9 were born, the most of any period. Per head, the list is long: 51.3 for every 10,000 residents, where the typical town in Dyfed has 6.2.
Born here
21
notable people
Best known
Robert Recorde
in 45 Wikipedia languages
First
490
Tudwal
Youngest
1993
Harry George Owen
Most common field
Writing & Arts
7 people
What stands out about Tenby’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Tenby is known for
Tenby has 2.9× the usual share of writers and artists.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Tenby
The three are covered in 45, 26 and 14 languages: Robert Recorde, Augustus John and Kenneth Griffith.
#1
#2KG#3
Through the years
When Tenby’s famous people were born
Births peak in the 1960s, with 4 people born in that decade.
Writing & ArtsFilm, TV & StagePolitics & LawNotableScience & MedicineFaithMusicSportsBusinessMilitary
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Tenby
The rest number 18, with 6 writers and artists among them.
Tudwal
490–564Medieval Breton bishop, considered to be one of the seven founder saints of Brittany.
FaithWikipedia ↗
Emma Maitland
1844–1923Maitland [née Rees], Emma Knox (1844–1923), suffragist and educationist
NotableWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Nearby, Pembroke has the most on record, with 21.
Questions about famous people from Tenby
Who is the most famous person from Tenby?
Robert Recorde (Welsh mathematician and inventor of the symbol '=') is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 45 languages. Next come Augustus John and Kenneth Griffith.
How many famous people were born in Tenby?
21 people born in Tenby have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 24 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Tenby known for?
Among its famous people, writers and artists: 7 of the 21. That is 33% of the town’s list, against 12% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Tenby?
Tudwal, born in 490. The youngest on the list was born in 1993.
Who counts as from Tenby?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Tenby’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 (10)
- Robert Recorde: Original painter unknown, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Augustus John: George Charles Beresford, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Tudwal: Massalim, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Nina Hamnett: Roger Fry, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Grant Llewellyn: User:Ncsymphony, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Dorothy Thornhill: ©House of Lords / photography by Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Henry VII of England: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Wyn Calvin: Hydrafoil, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Rod de'Ath: Heinrich Klaffs, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Sarah Waters: Annie_C_2, CC BY 2.0, 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.