#1Film, TV & Stage
E. E. Clive
1879–1940Welsh actor in the early 20th century
15 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Blaenavon, Gwent
12 famous people were born in Blaenavon, most of them in the 20th century
Best known of all is E. E. Clive, written about in 15 languages. Close behind are Ken Jones and Edmund W. Samuel. The list comes to 21.3 for every 10,000 residents, against 4.5 in the typical town in Gwent. Births span 1857 to 1973, from Edmund W. Samuel to Mark Taylor.
Born here
12
notable people
Best known
E. E. Clive
in 15 Wikipedia languages
First
1857
Edmund W. Samuel
Youngest
1973
Mark Taylor
Most common field
Sports
6 people
The best known
Born in Blaenavon
E. E. Clive, Ken Jones and Edmund W. Samuel are written about in 15, 13 and 4 languages.
#1
#2Sports
Ken Jones
1921–2006Welsh sprinter and rugby union footballer (1921-2006)
13 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
#3Politics & Law
Edmund W. Samuel
1857–1930American politician (1857-1930)
4 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years
When Blaenavon’s famous people were born
No decade has more births than the 1930s, at 3.
SportsWriting & ArtsFilm, TV & StagePolitics & Law
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Blaenavon is known for
Set against the usual town, writers and artists come out 2.2 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 Blaenavon
Here are 9 more, born from 1858 to 1973.
Dorothy Simpson
1933–2020English-language writer of mystery novels, and a winner of a Silver Dagger Award from the Crime Writers' Association of Great Britain (1933-2020)
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Colin Evans
1936–1992Welsh rugby union footballer, and rugby league footballer and coach
SportsWikipedia ↗
Francis James Burgoyne
1858–1913Welsh librarian; Chief librarian Monmouth Council (1911)
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
The most names next door are in Abergavenny: 69.
Questions about famous people from Blaenavon
Who is the most famous person from Blaenavon?
E. E. Clive (Welsh actor in the early 20th century) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 15 languages. Next come Ken Jones and Edmund W. Samuel.
How many famous people were born in Blaenavon?
12 people born in Blaenavon have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 14 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Blaenavon known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 6 of the 12. That is 50% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Blaenavon?
Edmund W. Samuel, born in 1857. The youngest on the list was born in 1973.
Who counts as from Blaenavon?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Blaenavon’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)
- E. E. Clive: DVD (20th Century Fox), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ken Jones: Unknown (Crown Studios of Wellington), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Edmund W. Samuel: Collection of U.S. House of Representatives, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Rebecca James: Nicola, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Roy Jenkins: Jean-Louis Debaize, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Mark Williams: Kroome111, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Marina Diamandis: Daniel Åhs Karlsson, 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.