#1Famous people · Risca, Gwent
Of the 16 famous people born in Risca, an unusual share are athletes
Articles in 12 languages make the British cyclist Sam Harrison the best known. Behind the leader come Densey Clyne and George Murphy. In the 20th century, 10 were born, the most of any period. The list comes to 10.5 for every 10,000 residents, against 4.5 in the typical town in Gwent.
Born here
16
notable people
Best known
Sam Harrison
in 12 Wikipedia languages
First
1863
James Winstone
Youngest
1992
Sam Harrison
Most common field
Sports
12 people
What stands out about Risca’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Risca is known for
Athletes stand out most, at 1.5 times the usual share.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Risca
Sam Harrison leads with articles in 12 languages, ahead of Densey Clyne (4) and George Murphy (4).
#1DC#2
Science & Medicine
Densey Clyne
1922–2019Australian naturalist, photographer and writer (1922–2019)
4 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
GM#3
Through the years
When Risca’s famous people were born
Count by decade and the 1910s come out on top, with 3 births.
SportsPolitics & LawScience & MedicineBusiness
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Risca
13 more, from 1863 to 1949.
Merv Hicks
born 1943Welsh rugby union footballer, and rugby league footballer and coach
SportsWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns nearby, 8 have famous names listed.
Newport · 5 miMichael Sheen & 352 more
Cwmbrân · 4 miDanny Gabbidon & 28 more
Newbridge · 4 miSteve Strange & 15 more
Abercarn · 3 miJohn Dawes & 10 more
Bedwas · 4 miKarl Francis & 3 more
Rogerstone · 2 miRosa M. Morris & 2 moreATLlanbradach · 5 miAlbert Thompson & 2 more
Pontllanfraith · 5 miArtie Moore & 1 moreQuestions about famous people from Risca
Who is the most famous person from Risca?
Sam Harrison (British cyclist) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 12 languages. Next come Densey Clyne and George Murphy.
How many famous people were born in Risca?
16 people born in Risca have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 17 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Risca known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 12 of the 16. That is 75% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Risca?
James Winstone, born in 1863. The youngest on the list was born in 1992.
Who counts as from Risca?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Risca’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)
- Sam Harrison: Laurent Brun, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- William Brace: AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jehoida Hodges: Taddy's Cigarettes, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Michael Sheen: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Danny Gabbidon: Timmy96, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Steve Strange: Logan Sky, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Dawes: Stefano Delfrate, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Karl Francis: Hywel72, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Rosa M. Morris: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Artie Moore: Alan Hughes, CC BY-SA 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.