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Famous people · Bethesda, Gwynedd

8 famous people were born in Bethesda, most of them in the Victorian era

Most widely known is David Ffrangcon-Davies, the Welsh operatic baritone, with articles in 7 languages. Bobby Atherton is second and John Ogwen third. Over 102 years of births, the list goes from William John Parry (1842) to John Ogwen (1944). The list comes to 21.3 for every 10,000 residents, about the same as the typical town in Gwynedd, at 16.3.

#1 best knownDavid Ffrangcon-DaviesMusic · 1855–1918
+4more
Born here
8
notable people
Best known
David Ffrangcon-Davies
in 7 Wikipedia languages
First
1842
William John Parry
Youngest
1944
John Ogwen
Most common field
Music
2 people
The best known

Born in Bethesda

Three names lead: David Ffrangcon-Davies (7 languages), Bobby Atherton (4) and John Ogwen (3).

David Ffrangcon-Davies#1
Music

David Ffrangcon-Davies

1855–1918

Welsh operatic baritone

7 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
BA#2
Sports

Bobby Atherton

1876–1917

Welsh footballer (1876-1917)

4 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
John Ogwen#3
Film, TV & Stage

John Ogwen

born 1944

Welsh actor

3 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years

When Bethesda’s famous people were born

More of them were born in the 1850s than in any other ten years, 1 in all.

GeorgianVictorianThe 20th century185019001950Alun Ogwen WilliamsJohn OgwenWilliam John ParryBobby Atherton
MusicNotableSportsFilm, TV & StageBusinessPolitics & Law

Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.

Known for

What Bethesda is known for

2 of them work in Music, the biggest field.

The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.

Everyone

Everyone else born in Bethesda

A further 5 follow, born between 1842 and 1911.

William John Parry

William John Parry

1842–1927

Welsh businessman, politician and author (1842–1927)

AW

Alun Ogwen Williams

1904–1970

Welsh administrator and supporter of eisteddfodau

FL

Frederick Llewellyn-Jones

1866–1941

British politician (1866-1941)

Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
Idris Foster

Idris Foster

1911–1984

British celticist (1911-1984)

Next door

Famous people from the towns next door

The best known from each town within 12 miles of Bethesda, with how many people each has.

Questions about famous people from Bethesda

Who is the most famous person from Bethesda?

David Ffrangcon-Davies (Welsh operatic baritone) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 7 languages. Next come Bobby Atherton and John Ogwen.

How many famous people were born in Bethesda?

8 people born in Bethesda have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 12 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.

What is Bethesda known for?

Among its famous people, musicians: 2 of the 8. That is 25% of the town’s list, against 5% across UK towns.

Who is the earliest-born famous person from Bethesda?

William John Parry, born in 1842. The youngest on the list was born in 1944.

Who counts as from Bethesda?

People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Bethesda’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)

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.