#18 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.
Born in Bethesda
Three names lead: David Ffrangcon-Davies (7 languages), Bobby Atherton (4) and John Ogwen (3).
#1
#3When Bethesda’s famous people were born
More of them were born in the 1850s than in any other ten years, 1 in all.
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
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 else born in Bethesda
A further 5 follow, born between 1842 and 1911.



No one matches both filters.
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)
- David Ffrangcon-Davies: Daniel Rees, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Ogwen: Geoff Charles, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Leila Megane: Bain News Service, publisher, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William John Parry: W.J. Parry, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Idris Foster: Geoff Charles, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Duffy: B. Erdödy, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Neil Sloane: Laine Whitcomb, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Hugh Rowlands: Elliott & Fry (no individual credited), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- W. J. Gruffydd: Cardiff University, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Valentine Baker: Subject's family, 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.




