#1Writing & Arts
Christopher Marlowe
1564–1593English dramatist, poet and translator (1564–1593)
102 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Canterbury, Kent
Canterbury leads Kent with 160 famous people
Christopher Marlowe leads the list, covered in 102 languages. The English actor and model Orlando Bloom ranks second, ahead of Aphra Behn. 53 of them were born since 1970, more than in any other period. Ministers and preachers are unusually common here: 7, 2.5 times the usual share.
Born here
160
notable people
Best known
Christopher Marlowe
in 102 Wikipedia languages
First
1548
Thomas Nevile
Youngest
2000
Sam McCallum
Most common field
Sports
51 people
What stands out about Canterbury’s famous people
Known worldwideChristopher Marlowe has a Wikipedia article in 102 languages.A town of ministers and preachersMinisters and preachers make up 7 of the 160, 2.5 times the usual share.Still making names75 were born since 1950, the youngest in 2000.160 notable peopleCanterbury lists 160 notable people, more than most towns.
★ What stands out · The best known
Born in Canterbury
Three names lead: Christopher Marlowe (102 languages), Orlando Bloom (96) and Aphra Behn (77).
#1
#2Film, TV & Stage
Orlando Bloom
born 1977English actor and model (born 1977)
96 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
#3Writing & Arts
Aphra Behn
1640–1689British playwright, poet and spy (1640–1689)
77 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Known for
What Canterbury is known for
Ministers and preachers stand out most, at 2.5 times the usual share.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Through the years
When Canterbury’s famous people were born
Count by decade and the 1970s come out on top, with 20 births.
SportsWriting & ArtsFilm, TV & StageMusicScience & MedicinePolitics & LawMilitaryFaithBusinessNotable
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Canterbury
157 more, from 1548 to 2000.
John Robinson
1919–1983British biblical scholar, author and Anglican bishop (1919–1983)
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Mary Tourtel
1874–1948British cartoonist and children's books illustrator (1874-1948)
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Ethelbert William Bullinger
1837–1913British Anglican clergyman, biblical scholar and theologian (1837-1913)
FaithWikipedia ↗
Charles Abbott, 1st Baron Tenterden
1762–1832British barrister and judge, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench (1762-1832)
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
Tony Coe
1934–2023British jazz musician (saxophones, clarinet, flute) and composer (1934-2023)
MusicWikipedia ↗
Isaac Nathan
1790–1864Anglo-Australian composer, musicologist, journalist and self-publicist
MusicWikipedia ↗
Edmund Reid
1846–1917Head of the CID in the Metropolitan Police's H Division
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
Fiona Phillips
born 1961English journalist, broadcaster and television presenter
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Harriet Kemsley
born 1987English stand-up comedian and actress (born 1987)
Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
William O'Brien Lindsay
1909–1975Chief Justice of the Sudan from 1954 to 1955
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
Robert Blemmell Schnebbelie
1781–1847British artist, -approximately 1849 (1781–1847)
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Adrian Franklin
born 1955British-Australian sociologist and television presenter
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Hillson Beasley
1855–1936English born and trained architect active in Perth and Melbourne in Australia
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
James Beaney
1828–1891English surgeon, politician and philanthropist (1828-1891)
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Close by, Whitstable counts 26 famous people, the most of its neighbours.
Questions about famous people from Canterbury
Who is the most famous person from Canterbury?
Christopher Marlowe (English dramatist, poet and translator (1564–1593)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 102 languages. Next come Orlando Bloom and Aphra Behn.
How many famous people were born in Canterbury?
160 people born in Canterbury have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 201 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Canterbury known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 51 of the 160. That is 32% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Canterbury?
Thomas Nevile, born in 1548. The youngest on the list was born in 2000.
Who counts as from Canterbury?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Canterbury’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 (61)
- Christopher Marlowe: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Orlando Bloom: Kevin Payravi, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Aphra Behn: Peter Lely, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Sealy Gosset: User Wujaszek on pl.wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- George Rooke: Michael Dahl, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Trevor Pinnock: Andrew Stepan: http://www.andrewstepanphotography.co.uk/, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Hugh Hopper: Hhopp at English Wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Sims: Charles Robert Leslie, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Maxwell Tylden Masters: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ruta Gedmintas: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Margot Grahame: Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Richard Harris Barham: Cruikshank, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Robinson: Unknown photographer, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Lisa Mitchell: JamesDMorgan, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Sidney Cooper: Thomas Sidney Cooper, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ethelbert William Bullinger: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Charles Abbott, 1st Baron Tenterden: Charles Turner / After John William Wright, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Isaac Nathan: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Tacita Dean: Sabine Maierhofer, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jack Gwillim: Columbia Pictures, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Lucy Spraggan: Andemaya, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Mimi Webb: Justin Higuchi, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Rana Dasgupta: Vassia Atanassova - Spiritia, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Joe Denly: Harrias, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Parton: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Matt Godden: Timmy96, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Sam McCallum: U.S. Air Force 100ARWPA by Airman 1st Class Cody Mott, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Paul Roland: C. Roland, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Edmund Reid: Fred C. Palmer (died 1936-1939), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Fiona Phillips: University of Salford Press Office, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Nathaniel Isaacs: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Paul Williams: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Angela Hartnett: Simon Doggett from London, UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Fabian Cowdrey: Blue Square Thing, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Harriet Kemsley: JaceMerlyn, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Luke de Pulford: UK海闊天空 HkWater, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Nevile: Unidentified painter, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Vicky Beeching: Greg on the Run from North Charleston, South Carolina, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Barnett Nathan: The Man in the Moon, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Bradley Stevenson: Tommydob, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Conrad Leach: Vintagent, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Gideon Coe: Elz from UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Herbert Richard Peel: Photographer Camille Silvy, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Steven Tiley: Pvt pauline, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Tomlin, Baron Tomlin: Robin S. Taylor, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- William Masters: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Alan Clemetson: The Stroll, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Frank Twyman: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jack Lawrence: Your Pal Bucky, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Beaney: AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Katie Derham: Bryan Ledgard from Yorkshire, UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lydia Cecilia Hill: AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Mary Helena Cornwall Legh: Aw1805, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Richard Ash Kingsford: Photographer unknown, image prior to 1955, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas James Longley: FilmFan2011, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Daniel Clifford: Fimb, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Rav Wilding: Scouserdave, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tom Hadler: Maidstone22, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kevin Ayers: TimDuncan, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- William Miller: 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.