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Famous people · Chatham, Kent

Of the 133 famous people born in Chatham, an unusual share are soldiers and sailors

Articles in 31 languages make the British singer Lee Ryan the best known. Second and third on the list are Alice Oseman and Conor Washington. The largest group, 50, was born since 1970. Only 2 towns in Kent list more.

#1 best knownLee RyanMusic · born 1983
+129more
Born here
133
notable people
Best known
Lee Ryan
in 31 Wikipedia languages
First
1521
Thomas Wyatt
Youngest
1997
Ellis Iandolo
Most common field
Sports
68 people

What stands out about Chatham’s famous people

★ What stands out · Known for

What Chatham is known for

Compared with the usual town, soldiers and sailors are the most over-represented field, at 2.9 times.

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

Through the years

When Chatham’s famous people were born

Count by decade and the 1980s come out on top, with 24 births.

Before the GeorgiansGeorgianVictorianThe 20th century150016001700180019002000Lee Ryan
SportsPolitics & LawMilitaryWriting & ArtsMusicScience & MedicineFilm, TV & StageNotableBusinessFaith

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

The best known

Born in Chatham

Lee Ryan, Alice Oseman and Conor Washington are written about in 31, 30 and 28 languages.

Lee Ryan#1
Music

Lee Ryan

born 1983

British singer

31 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Alice Oseman#2
Writing & Arts

Alice Oseman

born 1994

English author of young adult fiction

30 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Conor Washington#3
Sports

Conor Washington

born 1992

Association football player

28 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Everyone

Everyone else born in Chatham

Another 130, the earliest born in 1521.

Anne Dudley

Anne Dudley

born 1956

English composer and pop musician

George Boyd

George Boyd

born 1985

Association football player

TH

Thomas Hodgskin

1787–1869

British writer (1787-1869)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
George Thorne

George Thorne

born 1993

English association football player (born 1993)

Richard Dadd

Richard Dadd

1817–1886

British artist (1817-1886)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Thomas Wyatt

Thomas Wyatt

1521–1554

English rebel leader during the reign of Queen Mary I (1521-1554)

Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
William Halse Rivers Rivers

William Halse Rivers Rivers

1864–1922

English anthropologist, neurologist, ethnologist and psychiatrist (1864–1922)

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Andrew Crofts

Andrew Crofts

born 1984

Association football player (born 1984)

Gerard Greene

Gerard Greene

born 1973

Northern Irish snooker player

Zandra Rhodes

Zandra Rhodes

born 1940

British fashion designer (born 1940)

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Billy Childish

Billy Childish

born 1959

British musician (born 1959)

Matthew Sadler

Matthew Sadler

born 1974

British chess player

Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Horatio Thomas Austin

Horatio Thomas Austin

1800–1865

British Royal Navy officer and explorer (1800-1865)

Nathaniel Barnaby

Nathaniel Barnaby

1829–1915

British engineer (1829-1915)

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Danielle Bowman

Danielle Bowman

born 1988

English footballer (born 1988)

Kevin Eldon

Kevin Eldon

born 1960

British actor and comedian

Film, TV & StageWikipedia ↗
NS

Neil Shipperley

born 1974

English footballer (born 1974)

Ross Smith

Ross Smith

born 1989

English darts player (born 1989)

Janet Rossant

Janet Rossant

born 1950

British Canadian developmental biologist

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Lilian Violet Cooper

Lilian Violet Cooper

1861–1947

British-born Australian medical doctor

Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Next door

Famous people from the towns next door

Of the towns nearby, 7 have famous names listed.

Questions about famous people from Chatham

Who is the most famous person from Chatham?

Lee Ryan (British singer) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 31 languages. Next come Alice Oseman and Conor Washington.

How many famous people were born in Chatham?

133 people born in Chatham have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 154 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.

What is Chatham known for?

Among its famous people, athletes: 68 of the 133. That is 51% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.

Who is the earliest-born famous person from Chatham?

Thomas Wyatt, born in 1521. The youngest on the list was born in 1997.

Who counts as from Chatham?

People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Chatham’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 (54)

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.