PV#1
Famous people · Wem, Shropshire
The 6 famous people born in Wem, led by Peter Vaughan
At the top of the list is the British actor Peter Vaughan, covered in 32 languages. In the 20th century, 4 were born, the most of any period. John Astley (1720) and Barry Davies (1944) mark the two ends of the list. Per head, the list is long: 9.5 for every 10,000 residents, where the typical town in Shropshire has 6.2.
Born here
6
notable people
Best known
Peter Vaughan
in 32 Wikipedia languages
First
1720
John Astley
Youngest
1944
Barry Davies
Most common field
Film, TV & Stage
2 people
The best known
Born in Wem
Peter Vaughan has articles in 32 languages, Peter Jones in 9 and Edward Whalley-Tooker in 3.
PJ#2
Film, TV & Stage
Peter Jones
1920–2000English actor, screenwriter and broadcaster (1920–2000)
9 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
EW#3
Through the years
When Wem’s famous people were born
Count by decade and the 1920s come out on top, with 2 births.
Film, TV & StageSportsScience & MedicineWriting & ArtsNotable
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Wem is known for
The largest field is Film, TV & Stage, with 2 people.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Wem
Another 3, the earliest born in 1720.
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
The fullest list close by belongs to Shrewsbury, with 180.
Shrewsbury · 10 miCharles Darwin & 179 more
Whitchurch · 8 miEdward German & 8 more
Ellesmere · 8 miEglantyne Jebbs & 6 more
Market Drayton · 10 miJohn Lewis & 5 more
Malpas · 11 miGeorge Cholmondeley, 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley & 3 moreDPBaschurch · 7 miDave Pountney & 1 moreWHShawbury · 5 miWilliam HazledineRHWhittington · 12 miReg HumphreysQuestions about famous people from Wem
Who is the most famous person from Wem?
Peter Vaughan (British actor (1923–2016)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 32 languages. Next come Peter Jones and Edward Whalley-Tooker.
How many famous people were born in Wem?
6 people born in Wem have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 7 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Wem known for?
Among its famous people, performers: 2 of the 6. That is 33% of the town’s list, against 9% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Wem?
John Astley, born in 1720. The youngest on the list was born in 1944.
Who counts as from Wem?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Wem’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 (6)
- John Astley: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Charles Darwin: Herbert Rose Barraud, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Edward German: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Eglantyne Jebbs: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Lewis: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- George Cholmondeley, 5th Marquess of Cholmondeley: 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.