#1Science & Medicine
Simon Singh
born 1964British mathematician, journalist and science communicator (born 1964)
28 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Wellington, Somerset
22 famous people were born in Wellington from 1746 to 1993
Best known of all is Simon Singh, written about in 28 languages. Harry Cording and Richard Cottrell follow. 8 of them were born in the Victorian era, more than in any other period. The list’s best known name, Simon Singh, dates from 1964.
Born here
22
notable people
Best known
Simon Singh
in 28 Wikipedia languages
First
1746
James Lackington
Youngest
1993
Tom Nichols
Most common field
Sports
11 people
The best known
Born in Wellington
Simon Singh, Harry Cording and Richard Cottrell are written about in 28, 13 and 7 languages.
#1
#2RC#3
Politics & Law
Richard Cottrell
1943–2024British politician (born 1943)
7 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years
When Wellington’s famous people were born
Count by decade and the 1890s come out on top, with 2 births.
SportsFilm, TV & StagePolitics & LawBusinessMilitaryScience & MedicineFaithWriting & Arts
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Wellington is known for
The field with the most names is Sports: 11.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Wellington
Still to come: 19 more, from 1746 to 1993.
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
The fullest list close by belongs to Taunton, with 146.
Questions about famous people from Wellington
Who is the most famous person from Wellington?
Simon Singh (British mathematician, journalist and science communicator (born 1964)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 28 languages. Next come Harry Cording and Richard Cottrell.
How many famous people were born in Wellington?
22 people born in Wellington have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 25 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Wellington known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 11 of the 22. That is 50% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Wellington?
James Lackington, born in 1746. The youngest on the list was born in 1993.
Who counts as from Wellington?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Wellington’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 (15)
- Simon Singh: Richardc39, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Harry Cording: unknown (Universal Pictures), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- George Smith: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Spencer Baynes: Lowes Cato Dickinson, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Tom Nichols: Mattythewhite, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Henry Fox: Maull and Fox, Piccadilly., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James Lackington: W. Ridley, engraver, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Hood Treacher: G.R. Lambert & Co. Ltd, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Francis Hugh Fox: Foxtarrsteps, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Froude Hancock: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Henry Hope: Henry Raeburn, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jenny Agutter: See Li from London, UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Frank Hancock: File:Frank Hancock (Rygbi).jpg: Walter Alfred Pearce derivative work: Pbrks, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Young: Henry Perronet Briggs, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Sam Baird: Benutzer:Bill da Flute, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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.