KM#1
Famous people · Cobham, Surrey
Cobham counts 8 famous people, first among them Kenneth McAlpine
The best known is the racecar driver Kenneth McAlpine, with articles in 21 languages. The largest group, 4, was born in the 20th century. For every 10,000 residents there are 4.6 on the list, well above the typical Surrey town’s 2.3. More are soldiers and sailors than anything else, 2 in all.
Born here
8
notable people
Best known
Kenneth McAlpine
in 21 Wikipedia languages
First
1817
Lord Henry Percy
Youngest
1956
Kit Hain
Most common field
Military
2 people
The best known
Born in Cobham
Kenneth McAlpine leads with articles in 21 languages, ahead of Harold B. Hudson (5) and Eric Hall (3).
HH#2
EH#3
Through the years
When Cobham’s famous people were born
The busiest decade was the 1920s, with 1 births.
MilitaryBusinessNotableSportsWriting & ArtsScience & MedicineMusic
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Cobham is known for
Military leads the fields, 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 Cobham
5 more names, born between 1817 and 1956.
Lord Henry Percy
1817–1877British military officer (1817–1877); recipient of the Victoria Cross
MilitaryWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
The best known from each town within 12 miles of Cobham, with how many people each has.
Epsom · 5 miTom Felton & 179 more
West Molesey · 4 miChristian de Duve & 35 moreEGLeatherhead · 3 miEric Green & 23 more
Shepperton · 5 miJohn Boorman & 7 more
Ashtead · 4 miA. P. Herbert & 6 more
Hersham · 3 miJimmy Pursey & 5 more
Byfleet · 3 miTom Richardson & 5 more
Great Bookham and Fetcham · 3 miRoger Waters & 4 moreQuestions about famous people from Cobham
Who is the most famous person from Cobham?
Kenneth McAlpine (racecar driver (1920 – 2023)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 21 languages. Next come Harold B. Hudson and Eric Hall.
How many famous people were born in Cobham?
8 people born in Cobham have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 16 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Cobham known for?
Among its famous people, soldiers and sailors: 2 of the 8. That is 25% of the town’s list, against 4% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Cobham?
Lord Henry Percy, born in 1817. The youngest on the list was born in 1956.
Who counts as from Cobham?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Cobham’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 (9)
- Esmé Chinnery: Gérald Garitan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lord Henry Percy: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Tom Felton: German Film & Comic Con, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Christian de Duve: Julien Doornaert, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- John Boorman: Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- A. P. Herbert: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jimmy Pursey: Man Alive!, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Tom Richardson: Reinhold Thiele, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Roger Waters: digboston, CC BY 2.0, 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.