MW#1
Famous people · Egham, Surrey
14 famous people from Egham, many of them writers and artists
Mary Wesley, the English novelist, is the most widely known, written about in 11 languages. The English lexicographer Frederick James Furnivall ranks second, ahead of George Giffard. 7 of them were born in the 20th century, more than in any other period. Fewer than a quarter of the 72 towns in Surrey with famous people list more.
Born here
14
notable people
Best known
Mary Wesley
in 11 Wikipedia languages
First
1825
Frederick James Furnivall
Youngest
1992
Matt Dunn
Most common field
Writing & Arts
6 people
What stands out about Egham’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Egham is known for
Soldiers and sailors stand out most, at 5.9 times the usual share.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Egham
Writers and artists take two of the three places.
#2Writing & Arts
Frederick James Furnivall
1825–1910English lexicographer (1825–1910)
10 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
#3Through the years
When Egham’s famous people were born
The 1920s saw the most births of any decade: 2.
Writing & ArtsSportsMilitaryPolitics & Law
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Egham
The other 11 span the years 1838 to 1992.
Edwin Herbert, Baron Tangley
1899–1973British lawyer and mountaineer (1899-1973)
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Close by, the fullest list is Chertsey’s, at 83 names.
Chertsey · 4 miRobert Green & 82 more
Ashford · 4 miRuth Wilson & 37 moreHFStaines-upon-Thames · 2 miHarry Freeman & 33 moreGMOld Windsor and Wraysbury · 2 miGeraldine McEwan & 6 moreBTDatchet · 4 miBruce Tulloh & 5 more
Laleham · 3 miMatthew Arnold & 3 moreNBVirginia Water · 2 miNicholas Brooks & 1 moreQuestions about famous people from Egham
Who is the most famous person from Egham?
Mary Wesley (English novelist (1912-2002)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 11 languages. Next come Frederick James Furnivall and George Giffard.
How many famous people were born in Egham?
14 people born in Egham have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 19 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Egham known for?
Among its famous people, writers and artists: 6 of the 14. That is 43% of the town’s list, against 12% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Egham?
Frederick James Furnivall, born in 1825. The youngest on the list was born in 1992.
Who counts as from Egham?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Egham’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 (8)
- Frederick James Furnivall: Nora K. Munday, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- George Giffard: Unknown, inherited family photo (Family of Arabella Birdperson), CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Hugh Reginald Haweis: Elliott & Fry, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Walter Coxen: John Longstaff, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Gary Wolstenholme: Pvt pauline, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert Green: Paul Blank, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- Ruth Wilson: Mingle MediaTV, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Matthew Arnold: 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.