#1Science & Medicine
Christian de Duve
1917–2013Belgian biochemist, cytologist (1917–2013)
67 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · West Molesey, Surrey
Soldiers and sailors stand out among the 36 famous people born in West Molesey
Best known of all is Christian de Duve, written about in 67 languages. The oldest name on the list belongs to Nathaniel Byfield, born in 1653, the newest to Claudia Harrison, born in 1976. Fewer than a quarter of the 72 towns in Surrey with famous people list more. Per head, the list is long: 7.6 for every 10,000 residents, where the typical town in Surrey has 2.3.
Born here
36
notable people
Best known
Christian de Duve
in 67 Wikipedia languages
First
1653
Nathaniel Byfield
Youngest
1976
Claudia Harrison
Most common field
Sports
15 people
What stands out about West Molesey’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What West Molesey is known for
Set against the usual town, soldiers and sailors come out 4.6 times as common.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in West Molesey
Languages with an article: 67 for Christian de Duve, 14 for Laurence Naismith, 10 for Josefina de Vasconcellos.
#1
#2Film, TV & Stage
Laurence Naismith
1908–1992English actor (1908-1992)
14 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
#3Writing & Arts
Josefina de Vasconcellos
1904–2005English sculptor (1904-2005)
10 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years
When West Molesey’s famous people were born
The 1910s saw the most births of any decade: 4.
SportsMilitaryFilm, TV & StageWriting & ArtsScience & MedicinePolitics & Law
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in West Molesey
33 more, from 1653 to 1976.
William FitzGerald-de Ros, 22nd Baron de Ros
1797–1874British Army general (1797–1874)
MilitaryWikipedia ↗
Charles Frewen Jenkin
1865–1940British engineer and academic (1865–1940)
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Edith Johnson
1874–1950English field hockey, tennis and badminton player (1874-1950)
SportsWikipedia ↗
Nathaniel Byfield
1653–1733American jurist and Speaker of the Massachusetts General Court
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns around it, Richmond upon Thames has the most on record: 302.
Richmond upon Thames · 4 miKeira Knightley & 301 more
Kingston upon Thames · 2 miJohn Galsworthy & 288 more
Sunbury-on-Thames · 4 miJohn Glen & 15 more
Ewell · 4 miPetula Clark & 13 moreKMCobham · 4 miKenneth McAlpine & 7 more
Shepperton · 5 miJohn Boorman & 7 more
Hersham · 3 miJimmy Pursey & 5 more
Esher · 1 miCharles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha & 2 moreQuestions about famous people from West Molesey
Who is the most famous person from West Molesey?
Christian de Duve (belgian biochemist, cytologist (1917–2013)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 67 languages. Next come Laurence Naismith and Josefina de Vasconcellos.
How many famous people were born in West Molesey?
36 people born in West Molesey have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 42 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is West Molesey known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 15 of the 36. That is 42% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from West Molesey?
Nathaniel Byfield, born in 1653. The youngest on the list was born in 1976.
Who counts as from West Molesey?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside West Molesey’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 (20)
- Christian de Duve: Julien Doornaert, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- Laurence Naismith: Kmcody001, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Josefina de Vasconcellos: RHL Images, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Pat Moss: Harry Pot for Anefo ]], CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, Wikimedia Commons
- William FitzGerald-de Ros, 22nd Baron de Ros: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Clare Francis: Phil Guest from Bournemouth, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David Fairbairn: Australian News and Information Bureau, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Fleetwood Edwards: Russell, Baker Street (no individual credited), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Maurice Read: Photo by E Hawkins of London, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Rainer Hersch: M C Craik, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Derek Boitel-Gill: Cuthbert Orde (1888-1968), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Eveline Winifred Syme: CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Nathaniel Byfield: Creator:Nathaniel Byfield, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Keira Knightley: Andrea Raffin, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Galsworthy: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Glen: The Conmunity - Pop Culture Geek from Los Angeles, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Petula Clark: Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Boorman: Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jimmy Pursey: Man Alive!, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha: A. Gimm, Gotha, 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.