#1Famous people · Suffolk
Of the 30 famous people born in Suffolk, an unusual share are musicians
Most widely known is Charlie Byrd, the American jazz guitarist, with articles in 21 languages. Della H. Raney, the african-american army nurse, comes second, with Lewis F. Powell Jr. third. 17 of them were born between 1920 and 1969, more than in any other period. Per head, the list is long: 3 for every 10,000 residents, where the typical town in Virginia has 0.1.
Born here
30
notable people
Best known
Charlie Byrd
in 21 Wikipedia languages
First
1805
Arthur R. Smith
Youngest
1997
Cole Christiansen
Most common field
Sports
8 people
Also called it home
1
notable residents
What stands out about Suffolk’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Suffolk is known for
No other field is as far above the usual share as musicians, at 2.4 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone born in the towns gathered so far. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Suffolk
The three are covered in 21, 15 and 15 languages: Charlie Byrd, Della H. Raney and Lewis F. Powell Jr..
#1
#2Science & Medicine
Della H. Raney
1912–1987African-American army nurse
15 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
#3Politics & Law
Lewis F. Powell Jr.
1907–1998American jurist (1907–1998); US Supreme Court justice from 1972 to 1987
15 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years
When Suffolk’s famous people were born
No decade has more births than the 1930s, at 4.
SportsPolitics & LawWriting & ArtsMusicScience & MedicineFilm, TV & StageNotableMilitary
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Suffolk
The other 27 span the years 1805 to 1997.
No one matches both filters.
A chosen home
Also called Suffolk home
Notable people Wikidata lists as living in Suffolk, though born elsewhere.
The town’s pick
Town Square →Who’s the most famous person from Suffolk?
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Your pick
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Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Around it, Newport News has the most people on record, 60 of them.
From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Suffolk and whose English Wikipedia article agrees, ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. People known mainly for crimes, and adult performers, aren’t listed. “The usual town” = everyone born in the towns gathered so far.
Photo credits (9)
- Charlie Byrd: Raymond Fudge Silver Spring, Maryland, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Della H. Raney: Uncredited; Restored by Adam Cuerden, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Lewis F. Powell Jr.: Color negative by Robert S. Oakes, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Rory Sparrow: David Byrd, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Phyllis Gordon: Old photograph believed to be in the Public Domain, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James Bell: Film screenshot (United Artists), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ella Fitzgerald: Lewin/Kaufman/Schwartz, Public Relations, Beverly Hills, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Alonzo Mourning: Keith Allison, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Patton Oswalt: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons