Born near Scandinavia: 20 famous people within 35 miles
The nearest, Dave Krieg, was born in Iola, 4 mi away. Everett C. Olson is the most widely known, written about in 10 languages. No entry yet names Scandinavia as a birthplace. Across Wisconsin, 663 towns list someone born there.
What stands out about Scandinavia’s famous people
Famous people born near Scandinavia
The 20 best known born within 35 miles, nearest first.




George B. Nelson
1876–1943Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
Everett C. Olson
1910–1993U.S. paleontologist, zoologist, and geologist


Melvin O. Handrich
1919–1950United States Army Medal of Honor recipient
Who’s the most famous person from Scandinavia?
Pick one and say why. Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Be the first to say who Scandinavia’s most famous person is.
From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Scandinavia and whose English Wikipedia article agrees, ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Nearby people are those born in a town within 35 miles; distances are town center to town center. People known mainly for crimes, and adult performers, aren’t listed. “The usual town” = everyone born in the towns gathered so far.
Photo credits (6)
- Tyler Biadasz: U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Edward E. Browne: Collection of U.S. House of Representatives, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Reid Fred Murray: US Government Printing Office (Washington, DC), publisher., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- George B. Nelson: Political Graveyard from Ann Arbor, MI, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Melvin O. Handrich: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Tim Polasek: Bobak Ha'Eri, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons