
Born near Wells: 20 famous people within 35 miles
Deke Slayton is the most widely known, written about in 40 languages. Closest of all is John J. Esch, from Norwalk, 5 mi away. The list for Wells is empty for now. In Wisconsin, 646 towns have someone on the list.
What stands out about Wells’ famous people
Famous people born near Wells
They were born in 7 towns within 35 miles, nearest first.




Edgar Stillman Kelley
1857–1944American composer, conductor, teacher, and writer on music
Robert Herman Flock
born 1956American Roman-Catholic bishop working in Bolivia


Irving Phillips
1904–2000American cartoonist, playwright, television scriptwriter, author, illustrator and educator
Anne Nicol Gaylor
1926–2015American atheist and campaigner for abortion rights



Who’s the most famous person from Wells?
Pick one and say why. Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Be the first to say who Wells’ most famous person is.
From Wikidata and Wikipedia: people whose birthplace is Wells 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 (9)
- Deke Slayton: NASA, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Doane Robinson: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Edgar Stillman Kelley: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John J. Esch: G. V. Buck, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Dexter Bean: Royalbroil, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Emmet Sheridan: John E Sheridan (illustrator), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Leif Erickson: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ludvig Hektoen: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Hawley Atwell: St. Louis Globe-Democrat, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons