Famous People Born In Devon

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 1 
Francis Drake
(Best Known for His Circumnavigation of the World in a Single Expedition)
Francis Drake
3
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: 1540 AD
Died: January 28, 1596

Francis Drake was an English explorer and naval officer. He is remembered for his Raiding Expedition, a prominent historical maritime event which unfolded between 1577 and 1580. Although Drake is considered a hero in the United Kingdom, his privateering led the Spanish to refer to him as a pirate. His expedition has also had a major cultural impact in Britain.

 2 
Matthew Goode
(English Actor Known for His Films: ‘Chasing Liberty’, ‘Stoker’, and ‘The Imitation Game’)
Matthew Goode
13
Birthdate: April 3, 1978
Sun Sign: Aries

Matthew Goode is an English actor who played an important role in the success of the TV show A Discovery of Witches, which is an adaptation of Deborah Harkness' All Souls trilogy. During its initial run, the series performed consistently as Sky One network's most-watched show, thanks to Goode's portrayal of a molecular biologist and vampire named Matthew Clairmont.

 3 
Bradley James
(Actor)
Bradley James
4
Birthdate: October 11, 1983
Sun Sign: Libra
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
 4 
Pauline Collins
(Actress)
Pauline Collins
4
Birthdate: September 3, 1940
Sun Sign: Virgo
Height: 5'2" (157 cm)
 5 
Georgia Toffolo
(British Media and Television Personality Best Known for Her Reality TV Series ‘Made in Chelsea’)
Georgia Toffolo
11
Birthdate: October 23, 1994
Sun Sign: Libra
Georgia Toffolo is best known for her appearance in the BAFTA-winning structured-reality series Made in Chelsea and for winning the 17th season of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! She also wrote the book Always Smiling and voiced Mrs. Toffee Apple in the animated film The Grinch.
 6 
Ella Hunt
(Actress)
Ella Hunt
8
Birthdate: April 29, 1998
Sun Sign: Taurus
Height: 5'5" (165 cm)
 7 
John Pulman
(English Professional Snooker Player)
John Pulman
0
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: December 12, 1923
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Died: December 25, 1998
 8 
Bill Bruford
(Drummer)
Bill Bruford
1
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: May 17, 1949
Sun Sign: Taurus
 9 
John Hawkins
(Privateer)
John Hawkins
1
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: November 30, 1532
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Died: November 12, 1595
 10 
Douglas Hodge
(Actor)
Douglas Hodge
3
Birthdate: February 25, 1960
Sun Sign: Pisces
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
 11 
Saint Walpurga
(Missionary)
Saint Walpurga
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: 0710 AD
Died: February 25, 0779
 12 
Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax
(British Ambassador to the United States (1940-46))
Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax
8
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: April 16, 1881
Sun Sign: Aries
Died: December 23, 1959
Height: 6'5" (196 cm)
 13 
Angela Rippon
(Journalist)
Angela Rippon
1
Birthdate: October 12, 1944
Sun Sign: Libra
 14 
Richard Grenville
(Naval commander)
Richard Grenville
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: June 15, 1542
Sun Sign: Gemini
Died: September 10, 1591
 15 
Avis Crocombe
(Head cook at Audley End House During the 1880s)
Avis Crocombe
0
Listed In: Food Experts
Birthdate: 1839 AD
Died: 1927 AD
 16 
James Rennell
(British Geographer, Historian and a Pioneer of Oceanography)
James Rennell
0
Birthdate: December 3, 1742
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Died: March 29, 1830

James Rennell was an English historian and geographer. A pioneer of oceanography, Rennell is often referred to as the Father of Oceanography. Rennell, who served as a Surveyor General of Bengal, India, is credited with producing some of the earliest accurate maps of Bengal. James Rennell is also credited with co-founding the Royal Geographical Society in London in 1830.

 17 
Bryony Frost
(English National Hunt Jockey)
Bryony Frost
0
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: April 13, 1995
Sun Sign: Aries
 18 
Constance Kent
(English Woman Who Murdered Her Three-Year-Old Half-Brother)
Constance Kent
4
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: February 5, 1844
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Died: April 10, 1944

Constance Kent was an English woman who murdered her half-brother, Francis Saville Kent. She was only 16 years old when she killed her three-year-old half-brother. The murder inspired several works of art, including films and novels.

 19 
Angela Mudge
(Skyrunner)
Angela Mudge
0
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: July 8, 1970
Sun Sign: Cancer
 20 
William John Wills
(Explorer)
William John Wills
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: January 5, 1834
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Died: June 28, 1861
 21 
Eleanor Coade
(Businesswoman)
Eleanor Coade
0
Birthdate: June 3, 1733
Sun Sign: Gemini
Died: November 16, 1821

Eleanor Coade was a British businesswoman known for her astute entrepreneurial, business, and marketing skills. She manufactured Neoclassical statues, architectural decorations, and garden ornaments. She created stoneware for many famous buildings, including St George's Chapel, The Royal Pavilion, Brighton, and Carlton House. She was one of the few women to run a highly successful business in the Georgian era. 

 22 
Pete Goss
(English Sailor)
Pete Goss
0
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: December 22, 1961
Sun Sign: Capricorn
 23 
William Froude
(British Engineer and First to Formulate Reliable Laws for the Resistance That Water Offers to Ships)
William Froude
3
Listed In: Engineers
Birthdate: November 28, 1810
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Died: May 4, 1879

British engineer and naval architect William Froude made significant contributions to the field of hydrodynamics. He revolutionized ship design by working on a method of studying scale models. He thus became the first person to devise laws that explained the resistance offered to ships by water.

 24 
Giselle Ansley
(English Field Hockey Player Who Plays as a Defender)
Giselle Ansley
0
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: March 31, 1992
Sun Sign: Aries
Height: 5'9" (175 cm)
 25 
Thomas Hudson
(Painter)
Thomas Hudson
1
Birthdate: 1701 AD
Died: January 26, 1779
 26 
Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Chichester
(Soldier)
Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Chichester
0
Listed In: Miscellaneous
Birthdate: 1563
Sun Sign: Taurus
Died: February 19, 1625
 27 
Josephine Gordon
(British Jockey)
Josephine Gordon
0
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: May 16, 1993
Sun Sign: Taurus
 28 
William Budd
(British Physician and Epidemiologist Known for Recognizing That Infectious Diseases Were Contagious)
William Budd
1
Listed In: Physicians
Birthdate: September 14, 1811
Sun Sign: Virgo
Died: January 9, 1880

English epidemiologist William Budd was the first to find out that water was a source of typhoid fever, by linking deaths due to the disease to the lemonade that the victims had consumed at an inn party. His studies also put a stamp on the theory that infectious diseases were contagious.

 29 
Elias Parish Alvars
(Composer)
Elias Parish Alvars
0
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: February 28, 1808
Sun Sign: Pisces
Died: January 25, 1849
 30 
Mike Absalom
(Musician, Painter)
Mike Absalom
0
Listed In: Musicians
Birthdate: November 9, 1940
Sun Sign: Scorpio
 31 
Gilbert Thomas Carter
(Administrative officer in the Royal Navy and a colonial official for the British Empire)
Gilbert Thomas Carter
0
Listed In: Leaders
Birthdate: January 14, 1848
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Died: January 18, 1927
 32 
Marcus Wyatt
(British Skeleton Racer)
Marcus Wyatt
1
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: December 14, 1991
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
 33 
Tom Harlock
(YouTube Star)
Tom Harlock
2
Listed In: YouTubers
Birthdate: August 30, 1993
Sun Sign: Virgo
Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
 34 
Henry Singleton Pennell
(British Military Personnel and Skeleton Racer)
Henry Singleton Pennell
0
Listed In: Sportspersons
Birthdate: June 18, 1874
Sun Sign: Gemini
Died: January 19, 1907
 35 
John Wolcot
(Satirist)
John Wolcot
0
Listed In: Writers
Birthdate: May 9, 1738
Sun Sign: Taurus
Died: January 14, 1819
 36 
Charles Kingsley
3
Birthdate: June 12, 1819
Sun Sign: Gemini
Died: January 23, 1875

The son of a clergyman, Charles Kingsley later formed the Christian Socialist movement. Remembered for penning children’s fiction such as The Water-Babies, he had also written socially relevant and historical novels. He had also been a professor at the University of Cambridge and a private tutor of Edward VII.