List of people from Devon

This is a list of people from Devon, a county in South West England. The demonym of Devon is Devonian. This list is arranged alphabetically by surname:

B

• Charles Babbage, inventor
• Baldwin of Exeter (d. 1190), Archbishop of Canterbury
• W. N. P. Barbellion: nom-de-plume of Bruce Frederick Cummings, diarist.
• Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet (1740–1810), banker
• Sabine Baring-Gould, scholar, clergyman, novelist and antiquary
• Sue Barker, tennis player and television presenter
• Kenneth Barnes (1878–1957), director of RADA
• Cliff Bastin (1912–1991), Arsenal and England footballer
• Phil Beer, musician and composer (born at Exminster)
• Matthew Bellamy (b. 1978), guitarist, pianist, and vocalist of rock band Muse
• John Bidlake, clergyman, author, artist
• John Carne Bidwill (1815–1853), botanist, first Director, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney
• Sir Thomas Bodley (1545–1613), diplomat and founder of the Bodleian Library at Oxford
• Saint Boniface, 672-754, patron saint of the Netherlands and Germany
• Sir John Bowring (1792–1872), political economist and Governor of Hong Kong
• Henry de Bracton (d. 1268), jurist
• Eustace Budgell (1686–1737), writer
• Tony Burrows (b. 1942), pop singer
• Richard Burton, explorer and linguist

C

• Michael Caines (b 1969), chef and restaurateur
• Edward Capern (1819–1894), poet
• Mary Carpenter (1807–1877), educational and social reformer
• William Benjamin Carpenter (1813–1885), physiologist and naturalist
• Raymond Cattell, psychology pioneer
• Jim Causley, folk singer & radio presenter (b. 1980, Heavitree)
• Jimmy Cauty, pop musician
• Henry Chadwick (1824–1908), journalist, "the father of baseball"
• Sir Francis Chichester (1901–1972), Aviator and Sailor.
• Agatha Christie, novelist
• Lady Mary Chudleigh (1656–1710), early feminist and poet
• William Kingdon Clifford (1845–1879), mathematician
• Eleanor Coade (1733–1821), inventor of Coade stone
• Lily Cole (b. 1988), supermodel and actress
• Samuel Taylor Coleridge, poet
• David Collins (1756–1810), first Governor of Van Diemens Land (Tasmania)
• Peter Cook (1937–1995), comedian, born in Torquay
• William Cookworthy, pharmacist and industrialist
• Tommy Cooper (1921–1984), comedian, was born in Caerphilly but lived in Exeter from the age of 3
• Samuel Cousins (1801–1887), engraver
• Edmund Crispin (1921–1978), novelist & composer
• William Crossing (1847–1928), author

D

• Thomas Daley, diver
• Sharon Davies, Olympic swimmer and television presenter
• Roger Deakins, cinematographer
• Kristian Digby, television presenter (b.1977 Torquay. d.2010 London)
• Sir Francis Drake, sailor
• Thomas D'Urfey (1653–1723), dramatist

E

• Charles Lock Eastlake, artist
• Marc Edworthy, footballer
• Samuel Eyles Pierce, preacher, theologian, and Calvinist divine
• Henry Every (c. 1653/59–?), pirate
• Sir Richard Eyre, theatre, television, and film director.

F

• Percy Fawcett, archaeologist and explorer
• Michael Foot, Labour politician
• Dawn French, comedienne

G

• John Gay, poet and dramatist
• Geraint, King of Dumnonia
• Beth Gibbons (b. 1965), singer with Portishead
• Humphrey Gilbert, sailor and explorer
• Sheherazade and Zac Goldsmith, environmentalists
• Matthew Goode (b 1978), actor in such movies as Brideshead Revisited and Watchmen
• Francis Carruthers Gould, caricaturist and politician
• Richard Grenville, sailor and explorer

H

• George Hakewill (1578–1649), clergyman and author
• William Hakewill (1574–1655), legal antiquarian
• Theodore Bayley Hardy (1863–1918), Army chaplain and VC
• Hannah Harper (b. 1982), erotic actress
• Miranda Hart, actress and comedienne
• Matt Harvey, poet
• Benjamin Haydon, painter and writer
• Francis Hayman (1708–1776), Rococo artist
• Oliver Heaviside, mathematician
• Nicholas Hilliard (c1547-1619), portraitist
• Christopher Hitchens (1949), writer, journalist, and literary critic
• James Holman (1786–1857), noted blind traveller
• John Hooker, constitutionalist
• Richard Hooker (1554–1600), Anglican theologian
• W. G. Hoskins (1908–1992), historian of the English landscape
• Dominic Howard (1977), Musician, drummer of rock band Muse
• Thomas Hudson (1701–1779), portrait painter
• Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, model

J

• Bradley James, actor
• Richard Roach Jewell, architect
• Joseph of Exeter (12th century), poet

K

• Fred Karno (1866–1941), comedy pioneer and impresario
• Benjamin Kennicott, Hebrew scholar
• Peter King, 1st Baron King (1669–1734), Lord Chancellor
• Charles Kingsley, novelist
• Steve Knightley, musician (born in Poole, Dorset)

L

• Seth Lakeman, folk musician
• Jon Lee singer with S Club 7 (b. 1982 Newton Abbott)
• Matthew Locke (ca. 1621-1677), baroque composer

M

• Chris Martin (b 1977), singer with Coldplay
• Jane McGrath (1966–2008), co-founder of the McGrath Foundation and late wife of fast bowler Glenn
• Clare Morrall (b 1952), novelist
• Ian Mortimer (b 1967), historian
• Dermot Murnaghan (b 1957), TV journalist & news presenter

N

• Ben Nealon (b. 1966), actor

O

• Simon Ockley (1678–1720), orientalist

P

• Richard Parker (1767–1797), sailor and mutineer
• James Parsons, physician, antiquary and author
• William Peryam (1534-after 1603), lawyer
• St Petroc, saint
• Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist from the band Kasabian
• John Prince, clergyman and biographer
• John Skinner Prout, writer and artist in Tasmania
• Samuel Prout, water colour artist

R

• John Rainolds (1549–1605), Puritan scholar
• Walter Raleigh (1552–1618), sailor and writer
• Chris Read (1978- ), English test cricket wicket-keeper
• Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792), influential English painter
• Peter Richardson (1952- ), actor, comedian, director and writer.
• Philip Hutchins Rogers (1794–1853), artist
• Sir Henry Rosewell (1590–1656), Puritan, of Forde Abbey, adventurer of the Dorchester Company
• John Rowe (1715–1787), merchant and owner of ship involved in the Boston Tea Party
• John "Jack" Russell (1795–1883), eponymous dog-breeder and a founder member of the Kennel Club

S

• Robert Falcon Scott, RN officer and Antarctic explorer
• Sir Nicholas Slanning, MP, Royalist soldier in the English Civil War
• Wayne Sleep (b. 1948) dancer and choreographer
• Lilly Martin Spencer (1822–1902), US painter
• Samuel Stennett (1727–1795), Baptist minister and hymnwriter
• John Stockham (1765–1814), naval officer
• Joss Stone (b. 1987), soul singer (born in Kent, moved to Devon in her late teens)
• Robert Stone (1516–1613), composer and member of the Chapel Royal.
• Henrietta Anne Stuart (1644–1670), daughter of King Charles I
• Anthony Sullivan, TV commercial pitchman, and co-star of the show Pitchmen on Discovery Channel

T

• Liam Tancock (b. 1985) Olympic swimmer
• William Temple (1881–1944), Archbishop of Canterbury
• Clive Toye, first general manager of New York Cosmos[1]

V

• Irene Vanbrugh (1872–1949), actress
• Phil Vickery, rugby player
• David Vine (1935-2009) TV sports presenter

W

• Snowy White, guitarist
• William John Wills, explorer
• Chris Wolstenholme (b. 1978), musician, bass player for the band Muse
• Rebecca Worthley (b. 1981), singer-songwriter

Y

• Thomas Yalden (1670–1736), poet

See also

• List of people from Exeter
• List of people from Plymouth

References

Further reading

• Burton, S. H. Great Men of Devon. (Men of the Counties Series; no. 8.) London: John Lane, 1956