45.7583° N, 4.8412° E
LYON
Most Famous People Born in Lyon, France
- Notable people
- 2,546
- Peak decade
- 1940s
- Median birth year
- 1907
- Most distinctive
- Architect 3.9×
A Roman foundation that gave the empire two emperors and the modern Republic a silk industry. Lyon's distinctive professions are architects, painters, physicians, botanists, and sculptors — the trades of a medical-and-craft city built around its great hospitals and the silk weavers of the Croix-Rousse. Claudius and Caracalla were both born here, Jacquard invented his loom here, and Saint-Exupéry grew up a few streets from the Rhône; the 18th-century bench is heavier than in most French cities outside Paris.
One face per century — the most globally famous figure born in Lyon during each.
Notable Births by Decade
Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1940s with 208 notable births.
What Lyon Is Known For
Click any row to filter the list of people below.
Politician is Lyon's biggest profession — 11% of all notables (287).
Lyon over-indexes on architect — 3.9× the global rate.
Lyon under-produces football — only 0.6× the global rate.
Profession Mix Over Time
Each band shows a profession family's share of Lyon's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.
- Art & Design
- Sports
- Politics & Law
- Writing
- Science
- Film & TV
- Other
- Filtered to 1850s Clear ×
Joséphin Péladan
1858 - 1918
Jean Jules Jusserand
1855 - 1932
Jean-Joseph Carriès
1855 - 1894
Louis Béroud
1852 - 1930
Auguste Burdeau
1851 - 1894
Alexandre Luigini
1850 - 1906
Pierre-Marie Termier
1859 - 1930
Marc Armand Ruffer
1859 - 1917
Paul de Longpré
1855 - 1911
Tony Tollet
1857 - 1953
Charles Lamy
1857 - 1940
Alphonse Stengelin
1852 - 1938
Joannès Drevet
1854 - 1940
Georges Coutagne
1854 - 1928
Léon Michoud
1855 - 1916
Achille Granchi-Taylor
1857 - 1921
Charles de Chavannes
1853 - 1940
Blanche Deschamps-Jéhin
1857 - 1923
Paul Cazeneuve
1852 - 1934
Victor Cambon
1852 - 1927
Frank Lambert (inventor)
1851 - 1937
Félix Huguenet
1858 - 1926
Édouard Philipon
1851 - 1926
Claudius Blanc
1854 - 1900
Charles Cabaud
1858 - 1939
Louis Beysson
1856 - 1912
Édouard Perrin
1852 - 1926
Pierre Aubert (sculpteur)
1853 - 1912
Albert Bournet
1854 - 1895
Jean-Alexandre Pézieux
1850 - 1898
Joseph Teissier
1851 - 1926
Auguste Félix Bauer
1854 - 1933
Jules Sylvestre
1859 - 1936
Jean Jullien (dramaturge)
1854 - 1919
Louis Rogniat
1852 - 1956
Léon Galle
1854 - 1914
Jean Coignet
1855 - 1947
Auguste Raynaud (peintre)
1855 - 1937
Maurice Colin (homme politique)
1859 - 1920
Félix Desvernay
1854 - 1917
Anne Levinck
1851 - 1898
Edmondo Mayor des Planches
1851 - 1920
Jean Garel
1852 - 1931
Paul Duquaire
1859 - 1932
Étienne Couvert (peintre)
1856 - 1933
Jenny Villebesseyx
1854 - 1924
Jean-Marie Simon
1858 - 1932
Joseph Bourgeot
1851 - 1910
Jean Clapot
1850 - 1926
Camille Camet
1850 - 1917
Louis Boisard
1851 - 1938
Léon Repiquet
1851 - 1912
Jules de Boissieu
1853 - 1924
Maurice Ruffer
1857 - 1935
Pierre Guillot (rosiériste)
1855 - 1918