Robert Recorde c.1512–1558
Born in Tenby. Physician and mathematician who wrote the first algebra books in English and introduced the equals sign (=) in 1557.
Henry Tudor, later Henry VII escaped Tenby, 1471
Hid in Tenby during the Wars of the Roses and left by sea for France. Returned in 1485 to win Bosworth. A harbour plaque marks the traditional escape.
Sir William Paxton 1744–1824
Turned Georgian Tenby into a seaside resort: baths, walks and hotels that still shape the Esplanade and the Norton.
Augustus John 1878–1961
Born in Tenby. Major British painter. Called Tenby his beautiful birthplace and received Freedom of the Town in 1959.
Gwen John 1876–1939
Raised in Tenby, then a quiet, intense painter in France. Critical reputation has risen steadily.
Nina Hamnett 1890–1956
Born in Tenby. Painter and memoirist nicknamed the Queen of Bohemia in London and Paris.
Kenneth Griffith 1921–2006
Actor and independent documentary maker, born in Tenby.
Also with a Tenby tie
- Tenby Davies — world professional half-mile champion, 1909
- Clive Merrison — stage and screen actor
- Rhidian Brook — novelist and screenwriter
- Kate Lamb — actress, grew up in Tenby
- Michael Bonacini — chef, born and raised in Tenby
- Rosie Swale-Pope — adventurer associated with the town
- Wally the Walrus — hauled out on the RNLI slipway in 2021
Start at Tenby Museum & Art Gallery on Castle Hill for the Johns and the civic story.