It is commonplace to include significant people when looking at the history of a given locality. The Historical Association has a series of case studies of significant local individuals organised by counties or regions. In this article Tim Lomas builds on that resource by looking at the way such individuals can be used to develop knowledge and understanding of the locality. It examines some of the benefits and challenges, posing a series of questions about the types of significant individuals that can be covered. A major part of the article is the case studies...