List of Famous Scottish People
The People within this list are usually native to the country however sometimes we may have included those that have either lived within the country for most of their adult life or have made a significant contribution to the country in their personal endeavours.
Famous Scottish People are in the following Categories
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| Explorers | |
|---|---|
| Arthur Anderson | 1792 – 1868 |
| Sir Alexander Mackenzie | 1764 – 1820 |
| Alexander Selkirk | 1676 – 1721 |
| Dr. David Livingstone | 1813 – 1873 |
| Military | |
|---|---|
| The Marquis of Montrose | 1612 – 1650 |
| John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee | 1648 – 1689 |
| Douglas Haig | 1861-1928 |
| John Paul ‘Jones’ | 1747 – 1792 |
| Religion & Mysticism | |
|---|---|
| John Knox | c.1510 – 1572 |
| Thomas the Rhymer | c.1210 – c.1290 |
| Brahan Seer | early 17th century |
| Sir William Alexander Smith | 1854 – 1914 |
| Engineering | |
|---|---|
| Sir William Arrol | 1839 – 1913 |
| Andrew Meikle | 1719 – 1811 |
| Thomas Telford | 1757 – 1834 |
| James Watt | 1736 – 1819 |
| Robert Adam | 1728 – 1792 |
| Popular Culture | |
|---|---|
| Aly Bain | Evelyn Glennie |
| Tom Anderson | Neil Gow |
| Robert Carlyle | Sir Harry Lauder |
| Robbie Coltrane | Dougie MacLean |
| Sir Peter Maxwell Davies | Ian McDiarmid |
| Sheena Easton | Kevin McKidd |
| Bill Forsyth | Donnie Munro |
| Sean Connery | Annie Lennox |
| Billy Connolly | Ewan McGregor |
| Kelly Macdonald | |
| Art | |
|---|---|
| The Glasgow School | |
| The Scottish Colourists | 1920s – 1930s |
| Colquhoun & MacBryde | |
| Ken Currie | 1960 – |
| Charles Rennie Mackintosh | 1868 – 1928 |
| Jack Vettriano | 1951 – Present |
| Actors & Actresses | |
|---|---|
| Ewan McGregor | 31 March 1971 |
| Gerard Butler | 13 November 1969 |
| Annie Lennox | 25 December 1954 |
| Calvin Harris | 17 January 1984 |
| Shirley Manson | 26 August 1966 |
| David O’Hara | 9 July 1965 |
| Joan Baez | 9 January 1941 |
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| Historical Figures | |
|---|---|
| Robert the Bruce | 1274 – 1329 |
| Rob Roy Macgregor | 1671 – 1734 |
| Flora MacDonald | 1722 – 1790 |
| William Wallace | c.1270 – 1305 |
| Bonnie Prince Charlie | 1720 – 1788 |
| Politics, Economics & Social Reform | |
|---|---|
| Andrew Carnegie | 1835 – 1919 |
| David Dale | 1739 – 1806 |
| Rev Henry Duncan | 1774 – 1846 |
| Sir Patrick Geddes | 1854 – 1932 |
| Ramsay McDonald | 1866 – 1937 |
| Adam Smith | 1723 – 1790 |
| W. E. Gladstone | 1809 – 1898 |
| Royalty | |
|---|---|
| Mary Queen of Scots | 1542 – 1587 |
| James VI (Scotland) & I (England) | 1566 – 1625 |
| Macbeth | 1005 – 1057 |
| Science & Technology | |
|---|---|
| James Clerk-Maxwell | 1831 – 1879 |
| Sir James Dewar | 1842 – 1923 |
| Sir Charles Lyell | 1797 – 1875 |
| John ‘Tar’ MacAdam | 1736 – 1836 |
| Charles MacIntosh | 1766 – 1843 |
| John Muir | 1838 – 1914 |
| James ‘Paraffin’ Young | 1811 – 1883 |
| Alexander Graham Bell | 1847 – 1922 |
| John Napier | 1550 – 1617 |
| Sir Alexander Fleming | 1881 – 1955 |
| John Dunlop | 1840 – 1921 |
| John Logie Baird | 1888 – 1946 |
| Literature | |
|---|---|
| Sir Walter Scott | 1771 – 1832 |
| J.M. Barrie | 1860 – 1937 |
| Robert Louis Stevenson | 1850 – 1894 |
| Iain Banks | 1954 – 2013 |
| Irvine Welsh | 1958 – Present |
| Robert Burns | 1759-1796 |
| Sports | |
|---|---|
| Sir Charles (Chay) Blyth | 1940 – |
| James Braid | 1870 – 1950 |
| Jim Clark | 1936 – 1968 |
| David Coulthard | 1971 – |
| Kenny Dalglish | 1951 – |
| Jimmie Guthrie | 1897 – 1937 |
| Colin Montgomerie | 1963 – |
| Graeme Obree | 1965 – |
| Jackie Stewart | 1939 – |
| Sir Chris Hoy | 1976–Present |
| Andy Murray | 1987–Present |
| Danny MacAskill | 1985–Present |
| Katherine Grainger | 1975–Present |
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| Composers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Burns (1759–1796) | James Clapperton (born 1968) | Hamish MacCunn (1868–1916) | Charles Macintosh (1839–1922) |
| Robert Carver (c. 1485–c. 1570) | Lindsay Davidson (born 1973) | John Blackwood McEwen (1868–1948) | James MacMillan (born 1959) |
| Ronald Center (1913–1973) | James Dillon (born 1950) | Edward McGuire (born 1948) | Stuart MacRae (born 1976) |
| Erik Chisholm (1904–1965) | Iain Hamilton (1922–2000) | Alexander Mackenzie (1847–1935) | William Marshall (1748–1833) |
| John McLeod (born 1934) | Gordon McPherson (born 1965) | Stuart Mitchell (born 1965) | Thea Musgrave (born 1928) |
| Morris Pert (1947–2010) | Francis George Scott (1880–1958) | James Scott Skinner (1843–1927) | Robert Archibald Smith (1780–1829) |
| Ronald Stevenson (born 1928) | William Sweeney (born 1950) | Julian Wagstaff (born 1970) | William Wallace (1860–1940) |
| Judith Weir (born 1954) | Thomas Wilson (1927–2001) | ||
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| Philosophers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| John Abercrombie (1780–1844) | Hector Boece (1465–1536) | Sir William Hamilton (1788–1888) | John Macmurray (1891–1976) |
| John Anderson (1726–1796) | Thomas Brown (1778–1820) | Henry Home, Lord Kames (1696–1782) | John Mair (1467–1550) |
| John Anderson (1893–1962) | William Cleghorn (1718–1754) | David Hume (1711–1776) | William Manderstown (c. 1485–1552) |
| Alexander Bain (1818–1903) | Adam Ferguson (1723–1816) | Alasdair MacIntyre (born 1929) | James McCosh (1811–1894) |
| Thomas Reid (1710–1796) | Duns Scotus (1265–1308) | William Small (1734–1775) | Adam Smith (1723–1790) |
| Dugald Stewart (1753–1828) | |||
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| Television and radio personalities | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaye Adams (born 1962) | Ronni Ancona (born 1968) | Dougie Anderson (born 1976) | Fiona Armstrong (born 1956) |
| Jackie Bird (born 1962) | Edith Bowman (born 1975) | Frankie Boyle (born 1972) | Gordon Buchanan |
| Bryan Burnett | Nicky Campbell (born 1962) | Kelly Cates (born 1975) | Kate Copstick |
| Stuart Cosgrove (born 1952) | Tam Cowan (born 1969) | Cat Cubie (born 1981) | Romana D’Annunzio (born 1972) |
| Jim Delahunt | Dominik Diamond (born 1969) | Jack Docherty (born 1962) | Kieron Elliot |
| Jenni Falconer (born 1976) | Craig Ferguson (born 1962) | Tommy Flanagan (born 1965)) | Sandy Gall (born 1927 |
| Kirsty Gallacher (born 1976) | George Galloway (born 1954) | Graeme Garden (born 1943) | Muriel Gray (born 1959) |
| Amanda Hamilton (born 1974) | Sarah Heaney (born 1971) | Stuart Henry (1942–1995) | Mikey Hughes (born 1974) |
| Hazel Irvine (born 1965) | Stephen Jardine (born 1963) | Alan Johnston (born 1962) | Nicci Jolly (born 1981) |
| Lorraine Kelly (born 1959) | Fiona Kennedy | Ross King (born 1961) | John Leslie (born 1965) |
| Viv Lumsden (born 1952) | Fred MacAulay (born 1956) | Cathy MacDonald | Phil MacHugh (born 1985) |
| Sarah Mack (born 1973) | John MacKay | Aggie MacKenzie (born 1955) | Sally Magnusson (born 1955) |
| Eddie Mair (born 1965) | Andrew Marr (born 1959) | Colin McAllister (born 1968) | Ian McCaskill (born 1938) |
| Scottie McClue (born 1956) | Sheena McDonald (born 1954) | Gail McGrane (born 1975) | Paul McGuire |
| Cameron McNeish | Paul Mitchell (born 1968) | Arthur Montford (1929–2014) | Aasmah Mir (born 1971) |
| Nick Nairn (born 1959) | Shereen Nanjiani (born 1961) | Neil Oliver (born 1967) | Dawn Porter (born 1979) |
| Gail Porter (born 1971) | Angus Purden (born 1974) | Judith Ralston | Gordon Ramsay (born 1966) |
| Heather Reid (born 1969) | Fyfe Robertson (1902–1987) | Tom Russell (born 1948) | Justin Ryan (born 1967) |
| Isla St Clair (born 1952) | Catriona Shearer (born 1981) | Angus Simpson | Carol Smillie (born 1961) |
| Sarah Smith (born 1968) | Iain Stirling (born 1988) | Grant Stott | Cameron Stout (born 1971) |
| Heather Suttie | Brian Taylor (born 1955) | Bill Torrance (1946) | Alison Walker (born 1963) |
| Kirsty Wark (born 1955) | Tom Weir (1914–2006) | Jim White | Kirsty Young (born 1968) |
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| Businesspersons | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| William Beardmore, 1st Baron Invernairn (1856–1936) | John (Ian) Bartholomew (1890–1962) | James Gordon Bennett, Sr. (1795–1872) | Alexander Berry (1781–1873) |
| John George Bartholomew (1860–1920) | John Bartholomew Jr. (1831–1893) | John Bartholomew, Sr. (1805–1861) | Keith Arbuthnott, 17th Viscount of Arbuthnott (born 1950) |
| Robert Aitken (1734–1802) | Arthur Anderson (1792–1868) | Alexander Arbuthnot (died 1585) | Sir George Gough Arbuthnot (1848–1929) |
| David Berry (1795–1889) | Sir George Burns, 1st Baronet (1795–1890), | Sir James Burns (1846–1923) | James Burns (1789–1871) |
| Peter Buchan (1790–1854) | David Buick (1854–1929) | John Burns, 1st Baron Inverclyde (1829–1901) | Agnes Campbell, Lady Roseburn (1637–1716) |
| Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919) | Thomas Catto, 1st Baron Catto (1879–1959) | William Chambers of Glenormiston (1800–1883) | Sir Arnold Clark (1928-2017) |
| Catherine Cranston (1849–1934) | William Cunninghame of Lainshaw (1731–1799) | David Dale (1739–1806) | William Davidson (1740–1890) |
| Adam Dawson (1793–1873) | George Dempster of Dunnichen and Skibo (1732–1818) | Peter Denny (1821–1895) | John Dewar, Sr. (1805–1880) |
| Dr. Henry Duncan (1774–1846) | John Elder (1824–1869) | Sir Tom Farmer (born 1940) B. C. Forbes (1880–1954) |
Alexander Fordyce (died 1789) |
| Hugh Fraser (1817–1853) | James Gillespie (1726–1797) | Robert Gordon (1668–1731) | Andrew Halyburton (died 1507) |
| Anita Margaret Frew (born 1957) | Ann Gloag (born 1942) | Sir Angus Grossart (born 1937) | Willie Haughey (born 1956) |
| Martin Gilbert (born 1955) | Thomas Blake Glover (1838–1911) | George Heriot (1563–1624) | Tom Hunter |
| John Lawson Johnston (1839–1900) | Irvine Laidlaw (born 1943) | John Law (1671–1729) | Thomas Leishman |
| Sir Thomas Lipton (1848–1931) | Sir George Mathewson, (born 1940) | Jim McColl (born 1951) | William McEwan (1827–1913) |
| Stewart Milne (born 1950) | Thomas Napier (1802–1881) | Alexander Cameron Sim (1840–1900) | Robert Smith, Baron Smith of Kelvin (born 1944) |
| Michelle Mone (born 1971) | William Paterson (1658–1719) | Brian Souter (born 1954) | James Stirling (1800–1876) |
| Sir David Murray (born 1951) | Thomas Sutherland (1834–1922) | David Coupar Thomson (1861–1954) | George Thomson (1815–1866) |
| William Walls (1819–1893) | William Douglas Weir, 1st Viscount Weir (1877–1959) | George Watson (1654–1723) | Wilson, Sons |
| Andrew Yule (1834–1902) | Sir David Yule, 1st Baronet (1858–1928) | George Yule (1829–1892) | |
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| Humorists | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Stanley Baxter (born 1926) | Rory Bremner (born 1961) | Kevin Bridges (born 1986) | Janet Brown (1924–2011) |
| Fred Cairns (1857-1896) | Frankie Boyle (born 1972) | Stephen Carlin | Alun Cochrane (born 1975) |
| Rhona Cameron (born 1965) | Susan Calman | Billy Connolly (born 1942) | Des Clarke |
| Ronald Balfour Corbett (born 1930) | Ivor Cutler (1923–2006) | Karen Dunbar (1971) | Craig Ferguson (born 1962) |
| Gregor Fisher (born 1953) | George Gale (1929–2003) | Janey Godley (born 1961) | Armando Iannucci (born 1963) |
| Rikki Fulton (1924–2004) | Graeme Garden (born 1943) | Greg Hemphill (born 1969) | Craig Hill |
| Phil Kay | Ford Kiernan (born 1962) | Harry Lauder (1870–1950) | David Law (1908–1971) |
| Brian Limond (born 1974) | Jimmy Logan (1928–2001) | Fred MacAulay (born 1956) | Doon Mackichan (born 1962) |
| Chic Murray (1919–1985) | Jerry Sadowitz (born 1961) | Iain Stirling (born 1988) | Ian Tough (born 1947) |
| Janette Tough (born 1947) | Danny Wallace (born 1976) | ||
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