List of famous Scots
Scotland, part of the United Kingdom, seems to have more than its fair share of famous and influential men and women for its size and population. The following is a list of some of the best known.
Actors
- Billy Boyd, (born 1968)
- Robert Carlyle, (born 1961)
- Robbie Coltrane, (born 1950)
- Sean Connery, (born 1930)
- Billy Connolly (born 1942)
- Tom Conti, (born 1941)
- Brian Cox
- Alan Cumming, (born 1965)
- Rikki Fulton, (born 1924)
- James Robertson Justice, (1905-1975)
- Deborah Kerr, (born 1921)
- Fulton Mackay, (1922-1987)
- Ewan McGregor, (born 1971)
- David Niven, (1909-1983)
- Alastair Sim, (1900-1976)
Architects
Artists
Business
Composers
Engineers and Inventors
- Sir William Arrol, (1839-1913), bridge builder
- Alexander Graham Bell, (1847-1922), telephone, National Geographic, Hydrofoil
- John Logie Baird, (1888-1946), television
- James Chalmers, (1782-1853), adhesive postage stamp
- Sir Dugald Clerk, (1854-1932), two-stroke Clerk Cycle engine
- John Boyd Dunlop, the modern rubber tyre
- Sir Robert McAlpine (Concrete Bob), (1847-1934), road builder
- Charles Macintosh, (1766-1843), patented waterproofing
- John McAdam modern road construction
- James Nasmyth, (1802-1890), Steam Hammer
- Thomas Telford, (1757-1834)
- James Watt, (1736-1819)
Humourists
Musicians
- Ian Anderson singer, flautist, songwriter, and guitarist Jethro Tull
- Ali Bain fiddler
- David Byrne, (born 1952)
- Phil Cunningham accordionist
- Donovan, (born 1946)
- Fish, (born 1958)
- Sheena Easton
- Roddy Frame songwriter Aztec Camera
- Evelyn Glennie, (born 1965), percussionist
- Hamish Henderson folk song collector and writer
- Annie Lennox, (born 1954)
- Sir Harry Lauder, (1870-1950)
- Lulu, (born 1948)
- James Kerr (Jim), (born 1959)
- Mark Freuder Knopfler, (born 1949)
- Michael Marra songwriter
- Dougie MacLean contemporary folk songwriter
- Ewan MacColl, (1915-1989), folk-singer/songwriter
- Kenneth McKellar
- Craig Reid (born 1962) songwriter The Proclaimers
- Charles Reid (Charlie) (born 1962) songwriter The Proclaimers
- Jimmy Shand
- Andy Stewart, (1933-1994)
- James Ure (Midge), (born 1953)
- Lena Zavaroni (1963-1999)
Philosophers
Rulers, Politicians
- Tony Blair, (born 1953), UK Prime Minister
- Gordon Brown, (born 1951), Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer
- Robert the Bruce, Robert I of Scotland
- Bonnie Prince Charlie, The Young Pretender to the throne of Great Britain
- Donald Dewar, (born 1937), Scotland First Minister
- Robert Cunninghame-Graham ('Don Roberto') aristocrat socialist
- Jo Grimond, (1913-1993), Liberal Party leader from 1956 to 1967
- James VI of Scotland and I of England, (1603-1625)
- Jimmy Maxton, leader of the Independent Labour Party
- Tom Johnston (Tam), post WW2 Secretary of State for Scotland
- Mary, Queen of Scots, (1542-1587)
- Macbeth, King on the receiving end of a bad press
- John MacCormick, Nationalist
- John A. Macdonald, First Prime Minister of Canada
- Margo MacDonald, Nationalist
- Ramsay Macdonald, (1866-1937), UK Prime minister
- Malcolm Macdonald
- Alex Salmond, Nationalist (SNP leader 1990-2000)
- Jim Sillars, founder of Scottish Labour Party, MP
- John Smith, (1938-1994) Labour Party leader
- David Steel, (born 1938), Liberal Party leader from 1976 to 1988
- William Wallace, (c. 1270-1305), a.k.a. Braveheart
Scientists
- James Dewar, (1842-1923), low temperature physicist, invented the vacuum flask
- Alexander Fleming, (1881-1955), biologist
- Professor George Forbes, (1849-1936), electrical engineering, hydro-electric power generation
- Thomas Graham, (1805-1869), chemist
- James Hutton, (1726-1797), put geology on a scientific basis
- Joseph Lister, (1827-1912), surgeon, pioneered antisepsis techniques
- James Clerk Maxwell, (1831-1879), thermodynamics and electromagnetic theorist
- John Napier, (1550-1617), mathematician (see logarithms)
- Mary Fairfax Sommerville, mathematician and astronomer
- Robert Watson-Watt, (1892-1973), invented radar
- Paraffin Young a.k.a. James Young, James (Paraffin) Young
Sportsmen and -women
- Ken Buchanan, (born 1945), world champion boxer
- Jimmy Clark Formula 1 driver
- David Coulthard, (born 1971), Formula 1 driver
- Kenny Dalglish, (born 1951), footballer and a manager of Liverpool F.C.
- Alex Ferguson footballer and a manager of Manchester United F.C.
- Dougal Haston mountaineer
- Benny Lynch, (1913-1946), world champion boxer
- Hamish MacInnes mountaineer
- Colin MacRae world champion rally driver
- Ally McCoist, (born 1962), football player
- Elizabeth McColgan (Liz), (born 1964), althlete
- Billy McNeill footballer and a manager of Glasgow Celtic F.C.
- Graham Obree broke world hour record (on a home-made bike)
- Jackie Stewart world champion Formula 1 driver
- Jim Watt world champion boxer, won the WBC World Lightweight title
- David Wilkie (swimmer)
Television Personalities
Theologians
Writers
See List of Scottish writers
Others
- Alison Balfour, a "notorious witch"
- Helen Duncan, "Hellish Nell", the last woman to be tried under the witchcraft act
- Craig Ferguson, (born 1962)
- Muriel Gray, (born 1959), author, broadcaster and businesswoman
- Douglas Haig, (1861-1928), commander-in-chief of British forces during World War I
- Elsie Inglis, medical reformer and suffragette
- John Paul Jones, (1747-1792), admiral of the Russian and American Navies
- Captain Kidd, (1645-1701), pirate
- David Livingstone, (1813-1873), explorer, missionary
- Flora Macdonald, jacobite and empire loyalist
- Rob Roy MacGregor, romantic outlaw
- John James Richard Macleod, (1876-1935)
- John Muir, (1838-1914), 19th century environmentalist
- Robert Noble
- Allan Pinkerton, (1819-1884), US detective
- Sir William Ramsay
- John Charles Walsham Reith, (1889-1971), a.k.a Lord Reith, first Director General of BBC
- James Clark Ross, (1800-1862), explorer
- Alexander Selkirk, (1676-1723), inspiration for Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe
- Christian Shaw, started the Paisley thread industry
- Moira Shearer
- Mary Slessor, missionary and advocate for women's rights
- Adam Smith, (1723-1790), economist, free trade, laisser-faire, division of labour
- Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland, enthusiastic contributor to the Highland Clearances
- Josephine Tey, (1896-1952), writer
- Robert William Thomson
- Kirsty Wark, (born 1955), journalist and broadcaster
See also: List of people by nationality, List of Kings of the Picts
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