55.9533° N, 3.1894° W

EDINBURGH

Most Famous People Born in Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Notable people
2,337
Peak decade
1980s
Median birth year
1919
Most distinctive
Botanist 3.0×

Half university town, half capital. Edinburgh's notables are unusually dense in the 1700s and 1800s — botanists, chemists, physicians, judges, and engineers — a footprint that maps almost perfectly onto the Scottish Enlightenment and the Victorian scientific establishment. The modern half adds cricketers and rugby players (grouped in the data as 'player'), but the city's intellectual tilt is still its defining feature.

Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Edinburgh during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1980s with 175 notable births.

What Edinburgh Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Football is Edinburgh's biggest profession — 22% of all notables (509).

Edinburgh over-indexes on botanist3.0× the global rate.

Edinburgh under-produces politician — only 0.7× the global rate.

  1. Football509
  2. Politician182
  3. Painter103
  4. Player96
  5. Actor88
  6. Cricket57
  7. Writer55
  8. Physician42
  1. Botanist283.0×
  2. Chemist232.8×
  3. Judge302.7×
  4. Physician422.6×
  5. Engineer312.1×
  6. Player962.1×
  7. Football5092.0×
  8. Cricket571.9×
  1. Politician1820.7×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Edinburgh's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

15001550160016501700175018001850190019502000
  • Sports
  • Science
  • Politics & Law
  • Writing
  • Art & Design
  • Film & TV
  • Other
All2,337
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Showing 30 of 2,337 notable people

0035 POLITICIAN

George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen

1784 - 1860

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0069 MILITAR

Gregor MacGregor

1786 - 1845

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0146 PAINTER

William Allan (painter)

1782 - 1850

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0188 AUTHOR

George Combe

1788 - 1858

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0200 EXPLORER

Basil Hall

1788 - 1844

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0254 PUBLISHER

Adam Black

1784 - 1874

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0340 GEOGRAPHER

Alexander Maconochie (penal reformer)

1787 - 1860

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0356 GEOLOGIST

Leonard Horner

1785 - 1864

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0396 POLITICIAN

George Hay, 8th Marquess of Tweeddale

1787 - 1876

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0441 PAINTER

William Home Lizars

1788 - 1859

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0442 POLITICIAN

Walter Lowrie (politician)

1784 - 1868

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0455 ARCHITECT

William Burn

1789 - 1870

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0473 ENTREPRENEUR

George Bruce (industrialist)

1781 - 1866

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0521 NOVELIST

Susan Edmonstone Ferrier

1782 - 1854

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0559 PAINTER

Patrick Nasmyth

1787 - 1831

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0576 POLITICIAN

William Cargill

1784 - 1860

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0868 BUSINESS

John Howell (polyartist)

1788 - 1863

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0975 PAINTER

John Watson Gordon

1788 - 1864

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0988 PAINTER

Jane Nasmyth

1788 - 1867

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1033 PAINTER

Andrew Geddes (artist)

1783 - 1844

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1125 PAINTER

Andrew Wilson (artist)

1780 - 1848

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1185 PAINTER

Alexander George Fraser

1786 - 1865

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1278 THEOLOGIAN

Christopher Anderson (theologian)

1782 - 1852

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1316 PAINTER

Patrick Gibson (artist)

1782 - 1829

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1431 POLITICIAN

George Ferguson (Royal Navy officer)

1788 - 1867

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1523 SURGEON

David Maclagan

1785 - 1865

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2113 POLITICIAN

John Learmonth

1789 - 1858

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2146 BUSINESS

M. D. Cockburn

1789 - 1869

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2163 PHYSICIAN

Joshua Henry Davidson

1785 - 1847

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2275 SURVIVOR

Francis Erskine Loch

1788 - 1868

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