Famous Scots Past & PresentScottish History > Famous Scots Scotland, small as we are, has produced a fair amount of exceptional people who have excelled in their chosen field, and become famous.
Can you imagine life without the telephone, or television? Aren't we grateful for Penicillan? When we drive on the road we take the Tarmac for granted, and as we pour tea or coffee into our vacuum flask, we don't give it a second thought. It's only when you really think about all of these things that you find it difficult to imagine what life was like before they were invented or discovered. And over the years I have been entertained by some brilliant actors and musicians, poets and authors, and dedicated sportsmen and women not only from Scotland, but from all over the world. I'd love to write about them all, but for now though, I'll concentrate only on Famous Scots. 1274 - 1329 Robert the Bruce, who became King of Scotland in 1306. 1542 - 1587 Mary, Queen of Scots, our last Roman Catholic monarch. 1645 - 1701 William Kidd, infamous pirate known as Captain Kidd. 1720 - 1788 Charles Edward Stuart - Bonnie Prince Charlie. 1722 - 1790 Flora MacDonald, who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape. 1736 - 1819 James Watt, who developed the steam engine. 1747 - 1792 John Paul Jones, who established the US Navy. 1756 - 1836 John McAdam, who developed the road covering, tarmac. 1759 - 1796 Robert Burns, poet and writer, famous for 'Auld Lang Syne'. 1766 - 1842 Charles Macintosh, who developed the Macintosh raincoat. 1771 - 1832 Sir Walter Scott, famous poet and author. 1781 - 1868 Sir David Brewster, who invented the kaleidoscope. 1813 - 1873 David Livingstone, medical missionary and explorer. 1815 - 1891 Sir John Alexander MacDonald, first Prime Minister of Canada. 1835 - 1918 Andrew Carnegie, famous iron & steel magnate. 1840 - 1921 John Boyd Dunlop, who developed the pneumatic tyre. 1842 - 1923 Sir James Dewar, inventor of the vacuum flask. 1847 - 1922 Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone. 1850 - 1894 Robert Louis Stevenson, author of 'Treasure Island' and 'Kidnapped'. 1859 - 1930 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of 'Sherlock Holmes'. 1860 - 1937 Sir James Barrie, creator of Peter Pan. 1875 - 1940 John Buchan, biographer and author of the "Thirty Nine Steps". 1888 - 1946 John Logie Baird, who invented the television. 1891 - 1955 Sir Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin. 1902 - 1945 Eric Liddell, his Olympic success was portrayed in "Chariots of Fire". 1909 - 1994 Sir Matt Busby, manager of the 'Busby Babes' Manchester United team. 1913 - 1981 Bill Skankly, manager of one of the best Liverpool sides ever. 1922 - 1985 Jock Stein, most successful Celtic football club manager. 1936 - 1968 Jim Clark, twice world champion racing driver.
1939 - Jackie Stewart, three times world champion racing driver. 1939 - Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United, and the most successful manager in British football. 1942 - Willie Carson, champion jockey and jockey for the Queen. 1942 - Billy Connelly, famous comedian and actor. 1948 - Jm Watt, WBC world lightweght boxing champion in 1979. 1949 - Mark Knopfler, lead singer with "Dire Dtraits". 1950 - Robbie Coltrane, actor, real name, Anthony Robert McMillan. 1951 - Kenny Dalglish, arguably Scotland's most successful footballer. 1952 - Annie Lennox, singer, prevoiusly with "Eurythmics". 1971 - Ewan McGregor, hollywood film star. 1976 - Chris Hoy, most successful Scottish Olympian, with 3 gold medals for cycling in Beijing 2008. This is my list of famous Scots. It is not comprehensive, there are many more, too many to mention by name, but they will all be remembered.
Home | About | Contact | Privacy | Site Map
|
