List of personalities of the city of Edinburgh
The following list contains Edinburgh- born and temporary living personalities, listed chronologically by year of birth. The list does not claim to be complete.
Edinburgh-born personalities
Until 1750
- Alexander Alesius (1500–1565), theologian and reformer
- James I (1566–1625), King of England and Scotland
- Johannes Duraeus (1595 / 96–1680), theologian
- Johannes Schöner the Younger (1597–1656), medic
- John Law (1671–1729), economist and banker
- Thomas Aikenhead (1676–1697), medical student
- Marianus Brockie (1687–1755), Catholic theologian, philosopher and Benedictine
- William Ged (1690–1749), inventor
- James Short (1710–1768), mathematician, optician and telescope builder
- David Hume (1711–1776), philosopher, economist and historian
- James Denham-Steuart (1712–1780), economist and exponent of mercantilism
- Allan Ramsay (1713–1784), painter
- Robert Whytt (1714-1766), physician
- James Lind (1716-1794), hygiene researcher
- James Hutton (1726–1797), naturalist and geologist
- Alexander Cumming (1731 or '33 –1797), watchmaker, mathematician and mechanic
- William Falconer (1732–1769), poet
- Robert Mylne (1734–1811), architect and civil engineer
- James Keir (1735–1820), medical doctor and chemist
- John Hunter (1737–1821), Australian pioneer and governor of New South Wales
- James Anderson of Hermiston (1739-1808), agronomist writer
- James Craig (1739–1795), builder and architect
- James Boswell (1740–1795), writer and lawyer
- William Smellie (1740–1795), encyclopedist and naturalist
- John Parish (1742–1829), merchant
- William Cumberland Cruikshank (1745-1800), chemist and anatomist
- James Graham (1745-1794), physician
- Henry Mackenzie (1745-1831), writer
- Sydney C. Parkinson (1745-1771), draftsman
- Daniel Rutherford (1749–1819), chemist and botanist
- Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine (1750–1823), politician
1751 to 1800
- Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 1st Earl of Minto (1751-1814), politician and diplomat
- Elizabeth Hamilton, Countess of Derby (1753–1797), noblewoman
- Dugald Stewart (1753-1828), philosopher
- Grace Elliott (1754-1823), courtesan
- Henry Raeburn (1756–1823), portrait painter
- Alexander Nasmyth (1758–1840), portrait and landscape painter
- Isaac Cruikshank (1764-1811), watercolor painter and caricaturist
- Anne Bannerman (1765–1829), romantic poet
- Thomas Charles Hope (1766–1844), physician and chemist
- Alexander Gibsone (1770–1836), wholesale merchant in Danzig
- Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville (1771-1851), statesman
- Walter Scott (1771-1832), writer
- Alexander Monro III. (1773-1859), anatomist
- Charles Bell (1774–1842), anatomist and physiologist
- Robert Jameson (1774–1854), natural historian, mineralogist and geologist
- Patrick Syme (1774–1845), plant painter
- George Schetky (1776–1831), American composer, cellist and music publisher
- Thomas Allan (1777–1833), mineralogist, banker and newspaper editor
- Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux (1778–1868), writer, lawyer, scientist and politician
- William Allan (1782–1850), draftsman and painter
- Adam Black (1784–1874), bookseller and publisher
- William Cargill (1784–1860), captain in the British Army and colonialist in Otago
- George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (1784–1860), statesman
- Walter Lowrie (1784–1868), politician
- Gregor MacGregor (1786–1845), military leader in the South American Wars of Liberation
- Basil Hall (1788–1844), seaman, explorer and scientist
- William Home Lizars (1788–1859), painter and engraver
- Robert Knox (1791–1862), physician, scientist and traveler
- Robert Edmond Grant (1793–1874), zoologist and anatomist
- Alexander Gordon Laing (1793–1826), Africa explorer
- William Miller (1796–1882), engraver
- David Roberts (1796–1864), painter
- Thomas Drummond (1797–1840), officer, engineer, and civil servant
- Elizabeth Grant of Rothiemurchus (1797-1885), diary author
- George Arnott Walker Arnott (1799–1868), botanist
- William Jardine, 7th Baronet of Applegarth (1800–1874), ornithologist
19th century
1801 to 1850
- Georgiana Archer (1827–1882), teacher, education politician and reformer
- James Busby (1802–1871), viticulture expert, author and politician
- Robert Scott Lauder (1803-1869), artist
- Alan Stevenson (1807-1865), engineer
- John Hutton Balfour (1808-1884), physician and botanist
- Horatius Bonar (1808–1889), clergyman and poet
- James Nasmyth (1808–1890), engineer and inventor of the steam hammer
- James David Forbes (1809–1868), physicist
- Adam Clark (1811–1866), bridge construction engineer
- Andrew Murray (1812–1878), botanist, zoologist and biogeographer
- William Edmonstoune Aytoun (1813–1865), writer and poet
- Adam Wilson (1814-1891), judge and politician
- William Mactavish (1815–1870), fur trader and governor of Rupert's Land and Assiniboia Territories
- John Horrocks (1816–1881), founder and innovator of modern fly fishing
- Thomas Davidson (1817–1885), paleontologist
- David Christie (1818–1880), Canadian politician
- Alexander Melville Bell (1819–1905), researcher and author
- Edward Stafford (1819–1901), Prime Minister of New Zealand
- Adam Hamilton (1820–1907), organist, conductor, violist and composer
- William John Macquorn Rankine (1820–1872), physicist and engineer
- Henry Dunning Macleod (1821–1902), economist
- Angus Morrison (1822–1882), judge and politician
- Jemima Blackburn (1823-1909), painter
- William McGonagall (1825–1902), eccentric and poet
- William Dalrymple Maclagan (1826–1910), Archbishop of York
- Balfour Stewart (1828-1887), physicist
- James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879), physicist
- Richard Norman Shaw (1831-1912), architect
- James Stewart (1831–1905), missionary and professor
- Charles Aitchison (1832-1896), British colonial administrator in India
- Thomas Anderson (1832-1870), botanist
- James Fergusson, 6th Baronet (1832–1907), Governor of the British colonies of South Australia, New Zealand and Bombay
- John Anderson (1833-1900), zoologist
- David Boyle, 7th Earl of Glasgow (1833–1915), Captain in the Royal Navy and Governor of New Zealand
- Archibald Geikie (1835-1924), geologist
- Edmund D. Montgomery (1835–1911), philosopher, scientist and doctor
- Euphrosyne Parepa-Rosa (1836–1874), opera singer
- Peter Graham (1836–1921), landscape painter
- John MacWhirter (1837-1911), landscape painter
- Thomas Grainger Stewart (1837-1900), pathologist
- John Thomson (1837–1921), photography pioneer
- Alexander Crum Brown (1838-1922), chemist
- Robert Finlay, 1st Viscount Finlay (1842–1929), doctor and lawyer
- Alexander Keith Johnston (1844–1879), cartographer and explorer.
- Joseph Farquharson (1846–1935), landscape painter
- Alexander Graham Bell (1847–1922), speech therapist, inventor and large entrepreneur
- John Alexander Dowie (1847-1907), Congregationalist
- Alexander Mackenzie (1847–1935), composer and conductor
- Randall Thomas Davidson (1848–1930), Anglican churchman
- Bertha Drechsler Adamson (1848–1924), violinist, conductor and music teacher
- Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife (1849–1912), nobleman
- Emmy Drechsler Hamilton (1850 - after 1890), English violinist and music teacher
- Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), writer
1851 to 1900
- Francis Maitland Balfour (1851-1882), zoologist
- Frances Stephens (1851-1915), philanthropist
- James Thomson (1852–1927), engineer and architect
- Leander Jameson (1853-1917), politician
- David Alan Stevenson (1854-1938), engineer
- John Gibson (1855-1914), chemist
- Charles Alexander Stevenson (1855–1950), engineer
- Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane (1856–1928), politician, lawyer and philosopher
- Ion Keith-Falconer (1856–1887), scholar, missionary and cyclist
- Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930), doctor and writer
- Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932), writer
- John Scott Haldane (1860-1936), physiologist
- D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson (1860–1948), mathematician and biologist
- Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (1861–1928), Field Marshal
- Robert Innes (1861-1933), astronomer
- Nick Ross (1863-1894), football player
- Alan Archibald Campbell Swinton (1863-1930), electrical engineer
- James Adams (1864-1943), football player and referee
- Robert Lorimer (1864–1929), architect and furniture designer
- Alexander MacMillan (1864–1961), Presbyterian pastor and hymnologist
- Hector Munro Macdonald (1865–1935), mathematician and physicist
- Charles Usher (1865-1942), ophthalmologist
- Jimmy Ross (1866-1902), football player
- Harold Mahony (1867–1905), tennis player
- Spottiswoode Aitken (1868–1933), actor
- James Connolly (1868–1916), trade unionist, Marxist theorist and revolutionary
- Robin Welsh (1869-1934), curler
- Archibald Warden (1869-1943), tennis player
- Samuel Peploe (1871-1935), painter
- Reginald Fleming Johnston (1874–1938), academic, diplomat, and author
- Nigel Gresley (1876-1941), steam locomotive designer
- Thomas Archibald Sprague (1877–1958), botanist
- Finlay Currie (1878–1968), theater and film actor
- Ernest Torrence (1878-1933), actor
- Edmund Ironside, 1st Baron Ironside (1880–1959), officer and chief of the Imperial General Staff
- John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley (1882-1958), politician
- Francis Cadell (1883-1937), painter
- William Theodore Heard (1884–1973), Cardinal to the Curia
- William RD Fairbairn (1889-1964), psychoanalyst
- Janette Dunlop (1891–1971), physicist
- JBS Haldane (1892–1964), theoretical biologist and geneticist
- Tommy Armor (1894–1968), professional golfer
- Naomi Mitchison (1897-1999), writer
- John Stuart (1898–1979), actor
- Bruce Marshall (1899-1987), writer
- Bart McGhee (1899–1979), American football player
- Roy Henderson (1899–2000), baritone and music teacher
- Bob Boothby (1900–1986), politician
- David Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir (1900–1967), lawyer and politician
- Alastair Sim (1900–1976), actor
- Reginald Stewart (1900–1984), Canadian conductor, pianist and music educator
20th century
1901 to 1925
- Frieda Inescort (1901–1976), actress
- William Vallance Douglas Hodge (1903-1975), mathematician
- Marion Ross (1903–1994), physicist and university professor
- Chuck Gardiner (1904–1934), ice hockey goalkeeper
- Alan Richardson (1904–1978), composer and pianist
- Arthur Young (1904–1965), pianist and band leader
- Michael Innes (1906–1994), professor and crime novelist
- David Murray (1909–1973), racing car driver
- Gordon Gray (1910–1993), Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh
- Ronald Kinloch Anderson (1911–1984), pianist, music teacher and music producer
- Tommy Anderson (1911-1971), ice hockey player
- John Gollan (1911–1977), politician
- Mary Noble (1911-2002), seed pathologist
- Ivan T. Sanderson (1911-1973), writer
- Peggie Sampson (1912–2004), Canadian cellist, gambist and music teacher
- Richard Fraser (1913–1972), actor
- Ewan Roberts (1914–1983), actor; real name Thomas Robert McEwan Hutchinson
- Anthony Dawson (1916–1992), actor
- John Young (1916–1996), actor
- Muriel Spark (1918-2006), writer
- William Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw (1918–1999), politician
- Eric Melrose Brown (1919-2016), officer and test pilot
- Ludovic Kennedy (1919–2009), journalist and writer
- Ronald Speirs (1920–2007), US Army officer
- Joan Dickson (1921–1994), cellist and music teacher
- Sidney Hayers (1921–2000), film director, film editor, film producer and screenwriter
- Ron Flockhart (1923–1962), racing car driver and pilot
- Hector Laing, Baron Laing of Dunphail (1923-2010), economic manager, businessman, politician and life peer
- Pat Smythe (1923-1983), jazz musician
- Eduardo Paolozzi (1924–2005), graphic artist and sculptor, pioneer of British pop art
- Thor Vilhjálmsson (1925–2011), writer
1926 to 1950
- Rona Anderson (1926-2013), actress
- Al Fairweather (1927–1993), jazz trumpeter and band leader
- Johnny Keating (1927–2015), jazz musician and orchestra conductor
- Steven Mackie (1927-2010), theologian, ecumenist and peace activist
- Robin Matthews (1927-2010), economist and chess composer
- Christopher Hooley (1928–2018), mathematician
- John Mackenzie (1928-2011), director
- Archie Semple (1928–1974), clarinetist
- Laura Black (1929-2000), writer
- Alexander Kelly (1929–1996), pianist and music teacher
- Ian Stewart (1929-2017), racing car driver
- Alex Welsh (1929–1982), jazz musician
- Sean Connery (born 1930), actor
- Ronnie Corbett (1930–2016), actor, comedian, author and cabaret artist
- Flora Fraser, 21. Lady Saltoun (born 1930), politician
- Stan Greig (1930–2012), jazz musician
- June Smith (1930–2016), British-Australian jazz singer, trumpeter and music teacher
- Kenneth Cameron, Baron Cameron of Lochbroom (* 1931), politician and lawyer
- Alick Buchanan-Smith (1932–1991), politician
- David Gwilt (* 1932), composer
- Joan Lingard (* 1932), author of books for children and young people
- Jimmy Murray (1933-2015), football player and coach
- Dave Mackay (1934-2015), football player and coach
- Ian Richardson (1934-2007), actor
- Fergus Millar (1935–2019), ancient historian
- Keith Moffatt (* 1935), physicist
- Roy Williamson (1936–1990), musician and instrument maker
- Ronnie Browne (born 1937), folk musician
- David Mitton (1938–2008), television producer, screenwriter and director
- Christopher Walkden (1938-2011), swimmer
- Ron Brown (1940-2007), politician
- Dougal Haston (1940–1977), extreme mountaineer
- John G. Sclater (* 1940), geophysicist and university professor
- Stuart Sutcliffe (1940–1962), painter and musician
- Norman Stone (1941-2019), historian
- Charlie Aitken (born 1942), football player
- John Greig (* 1942), football player and coach
- Colin Low, Baron Low of Dalston (born 1942), politician, life peer, lawyer and university professor
- Graham Ritchie (1942-2005), archaeologist
- Fraser Stoddart (* 1942), chemist
- Albert Watson (* 1942), photographer
- Alexander Wedderburn (1942–2018), Reformed theologian
- Tam White (1942-2010), actor
- Colin William MacLeod (1943-1981), philologist
- George Smith (1943-2019), football referee
- Gilbert Adair (1944–2011), writer, film critic and columnist
- Angus Deaton (* 1945), economist
- Richard Henderson (* 1945), structural and molecular biologist
- Peter Cormack (* 1946), football player
- Graham Masterton (born 1946), author
- Malcolm Rifkind (born 1946), politician
- James Webb (1946–1980), historian and cultural scientist
- Alison Elliot (born 1948), psychologist, theologian and presbyter of the Church of Scotland
- Sandy Jardine (1948-2014), football player
- Alan Longmuir (1948-2018), musician
- Maggie Nicols (* 1948), jazz singer and dancer
- Eric Robertson (* 1948), Canadian composer
- Ian Charleson (1949–1990), film and stage actor
- Frank Doran (1949–2017), Labor Party politician
- Lou Macari (* 1949), football player and manager
- Kenneth Stevenson (1949-2011), Anglican minister
- Chris Black (born 1950), hammer thrower
- Lindsay Duncan (born 1950), actress
- Graham Hancock (* 1950), writer and journalist
- Neil Murray (* 1950), rock and pop musician
1951 to 1975
- Andy Irvine (born 1951), rugby union player
- Davey Johnstone (born 1951), guitarist
- Alan Purves (born 1952), musician
- Allan Wells (* 1952), track and field athlete
- Tony Blair (born 1953), politician
- Graeme Souness (* 1953), soccer player and coach
- Guy Innes-Ker, 10th Duke of Roxburghe (1954-2019), nobleman
- David Martin (* 1954), politician
- Myra Nimmo (* 1954), track and field athlete
- Donald Runnicles (* 1954), conductor
- Iain Duncan Smith (born 1954), politician
- RRR Smith (* 1954), Classical Archaeologist
- Les McKeown (born 1955), singer
- Ken Stott (* 1955), film and theater actor
- James Younger, 5th Viscount Younger of Leckie (born 1955), politician
- Philip Kerr (1956–2018), crime, thriller and fantasy writer
- Arthur Albiston (born 1957), football player and coach
- Ewan Stewart (born 1957), actor
- Gordon Strachan (born 1957), football player
- Paul Coletti (* 1958), violist and music teacher
- Kenny MacAskill (* 1958), lawyer and politician
- Timothy J. Mitchison (* 1958), cell biologist
- Mike Scott (* 1958), singer, guitarist and pianist
- Irvine Welsh (* 1958), writer
- Edwyn Collins (born 1959), musician
- Peter Doig (* 1959), painter
- Craig Herbertson (* 1959), musician, songwriter and writer
- John Lumsden (1960-2016), football player
- Malcolm Martineau (* 1960), pianist and accompanist
- Ian Blackford (born 1961), politician
- Iain Glen (born 1961), actor
- Gavin Hastings (born 1962), rugby union player
- Brian Kellock (* 1962), jazz pianist and composer
- John Clark (born 1964), football player
- Paul Galbraith (* 1964), guitarist
- David J. Asher (* 1966), astronomer
- Elliot Bunney (born 1966), track and field athlete
- David Harrower (born 1966), theater writer
- Shirley Manson (* 1966), lead singer and songwriter
- Nicholas Rowe (born 1966), actor
- Sara Stewart (born 1966), actress
- Michael Gove (* 1967), journalist and politician
- David Greig (born 1969), playwright
- Stephen Hendry (* 1969), professional snooker
- Anne Laird (* 1970), curler
- Harold Ian Miltner (* 1970), writer and journalist
- Simon Thoumire (* 1970), concert star, composer and music producer
- Julian Wagstaff (* 1970), composer
- Paul Telfer (* 1971), football player
- Danny Alexander (* 1972), politician
- Ewen Bremner (* 1972), actor
- Don Riddell (born 1972), presenter
- Alain Baxter (* 1973), ski racer
- Dario Franchitti (* 1973), racing car driver
- Chris Small (* 1973), snooker player
- Robin Liddell (* 1974), racing car driver
- Finley Quaye (* 1974), musician
- Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall (* 1975), musician
1976 to 2000
- Joe Heinrich (* 1976), author and cartoonist
- Chris Hoy (* 1976), racing cyclist
- Finlay Mickel (* 1977), ski racer
- Neil Alexander (* 1978), football player
- Gary Naysmith (born 1978), soccer player
- Chris Paterson (born 1978), rugby union player
- Jason White (born 1978), rugby union player
- Ben Jelen (* 1979), singer, producer and songwriter
- James McCallum (* 1979), cyclist
- Michael McIndoe (* 1979), soccer player
- Kenny Miller (born 1979), football player
- Paddy Milner (* 1980), jazz and blues pianist
- Mike Blair (born 1981), rugby union player
- Robert James Blair (* 1981), badminton player
- Calum A. Maciver (* 1981), classical scholar
- Ian Murray (born 1981), football player
- Colin Nish (born 1981), soccer player
- Craig Gordon (* 1982), soccer goalkeeper
- Allan McGregor (* 1982), soccer goalkeeper
- Daniel McMillan (* 1982), handball player and American football player
- Freya Murray (* 1983), long-distance runner
- Garry O'Connor (born 1983), football player
- Derek Riordan (born 1983), football player
- Kirsty Balfour (* 1984), swimmer
- Ross Ford (born 1984), rugby union player
- Kevin Thomson (* 1984), soccer player
- Steven Whittaker (born 1984), football player
- Christophe Berra (* 1985), football player
- Grum (* 1986), electro musician
- Scott Fraser (* 1986), orienteer
- Emma Mason (* 1986), badminton player
- Calum Elliot (* 1987), football player
- Andrew McNeil (born 1987), football player
- Lee Wallace (born 1987), football player
- Jillie Cooper (* 1988), badminton player
- David Gray (* 1988), football player
- Darren McCormack (born 1988), soccer player
- John Archibald (* 1990), cyclist
- Leigh Griffiths (born 1990), football player
- Paul Hanlon (* 1990), football player
- Craig Thomson (born 1991), football player
- Jonathan Wale (* 1991), cyclist
- Angus Beith (* 1996), soccer player
- Josh Kerr (born 1997), track and field athlete
Famous Edinburgh residents
- Alexander Buchan , father of meteorology
- John Knox , Scottish reformer
- Ian Rankin , writer; his Inspektor Rebus crime novels are also located here
- Joanne K. Rowling , writer; wrote the first volume in the Harry Potter series in an Edinburgh café
- Sir James Young Simpson , medical doctor and co-founder of anesthesia
- Robert William Thomson (1822–1873), engineer and inventor
Among the protagonists of the Enlightenment, especially the Scottish Enlightenment ("Scottish Enlightenment") is David Hume, who was born in Edinburgh, and Adam Smith , moral philosopher and pioneer of political economy. He had studied in Glasgow and worked at the universities there and in Edinburgh.