Nemo me impune lacessit *
Scots who have made their Mark
at home and abroad
Some Examples: part I
I can only make room here for a small portion of notable examples of Scots who have made their mark
on the world. For every name chosen, there are fifty that could have rightly replaced them.
To get a better idea of just how remarkable are the achievements of men and women from this small
nation let us consider some statistics:
•
People of Scottish ancestry make up less than one half of one percent of the Earth’s population
•
4.3% of America's population are of Scottish extraction
•
11% of Nobel Prizes have been won by people of Scottish ancestry
•
75% of American presidents had Scottish blood in their veins
Scotland's Hall of Fame ... Want to add your nominations?
Robert Adam (1728 - 1792)
An architect noted for his elegant terraces in the New Town of Edinburgh,
together with many fine public buildings and also much Georgian
development in London.
Sir William Arrol (1839 - 1913)
Engineer. Responsible for the Forth Rail Bridge
and the replacement Tay Rail Bridge which
were the two most substantial bridges in the
world of their time and are still in constant use
today. Also worked on Tower Bridge in London.
John Logie Baird (1888 - 1946)
Engineer. Inventor of the television and later developed ideas
such as colour, 3-D and large screen television. Also took out
a patent on fibre-optics, a technology now used to carry many
telephone calls and traffic on the internet.
Sir James Barrie (1860 - 1937)
Author and Playright. Best known
for the creation of Peter Pan, the
boy who would not grow up.
Alexander Graham Bell (1847 - 1922)
Born in Edinburgh. Having emigrated to Canada
and later the USA, Bell became the inventor of
the telephone in 1876.
Rev. Patrick Bell (1800 - 1869)
In 1828, he invented the reaping machine which was a
direct precursor of the modern combine harvester. As a
man of God, he did not take out a patent, believing that
his invention should benefit all mankind. Between 1831
and 1834, William Manning, Obed Hussey and Cyrus
McCormick took advantage of his altruism.
Joseph Black (1728 - 1799)
Chemist. Professor of Anatomy and Chemistry in Glasgow University (1756) and
then Professor of Medicine and Chemistry in Edinburgh (1766). Developed the
concept of "Latent Heat" and discovered Carbon Dioxide ("Fixed Air"). Regarded
as the Father of Quantitative Chemistry.
Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane (1773 - 1860)
Soldier and Astronomer, born in Largs, Ayrshire. Governor-General of the
Australian state of New South-Wales. Set up an observatory and catalogued
more than 7000 stars. The city of Brisbane (Australia) is named after him.
Alexander Crum Brown (1838 - 1922)
Organic chemist, born in Edinburgh. He studied in London and Leipzig before
returning to Edinburgh in 1863, holding the chair of Chemistry, which now
bears his name, until his death. He devised the system of representing chemical
compounds in diagrammatic form, with connecting lines representing bonds.
Robert the Bruce (1274 - 1329)
Crowned King of Scotland in 1306, he defeated the English
king Edward II at Bannockburn in 1314. His victories
assured Scotland of its independence. (see more in my
web page “securing the nation”) Link to the page
Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Poet and Writer. Amongst many other works he wrote "Auld Lang Syne"
which is now sung world-wide at the end of functions and particularly at
the end of the year. The Scots celebrate "Burn's Night" on the 25th
January.
Andrew Carnegie (1835 - 1918)
U.S. iron and steel magnate and great philanthropist. Born to
to poor parents in Dunfermline, in Fife, his story is truly one
of rags to riches. He gave a considerable proportion of his
fortune to the benefit of Scotland, including substantial
educational endowments and 10,000 church organs. Altogether
his charitable donations totaled nearly 400 million dollars.
James Chalmers (1782 - 1853)
Dundee Inventor, Bookseller and Newspaper
publisher. Invented the adhesive postage stamp,
which made Rowland Hill's Penny Postal
service a practical proposition.
Saint Columba (c. 521 - 597)
An Irish missionary who founded a monastery on
the Island of Iona in 563 in an attempt to convert
the Picts. Regarded as Scotland's second Patron
Saint after St. Andrew.
Billy Connolly (1942 - )
Glasgow-born comedian and TV
personality known as "The Big Yin".
Appeared in the U.S. situation-
comedy "Head of the Class".
Rev. Alexander Forsyth (1769 - 1848)
Inventor of the percussion cap. Fond of game shooting, he realised the major problem with the flint-lock
gun was its unreliability in damp conditions. The percussion cap ignited an enclosed charge when struck
by a hammer. This was later developed into the modern bullet.
William Ged (1690 - 1749)
Printer, goldsmith and the inventor of stereotyping and the 'lost wax' process of metal casting used for
reproducing delicate designs, especially in the jewellery trade.
Thomas Graham (1805 - 1869)
Born in Glasgow and educated at
Glasgow University. Formulated
"Graham's Law" on the diffusion
of gases. Father of colloid
chemistry.
James Gregory (1638 - 1675)
Inventor of the reflecting
telescope, which was developed
three years later by Isaac Newton.
David Hume (1711 - 1776)
Philosopher, agnostic and leading figure of the Scottish Enlightenment and
Western philosophy, Hume wrote on human nature, politics and introduced
the concept of social history. As a philosopher, historian, economist, and
essayist he is known especially for his philosophical empiricism and scepticism.
Elsie Inglis (1864 - 1917)
A leading surgeon and suffragette. She improved maternity facilities and
fought for better healthcare for women in Scotland. She set up a maternity
hosptial in Edinburgh staffed only by women. During the First World War,
she set up hospitals for the troops in Serbia and Russia.
John Paul Jones (1747 - 1792)
Born in Dumfriesshire, he joined the navy and spent time
in Russia and France during the French Revolution. Most
notably he established the U.S. Navy.
John Knox (1505 - 1572)
Churchman and father of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland, whereby the Roman
Catholic church was replaced by a disestablished, democratic, presbyterian Church of
Scotland, founded on Calvanist principles. Bitterly opposed by the catholic Mary Queen
of Scots.
Eric Henry Liddell (1902 - 1945)
Scottish athlete, rugby union international player, and missionary, who
was forced to choose between his religious beliefs and competing in an
Olympic race. Despite this, he still won Gold and Bronze Medals in the
1924 Olympics. His life is remembered in the 1981 film "Chariots of Fire".
Sir Thomas Lipton (1850 - 1931)
Grocer and entrepreneur. Born in Port Glasgow, Lipton revolutionised the retail
grocery trade, developing many marketing techniques which are used by
supermarkets today. He ensured supplies by buying, for example, tea plantations
in Sri Lanka. He quickly became a millionaire, enabling him to challenge
consistently but unsuccessfully for the Americas Cup (yachting), he also started
the World Cup in football (soccer) in 1910. He left a substantial benefaction to the
City of Glasgow.
David Livingstone (1813 - 1873)
Explorer and medical missionary. First white man to
travel the length of Lake Tanganyika, discovered
Victoria Falls and set out to discover the source of
the Nile, but died before acheiving his aim. When
Henry Stanley was sent to look for Livingstone, he
uttered the famous greeting "Dr Livingstone, I presume".
James Boswell (1740 - 1795)
Biographer and Traveller. Although a lawyer by profession,
Boswell travelled widely in Europe, writing accounts as he
went in his distinctive style. Perhaps his best known work
described his journey with Dr. Samuel Johnson to the
Scottish Highlands & Islands.
James Andrew Broun-Lindsay (Marquis of Dalhousie) (1812 - 1860)
Governor-General of India. Carried out the peaceful annexation of the
Punjab. Organised government across all departments; railways, roads,
irrigation. Opened the Ganges Canal.
James Bruce (1730 - 1794)
Explorer, born in Stirlingshire. Discovered the source of the Blue
Nile in 1770. Was congratulated by the French, but the English did
not believe him.
John Buchan (Baron Tweedsmuir) (1875 - 1940)
Author, biographer and politician. Perhaps best
known for "The Thirty-Nine Steps". Was also a
member of parliament and Governor-General of
Canada.
Thomas Carlyle (1795 - 1881)
Writer and literary critic. Wrote on a diversity of topics from
the French Revolution to Oliver Cromwell. Became rector of
Edinburgh University in 1866.
James (Jim) Clark (1936 - 1968)
Twice world champion racing
driver and won seven Grand prix
races in a row, twenty-five in all,
breaking the previous record of
twenty-four.
George Cleghorn (1716 - 1794)
Army surgeon who discovered that quinine bark acted
as a cure for Malaria, a form of which was endemic in
Britain at that time.
Sean Connery (1930 - )
Actor. Perhaps best known as James
Bond, but more recent roles have
included "The Untouchables", for which
he won an Oscar and the "Hunt for Red
October". Also an accomplished amateur
golfer.
Washington's talents and sent
him to resist the French. Thus
he was an important figure in
American History and has
been called the "Grandfather
of the United States".
Kenneth Grahame (1859 - 1932)
Author. His best known work is
"The Wind in the Willows", later
dramatised by A.A. Milne as "Toad
of Toad Hall".
John Graham of Claverhouse,
1st Viscount Dundee (1648– 89)
“Bonny Dundee” of the well
known song raised the Highlands
for James VII culminating in his
famous victory at Killiecrankie.
Mortally wounded, his success
could not be followed through.
James Graham, 1st Marquess
of Montrose (1612 – 1650)
His "spectacular" victories, which
took his opponents by surprise, are
remembered in military history for
their tactical brilliance. Supported
the royalists in the civil wars,
executed on their defeat.
Neil Gunn (1891 - 1973)
Novelist, born in Caithness. One
of the foremost novelists of the
twentieth century Scottish
literary renaissance. Best known
for "The Silver Darlings" and
"Highland River".
Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (1861 - 1928)
Field Marshall. Commanded the allied troops on the Western Front during the First
World War. Later criticised for conduct of the campaign because of the very high
casualty figures. Founded the Earl Haig Fund for the assistance of disabled ex-
servicemen (poppy appeal).
James Hutton (1726 - 1797)
Father of modern Geology. His theory of Uniformitarianism was the
basis of the explanation of the geological history of the earth, which
had in his words "no vestige of a beginning, no concept of an end".
Published his "Theory of the Earth" in 1785.
James VI (1566 - 1625)
Son of the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots, who had been brought up a
Prestbyterian. In 1603, on the death of Queen Elizabeth I, he acceded to the
English throne as James I. Although this "Union of the Crowns" resulted in
James being King of both countries, the countries remained
separate for another 104 years.
William Kidd (Captain Kidd) (1645 - 1701)
Infamous pirate and privateer, born in Greenock, Renfrewshire. He traded a small
merchant fleet from New York. Fought as a privateer to protect Anglo- American
trade routes in the West Indies and in 1691 was rewarded by New York City.
Employed by the British Navy to stamp out piracy in the Indian Ocean, but instead
became one of them. Surrendered in Boston in 1699, transported to London, tried and
hanged.
Sir Harry Lauder (1870 - 1950)
Singer and Music Hall Entertainer. Came from a poor family to become
a world-famous entertainer. Did much to foster an image of Scots as kilt-
wearing, whisky drinking and careful with money. Well loved at home
and in the U.S.A. for songs such as "Roamin' in the Gloamin'" and
"A wee Doch an Dorus".
James Lind (1716 - 1794)
Scottish physician and pioneer of naval hygiene in the Royal Navy. By
conducting the first ever clinical trial,[1] he developed the theory that citrus
fruits cured scurvy. His work advanced the practice of preventive medicine
and improved nutrition.
Joseph Lister (1827 - 1912)
A surgeon who pioneered the use of antiseptics
and thereby dramatically reduced the number of
post-opertive deaths due to infection.
Sir William Fairbairn
(1789 - 1874)
Born in Kelso, he became an
engineer. He developed the
idea of using tubular steel as
a construction material,
which was much stronger
than solid steel.
Thomas Blake Glover (1838 - 1911)
Born in Aberdeenshire, Glover went first to Shanghai in China and then to Nagasaki
as agent of the Jardine Matheson trading company. He was awarded the highest
"Order of the Rising Sun" for his contribution to modernising Japan,
through industrialisation and smuggling Japanese students abroad to gain a better
education. He may have provided the model for Puccini's 1904 Opera "Madame
Butterfly".
John Boyd Dunlop (1840 - 1921)
Inventor. Developed the pneumatic
tyre which was to improve the comfort
of cyclists and later motorists. Dunlop
did not invent the pneumatic tyre, it
was actually invented by Robert
William Thomson.
Sir Alexander Fleming (1881 - 1955)
Born in Ayrshire, he discovered the world's first
antibiotic drug - Penicillin. This was as a result of an
"accident" where mould was allowed to grow on a
bacterial culture. Fleming was knighted and received
the Nobel Prize in 1944.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle .
(1859 - 1930)
Author. Creator of the detective
Sherlock Holmes. He graduated from
Edinburgh University in medicine
and practised in Edinburgh, aboard
ship and in the Boer War.
Robert Dinwiddie (1693 - 1770)
Born near Glasgow, and as the Lieutenant-Governor
of Virginia insisted the colonies raise money for
their own protection. Discovered George
Sir James Dewar (1842 - 1923)
Physicist and Chemist, born in Kincardine, Fife.
Best known for his work with low-temperature
phenomena. The inventor of the vacuum flask, he
was the first person to
produce hydrogen in
liquid form (1898) and to
solidify it (1899). He
constructed a machine for
producing liquid oxygen
in quantity
Sir Hugh Dalrymple (Lord Drummore)
(1700 - 1753)
Invented hollow-pipe drainage. This innovation
allowed the drying of water-logged land, bringing
large areas into agricultural production.
Captain James Cook (1728 – 1779)
Second son to James Cook, a Scottish farm labourer from Ednam near Kelso, he rose
from humble beginnings through the ranks of the merchant marine then the Royal
Navy. Known for his expeditions and discoveries in the Pacific, he displayed a
combination of seamanship, superior surveying and cartographic skills, physical
courage and an ability to lead men in adverse conditions.
