100 Scottish People

Scotland's national poet, commemorated annually on 25th January

16th century Catholic monarch whose 25-year reign was mired in sectarian divisions, political conspiracy and tensions with her cousin Elizabeth I

Economist and political philosopher who wrote "The Wealth of Nations"

Scotland's first female First Minister and most electorally successful leader of the Scottish National Party

Suave actor who starred as 007 in seven James Bond movies

Scottish-American inventor who was awarded the patent for the first practical telephone

Electrical engineer who demonstrated the first successful working television system in 1926

Comedian and national treasure, known as the 'Big Yin'

This British Prime Minister presided over the fallout following the Great Recession of 2007-08

Actor best-known for starring as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who

Short-haired singer who, along with Dave Stewart, formed the new wave duo Eurythmics

Author who created Sherlock Holmes

14th century monarch who led the armies of Scotland in the First War of Scottish Independence

Engineer renowned for inventing the steam engine

Leith rock duo comprised of twin brothers Craig and Charlie Reid

Physician credited with discovering penicillin

DJ and record producer whose debut album was entitled "I Created Disco"

Actor who starred as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Episodes I-III of Star Wars

Scottish Enlightenment philosopher who wrote "A Treatise of Human Nature"

Satirist and screenwriter whose productions include The Thick of It, Veep and The Death of Stalin

Arguably Britain's most successful Labour Prime Minister

Tennis player who won the 2012, 2013 and 2016 Wimbledon Championships

Author of "Trainspotting" and "Filth", known for writing in vernacular Scots

Heroine who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie evade government troops after the Battle of Culloden

Actress who starred as Nebula in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Olympic rower who currently serves as Chancellor of the University of Glasgow

BAFTA-winning Maryhill actor who starred as Gareth "Gaz" Schofield in The Full Monty

19th century novelist whose works include "Kidnapped", "Treasure Island" and "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"

Trade unionist who founded the Labour Party

Former Downing Street Director of Communications and political pundit who currently hosts the Rest is Politics podcast

Outlaw who became one of the best known figures of the Jacobite Risings

Knight lionised for defeating English forces at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297

Army officer who founded the Special Air Service during the Second World War

Physicist best known for developing his theory of electromagnetic radiation

This Paisley-born singer's greatest hit was undoubtedly "Baker Street"

Author, podcaster and former Conservative Party cabinet minister who was ousted from Parliament for rebelling against Boris Johnson's Brexit deal

Founder of the Church of Scotland and notable critic of Elizabeth I

"Ivanhoe" novellist, after whom a large monument in Edinburgh is dedicated

Manager of Manchester United from 1986 to 2013

Dundonian actor who starred as media mogul Logan Roy in Succession

Novelist and playwright best known for creating "Peter Pan"

Civil engineer known for designing major road and canal networks, and after whom a town in Shropshire is named

Track cyclist who won three gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games

Eurovision-winning singer who performed the title song for the the 1974 Bond movie The Man With the Golden Gun

Actor who starred as political spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It

This doctor, explorer and Christian missionary was famously found by Henry Morton Stanley in modern-day Tanzania in 1871

Post-Elizabethan British monarch remembered for his opposition to tobacco and witchcraft

Hollywood actor whose film credits include Charles Xavier in X-Men and Nicholas Garrigan in The Last King of Scotland

Actress who voiced Princess Merida in the 2012 Pixar animated movie Brave

Controversial Glaswegian comedian who in 2010 was condemned for a series of jokes about Katie Price's disabled son

Christian athlete whose running career was depicted in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire

SNP and Alba politician who was First Minister of Scotland during the 2014 Independence Referendum

Conservative Prime Minister and former professional cricketer who succeeded Harold Macmillan

Lanarkshire singer who performed the theme song to the 1981 Bond movie For Your Eyes Only

Glaswegian architect and designer widely recognised as one of the leading figures of the Art Nouveau movement

Singer-songwriter of Italian heritage whose albums include "Sunny Side Up" and "Caustic Love"

Glaswegian actor who starred as the Spartan king Leonidas in 300

Actor who starred as Eli Gold in The Good Wife, and is a leading voice for LGBTQ+ rights

Actor known to many as police detective Steve Arnott in Line of Duty

18th biographer famed for his work "The Life of Samuel Johnson"

Actor known for his roles as Dr. Eddie FitzGerald in Cracker and Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter films

Crime writer who created the Edinburgh detective DI John Rebus

Former professional footballer who was a regular pundit on Match of the Day from 1992 to 2014

Singer who rose to fame after performing "I Dreamed a Dream" on Britain's Got Talent

Dunbartonshire writer and surgeon best remembered for his 1771 novel "The Expedition of Humphrey Clinker"

Glasgow University physicist who accurately determined the value of absolute zero, and after whom a temperature scale is named

Novelist and Governor-General of Canada who wrote "The Thirty-Nine Steps"

Rwandan-Scottish actor who starred as the fourteenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who

Comedian who hosted a late night talk show on CBS between 2005 and 2014

Politician who briefly served as Prime Minister between October 1922 and May 1923 before retiring due to ill health

Knighted footballer who played for both Celtic and Liverpool

Physicist credited with the discovery of carbon dioxide

Conservative journalist and broadcaster who has edited both the Sunday Times and the Spectator magazine

In 1999, this Labour politician became the inaugural First Minister of Scotland

Singer-songwriter whose debut album was "Erratic Cinematic"

18th century polymath sometimes known as the 'Father of Modern Geology'

During the COVID-19 pandemic, this future First Minister served as Scotland's Health Secretary

Tourette's-afflicted Glaswegian singer whose song "Someone You Loved" was one of the biggest global hits of 2019

11th century Scottish king whose life was fictionalised in Shakespeare's play of the same name

Popular author of "The Wasp Factory"

Actor who starred as Robb Stark in Game of Thrones and Sergeant David Budd in Bodyguard

Renfrewshire-born celebrity chef known for his fiery on-screen demeanour and liberal use of profanity

As of 2025, this man currently serves as Scotland's First Minister

Singer and producer who was part of Thin Lizzy and Ultravox

Author of the Harry Potter book series

Britain's first Labour Party Prime Minister

As of 2024, this swimmer is Scotland's most decorated Olympian

Retired Formula One racing driver sometimes known as "The Flying Scot"

Between 1978 and 1983, this serial killer murdered at least twelve people at his home in Muswell Hill

Distance runner whose 1991 10,000m record was smashed by her daughter Eilish in 2022

Supermarket tycoon and education patron after whom colleges at both Cambridge and Oxford Universities are named

This R&B singer, who performed the song "Read All About It", originally studied neuroscience at the University of Glasgow

Former lead singer of Wet Wet Wet

Early Modern mathematician who popularised the use of the decimal point and is credited with the invention of logarithms

Author of the "No.1 Ladies Detective Agency" book series

Pakistani-Glaswegian restauranteur credited with inventing the chicken tikka masala

Popular leader of the Labour Party who died of a sudden heart attack in 1994

Former UK Secretary of State for Defence who served as Secretary General of NATO between 1999 and 2003

'Tartan Noir' crime author whose books were adapted into the BBC thriller series Wire in the Blood

Actor who starred as Dr. Alexander Isaacs in Resident Evil and Jorah Mormont in Game of Thrones