This is a list of notable graduates as well as non-graduate former students, academic staff , and university officials of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland . It also includes those who may be considered alumni by extension, having studied at institutions that later merged with the University of Edinburgh.[dubious – discuss ] The university is associated with 20 Nobel Prize laureates, three Turing Award winners, an Abel Prize laureate and Fields Medallist , four Pulitzer Prize winners, three Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom , and several Olympic gold medallists.
Government and politics [ edit ]
Heads of state and government [ edit ]
Gordon Brown , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Cabinet and Party Leaders [ edit ]
Amber Rudd , Home Secretary
David Steel , Leader of the Liberal Democrats
Douglas Alexander , Secretary of State for International Development (2007–2010), Secretary of State for Scotland (2006–2007) and Secretary of State for Transport (2006–2007)
Michael Ancram, 13th Marquess of Lothian , Chairman of the Conservative Party (1998–2001)
John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley , Home Secretary (1939–1940), Lord President of the Council (1940–1943) and Chancellor of the Exchequer (1943–1945)
Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux , Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (1830–1834)
David Campbell Bannerman , Chairman of the UK Independence Party (2005–2006), Deputy Leader (2006–2010)
Robin Cook , Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1997–2001), Leader of the House of Commons (2001–2003) and President of the Party of European Socialists (2001–2004)
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville , Home Secretary (1791–1794), Secretary of State for War (1794–1801) and First Lord of the Admiralty (1804–1805)
Anneliese Dodds , Chair of the Labour Party (2021–)
George Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk , First Lord of the Admiralty (1957–1959), Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1955–1957)
Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville , First Lord of the Admiralty (1812–1830)
Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 2nd Earl of Minto , First Lord of the Admiralty (1835–1841)
Robert Finlay, 1st Viscount Finlay , Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (1916–1919)
Sir John Gilmour, 2nd Baronet , Home Secretary (1932–1935)
Auckland Geddes, 1st Baron Geddes , President of the Board of Trade (1919–1920)
William Graham , President of the Board of Trade (1929–1931)
Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane , Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (1912–1915; 1924), Secretary of State for War (1905–1912)
Thomas Hamilton, 9th Earl of Haddington , First Lord of the Admiralty (1841–1846)
Tessa Jowell , Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (2001–2007), Minister for the Olympics
Patrick McLoughlin , Secretary of State for Transport (2012–2016), Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (2016–2018)
David Mundell , Secretary of State for Scotland (2015–2019)
Ian Murray , Secretary of State for Scotland (2024–)
Pat McFadden , Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (2024–)
James Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern , Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (1987–1997)
Robert Munro, 1st Baron Alness , Secretary of State for Scotland (1916–1922)
William Mackenzie, 1st Baron Amulree , Secretary of State for Air (1930–1931)
Ian Macpherson, 1st Baron Strathcarron , Chief Secretary for Ireland (1919–1920), Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1920–1922)
Michael Moore , Secretary of State for Scotland (2010–2013)
Sir George Murray , Secretary of State for War and the Colonies (1828–1830)
Sir William Molesworth, 8th Baronet , Secretary of State for the Colonies (1855)
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne , Chancellor of the Exchequer (1806–1807), Home Secretary (1827–1828), Lord President of the Council (1830–1834; 1835–1841; 1846–1852) and Leader of the House of Lords (1846–1852)
Amber Rudd , Home Secretary (2016–2018), Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2018–2019)
Sir Malcolm Rifkind , Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1995–1997), Secretary of State for Defence (1992–1995)
David Steel , Leader of the Liberal Party (1970–1976), Leader of the Liberal Democrats (1988)
John Wheatley , Secretary of State for Health (1924)
Alexander Wedderburn, 1st Earl of Rosslyn , Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (1793–1801)
Scottish Cabinet and Party Leaders [ edit ]
John Swinney , First Minister of Scotland
Kate Forbes , Deputy First Minister of Scotland
Roseanna Cunningham , Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform (2009–2011; 2016–2021)
Ruth Davidson , Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party (2011–2019)
Kezia Dugdale , Leader of the Scottish Labour Party (2015–2017)
Kate Forbes , Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy (2020–2022), Deputy First Minister of Scotland (2024–)
Iain Gray , Leader of the Scottish Labour Party (2008–2011; 2015)
Andrew Dewar Gibb , Leader of the Scottish National Party (1936–1940)
Robin Harper , co-convener of the Scottish Greens (2004–2008)
Russell Johnston , Leader of the Scottish Liberal Party (1974–1988), Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats (1988–1992)
Liam Kerr , Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party (2019–2020)
Kenny MacAskill , Deputy Leader of the Alba Party (2021-), Cabinet Secretary for Justice (2007–2014)
Alexander MacEwen , first Leader of the Scottish National Party (1934–1936)
David McLetchie , Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party (1999–2005)
Robert McIntyre , Leader of the Scottish National Party (1947–1956)
Michael Russell , Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, Europe and External Affairs (2020–2021), President of the Scottish National Party (2020–)
Alex Rowley , Leader of the Scottish Labour Party (2017)
Leslie Spoor , founder of Scottish Green Party
Nicol Stephen , Leader of Scottish Liberal Democrats (2005–2008), Deputy First Minister of Scotland (2005–2007)
John Swinney , Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy (2007–2014), Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery (2021–), Deputy First Minister of Scotland (2014–2022), First Minister (2024–)
Jim Wallace , First Minister of Scotland (2000; 2001), Deputy First Minister of Scotland (1999–2005), Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats (1992–2005)
Gordon Wilson , Leader of the Scottish National Party (1979–1990)
Current Members of the House of Commons [ edit ]
Douglas Alexander , MP for Lothian East
Catherine Atkinson , MP for Derby North
Julia Buckley , MP for Shrewsbury
Wendy Chamberlain , MP for North East Fife
Charlie Dewhirst , MP for Bridlington and The Wolds
Anneliese Dodds , MP for Oxford East
John Grady , MP for Glasgow East
Chris Hinchliff , MP for North East Hertfordshire
Neil Hudson , MP for Penrith and The Border
Louise Jones , MP for North East Derbyshire
Danny Kruger , MP for Devizes
Dame Eleanor Laing , MP for Epping Forest
Josh MacAlister , MP for Whitehaven and Workington
Jerome Mayhew , MP for Broadland
Stuart McDonald , MP for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East
Pat McFadden , MP for Wolverhampton South East
Catherine McKinnell , MP for Newcastle upon Tyne North
David Mundell , MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale
Ian Murray , MP for Edinburgh South
Pete Wishart , MP for Perth and Kinross-shire
Current Members of the House of Lords [ edit ]
James Bethell, 5th Baron Bethell , Conservative Peer
Christine Blower, Baroness Blower , Labour Peer
Kathryn Clark, Baroness Clark of Kilwinning , Labour Peer
Lynda Clark, Baroness Clark of Calton , Labour Peer
William Cullen, Baron Cullen of Whitekirk , Crossbench
James Douglas-Hamilton, Baron Selkirk of Douglas , Conservative Peer
Andrew Dunlop, Baron Dunlop , Conservative Peer
Neil Davidson, Baron Davidson of Glen Clova , Labour Peer
Ruth Davidson, Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links , Conservative Peer
Murray Elder, Baron Elder , Labour Peer
Peter Forster , Lord Spiritual
George Foulkes, Baron Foulkes of Cumnock , Labour Peer
Andrew Hardie, Baron Hardie , Crossbench
David Hope, Baron Hope of Craighead , Crossbench
Richard Keen, Baron Keen of Elie , Conservative peer
Michael Andrew Foster Jude Kerr, 13th Marquess of Lothian , Conservative Peer
James Lindesay-Bethune, 16th Earl of Lindsay , Conservative Peer
Donald Mackay, Baron Mackay of Drumadoon , Conservative peer
James Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern , Conservative Peer
Mark McInnes, Baron McInnes of Kilwinning , Conservative Peer
Anne McIntosh, Baroness McIntosh of Pickering , Conservative Peer
Patrick McLoughlin, Baron McLoughlin , Conservative Peer
Malcolm Offord, Baron Offord of Garvel , Conservative peer
Adrian Palmer, 4th Baron Palmer , Crossbench
Robert Reed, Baron Reed of Allermuir , Crossbench
Nicol Stephen, Baron Stephen , Liberal Democrat Peer
Keith Stewart, Baron Stewart of Dirleton , Conservative Peer
Alexander Trees, Baron Trees , Crossbench
Fiona Twycross, Baroness Twycross , Labour Peer
Jim Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness , Liberal Democrat Peer
John Woodcock, Baron Walney , Crossbench
Clifton Wrottesley, 6th Baron Wrottesley , Conservative Peer
Current Members of the Scottish Parliament [ edit ]
Claire Baker , MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife
Jeremy Balfour , MSP for Lothian
Maggie Chapman , MSP for North East Scotland
Foysol Choudhury , MSP for Lothian
Katy Clark , MSP for West Scotland
Kate Forbes , MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch
Christine Grahame , MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale
Liam Kerr , MSP for North East Scotland
Fulton MacGregor , MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston
Ben Macpherson , MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith
Liam McArthur , MSP for Orkney
Oliver Mundell , MSP for Dumfriesshire
Alex Rowley , MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife
Liz Smith , MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife
Kaukab Stewart , MSP for Glasgow Kelvin
John Swinney , MSP for Perthshire North
Sue Webber , MSP for Lothian
Martin Whitfield , MSP for South Scotland
Ash Carter , United States Secretary of Defense
Caspar Weinberger , United States Secretary of Defense
John Adams , 25th mayor of Richmond
Robert Brooke , 10th governor of Virginia
William Carmichael , Former U.S Ambassador to Spain
Ashton Carter , 25th United States Secretary of Defense
William Crawford , former U.S congressman from Pennsylvania
Alexander J. Dallas , served as the 6th United States Secretary of the Treasury and briefly as both acting Secretary of War and acting Secretary of State under the fourth U.S. president , James Madison
Beverly B. Douglas , former U.S congressman from Virginia
James C. Duff , director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
Enoh T. Ebong , director of U.S Trade and Development Agency (2022–)
Robert J. Faucher , Assistant Secretary of State for Conflict and Stabilization Operations (2021-)
Edwin Feulner , founder and president of conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation
William Fleming , 3rd governor of Virginia
William Foushee , 1st mayor of Richmond
Cyrus Griffin , 8th President of the Continental Congress
Aylett Hawes , former U.S congressman from Virginia
James Jones , former U.S congressman from Virginia
Walter Jones , former U.S congressman from Virginia
John J. Kindred , former U.S congressman from New York
Henry Latimer , former U.S senator from Delaware
George Logan , former U.S senator from Pennsylvania
James McClurg , 18th, 21st, and 24th Mayor of Richmond
Dave McCurdy , former U.S congressman from Oklahoma , former chair of the House Intelligence Committee
Samuel L. Mitchill , former U.S senator from New York
Bill Moyers , 11th White House Press Secretary , White House Chief of Staff (1964–1965) and former director of Council on Foreign Relations
Deborah K. Owen , former Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission
Joel Roberts Poinsett , 15th United States Secretary of War
William C. Preston , former U.S senator from South Carolina
Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr. , 21st governor of Virginia
Benjamin Rush , signatory, United States Declaration of Independence [ 25]
Jacob Gould Schurman , former U.S. Ambassador to China , Germany , Greece and Montenegro
Adam Seybert , former U.S. congressman from Pennsylvania
Ike Skelton , former U.S. congressman from Missouri , former chair of House Armed Services Committee
William Spong Jr. , former U.S senator from Virginia
Arthur St. Clair , major-general in the Continental Army , 7th President of the Continental Congress , later 1st governor of the Northwest Territory
Mike Synar , former U.S. congressman from Oklahoma
Thomas Tudor Tucker , 3rd Treasurer of the United States , former U.S congressman from South Carolina
Caspar Weinberger , 15th United States Secretary of Defense , 10th United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare [ 26]
Alexander White , former U.S congressman from Virginia
Hugh Williamson , signatory of the United States Constitution , Founding Father
James Wilson , Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States ; signatory, United States Declaration of Independence [ 27]
John Witherspoon , signatory, United States Declaration of Independence
Joseph Ukel Abango , South Sudan Minister of General Education (2011–2013)
Eustace Akwei , Ghanaian Minister for Health (1966–1969)
Prince Hamid Armah , Ghanaian MP
Herbert Bankole-Bright , political activist in Sierra Leone
Jaya Krishna Cuttaree , Mauritian Minister of Labour, Lands and Housing (1982–2000), Minister of Industry and Trade (2000–2005)
Moses Da Rocha , Nigerian doctor, journalist and politician
Yusuf Dadoo , former chair of the South African Indian Congress and the South African Communist Party
Unity Dow , Botswana Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (2019–2020), member of the National Assembly
Patrick Duncan , 6th governor-general of the Union of South Africa , South African Minister for the Interior, Education and Public Health (1921–1924)
Kesaveloo Goonam , South African doctor, Indian nationalist and anti-apartheid activist
Alex Ibru , Nigerian Minister of Internal Affairs (1993–1995)
Omar Ali Juma , former vice-president of Tanzania
Danielle de St. Jorre , Seychelles Minister of Foreign Affairs (1989–1997)
Vedastus Kyalakishaija Kyaruzi , former Permanent Representative of Tanzania to the United Nations
Nazir Karamagi , Tanzanian Minister of Energy and Minerals (2006–2008)
Nelson P. W. Khonje , Speaker of the National Assembly of Malawi (1975–1987)
Peter Msolla , Tanzanian MP
Shettima Ali Monguno , Nigerian Federal Minister for Airforce and Internal Affairs (1965–1966), Minister for Mines, Power, Petroleum and Energy (1972–1975), President of OPEC (1972–1973)
James Moroka , President of the African National Congress (1949–1952)
Agnes Nyalonje , Malawi Minister of Education (2020–)
Monty Naicker , anti-apartheid activist and leader of the South African Indian Congress
Frederick Nanka-Bruce , Ghanaian doctor, journalist and former member of the Ghanaian Parliament
Bandele Omoniyi , Nigerian law student and political activist
Betty Ogwaro , South Sudanese Minister of Agriculture and Forestry (2011–2014; 2014–2015; 2016–2019)
Sam Ongeri , Kenyan Minister for Education (2008–2012), Minister for Foreign Affairs (2012–2013)
Imrana Alhaji Buba , Nigerian social entrepreneur and political activist
Hae Phoofolo , interim prime minister of Lesotho
Benjamin Quartey-Papafio , first Ghanaian doctor and member of the Gold Coast Legislative Council
John K Randle , West African doctor and politician
Richard Sezibera , Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs (2018–2019), 4th Secretary-General of the East African Community (2011–2016)
Richard Akinwande Savage , Nigerian doctor, pan-African politician and newspaper editor
Noah Wekesa , Kenyan Minister for Forestry and Wildlife (2008–2012), Minister for Education (2007), and Minister for Science (2005–2007)
Harini Amarasuriya , Sri Lankan MP
Chu Anping , Chinese journalist and political activist
Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari , Indian nationalist, President of the Indian National Congress (1927–1928)
Kōichirō Asakai , Japanese ambassador to the United States and ambassador to the Philippines who oversaw the signing of U.S.-Japan Security Treaty
Lalith Athulathmudali , Sri Lankan Minister of Trade and Shipping (1977–1984)
Fu Ssu-nien , linguist and historian, one of the leaders of the Chinese May Fourth Movement in 1919
Hsu Hsin-liang , Chairman of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (1996–1998), Magistrate of Taoyuan (1977–1979) and president-elect in 2000
Sir Reginald Johnston , Puyi 's tutor and advisor, last Commissioner of British Weihaiwei
Prakash Karat , General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (2005–2015)
M. C. M. Kaleel , Sri Lankan Minister of Home Affairs (1960)
Arbab Alamgir Khan , Pakistan Federal Minister for Communications (2012–2013)
Lim Chong Eu , 2nd Chief Minister of Penang (1969–1990) and founder of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia
Zhang Shizhao , Chinese journalist, educator and Minister of Justice (1924–1925) and Minister of Education (1925)
Wu Zhihui , Chinese linguist and major political figure during the Republic of China (1912–1949)
Christy Clark , Premier of British Columbia
William Johnston Almon , former Canadian senator for Halifax
Peter Boehm , Canadian senator for Ontario
Edward Borron , former MP for Algoma
Christy Clark , 35th Premier of British Columbia
George Ralph Richardson Cockburn , former MP for Toronto Centre
George Alexander Drummond , former Canadian senator for Quebec , 12th president of the Bank of Montreal
Kirsty Duncan , MP for Etobicoke North , Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (2019-), Minister for Science (2015–2019)
Adelbert Edward Hanna , former MP for Lanark South
Robert James Manion , Canadian cabinet minister, Conservative Leader of the Opposition 1938–1940
Joseph Morrin , 7th and 9th mayor of Quebec
Sir William MacGregor , 60th governor of Newfoundland
Frederick Montizambert , first Director General of Public Health in Canada
Andrew Ross McMaster , former MP for Brome and Provincial Treasurer of Quebec
Clarence Primrose , former Canadian senator for Nova Scotia
James Palmer Rankin , former Canadian senator for Ontario
Alexander David Stewart , former mayor of Hamilton, Ontario
Alexander Warburton , 7th Premier of Prince Edward Island
Arthur Trefusis Heneage Williams , former MP and Chief Government Whip
Gerhard Schröder (CDU) , West German Foreign Minister and Defence Minister
Mina Andreeva , Chief Spokesperson for the European Commission
Gisela Babel , former member of the German Bundestag
Elmar Brok , former MEP for Germany, Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs (1999–2007; 2012–2017) and President of the Union of European Federalists (2013–2018)
Rebecca Buttigieg , Maltese MP
Benjamin Constant , French politician and eminent political theorist, Member of the Tribunat (1799–1802), Member of the Council of State (1815), Member of the Chamber of Députés (1819–1830)
Muriel Casals i Couturier , member of the Parliament of Catalonia
Katja Dörner , Mayoress of Bonn , Germany
Biljana Đorđević , member of the Serbian National Assembly
Aina Calvo , former Mayoress of Palma , Spain
Furio Honsell , former mayor of Udine , Italy
Giorgos Gerapetritis , Greek Minister of State (2019–2023), Minister of Foreign Affairs (2023–)
Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson , Icelandic Minister of Finance (1987–1988), Foreign Minister (1988–1995)
Ögmundur Jónasson , Icelandic Minister of Health (2009) and Minister of the Interior (2011–2013)
Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir , 19th Mayor of Reykjavík , Icelandic Minister of the Interior (2013–2014)
Árni Mathiesen , Icelandic Minister of Finance (2005–2009)
Angelika Niebler , MEP for Germany, Deputy Chairwoman of European People's Party (2015–)
Theodoros Roussopoulos , Greek Minister of State (2004–2008)
Gerhard Schröder (CDU) , West German Federal Minister of the Interior (1953–1961), Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs (1961–1966), and Federal Minister of Defence (1966–1969), 1969 presidential candidate
Gustaf Algernon Stierneld , Swedish Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs (1838–1840; 1848–1856)
Péter Ungár , Member of the National Assembly of Hungary , Leader of LMP – Hungary's Green Party (2022-)
Jerzy Żyżyński , economist and member of the Polish Sejm
Sir Michael Cullen , Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand
Richard Arthur , New South Wales Minister for Public Health (1927–1930)
Sir John Bowser , 26th Premier of Victoria
Sir Thomas Brisbane , former governor of New South Wales whose name gave rise to the Australian city, Brisbane
Francis Bugotu , Permanent Representative of the Solomon Islands to the United Nations (1978–1992), Secretary-General of the Pacific Community (1982–1986)
Cyril Cameron , former Australian senator for Tasmania
Sir John Logan Campbell , 17th Mayor of Auckland
Sir Michael Cullen , former deputy prime minister of New Zealand
John Garland , New South Wales Minister for Justice (1909–1910; 1916–1919)
Sir James Graham , 41st Mayor of Sydney
Sir William MacGregor , 11th governor of Queensland
Malcolm Mackay , Australian Minister for the Navy (1971–1972)
John Alexander MacPherson , 7th Premier of Victoria
Andrew McLachlan , Australian senator for South Australia , Deputy President of the Australian Senate (2022-)
F. Russell Miller , 40th Mayor of Invercargill , New Zealand
Sir David Monro , 2nd Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives
Sir Hugh Nelson , 11th Premier of Queensland
Carty Salmon , 2nd Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives
David Seath , New Zealand Minister of Internal Affairs (1963–1972)
Sir Alexander Stuart , 9th Premier of New South Wales
Henry Thacker , 32nd Mayor of Christchurch, New Zealand
Albert, 12th Prince of Thurn and Taxis , head of the House of Thurn and Taxis
Countess Alexandra Nikolaevna Tolstoy-Miloslavsky , member of the Tolstoy family
Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll
David Carnegie, 4th Duke of Fife
Charles Carnegie, Earl of Southesk , heir apparent to the Dukedom of Fife
Samuel Chatto and Arthur Chatto , sons of Elizabeth II 's niece Lady Sarah Chatto
Edward VII , King of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India [ a] [ 28]
George Percy, Earl Percy , heir apparent to the Dukedom of Northumberland
Henry FitzRoy, 12th Duke of Grafton , direct male-line descendant of Charles II of England
Lady Amelia Windsor , a relative of the British royal family
Margareta of Romania , Custodian of the Crown of Romania
Princess Mako of Akishino , member of the Imperial House of Japan
Princess Nora zu Oettingen–Spielberg , member of the House of Oettingen-Spielberg
Princess Raiyah bint Hussein , member of the House of Hashim
Princess Salha bint Asem , member of the House of Hashim
Princess Tsuguko of Takamado , member of the Imperial House of Japan
Prince Pavel Mikhailovich Dashkov , Russian aristocrat
Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp , heir apparent to the Spencer earldom and first cousin of the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry
Bhagvat Singh , former maharaja of the princely state of Gondal
James Clyde, Baron Clyde , former Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Henry Cockburn, Lord Cockburn , former Solicitor General for Scotland
Paul Cullen, Lord Pentland , sitting justice on the Supreme Courts of Scotland
William Cullen, Baron Cullen of Whitekirk , former Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General
Raymond Doherty, Lord Doherty , sitting justice on the Supreme Courts of Scotland
Unity Dow , former judge on the High Court of Botswana
Sir David Edward , former judge of the Court of Justice of the European Union
Thomas Addis Emmet , former New York State Attorney General
Ian Fraser, Baron Fraser of Tullybelton , former Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
John Garland , former Attorney General of New South Wales
Brian Gill, Lord Gill , former Lord President of the Court of Session
Henry Gollan , former Chief Justice of Hong Kong
Arthur Hamilton, Lord Hamilton , former Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General
Patrick Hodge, Lord Hodge , current Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
David Hope, Baron Hope of Craighead , former Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Nathaniel Lindley, Baron Lindley , former Lord of Appeal in Ordinary and Master of the Rolls
Robert Lyall-Grant , former Attorney General of Kenya
Atholl MacGregor , former Chief Justice of Hong Kong
Alexander Mackenzie , barrister and writer on propaganda[ 29]
Hugh Macmillan, Baron Macmillan , former Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Duncan Menzies, Lord Menzies , sitting justice on the Supreme Courts of Scotland
Frank Mulholland, Lord Mulholland , sitting justice on the Supreme Courts of Scotland
Wilfrid Normand, Baron Normand , former Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Sir Alan Stewart Orr , former Lord Justice of Appeal [ 30]
David Richard Pigot , former Attorney General for Ireland
Alipate Qetaki , former Attorney General of Fiji
Michael Ramodibedi , former Chief Justice of the High Court of Swaziland
Robert Reed, Baron Reed of Allermuir , current president of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Fred Ruhindi , former Attorney General of Uganda
Sir Dudley Ryder , former Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench
Alexander Shand, 1st Baron Shand , former Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
James Shaw, Baron Kilbrandon , former Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Alfred Henry Simpson , former Chief Justice of Kenya
Julia Sebutinde , sitting Judge on the International Court of Justice
Anne Smith, Lady Smith , sitting justice on the Supreme Courts of Scotland
Alexander Mackenzie Stuart, Baron Mackenzie-Stuart , former president of the European Court of Justice
Colin Sutherland, Lord Carloway , current Lord President of the Court of Session and Lord Justice General
James Beveridge Thomson , former Chief Justice of Malaysia
James Francis Edward Keith , Generalfeldmarschall of the Prussian Army
Lord Cochrane , Admiral of the Red
Sharon Nesmith , Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff
Ralph Abercromby , MP , Commander-in-Chief, Ireland during the Irish Rebellion of 1798
Sir Archibald Alison, 2nd Baronet , general
Sir James Baird , lieutenant general , Director General Army Medical Services (1973–1977)
Sir Hugh Beach , general, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Field Army (1976–1977)
Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald , Naval flag officer during the Napoleonic Wars and later Admiral of the Red , dubbed by Napoleon as le Loup des Mers , 'the Sea Wolf'
David Coulter , major-general , Chaplain General of the British Army (2014–2018)
Robert Craigie , admiral
Sir Hew Whitefoord Dalrymple , general , Governor of Gibraltar (1806–1808)
John Forbes , brigadier-general , commanded the Forbes Expedition during the French-Indian war
Sir Alexander Hood , lieutenant-general, Director General Army Medical Services (1941–1948), Governor of Bermuda (1949–1955)
John Hunter , vice-admiral of the red , governor of New South Wales (1795–1800)
James Francis Edward Keith , Scottish Jacobite , served during the Seven Years' War under Frederick the Great as Generalfeldmarschall of the Prussian Army
Daniel Knobel , lieutenant general , Surgeon General of the South African Defence Force (1988–1997)
William Thompson Lusk , Assistant adjutant-general for the Union , American Civil War
Gregor MacGregor , Army general , adventurer, and confidence trickster , known for his "Poyois scheme"
Sir George Malcolm , general
Sir Harold Martin , air marshal , Commander-in-Chief RAF Germany (1970–1973)
Sir Ian McGeoch , vice-admiral
Sir James McGrigor , responsible for the creation of the Royal Army Medical Corps
Iain McNicoll , air marshal , Deputy Commander-in-Chief Operations, RAF Air Command (2007–2010)
Sir Charles Napier , admiral , served in War of 1812 , the Napoleonic Wars , and the Crimean War
Dame Sharon Nesmith , first woman to command a British Army brigade, general and vice-chief of the General Staff (2024–)
Arthur Edward Potts , major general, Commander of 6th Canadian Infantry Division (1942–1943)
Philip Raffaelli , Surgeon-General of the United Kingdom Armed Forces (2009–2012)
George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie , governor of Canada (1820–1828), Commander-in-Chief, India (1830–1832)
Alan Reay , lieutenant general, Director General Army Medical Services (1981–1984)
Thomas Rimmer , air vice-marshal , commander, British Forces Cyprus (2000–2003)
Sir James Simpson , general , Commander-in-Chief British troops in the Crimea (1855)
Andrew Rutherford, 1st Earl of Teviot , lieutenant-general under Louis XIV when England was in Interregnum , governor of Tangier (1663–1664)
Sir Charles Shaw , brigadier-general during the Portuguese Liberal Wars
Adam Stephen , Scottish-American general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War
James Stuart , general , 1st General Officer Commanding, Ceylon (1796)
Mona Chalmers Watson , head of Women's Army Auxiliary Corps
Bennett H. Young , lieutenant , Confederate officer who led the St. Albans Raid during the American Civil War
William Brydon
Eric Brown , Royal Navy officer and test pilot who flew 487 types of aircraft, more than anyone else in history
William Brydon , the only person to reach safety in the 1842 retreat from Kabul
James Marr Brydone , Ship's surgeon of HMS Thunderer at Battle of Trafalgar
Charles Gray Catto , World War I flying ace , later Mayor of Waco, Texas
Gordon Duncan , Scottish flying ace
James Oliver Ewart , intelligence officer, translator, and staff member of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery
John Todd , Scottish First World War flying ace credited with 18 aerial victories
Victoria Cross and George Cross recipients [ edit ]
Recipients of the Victoria Cross :
Recipients of the George Cross :
Natural sciences, engineering and medicine[ edit ]
John Campbell Brown , astronomer
Hermann Brück , astronomer
Mary Brück , astronomer, astrophysicist and historian of science
Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell , astrophysicist, co-discoverer of the first pulsars , 2018 winner of Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics , Copley Medalist
Ralph Copeland , discoverer of the Copeland Septet
James Dunlop , astronomer, Herschel Medal winner in 2016
Sir Frank Watson Dyson , whose observations during Solar eclipse of May 29, 1919 played an important role in proving Einstein 's theory of General relativity
James Gregory , discoverer of the infinite series and designer of the first practical reflecting telescope , the Gregorian telescope
Thomas Henderson , first to measure the distance between Earth to Alpha Centauri
Catherine Heymans , astrophysicist, incumbent Astronomer Royal for Scotland , Herschel Medal winner in 2022
Chris Impey , astronomer
Simon Lilly , astrophysicist, Herschel Medal winner in 2017
James Lind of Windsor , natural philosopher
Malcolm Longair , physicist
William McCrea , astronomer
John A. Peacock , astronomer, Shaw Prize laureate in 2014[ 31]
Anneila Sargent , astronomer
Charles Piazzi Smyth , astronomer
Licia Verde , cosmologist, 2018 winner of Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
Joseph Black
Sir James Dewar
Thomas Anderson , discoverer of pyridine
Polly Arnold , director of the chemical sciences division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Paul Attfield , Professor of Materials Science
George Barger , chemist
Wendy Bickmore , chemist
Joseph Black , discoverer of magnesium , carbon dioxide , latent heat and specific heat
Eleanor Campbell , Professor of Physical Chemistry
Neil Campbell , chemist and amateur athlete
Archibald Scott Couper , proposed an early theory of chemical structure and bonding
Leroy Cronin , chemist
John Davy , discoverer of phosgene
Sir James Dewar , inventor of the Dewar flask
Robin Ferrier , discoverer of Ferrier rearrangement and Ferrier carbocyclization
Heinz Fraenkel-Conrat , biochemist
Thomas Graham , formulator of Graham's law and inventor of dialysis
Frederick Guthrie , synthesizer of Mustard gas
Richard Henderson , pioneer in the field of electron microscopy , Nobel laureate in Chemistry in 2017
William Henry , formulator of Henry's law
Edmund Hirst , chemist
Thomas Charles Hope , discoverer of strontium
Narayan Hosmane , cancer researcher, BNCT
David Leigh , Forbes Chair of Organic Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh 2001–2012, Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology winner in 2007
Guy Lloyd-Jones , Forbes Chair of Organic Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh (2012–)
Francis Robert Japp , discoverer of Japp-Klingemann reaction
Charles Macintosh , chemist, inventor of the waterproof raincoat (Mackintosh )
Christina Miller , synthesized phosphorus trioxide
Peter D. Mitchell , discoverer of the chemiosmotic mechanism of ATP synthesis , Nobel laureate in Chemistry in 1978
Sir Geoff Palmer , Jamaican-born scientist, brewing researcher and activist, first black professor in Scotland
Sarah Pett , British immunopathologist and COVID-19 researcher
William Prout , proposer of Prout's hypothesis , an early model of proton
Sir Dai Rees , CEO of the Medical Research Council 1987–1996
Prafulla Chandra Roy , distinguished chemist and founder of Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals
Daniel Rutherford , discoverer of Nitrogen
Benjamin Silliman , American chemist
Sir James Fraser Stoddart , supramolecular chemist, Nobel laureate in Chemistry in 2016
Smithson Tennant , discoverer of iridium and osmium
Alexander Robertus Todd, Baron Todd , first synthesizer of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), Nobel laureate in Chemistry in 1957
Vincent du Vigneaud , first synthesizer of oxytocin and Vasopressin , Nobel laureate in Chemistry in 1955
Lorenz Florenz Friedrich von Crell , German chemist
James Walker , chemist
Kurt Wüthrich , developer of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods for studying biological macromolecules , Nobel laureate in Chemistry in 2002
Lesley Yellowlees , first female president of the Royal Society of Chemistry
Sir Roderick Murchison
Robert Bell , geologist
Ami Boué , first to produce a Geological map of the world, Wollaston Medalist
Sir John William Dawson , geologist
Hugh Falconer , geologist and paleontologist, Wollaston Medalist
John Flett , geologist, Wollaston Medalist
James David Forbes , inventor of the Seismometer
Sir Archibald Geikie , geologist, Wollaston Medalist
Sir James Hector , geologist
Arthur Holmes , geologist, Wollaston Medalist
Wilfred Hudleston Hudleston , geologist, Wollaston Medalist
James Hutton , father of modern geology
Rosemary Hutton , geophysicist and pioneer of magnetotellurics
Robert Jameson , naturalist and mineralist
Sir William Edmond Logan , geologist, founder and first director of the Geological Survey of Canada, Wollaston Medalist
Robert Cameron Mackenzie , geologist
Sir Roderick Murchison , geologist, known for first describing the Silurian , Devonian and Permian systems, Copley Medalist
William Nicol , inventor of Nicol prism
Stan Paterson , glaciologist
Anya Reading , geophysicist
Justin B. Ries , American biogeochemist and inventor known for discoveries in the field of global oceanic change
Frederick Stewart , geologist
Erskine Douglas Williamson , known for his contribution to the Adams–Williamson equation
Senior academic staff [ edit ]
Christopher Bishop
Geoffrey Hinton
Robert Kowalski
Samson Abramsky , computer scientist at the University of Oxford
Pat Ambler , creator of Freddy II
Joe Armstrong , creator of Erlang programming language and Open Telecom Platform (OTP)
Andrew Blake , computer scientist and former director of Microsoft Research , Cambridge and Alan Turing Institute in London
Bob Boyer , computer scientist, mathematician, philosopher at the University of Texas at Austin
Alan W. Black , Professor at the Language Technologies Institute , Carnegie Mellon University
Justine Cassell , Professor at the Human–Computer Interaction Institute , Carnegie Mellon University
Luca Cardelli , computer scientist, Assistant Director of Microsoft Research , Cambridge
Ian Clarke , creator of Freenet
Rosemary Candlin , crystallographer and computer scientist at CERN
Margarita Chli , Leader of the Vision for Robotics Lab at ETH Zürich
Peter Dayan , director at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany
John Darlington , Emeritus Professor, Imperial College London
Bruce Davie , CTO of VMware
Vera Demberg , computational linguist and professor of computer science and computational linguistics at Saarland University
Paul Dourish , professor at the University of California, Irvine
Carla Gomes , computer scientist, Founding Director of the Cornell University Institute for Computational Sustainability
Leslie Ann Goldberg , computer scientist at the University of Oxford
Jeremy Gibbons , professor of computing, University of Oxford
Andrew Gordon , at Microsoft Research
Michael J. C. Gordon (1948–2017), computer scientist at the University of Cambridge
Alex Graves , computer scientist at Google DeepMind , creator of Neural Turing machine (NTM)
Philippa Gardner , Professor of Theoretical Computer Science at Imperial College London
Richard Gregory (1923–2010), cognitive scientist at the University of Bristol
Pat Hayes , senior research scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition in Pensacola, Florida
Robert Harper , professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University
Matthew Hennessy , Co-creator of Hennessy–Milner logic
Geoffrey Hinton , "godfather of deep learning and artificial neural network ", 2018 winner of the Turing Award [ 32]
Xuedong Huang , CTO of Microsoft Azure AI
Auke Ijspeert , head of the Biorobotics Laboratory at EPFL
Mark Jerrum , Professor of Pure mathematics at the University of London , Gödel Prize Laureate
Mark H. Johnson , cognitive neuroscientist and brain–computer interface researcher, Head of the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge
Philipp Koehn , Professor of Machine Translation at Johns Hopkins University
Robert Kowalski , logician whose interpretation of the Horn clause at Edinburgh became instrumental in the creation of Prolog
Lǐ Wèi , mathematician and computer scientist, President of Beihang University
Christopher Longuet-Higgins (1923–2004), cognitive scientist
Donald Michie , founder of Artificial Intelligence in the UK
Robin Milner (1934–2010), computer scientist, developer of ML , π-calculus and LCF , winner of the Turing Award in 1991
Eugenio Moggi , first to explicitly link the Monad of category theory to functional programming
J Strother Moore , computer scientist at the University of Texas at Austin , co-developer of the Boyer–Moore string-search algorithm and the Boyer–Moore majority vote algorithm
Stephen Muggleton , Head of the Computational Bioinformatics Laboratory at Imperial College London
Alan Mycroft , professor at the Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge
Timothy O'Shea , Emeritus Professor and former principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Edinburgh
Martha Palmer , creator of PropBank and VerbNet
Benjamin C. Pierce , Henry Salvatori Professor of computer science at the University of Pennsylvania
Robin Popplestone (1938–2004), creator of COWSEL and POP-2
John C. Reynolds (1935–2013), inventor of System F and professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University
Davide Sangiorgi , Professor at the University of Bologna
Nigel Shadbolt ,[ 33] Chairman of the Open Data Institute (ODI) and master of Jesus College, Oxford
Alistair Sinclair , Professor at University of California, Berkeley , Gödel Prize Laureate
Aaron Sloman , philosopher, cognitive scientist at the University of Birmingham
Chris Tofts , scientist at Hewlett-Packard
Mads Tofte , professor at the IT University of Copenhagen
Stephen Tweedie , software developer, creator of ext3 file system
Leslie Valiant , Complexity theory pioneer, winner of the Turing Award in 2010
Hanna Wallach , at Microsoft Research
Lincoln Wallen , CTO of Improbable , former CTO of DreamWorks Animation
Toby Walsh , professor of artificial intelligence at the UNSW
David H. D. Warren , creator of the Warren Abstract Machine
Xia Peisu , "mother of computer science in China"
Andrew Zisserman , computer scientist at Google DeepMind and University of Oxford
Alexander Graham Bell
Sir Thomas Hudson Beare , engineer
George Thomas Beilby , chemical engineer
Alexander Graham Bell , engineer, inventor of the telephone and founder of AT&T
Isaac Lowthian Bell , metallurgist, businessman and politician
George Parker Bidder , engineer and calculating prodigy
James Blyth , electrical engineer, pioneer of the Wind Turbine
Kenneth Denbigh , Chemical engineer
William Fothergill Cooke , engineer, founder of Electric Telegraph Company
Sir James Alfred Ewing , engineer and physicist, discoverer of Hysteresis
Lewis Gordon , civil engineer[ 34]
Harald Haas , inventor of Li-Fi
Sir John Jackson , civil engineer and MP
James Jardine , civil engineer
Fleeming Jenkin , engineer, inventor of telpherage
Alexander Carnegie Kirk , marine engineer
David Milne , microelectronics engineer and entrepreneur
Elijah McCoy , engineer, inventor of the Automatic lubricator for Steam Engines
James Newlands , civil engineer
John Randall , inventor of Cavity Magnetron and leader of the team that led to the discovery of structure of DNA
William John Macquorn Rankine , engineer, physicist, and early contributor to the development of thermodynamics
George Rennie , engineer
John Rennie the Elder , civil engineer[ 35]
John Scott Russell , civil engineer, discoverer of Soliton
Stephen Salter , wave energy pioneer
John Shepherd-Barron , inventor of the automated teller machine (ATM)
Alan Stevenson , lighthouse engineer
Charles Alexander Stevenson , lighthouse engineer
David Stevenson , lighthouse designer
David Alan Stevenson , lighthouse engineer
Robert Stephenson , railway engineer
Robert Stevenson , civil engineer
Thomas Stevenson , lighthouse engineer
Robert Stirling , inventor of Stirling engine
William Symington , engineer and inventor
Maria Watkins (née Marja Ludwika Ziff) first woman to study electrical engineering there, president of the Women's Engineering Society
Mathematics and physics [ edit ]
James Clerk Maxwell
Max Born
Alexander Aitken , mathematician, worked in Hut 6 Bletchley Park decrypting the ENIGMA code, known for the Aitken's delta-squared process
Sir Michael Atiyah mathematician, Fields Medallist in 1966, Abel Prize winner 2004
Sir John M. Ball , mathematician
Charles Glover Barkla , winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1917 for his work in X-ray spectroscopy and related areas in the study of X-rays
Thomas Bayes , mathematician, known for Bayes' theorem and Bayesian Statistics
Max Born , principal founder of Quantum mechanics and Nobel laureate in Physics in 1954
Sir David Brewster , physicist, discoverer of Brewster's angle and photoelasticity , inventor of Kaleidoscope
J. W. S. Cassels , mathematician
Michael Cates , physicist known for his work in soft matter
Cheng Kaijia , physicist and pioneer of nuclear technology in China
George Chrystal , mathematician
Roger Cowley , physicist
Sir Charles Galton Darwin , director of the National Physics Laboratory (NPL) during World War II
Janette Dunlop , physicist and teacher
Sir James Alfred Ewing , physicist and engineer, discoverer of Hysteresis
Norman Feather , physicist
Klaus Fuchs , theoretical physicist and atomic spy[ 36]
Fabiola Gianotti , Director-general of CERN , 2013 winner of Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics
Marion Cameron Gray , mathematician[ 37]
David Gregory , mathematician, early Newtonian
Peter Higgs , 2013 Nobel laureate in Physics , theoretical physicist, Emeritus Professor, and theorist of the Higgs Boson , Higgs Mechanism and Higgs Field
Sir W. V. D. Hodge , mathematician and Copley Medalist , formulator of the Hodge theory and Hodge conjecture , one of the seven Millennium Prize Problems
Huang Kun , physicist, co-formulator of the Born-Huang approximation
Charles Hutton , mathematician and Copley Medalist
James Ivory , mathematician and Copley Medalist
Philip Kelland , mathematician
Nicholas Kemmer , contributor in United Kingdom's nuclear programme
Tom W. B. Kibble , theoretical physicist, Sakurai Prize winner in 2010
Sir John Leslie , mathematician and physicist, the first producer of artificial ice
Terry Lyons , mathematician
Colin Maclaurin , mathematician, discoverer of MacLaurin series
James Clerk Maxwell , physicist, "father of electromagnetism and Statistical mechanics "
Dusa McDuff , mathematician
David Olive , theoretical physicist and string theorist , 1997 Dirac Medal and Prize winner
Sir Alexander Oppenheim , mathematician
Peng Huanwu , physicist and pioneer of nuclear technology in China
John Playfair , mathematician
John Polkinghorne , theoretical physicist and theologian, Templeton Prize winner in 2002
William John Macquorn Rankine , engineer, physicist, and early contributor to the development of thermodynamics
John Robison , physicist
Marion Ross , physicist
Sir Joseph Rotblat , Polish physicist who worked in the Manhattan Project , 1995 Nobel Laureate in Peace
Agata Smoktunowicz , mathematician
Peter Guthrie Tait , physicist and pioneer in Thermodynamics
Igor Tamm , theorizer of Phonon and designer of Tomahak , won the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering the Cherenkov radiation
Sheila Tinney , mathematical physicist[ 38]
Neil Turok , theoretical physicist, Director of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (2009–2019)
Arthur Geoffrey Walker , mathematician, known for co-developing the Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker metric and Fermi–Walker differentiation
Joseph Wedderburn , mathematician
Sir Edmund Whittaker , mathematician and historian of science, Copley Medalist
Emil Wolf , physicist, one-half of Born and Wolf
Shu Xingbei , physicist
Thomas Young , polymath, established the wave theory of light through his double-slit experiment
Medicine and biology [ edit ]
Charles Darwin
Joseph Lister
Robert Liston
May-Britt Moser
Thomas Addis , pioneer in nephrology
Thomas Addison , first described Addison's disease , pernicious anemia and Addison-Schilder syndrome
William John Adie , first described Adie syndrome and narcolepsy
Arthur Cecil Alport , first identifier of the Alport Syndrome
Kenneth Baillie , intensive care physician
John Hutton Balfour , botanist
Alfred George Barrs , physician
Benjamin Smith Barton , botanist
Nick Barton , evolutionary biologist, winner of the Darwin–Wallace Medal in 2008
Sir David Baulcombe , plant scientist, discovered SiRNA and its role in gene silencing in plants, winner of the Lasker Award in 2008
Sir John Beddington , population biologist, UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser
Charles Bell , anatomist and surgeon, first described of Bell's palsy
Joseph Bell , surgeon
Seneka Bibile , influential Sri Lankan pharmacologist
Sir Adrian Bird , geneticist, discovered the protein MeCP2 involved in DNA methylation, Canada Gairdner International Award winner in 2011, Shaw Prize laureate in 2016
James Braid , surgeon, founder of hypnosis in medicine
Robert Brown , botanist, discoverer of Brownian motion
David Bruce , discoverer of Brucella
William Speirs Bruce , naturalist and oceanographer, led the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition in 1902-04[ 39]
Stephen L. Brusatte , paleontologist and evolutionary biologist
William Budd , physician and epidemiologist[ 40]
Keith Campbell , biologist, Shaw Prize laureate in 2008
John Murray Carnochan , neurosurgeon, performed first successful surgery for trigeminal neuralgia
Min Chueh Chang , inventor of Combined oral contraceptive pill and pioneer in IVF, Lasker Award winner in 1954
Brian Charlesworth , evolutionary biologist, winner of the Darwin–Wallace Medal in 2010
Virender Lal Chopra , geneticist and biotechnologist
Bryan Clarke , geneticist, winner of the Darwin–Wallace Medal in 2008
John G. S. Coghill , doctor
Richard A Collins , biochemist and author
Robin Coombs , immunologist, discoverer of the Coombs test
Hilary Critchley , obstetrician and gynaecologist
William Cullen , physician and professor of medicine
Rafael Antonio Curra , Venezuelan ichthyologist
Charles Darwin , naturalist, author of The Origin of Species
James Douglas , physician and anatomist; the Douglas pouch and Douglas line are named for him
Cuthbert Dukes , pathologist and author
Richard Eastell , professor of bone medicine
Robert Edwards , pioneer in IVF , 2010 winner of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
John Elliotson , physician, mesmerist
James Esdaile , surgeon, mesmerist
Emmanuel Evans-Anfom , Ghanaian doctor and vice-chancellor of Kwame Nkrumah University
Ronald Fairbairn , psychiatrist and psychoanalyst,[ 41] known for his Object Relations Theory
Heather M. Ferguson , FRSE malaria vector biologist[ 42]
Sir David Ferrier , neuroscientist
Charles ffrench-Constant , neurologist
Ian Frazer , immunologist, developer of the HPV vaccine
Wong Fun , first western-educated Chinese doctor
Dame Anne Glover FRS, Chief Scientific Adviser to the President of the European Commission 2012–2014
Rosemary Grant , evolutionary biologist, 2009 winner of Darwin-Wallace Medal
Michael Grunstein , biochemist, 2018 winner of Lasker Award
John Haldane , physiologist
William Hewson , founder of haematology , Copley Medalist
Bill Hill OBE FRS FRSE, geneticist and statistician, winner of 2018 Darwin Medal
Thomas Hodgkin , physician, first describer of Hodgkin's lymphoma
James Africanus Beale Horton , medicine
David Hosack , American botanist and landscape architect[ 43]
William Hunter , anatomist
Sophia Jex-Blake , leader of the Edinburgh Seven , pioneer of medical education for women in Britain
Steve Jones , geneticist
George Kelly , psychologist
Kurt Koffka , psychologist, founder of Gestalt psychology
Sir John Liddell , physician and director-general of the Medical Department of the Royal Navy
James Lind , , naturalistphysician to George III
James Lind , pioneer in preventive medicine , theorized the cure for scurvy
Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister , introduced antiseptics into surgery
Winifred W. Logan , nurse theorist
John Claudius Loudon , botanist
Mary F. Lyon , discoverer of Lyonization , winner of 1997 Wolf Prize in Medicine
Ian MacDonald , physician
William Sutherland Macdonald , physician and soldier
George Mackay , ophthalmic surgeon
Trudy Mackay , quantitative geneticist, winner of the Wolf Prize in Agriculture in 2016[ 44]
William Alexander Mackay , doctor
Aubrey Manning , zoologist
Samuel Manuwa , Nigerian doctor and president of the World Federation for Mental Health
James Fitzgerald Martin , personal surgeon to George VI and Lord Mountbatten
Henry Johnston Scott Matthew , physician, toxicologist
Kirsten McCaffery , public health researcher
Dame Anne McLaren , developmental biologist
Roger McNeil , doctor of public health
Gilean McVean , post-doctoral fellow, evolutionary biologist, member of the steering committee for the 1000 Genomes Project
Kath M. Melia , sociologist, professor of nursing, champion of ethics in healthcare
Pleasantine Mill , cell biologist
May-Britt Moser , 2014 winner of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her discoveries in grid cell
Edvard Moser , 2014 winner of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries in grid cell
B. K. Misra , neurosurgeon
John Keith Moffat , Guggenheim Fellow , biologist and former Deputy Provost at University of Chicago , noted for Advanced Photon Source and Time resolved crystallography
Alexander Monro (primus) , (secundus) and (tertius) , anatomists
Hermann Joseph Muller , 1946 winner of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries in mutagenesis
Kim Nasmyth , geneticist, 2018 winner of Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
Sir Paul Nurse , geneticist, 2001 Winner of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Susan Ofori-Atta , first Ghanaian woman doctor
Sarah Otto , theoretical biologist, 2021 winner of Darwin-Wallace Medal
Richard Owen , major opponent to Charles Darwin, known for coining the term Dinosauria and presenting them as a distinct taxonomic group
Josephine Pemberton , evolutionary biologist, 2018 winner of Darwin-Wallace Medal
George Alexander Pirie , doctor
Richard Frank Rand , surgeon
David Robertson , virologist and bioinformatician
John Rogerson , personal physician to Catherine the Great
Nancy Roper , nurse theorist
Michael Rosbash , 2017 winner of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Fiona Ross , nursing scholar
William Roxburgh , botanist
Agnes Yewande Savage , first West African woman graduate and doctor
Richard Gabriel Akinwande Savage , doctor and soldier
Randy Schekman , former editor-in-chief of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS ) and 2013 winner of Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer , physiologist and neuroscientist, founder of Endocrinology , Copley Medalist
Robert Sibbald , Professor of Medicine
Sir James Young Simpson , pioneered the use of chloroform in midwifery
Leslie Skene , psychiatrist[ 45]
James Edward Smith , founder of the Linnean Society
Jeremy Smith , biological scientist
Jotello Festiri Soga , South Africa's first black veterinarian
Sahib Singh Sokhey , biochemist and British Indian Army general[ 46]
Sir Edwin Southern , biomedical scientist, invented Southern blot , Canada Gairdner International Award winner in 1990, Lasker Award winner in 2005
Tara Spires-Jones , neuroscientist
George Neil Stewart , physiologist
Anne Bryson Sutherland , plastic surgeon
Grant Robert Sutherland AC , human geneticist
D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson , biologist, pioneer in Mathematical biology
Alison J. Tierney , professor of nursing, nurse theorist
William Aldren Turner , neurologist
Meena Upadhyaya , medical geneticist
Colin S. Valentine , medical missionary
C. H. Waddington , eminent developmental biologist
John Walker , naturalist
Joanna Wardlaw , neuroradiology and neuroimaging
Herbert Furnivall Waterhouse , surgeon and lecturer in anatomy
Hamish Watson , cardiology
Robert Whytt , medicine
Robert Willan , founder of dermatology
Sir Ian Wilmut , embryologist and former supervisor of the team that cloned Dolly the Sheep , Shaw Prize laureate in 2008
Nairn Wilson , dental surgeon
Samuel Alexander Kinnier Wilson , first describer of Wilson's Disease
William Withering , physician, discoverer of Digitalis
Asrat Woldeyes , Ethiopian surgeon and politician
Robert Ramsay Wright , biologist, helped to re-establish the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine in 1887
Ruth Wynne-Davies doctor and expert on scoliosis and clubfoot
Charles Wyville Thomson , naturalist and chief scientist on the Challenger expedition
Yao Zhen , biologist
Zhong Nanshan , pulmonologist , discoverer of the SARS Coronavirus and former president of the Chinese Medical Association
Social sciences, arts and business[ edit ]
Robert Adam
Robert Adam , architect
Suad Amiry , Palestinian architect
Sir Robert Rowand Anderson , architect
Denise Bennetts , co-founder of Bennetts Associates
Colen Campbell , architect and architectural writer
Theodore S. Clerk , Ghanaian architect
Ted Cullinan , architect
Ptolemy Dean , architect, 19th and current Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey
Sir James Dunbar-Nasmith , conservation architect and former head of the Department of Architecture (1978–1988)
William Nairn Forbes , architect
Malcolm Fraser , architect
Sir Nicholas Grimshaw , architect of Waterloo International railway station and the Eden Project , former president of the Royal Academy
Abdur Rahman Hye , architect
Percy Johnson-Marshall , urban designer
Tony Kettle , architect, designer of the Falkirk Wheel
Sir William Kininmonth , architect
Sir Robert Lorimer , architect and furniture designer
Kate Macintosh , architect
Ebenezer James MacRae , architect
Anuradha Mathur , landscape architect
Sir Robert Matthew , architect
John McAslan , architect of Western concourse, King's Cross station
Richard Murphy , architect
Patrick Nuttgens , architect and academic
Harriet Pattison , landscape architect
William Henry Playfair , architect
Deborah Saunt , co-founder of Deborah Saunt David Hills Architects (DSDHA)
Frank Worthington Simon , architect
Sir Basil Spence , Brutalist architect
Deyan Sudjic , architecture critic
William Thornton , architect who designed the United States Capitol
John Boyd Dunlop
Tony Hayward
Susie Wolff
Laura J. Alber , CEO of Williams-Sonoma Inc
John Allan , chairman of Tesco and Barratt Developments
Ian Bankier , chairman of Celtic F.C.
Jo Bamford , multi-billionaire businessman, founder of investment firm HYCAP
William Denholm Barnetson , chairman of United Newspapers , Reuters and Thames Television
Victoria Barnsley , former CEO of HarperCollins
Chris Beard , former CEO of Mozilla
Crawford W. Beveridge , former executive vice president, Sun Microsystems
Henry Birch , CEO of The Very Group
Adam Black , founder of book publishing company A & C Black
James Blair-Cunynghame , former chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland
Sir Donald Brydon , chairman of the Royal Mail , Sage Group and Medical Research Council
Jamie Byng , CEO of Canongate Books
Nigel Cowie , CEO of Daedong Credit Bank
George A. David , chairman emeritus of Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company
Bob Davies , former CEO of transport company Arriva
Martin Dickie , co-founder of BrewDog
James Douglas , mining engineer, first president and CEO of Phelps Dodge
John Boyd Dunlop , founder of Dunlop Tyres
Birna Einarsdóttir , CEO of Íslandsbanki
Nicholas Ferguson , chairman of Sky UK
John Ritchie Findlay , owner of The Scotsman newspaper
Stephen Fitzpatrick , founder and CEO of OVO Energy and Vertical Aerospace , former owner of the Manor Racing team
Sandy Flockhart , former CEO of HSBC
Robert A. Funk , former chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Carlyle Gifford , co-founder of investment firm Baillie Gifford
Sir Alistair Grant , former governor of Bank of Scotland
Hugh Grant , Chairman, President and CEO of Monsanto
Doug Gurr , former global vice-president and head of Amazon UK
Andrew Harrison , CEO of Diamond Light Source
Rick Hayward , former chairman of Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Tony Hayward , chairman of Glencore , former CEO of BP
Alexander S. Hoare , former CEO of private bank C. Hoare & Co
Johnny Hornby , chairman of Sentebale
William Jardine , merchant, surgeon, and co-founder of global conglomerate Jardine Matheson (怡和洋行)
Sir John Jennings , former chairman of Shell
Ian Quayle Jones , co-founder, former chairman, and CEO of Quayle Munro merchant bank
Alan Jope , CEO of Unilever
Jay Jopling , art dealer, founder of White Cube
Brittany Kaiser , former business development director for Cambridge Analytica
Vivien Kellems , American industrialist and inventor[ 48]
Robert Kibaara , CEO of Housing Finance Group of Kenya
William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme , founder of Unilever
Eilidh Mactaggart , CEO of Scottish National Investment Bank
Sir James Matheson , co-founder of Jardine Matheson
Isabel Maxwell , co-founder of Excite
John McFarlane , Chairman of Westpac , former chairman of Barclays and Aviva
David Milne , co-founder and former CEO of Wolfson Microelectronics
Alfred Mond, 1st Baron Melchett , founder and first CEO of Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI)
Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi , founder and CEO of Banda Property, husband to Princess Beatrice
Sir Kenneth Murray , founder of multinational biotechnology company Biogen
Sir Frederick Ogilvie , former director-general of the BBC
Lord Max Percy , financial analyst
David E. I. Pyott , former CEO of Allergan
Lars Rasmussen , co-founder of Google Maps
Jim Reid , co-founder of Wolfson Microelectronics
Anne Richards , CEO of Fidelity International
Sir Jack Shaw , former governor of Bank of Scotland
Nigel Stein , CEO of GKN
Dave Stevenson , chairman of Edinburgh Woollen Mill
Lord Swann , former chairman of the BBC
Paul Tash , chairman and CEO of the Times Publishing Company
David Taylor , former General Secretary of UEFA
Xenia Timchenko , daughter of Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko [ 49]
George Touche , co-founder of Deloitte
Sir David Tweedie , chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)
James Watt , founder and CEO of BrewDog
Andrew Wirth , president and CEO of Squaw Valley Ski Holdings
Susie Wolff , retired racing driver and CEO of Venturi Racing
Arthur Young , founder of Ernst & Young
Sir James Mirrlees
Kenneth E. Boulding , American economist, recipient of the John Bates Clark Medal in 1949[ 50]
Robin Burgess , economist
Thomas Chalmers , political economist
Paul Cockshott , Marxist economist
William Cunningham , economic historian
Marcus Fleming , known for his contribution to the Mundell–Fleming model
Sir Alexander Gray , Scottish economist and poet
William Ballantyne Hodgson , Scottish political economist
Sir John Kay , British economist, first dean of Saïd Business School , University of Oxford
Henry Dunning Macleod , coined the term "Gresham's law "
John Ramsay McCulloch , Ricardian economist
Sir James Mirrlees , British economist, winner of Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1996[ 51]
John Moore , British economist, former president of the Econometric Society ; recipient of the Yrjö Jahnsson Award in 1999, BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards laureate in 2020[ 52]
Takeshi Nakano , Japanese economist and bureaucrat, introduced the Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) to Japan
Joseph Shield Nicholson , English economist
Ragnar Nurkse , Estonian economist, known for his balanced growth theory
Will Page , Chief Economist at Spotify
Sir Alan T. Peacock , English economist
Madsen Pirie , co-founder and president of the Adam Smith Institute
John Rae , Scottish-Canadian economist
Gavin Clydesdale Reid , Scottish economist
Yongcheol Shin , South Korean-born British economist
Adam Smith , author of The Wealth of Nations , "father of economics "
James Steuart , economist
Jerzy Żyżyński , Polish economist
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Robert Louis Stevenson
Edward Abbey , American author
Jokha Alharthi , novelist, 2019 winner of International Booker Prize
William Archer , writer and critic
John Arden , playwright
Michael Arlen , British-Armenian essayist
Sir J. M. Barrie , author of Peter Pan
Horatius Bonar , Scottish churchman and poet
James Boswell , life-long friend of Samuel Johnson , founded the modern biographic writing with his Life of Johnson
George Mackay Brown , poet
John Campbell , biographer
Thomas Campbell , poet
Thomas Carlyle , essayist and historian known for his great man theory
Bliss Carman , Canadian poet
George Chalmers , antiquarian and political writer
Bruce Chatwin , travel writer, author and winner of the 1982 James Tait Black Memorial Prize
Kate Clanchy , poet and freelance writer
Jenny Colgan , romantic novelist
S. R. Crockett , novelist
Charles Cumming , spy fiction writer
David Daiches , literary historian and critic
Helen Dale , writer
Erasmus Darwin , poet, writer and natural philosopher
John Davison , poet
Thomas Dick , writer
Angus Donald , author and journalist
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle , author and creator of Sherlock Holmes
William Drummond of Hawthornden , poet
Barbara Erskine , novelist
Ralph Erskine , poet and churchman
Ahmed Fagih , Libyan novelist and diplomat
John Fowles , novelist, author of The Collector and The French Lieutenant's Woman
Miriam Gamble , poet
Robert Garioch , poet and translator
Oliver Goldsmith , writer, poet, and author of The Vicar of Wakefield
Michael Grant , writer and historian
Philippa Gregory , historical novelist, author of The Other Boleyn Girl
Hamish Henderson , Scottish poet
Ella Hickson , award-winning playwright
John Hodge , screenwriter
Thomas Hodgskin , socialist writer
Sam Holcroft , playwright
John Home , playwright and joint-founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Gu Hongming , writer and polyglot
Africanus Horton , first West African graduate of Edinburgh, nationalist writer, and medical surgeon
Kathleen Jamie , current Makar for Scotland
Harold Jenkins , Shakespeare scholar
Ae-ran Kim , South Korean writer
Lucy Kirkwood , playwright
Paul Alfred Kleinert , German writer, editor and translator
John Gibson Lockhart , biographer of Sir Walter Scott
Andrew Lownie , biographer
Christine De Luca , poet
Norman MacCaig , Scottish poet
Hugh MacDiarmid , Scottish poet and essayist
Sharman Macdonald , playwright
Ian Maclaren , fiction writer and minister of the Free Church of Scotland
Sorley MacLean (Somhairle MacGill-Eain), Gaelic poet, nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1994
James Macpherson , poet, collector and publisher of The Poems of Ossian
William Matheson (1910–1995), Scottish Gaelic scholar and ordained minister of the Church of Scotland[ 53]
Joel McIver , author
C. K. Scott Moncrieff , writer and translator
Samuel George Morton , writer and physician, proponent of polygenism
Flora Nwapa , Nigerian author, educator and politician
Kole Omotosho , Nigerian writer
Julie O'Neill , author
Lloyd Osbourne , novelist
Neil Paterson , Academy award -winning playwright and screenwriter
David Paulides , writer
Themo H. Peel , author and illustrator
John William Polidori , personal physician to Lord Byron and author of The Vampyre , the first modern vampire story
Kenneth Ramchand , Trinidadian author and literary scholar
Sir Ian Rankin , author of the Inspector Rebus series and winner of the 2003 Edgar Awards
Peter Mark Roget , author of the first thesaurus
J. K. Rowling , author of the Harry Potter series[ b] [ 54]
George Saintsbury , literary critic
Sir Walter Scott , romanticist, author of Ivanhoe and Waverly , and founder of the historical novel genre
Rachel Shabi , political author
Ansuyah Ratipul Singh , South African author and doctor
Samuel Smiles , author and reformer
A. J. M. Smith , Canadian poet
Alexander McCall Smith , author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series and professor of medical law
Tobias Smollett , poet and novelist
William Soutar , poet and diarist[ 55]
Robert Louis Stevenson , author of Treasure Island and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
James Thomson , poet and playwright, known for the lyrics of "Rule, Britannia! "
Catherynne M. Valente , American fiction writer, three-time Locus Award winner
Alan Warner , novelist
Kenneth White , poet
Aeneas Francon Williams , writer, poet, and missionary
John Wilson , writer
Laura Kuenssberg
Sir David Wilkie
Jane Alexander , two time Primetime Emmy Award winner, Tony Award winner
Camilla Arfwedson , actress
Richard Arnold , presenter and journalist best known for his work on GMTV
Maria Bamford , comedian
Mardi Barrie , artist
Mitch Benn , comedian, songwriter and broadcaster
Elizabeth Blackadder , artist
Phyllis Bone , sculptor[ 56]
Michael Boyd , artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company
Tom Bradby , journalist and novelist
JJ Chalmers , former Marine and television presenter
Ian Charleson , actor
Rawdon Christie , Television New Zealand producer/presenter
Hamish Clark , actor
Robbie Coltrane , actor, as Rubeus Hagrid in Harry Potter
Sophie Cookson , actress
Quentin Cooper , science journalist and broadcaster
Michael Davies , executive producer of Jeopardy!
Anthony d'Offay , art dealer
Daisy Donovan , actor and broadcaster
Rona Dougall , broadcaster, journalist and presenter (Scotland Tonight )
Elize du Toit , actress
Jimmy Finlayson , actor and comedian
Iain Gale , journalist and author
Jessica Harrison-Hall , British Museum curator
Jim Haynes , founder of Traverse Theatre , the paper International Times and the London Arts Lab
Mairi Hedderwick , illustrator and author
Carl Honoré , Canadian journalist
Robert Indiana , pop artist
Miles Jupp , comedian
Alex Kay-Jelski , journalist, editor of The Athletic
Roisin Kennedy , art critic and curator
Humphrey Ker , actor and comedian
Laura Kuenssberg , editor, BBC Politics
Paul Laidlaw , auctioneer and television antiques expert
Katie Leung , actress, as Cho Chang in Harry Potter
Allan Little , BBC Foreign Correspondent
Donald Locke , Guyanese artist and curator
Angus Macfadyen , actor, Robert the Bruce in Braveheart
Ewen MacIntosh , actor, The Office , Little Britain
Sally Magnusson , jurnalist, broadcaster on BBC Scotland
Patrick Malahide , actor
Sam McAlister , TV producer and author
Kirsty McCabe , GMTV weather presenter
Freddy McConnell , Guardian multimedia journalist
Michael McIntyre , comedian
Gillian McKeith , television presenter and writer
Kevin McKidd , actor, as Owen Hunt in Grey's Anatomy
Hilton McRae , actor
William Cameron Menzies , film director and production designer, winner of Academy Award for Best Production Design and Academy Honorary Award
Judith Miller , antiques expert, writer and broadcaster
Steve Morrison , TV producer and former Rector of the University
Marina O'Loughlin , restaurant critic
Sir Eduardo Paolozzi , sculptor and pioneer in pop art
Peter Pomerantsev , Soviet-born British journalist
Catherine Rayner , illustrator and author
David Rintoul , actor
Varalaxmi Sarathkumar , actress
Alastair Sim , actor
Iain Stirling , comedian
Rachael Stirling , actress
Ed Stoppard , actor
Margaret Tait , filmmaker and poet[ 57]
Bill Turnbull , journalist and television presenter
Kirsty Wark , broadcaster
Greg Wise , actor, as John Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility
Sir David Wilkie , painter
Sir Henry Bishop , composer
Sir Adrian Boult , conductor
Tom Chaplin , lead singer of Keane
Erik Chisholm , composer
Anna Clyne , composer
Darius Danesh , musician and singer
Django Django , art rock band
James Douglas , composer
Tanya Ekanayaka , composer-pianist
Hans Gal , composer
Katie Gregson-MacLeod , musician
Marjory Kennedy-Fraser , singer and composer[ 58]
Kenneth Leighton , composer
Sir Alexander Mackenzie , composer
Sir James MacMillan , classical composer
Stuart MacRae , composer
Eduardo Reck Miranda , composer and Professor of Computer Music
Marcus Mumford , lead singer of Mumford & Sons
Thea Musgrave , composer
Mylo , DJ
Sir Herbert Oakeley , composer
Carl Orff , German composer
Nigel Osborne , composer
The Rezillos , punk /new wave band
Max Richter , composer and pianist
Sir Donald Runnicles , conductor
Rebecca Saunders , composer
Mike Scott , founder of The Waterboys
Dan Tepfer , jazz pianist and composer
John Thomson , composer
Sir Donald Francis Tovey , composer, pianist, musicologist
Julian Wagstaff , composer
David Wilde , pianist and composer
Derek Williams , composer, arranger and conductor
William Wordsworth , composer
History, philosophy, anthropology, sociology and theology[ edit ]
David Hume
Sir Patrick Geddes
V. Gordon Childe
Marcella Althaus-Reid , theologian
John Anderson , philosopher
Talal Asad , anthropologist
John Baillie , theologian
S. Barry Barnes , philosopher and sociologist of science
Robert Bartlett , medievalist, winner of the Wolfson History Prize in 1993
Jay Bernstein , philosopher
Alexander Bird , philosopher
David Bloor , philosopher, sociologist of science, and key figure in the Edinburgh school
Helen Bond , theologian
Clifford Edmund Bosworth , historian and Orientalist specialising in Arabic and Iranian studies
Sarah Broadie , philosopher
Irene Brown , linguist and codebreaker who worked at Bletchley Park
Thomas Brown , medicine and philosophy
John Burnet , classicist
James Burnett, Lord Monboddo , naturalist, philosopher, linguist
Tom Burns , sociologist
Oswald Chambers , Baptist evangelist
V. Gordon Childe , eminent archeologist
Andy Clark , philosopher of mind and cognition
Peter Comensoli , current Archbishop of Melbourne
Benjamin Constant , French député and political thinker
Pit Corder , linguist
Saul David , military historian
Christopher Dawson , Catholic historian
Tom Devine , historian specialized in Scottish history
Ligon Duncan , theologian
John Erickson , military historian
Adam Ferguson , philosopher and historian, contributed to the initial development of sociology
David Fergusson , theologian
Kit Fine , philosopher
George Finlay , historian
Sir Patrick Geddes , sociologist, developed the concept of Conurbation
Ernest Gellner , philosopher, critical rationalist
H. A. R. Gibb , orientalist
John Gilchrist , linguist
James Giles (born 1958), philosopher and psychologist
Michael Grant , classicist
Michael Halliday , linguist, founder of Systemic functional linguistics
Sir William Hamilton, 9th Baronet , philosopher and logician
Thomas Blom Hansen , anthropologist
Alexander Henderson , second founder of Reformed Church in Scotland
John Hick , religious philosopher
John Holloway , sociologist and Marxist philosopher
David Hume , philosopher and historian
Larry Hurtado , New Testament scholar
Michael Ingham , Anglican bishop and author
Edward Irving , founder of the Catholic Apostolic Church
Alison Jaggar , feminist philosopher
Schuyler Jones , anthropologist
Martin Joos , linguist
Margot Käßmann , theologian, former leader of Evangelical Church in Germany
Norman Kemp Smith , philosopher
Peter Ladefoged , linguist and phonetician
Rae Langton , philosopher
Michael Lynch , expert on Scottish Reformation
Sir John Lyons , linguist
Sir Neil MacCormick , former MEP and legal philosopher
Neil MacGregor , art historian, former director of the National Gallery , London (1987–2002) and of the British Museum (2002–2015), founding director of the Humboldt Forum (2015–)
Robert Morrison MacIver , sociologist
Donald MacKenzie , sociologist
Ruth Barcan Marcus , philosopher and logician
Arthur Marwick , historian
Elton Mayo , psychologist and organizational theorist
Robert Murray M'Cheyne , church minister
James Mill , historian, classical economist and utilitarian philosopher
Peter Millican , philosopher
Akbar Muhammad , historian specialized in African history
Donald Nicol , Byzantinist
David Nicolle , military historian
Pippa Norris , political scientist
Christine Nuttall , linguisitics and teaching English as a foreign language
Cardinal Keith O'Brien , former Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh
Richard Ovenden , Bodley's Librarian in the University of Oxford
Thorsten J. Pattberg , philologist and cultural critic
Stuart Piggott , archeologist
Huw Price , philosopher
Duncan Pritchard , philosopher
Geoffrey K. Pullum , linguist
Sir Herbert Read , art historian, poet, literary critic and philosopher
Rush Rhees , philosopher
David Talbot Rice , art historian who gave his name to the Talbot Rice Gallery at Edinburgh
David George Ritchie , philosopher
William Robertson , Historiographer Royal and Principal of the University of Edinburgh
William Robertson Smith , orientalist and church minister
Holmes Rolston III , philosopher, winner of the Templeton Prize in 2003
Sir W. D. Ross , Aristotelian philosopher
Samuel Seabury , first American Episcopal bishop
Steven Shapin , sociologist and philosopher of science, early founder on Sociology of scientific knowledge (STS)
Timothy Sprigge , philosopher
Dugald Stewart , enlightenment philosopher
John Toland , philosopher, coined the term "pantheism "
Iain Torrance , theologian and President of Princeton Theological Seminary
Thomas F. Torrance , theologian, winner of the Templeton Prize in 1978
Immanuel Velikovsky , psychoanalyst
Géza Vermes , historian and theologian
Tullio Vinay , founder of Agapè Center, Righteous Among the Nations
Asher Wade , American-born international lecturer and psychotherapist
Jeremy Waldron , legal philosopher
William J. Watson , linguist and toponymist , scholar of the history of Scottish place names
W. Montgomery Watt , historian and Orientalist
Heather Widdows , philosopher
Robin Williams , developer of the concept of social shaping of technology (SST)
Timothy Williamson , philosopher
Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee , historian and political theorist
Alex Woolf , medieval historian
Michael Worton , former vice provost of University College of London
Yang Changji , Chinese educator and philosopher, mentor and godfather of Mao Zedong
George Yule , linguist
Zhu Guangqian , philosopher on aesthetics
John Zizioulas , Greek Orthodox prelate
Lulwah Al-Qatami , Nobel Peace Prize nominee and first woman from Kuwait to attend university overseas
B. T. S. Atkins , lexicographer
Chris Atton , university professor and musician
Susan Deacon , former Health Minister in the Scottish Executive , now Professor of Social Change at Queen Margaret University
Margaret Jarvie , counsellor
Edward Johnston , father of modern calligraphy , creator of sans-serif
Alan M. Leslie , psychologist
David MacRitchie , archaeologist
Roger Mercer , archaeologist
A.S. Neill , educationalist, founder of Summerhill School
Madsen Pirie , founder and president of the Adam Smith Institute
Sir Chris Hoy
Mike Budenholzer
Tommy Armour , three-time major golf championships winner
Leslie Balfour-Melville , outstanding all-round sportsman
Graeme Beveridge , Scottish international rugby union player
Bob Braithwaite , Olympic gold medalist in Trap shooting
Mike Budenholzer , head coach of the Phoenix Suns of the NBA
Euan Burton , judoka
Zbigniew Czajkowski , fencing master, "father of the Polish School" of fencing
Stephen Dick , hockey player
Eilidh Doyle , Olympic track and field bronze medalist
Gemma Gibbons , Olympic judo silver medallist
Eilidh Gibson , canoeist
Katherine Grainger , Olympic rowing gold medallist
Stuart Grimes , international professional rugby union player
Peter Heatly , diver and former chairman of the Commonwealth Games Federation
Sir Chris Hoy , second-most successful British Olympian in history with six Olympic track cycling gold medals
Alexander Watson Hutton , "father of Argentine football"
Andy Irvine , rugby union player and president of the Scottish Rugby Union
Michael Jamieson , 200m breaststroke Olympic silver medallist
Eric Liddell , men's Olympic 400m gold medallist, and Scottish Rugby international
Linsey MacDonald , Olympic bronze medalist in 400 metres
Margaret Maughan , Britain's first and four-times Paralympic games gold medalist
Caitlin McClatchey , swimmer and two-times Commonwealth gold medallist
Judy Murray , mother and coach of professional tennis players Jamie Murray and Sir Andy Murray
Chris Paterson , Scottish international rugby union player
Alistair Potts , Commonwealth and British World Champion rower
Mark Robertson , Scottish international rugby union player
Jackie Robinson , 1948 Olympic gold medalist in Basketball representing Team USA
Martin Sinclair , silver medalist in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games
Pat Spence , two-time tennis Grand Slam mixed doubles champion
Micky Steele-Bodger , English rugby international and chairman of IRB
Robert Strang , English cricketer who played once for Scotland
Polly Swann , Olympic rowing silver medallist
Catherine Taylor , Jon Duncan , Scott Fraser and Yvette Baker , orienteers with international success
Simon Taylor , international professional rugby union player
Bungy Watson , English rugby union player[ 59]
Piers Sellers
Ruth Adler , human rights campaigner[ 60]
John Aikin , physician and writer
John (Ian) Bartholomew , cartographer and former principal of John Bartholomew and Son Ltd.
Thomas Spencer Baynes , publisher and writer
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr , visual artist and member of the Bhutto family
Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, daughter of Benazir Bhutto , 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan , member of the Bhutto family
John Biggar , Scottish mountaineer who has made various first ascents in the Andes
George Birkbeck , founder of Birkbeck College, University of London and co-founder of UCL
James Blair , founder of the College of William & Mary
John Brown , physician and author
Archibald Cameron of Locheil , jacobite
Sam Denby , YouTuber
John Dalgleish Donaldson , mathematician, father of Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark
Robert Felkin , medical missionary; ceremonial magician, member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn ; author on Africa; explorer and anthropologist
James Gall , clergyman and astronomer, founder of the Carrubbers Close Mission [ 61]
Alastair Humphreys , Adventurer[ 62]
Rev Bruce Kenrick , writer, minister, social activist and founder of Shelter
Rev Joseph Marsh , founder of Hill Street Academy
Philippa Matthews , socialite and younger sister of Catherine, Princess of Wales
Ailsa Maxwell , Bletchley Park code breaker and historian
Sheila McKechnie , Scottish trade unionist and 1991 Alumnus of the Year
James Middleton , businessman and younger brother of Catherine, Princess of Wales
Macvey Napier , encyclopedist
Mungo Park , explorer
Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair , scientist and parliamentarian
Daphne Pochin Mould , photographer, writer, geologist
Stella Rimington , former head of MI5
Peter Sawkins , winner of The Great British Bake Off 2020
Piers Sellers , astronaut
William Smellie , encyclopedist
University officials [ edit ]
Sir Edward Appleton , Nobel laureate in Physics in 1947 for his discoveries of the ionosphere , was principal from 1949 to 1965.
Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby , former rector of the university (1935–1936)
Anne, Princess Royal , chancellor of the university (2011–present)
Sir Edward Victor Appleton , former principal and vice-chancellor of the university (1949–1965)
Stanley Baldwin , former rector of the university (1923–1926)
Arthur Balfour , former chancellor of the university (1891–1930)
Earl Beatty , former rector of the university (1917–1920)
Gordon Brown , former rector of the university (1972–1975)
Sir Winston Churchill , former rector of the university (1929–1932)
Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope , rector of the university (1945–1948)
Sir Alexander Fleming , former rector of the university (1951–1953)
David Lloyd George , former rector of the university (1920–1923)
William Gladstone , former rector of the university (1859–1865)
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , former chancellor of the university (1953–2010)
The Earl of Rosebery , former rector of the university (1880–1883)
^ Edward was taught by professor Lyon Playfair and others at Edinburgh during 1859. Although he attended courses, he never formally matriculated as a student.
^ Rowling attended the Moray House School of Education in 1995, before it merged with the university in 1998.
^ "Dr Harini Amarasuriya elected as MP in Sri Lanka | IASH" . www.iash.ed.ac.uk . Retrieved 2 October 2024 .
^ "Former Fellow becomes Prime Minister of Sri Lanka | IASH" . www.iash.ed.ac.uk . Retrieved 2 October 2024 .
^ McCracken, John (2017). "Hastings Kamuzu Banda: the Edinburgh Years" . The Society of Malawi Journal . 70 (1). Society of Malawi – Historical and Scientific: 1–18. JSTOR 26382821 . Retrieved 21 November 2021 .
^ "Hastings Banda" . UncoverED. Retrieved 21 November 2021 .
^ Keatley, Patrick (23 November 1999). "Sir Robert Black – Tough Scot sorting out the end of Britain's empire" . The Guardian . Retrieved 21 November 2021 .
^ "Thomas Brisbane (1773–1860)" . The University of Edinburgh. 19 January 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2021 .
^ "The Rt Hon Gordon Brown" . GOV.UK . Retrieved 21 November 2021 .
^ Hoare, James E. (2004). Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Korea . Rowman & Littlefield. p. 115. ISBN 9781538119754 .
^ "Dr. John Crawfurd 1783–1868" . Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 21 November 2021 .
^ "Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound (1st Earl of Minto) 1751–1814" . Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 25 November 2021 .
^ Hughes, Arnold; Perfect, David (2008). Historical Dictionary of The Gambia (PDF) . The Scarecrow Press. p. 113. ISBN 9780810858251 .
^ "Uncovering University of Edinburgh's black history" . The University of Edinburgh. 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2022 .
^ Harris M. Lentz (4 February 2014). Heads of States and Governments Since 1945 . The Routledge. p. 1975. ISBN 9781134264971 . Retrieved 30 April 2022 .
^ "Letters of William Shepherd Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil (1893-1961) to his brother, Dr. Donald John Morrison, and other items" . The University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 30 April 2022 .
^ Harris M. Lentz (4 February 2014). Heads of States and Governments Since 1945 . The Routledge. p. 1910. ISBN 9781134264971 . Retrieved 30 April 2022 .
^ "Julius Kambarage Nyerere" . The University of Edinburgh. 24 June 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2021 .
^ "Julius Nyerere" . UncoverED. Retrieved 21 November 2021 .
^ "1993" . The University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 30 April 2022 .
^ Bloy, Marjie; Little, Tony; Parry, Jonathan. "Lord John Russell (Earl Russell), 1792–1878" . The Liberal Democrat History Group. Retrieved 21 November 2021 .
^ "1988: IASH at 50" . ed.ac.uk . Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities. Retrieved 29 October 2024 .
^ "Deputy First Minister" . www.gov.scot . Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022 .
^ "Viscount Palmerston (1784–1865)" . The University of Edinburgh. 28 June 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2021 .
^ Farr, D.M.L. (21 February 2008). "Sir Charles Tupper" . The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21 November 2021 .
^ "Yun Posun (1897–1990)" . The University of Edinburgh. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2021 .
^ "Signers of the Declaration of Independence: Benjamin Rush" . ushistory.org . Independence Hall Association. Retrieved 18 June 2015 .
^ "1988: IASH at 50" . ed.ac.uk . Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities. Retrieved 29 October 2024 .
^ "Signers of the Declaration of Independence: James Wilson" . ushistory.org . Independence Hall Association. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015 .
^ Dana Bentley-Cranch, Edward VII: Image of an Era, 1841-1910 , Scotland, 1992, [1] .
^ Edinburgh University Calendar (University of Edinburgh, 1934), p. 524
^ "Alan Stewart Orr" in David Heaton, John Higgins, eds., The Times Obituaries, Lives Remembered (Blewbury Press, 1991), p. 87
^ "Shaw Laureates in 2014 in Astronomy: Biographical Notes of Laureates" . Shaw Foundation. Retrieved 4 June 2015 .
^ Hinton, Geoffrey Everest (1977). Relaxation and its role in vision . lib.ed.ac.uk (PhD thesis). University of Edinburgh. hdl :1842/8121 . OCLC 18656113 . EThOS uk.bl.ethos.482889 .
^ Anon (2014). "Shadbolt, Prof. Nigel Richard" . Who's Who (online edition via Oxford University Press ed.). A & C Black. doi :10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U245873 . (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ Engineering at Edinburgh University, A Short History 1673–1983. Ronald M Birse, 1983
^ "John Rennie" . www.engineeringhalloffame.org . Retrieved 29 January 2016 .
^ "Klaus Fuchs (1911 – 1988)" . The University of Edinburgh . 20 April 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2020 .
^ "Marion Cameron Gray (1902–1979)" . The University of Edinburgh . 27 November 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2020 .
^ "Shelia Tinney (1918–2010)" . The University of Edinburgh . 29 May 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2020 .
^ "William Speirs Bruce (1867 – 1921)" . The University of Edinburgh . 29 November 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2020 .
^ Robert Moorhead, "William Budd and typhoid fever ". Retrieved 7 March 2010. J R Soc Med. 2002 November; 95(11): 561–564.
^ "Ronald Fairbairn (1889 – 1964)" . The University of Edinburgh . 21 April 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2020 .
^ "Professor Heather Ferguson FRSE" . 5 May 2021.
^ "David Hosack (1769–1835)" . The University of Edinburgh . July 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2020 .
^ Maguire, Marti (6 February 2016). "Tar Heel: Trudy Mackay works with fruit flies to solve genetic mysteries" . The News & Observer. Retrieved 16 February 2016 .
^ "The Queen's Park Men Who Served And Survived As At October 2016 - Appendix 2" (PDF) . p. 14. Retrieved 24 October 2016 .
^ "Sahib Singh Sokhey (1887–1971)" . The University of Edinburgh . 23 September 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2020 .
^ Elizabeth A. Brennan, Elizabeth C. Clarage, Who's who of Pulitzer Prize Winners , 630, [2] .
^ "Vivien Kellems (1896–1975)" . The University of Edinburgh . 12 May 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2020 .
^ Lagoda Foundation, Annual Report , 2011, [3] .
^ Beaud, Michel; Dostaler, Gilles (27 September 2005). Economic Thought Since Keynes: A History and Dictionary of Major Economists . Routledge. p. 183. ISBN 1134711522 .
^ "James A. Mirrlees - Biographical" . Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 13 July 2021 .
^ "Professor John Hardman Moore" . Edinburgh University. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015 .
^ "William Matheson" . The Herald . 2 December 1995. Retrieved 2 December 2017 .
^ "University to honour JK Rowling" . The Irish Examiner . 14 February 2004. Retrieved 12 May 2022 .
^ "William Soutar (1898 – 1943)" . The University of Edinburgh . 31 May 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2020 .
^ "Phyllis Mary Bone (1894 – 1972)" . The University of Edinburgh . 30 March 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2020 .
^ "Margaret Tait (1918–1999)" . The University of Edinburgh . 28 November 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2020 .
^ "Marjory Kennedy-Fraser (1857–1930)" . The University of Edinburgh . 24 June 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020 .
^ "Bungy Watson (1890 - 1914)" . The University of Edinburgh . 24 April 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2020 .
^ "Ruth Adler (1944–1994)" . The University of Edinburgh . 31 July 2019. Retrieved 19 August 2020 .
^ "Rev. James Gall" . Retrieved 27 January 2016 .
^ Cope, Sally (26 October 2005). "Next month, on his 29th birthday, Alastair Humphreys will come to the end of a fundraising cycle ride around the globe. Sally Cope spoke to his parents" . www.yorkshirepost.co.uk . Retrieved 18 March 2017 .
Governance History People Academic divisions
College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Sub-units, centres and institutes
Places Student life Associated