University Of Edinburgh Notable Alumni
Right IconThis ranking is based on an algorithm that combines various factors, including the votes of our users and search trends on the internet.
Discover the notable alumni of University Of Edinburgh. The list includes people like Charles Darwin, Alexander Graham Bell, Adam Smith, Sarojini Naidu & Gordon Brown. This list of notable alumni is loosely sorted by popularity and has people from different domains of life, such as scientists, writers, intellectuals & academics, miscellaneous and inventors & discoverers etc.
Vote for Your Favourite University Of Edinburgh Notable Alumni
1
Charles Darwin(Naturalist known for His Contributions to Evolutionary Biology)
Birthdate: February 12, 1809
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: The Mount House, Shrewsbury, England
Died: April 19, 1882
2
Alexander Graham Bell(Inventor of Telephone & Co-Founder of 'American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T)')
Birthdate: March 3, 1847
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
Died: August 2, 1922
Birthdate: May 22, 1859
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Scotland
Died: July 7, 1930
4
Robert Louis Stevenson(Author of Famous Novels: 'Treasure Island' and 'Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde')
Birthdate: November 13, 1850
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
Died: December 3, 1894
5
David Hume(Best Known for His Highly Influential System of Philosophical Empiricism, Scepticism and Naturalism)
Birthdate: April 26, 1711
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
Died: August 25, 1776
6
James Maxwell(Scottish Mathematician and Scientist Who Gave the Classical Theory of Electromagnetic Radiation)
Birthdate: June 13, 1831
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
Died: November 5, 1879
Birthdate: May 9, 1860
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland
Died: June 19, 1937
8
Julius Nyerere
(Politician)
Birthdate: April 13, 1922
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Butiama, Tanzania
Died: October 14, 1999
9
Susie Wolff
(British Former Professional Racing Driver)
Birthdate: December 6, 1982
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Oban, Scotland
Height: 5'6" (168 cm)
10
Pippa Middleton(English Socialite, Author, Columnist and Younger Sister of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge)
Birthdate: September 6, 1983
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Reading, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
11
Chris Hoy
(Former Scottish Track Cyclist)
Birthdate: March 23, 1976
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
Height: 6'1" (185 cm)
12
Eric Liddell(Scottish Sprinter, Rugby Player and Olympic Gold Medalist)
Birthdate: January 16, 1902
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Tianjin, China
Died: February 21, 1945
Height: 5'8" (173 cm)
Birthdate: November 10, 1728
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: County Longford, Ireland
Died: April 4, 1774
Birthdate: September 20, 1964
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Hong Kong
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
Birthdate: December 29, 1911
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Rüsselsheim, German Empire
Died: January 28, 1988
16
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
(Politician)
Birthdate: October 20, 1784
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Westminster, Middlesex, England
Died: October 18, 1865
Birthdate: October 28, 1794
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Ecclesmachan, West Lothian, Scotland
Died: December 7, 1847
18
Amber Rudd(Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2018 - 2019))
Birthdate: August 1, 1963
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Marylebone, London, England, United Kingdom
Height: 5'10" (178 cm)
Birthdate: July 20, 1804
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Lancaster, England
Died: December 18, 1892
20
Edward VII(King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, Emperor of India (1901 - 1910))
Birthdate: November 9, 1841
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: London, England
Died: May 6, 1910
Birthdate: September 21, 1963
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
22
Robert Stephenson
(Engineer, Civil engineer, Politician)
Birthdate: October 16, 1803
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Willington Quay
Died: October 12, 1859
Birthdate: October 28, 1939
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
24
Max Richter
(One of the Best-Selling German Composers and Pianists)
Birthdate: March 22, 1966
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Hamelin, Germany
25
Ian Charleson
(Scottish actor)
Birthdate: August 11, 1949
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
Died: January 6, 1990
26
Tom Chaplin
(English Singer-Songwriter and the Lead Singer of Keane)
Birthdate: March 8, 1979
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Hastings, East Sussex, England
Height: 6'2" (188 cm)
27
Kevin McKidd
(Actor Best Known for His Role in the Film 'Trainspotting' and TV Series 'Grey's Anatomy')
Birthdate: August 9, 1973
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Elgin, Moray, Scotland
Height: 5'11" (180 cm)
28
James Boswell
(Best Known for His Biography of His Friend and Older Contemporary the English Writer 'Samuel Johnson')
Birthdate: October 29, 1740
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
Died: May 19, 1795
Birthdate: January 4, 1746
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Byberry, Philadelphia, United States
Died: April 19, 1813
30
Philippa Gregory
(Novelist, Writer)
Birthdate: January 9, 1954
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Nairobi
Birthdate: 1983
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: London, England
32
Darius Campbell
(Singer, Opera singer, Songwriter)
Birthdate: August 19, 1980
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Glasgow
Height: 6'4" (193 cm)
33
Michael McIntyre
(One of the Highest-Grossing Stand-Up Comedians in the World)
Birthdate: February 21, 1976
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: London, England
Height: 5'8" (173 cm)
34
Ian Rankin
(Writer, Novelist)
Birthdate: April 28, 1960
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Scotland
35
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan(Indian Islamic Reformer and Educationist Who Founded the ‘Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College’, the First Muslim University in Southern Asia)
Birthdate: October 17, 1817
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Delhi, India
Died: March 27, 1898
36
David Brewster
(Scientist)
Birthdate: December 11, 1781
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Jedburgh, Scotland
Died: February 10, 1868
37
Geoffrey Hinton
(Computer scientist)
Birthdate: December 6, 1947
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Wimbledon
Birthdate: August 2, 1861
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Khulna
Died: June 16, 1944
Birthdate: August 24, 1948
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Birthdate: March 24, 1945
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Berkshire, England, UK
41
Talal Asad
(Anthropologist known for his writing calling for the anthropology of secularism)
Birthdate: 1932
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Medina, Saudi Arabia
Birthdate: September 16, 1974
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: London, England
Height: 5'9" (175 cm)
Birthdate: December 21, 1773
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Montrose, Scotland
Died: June 10, 1858
Birthdate: September 11, 1771
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Selkirkshire, Scotland
Died: July 19, 1806
Birthdate: October 15, 1940
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Brisbane, Australia
Birthdate: June 3, 1726
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Edinburgh
Died: March 26, 1797
47
Judy Murray
(Tennis coach from Scotland who became the captain of the British Fed Cup team in 2011)
Birthdate: September 8, 1959
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire, Scotland
Height: 5'5" (165 cm)
48
Bill Turnbull
(Journalist, Presenter)
Birthdate: January 25, 1956
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Guildford
Birthdate: May 13, 1940
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK
Died: January 18, 1989
Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
Birthdate: March 17, 1997
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: United States
Being one of Scotland’s ancient universities, the University of Edinburgh traces back its foundation to the year 1582. Essentially being a research university, the University of Edinburgh is currently ranked 19th as per the 2016-2017 QS Rankings. It has the third largest endowment in the United Kingdom, and was ranked 4th in the UK and 1st in Scotland for its research power, as per the Research Excellence Framework. The three colleges offer various programs in the areas of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine and Science and Engineering. Being the fourth most popular university in the United Kingdom, in terms of applicants, it is considered as one of the most difficult colleges to get into in Scotland. With the mission to be one of world’s leading research and teaching institutes internationally, the university improvises, innovates and improves, while sticking to its rich heritage and the highest quality of teaching. The University of Edinburgh is renowned for creating various legends that have made an everlasting impression on the world, in several areas of study. Charles Darwin, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Bayes, James Clerk Maxwell and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are some esteemed personalities who were once students of the University of Edinburgh. Brace yourself and keep reading this list to know more eminent individuals who have made the University Of Edinburgh proud with their contribution to society.