Famous Scots: A-B

Robert Adam
(1728-1792)

Architect

Robert Adam followed his father into architecture, studying at Edinburgh and in Rome (1754-8) where he drew inspiration from classical ruins and painted frescoes. He set up an architectural practice in London with his brother James. Initially it was interior design they became famous for, transforming rich society houses.

In 1761 Robert was appointed Architect of the King's Works, thanks to the influence of his fellow countryman the Marquis of Bute. Robert's firm was responsible for some of Britain's most beautiful buildings. Fine examples are Home House in Portland Square, London (1765); an in Edinburgh, Charlotte Square (1791) and Register House (1774). The spectacular Culzean Castle, built for the 10th Earl of Cassillis in Ayrshire, contains a unique double staircase in an oval space (1777-9).

Adam was MP for Kinross from 1768. He died in 1792 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

---

Baptism Abbotshall, 24 July 1728 (ref 399/2, Fr 493, p54)

---

View will and testament:
Transcript · Page 1 · Page 2 · Page 3 · Page 4

---

Further reading
Harris, Eileen: The genius of Robert Adam: his interiors (Yale, 2001)
Bryant, Julius: Robert Adam, 1728-92: architect of genius (London, 1992), Robert Adam and his circle, in Edinburgh & Rome (London, 1962)

William Adam
(1689-1748)

Architect · Builder

A builder's son, William Adam was born near Kirkcaldy. Although architecture became his profession he was an entrepreneur, his interests ranging from barley and timber mills to salt pans and coal works.

William gained the patronage of many influential Scots, building houses for the Earl of Hopetoun, Sir John Clerk of Penicuik and Lord Braco. He was able to afford the estate of Blair Crambeth in Kinross-shire and promptly renamed it Blair Adam. In 1730 he was appointed Mason to the Board of Ordnance in North Britain. This post provided lucrative fortification contracts after the Jacobite rebellion of 1745.

William's collection of engravings of his own work and that of his contemporaries was posthumously published as Vitruvius Scoticus (1812). William married Mary Robertson in 1716. They had four sons and six daughters. His sons Robert and James would be in their time the most prominent architects in the UK. William is buried in Greyfriars kirkyard in a tomb designed by his son John.

---

Born Abbotshall, 24 October 1689 (ref 399/00)

---

View will and testament:
Transcript · Page 1 · Page 2 · Page 3 · Page 4 · Page 5 · Page 6 · Page 7 · Page 8 · Page 9

William Alexander
(c.1567-1640)

Statesman · Writer

William Alexander was born at Menstrie Castle, Clackmannanshire. He served as a tutor to the young Archibald Campbell, Earl of Argyll during his grand tour of Europe. He went on to tutor King James VI's son Henry. William followed James to London when he became James I of England and was knighted in 1609. After the death of Prince Henry, William became a courtier in the household of Prince Charles.

He was a poet, composer and playwright as well as a tutor. His output includes a collection of songs Aurora (1604), an epic poem Doomsday (1614 and 1637) and the tragic plays Darius, Croesus, The Alexandrian Tragedy and Julius Caesar (1603-7). In 1621 he was granted a charter for Nova Scotia on the North American continent.

His attempts at colonisation came to nothing and the territory was passed to the French as part of the marriage negotiations of Charles I. From 1626 he served as Secretary of State for Scotland and was created first Earl of Stirling in 1633. He died bankrupt in London.

---

View will and testament:
Transcript · Page 1 · Page 2 · Page 3 · Page 4

Sir William Arrol
(1839-1913)

Builder

The son of a spinner, Arrol started work in a Renfrewshire cotton mill at the tender age of nine. Four years later he started a blacksmith apprenticeship and went on to learn mechanics and hydraulics at night school.

In 1863 he joined a company of Glasgow bridge manufacturers but by 1872 he had established his own business, the Dalmarnock Iron Works. In the late 1870s he went on to found Sir William Arrol & Co., a leading international civil engineering business.

Arrol was the builder of the Forth Bridge (pictured) and of the second Tay Bridge which replaced the ill-fated structure that collapsed in 1879.

---

Born Houston and Killellan, 13 February 1839 (ref 565/2, Fr 456)

---

Marriage (1) to Elisabeth Pattison, 15 Jul 1864 (ref 559/1, 113)
Marriage (2) to Janet Hodgart, 8 Mar 1905 (ref 578/1, 54)
Marriage (3) to Elsie Robertson, 16 Nov 1910 (ref 362, 16)

---

Died Ayr, 20 Feb 1913 (ref 578/1, 98)

Dame Isobel Baillie
(1895-1983)

Opera singer

Regarded as one of the 20th century's greatest oratorio songers, Baillie was Scotland's first international opera star.

Born in Hawick in 1895, she worked in a music shop, then made her debut in 1921 at Manchester's Hallé concert and worked with Toscanini and Vaughan Williams. She later taught music in England and the United States of America.

She was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1951, and was promoted in 1978 to Dame Commander (DBE).

---

Born Wiltown, Roxburgh, 9 March 1895 (ref 810/30)

Robert Baillie
(1634-84)

Landowner

Robert Baillie of Jerviswood was from Lanarkshire, where his father, George, had acquired the estates of Jerviswood and Mellerstain. In 1676 he rescued his brother-in-law, James Kirkton, a Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) minister, from house arrest and was imprisoned briefly for his pains.

In 1683, after his plans to emigrate to South Carolina had come to nothing he went to London, where he became involved with the Duke of Monmouth's faction. The Duke was the natural son of Charles II and believed himself entitled to the throne. After the discovery of the Rye House plot against the king's life, Robert was arrested and sent to Scotland. The plot was to have serious repercussions. The Tories used it as an excuse to attack the Whig opposition. Once in Edinburgh Robert was put on trial for treason, found guilty on unconvincing evidence and sentenced to be hanged. Sentence was carried out the same day, Christmas Eve 1684.

---

View will and testament:
Transcript · Page 1 · Page 2

John Logie Baird
(1888-1946)

Inventor

Born in Helensburgh, John was the youngest child of the Rev. John Baird. From a very early age he tinkered with communication devices. Unfit for the forces during World War One, he emigrated to the West Indies. An attempt to sell jam there was interrupted by further ill health.

Retiring to Sussex in 1922 he began working on the invention of television. His success was straight out of a Boy's Own comic. Virtually penniless, he constructed the world's first TV from pieces of junk - the projection lamp sat in a biscuit tin, scanning disks were cut from cardboard, and lenses were bicycle accessories. The whole thing was held together by scrap wood, needles, string, and of course sealing-wax.

In 1927 he transmitted a signal between London and Glasgow. He set up the Baird Television Development Co. Ltd, which in 1928 made a transmission from London to New York.

Baird's system was taken over by the BBC in 1932. Electronics were also being developed, chiefly by Marconi in the USA, and these were eventually to supersede Baird's technology in 1937. His other developments were in fibre-optics, radio direction finding, large screen television and other areas.

He married Margaret Albu, a concert pianist, in 1931; they had two children. Baird continued his experimental work until his death at Bexhill, Sussex, on 14 June 1946.

---

Born Row, 13 August 1888 (ref 503, 133)

 

The photograph is of the earliest known television image, produced by Baird's 'televisor', circa 1926

J(ames) M(atthew) Barrie
(1860-1937)

Writer

Barrie was born in Kirriemuir, Angus, to a conservative Calvinist family, the son of David, a weaver. His mother, Margaret, had assumed her deceased mother's household responsibilities at the tender age of eight.

Barrie was the 9th child of 10 (two of whom died before he was born). All were schooled in at least the three Rs, in preparation for possible professional careers. Barrie was a small child (indeed, according to his 1934 passport, he only grew to 5 ft 3½ inches tall) so drew attention to himself with storytelling.

His most well-known works from a long list of successful publications include The Admirable Crichton (1902) and the perennial childhood favourite Peter Pan (1904). The latter was first performed on stage on 27 December 1904. Amongst the characters was, of course, 'Wendy' - a name invented by Barrie as an affectionate tribute to a girl he knew who couldn't pronounce the letter 'R' properly, and who referred to him as 'fwendy' instead of 'friendy'!

Barrie died of pneumonia in 1937. His birthplace at 4 Brechin Road is maintained as a museum by the National Trust for Scotland.

---

Born Kirriemuir, 9 May 1860 (ref 299/100)

---

Marriage (to Mary Ansell) Kirriemuir, 9 July 1894 (ref 299/22)

Willie Bauld
(1927-77)

Footballer

Nicknamed 'The King' by supporters of Heart of Midlothian FC, Bauld is the club's record competitive goalscorer.

Born in Newcraighall, a mining village outside Edinburgh, his father Robert was a colliery surfaceman. He commenced his football career in 1946, playing for junior side Newtongrange Star. After a spell at Musselburgh Athletic he joined Hearts, and was to establish himself as one of the club's all-time greats.

Between 1946 and his retiral in 1962 he made 292 appearances, scoring 183 goals. He became part of Hearts so-called 'Terrible Trio', a formidable strike force, alongside Jimmy Wardhaugh and Alfie Conn.

He helped Hearts to a Scottish Cup triumph in 1956, the League Championship in 1957-58 and 1959-60 and League Cup successes in 1955 and 1959. He was also capped 3 times for Scotland in 1950, scoring twice.

He died in Edinburgh in 1977, aged 50.

---

Born Newcraighall, 14 January 1927 (ref 685/16, 9)

---

Marriage to Margaret Cockburn, 23 June 1952 (ref 685/3, 320)

---

Died Edinburgh, 11 March 1977 (ref 744, 230)

Alexander Graham Bell
(1847-1922)

Inventor of telephone

Bell's birth wasn't registered until 12 September 1849 along with those of two of his brothers. The family home was at South Charlotte Street in Edinburgh's New Town - the building is marked with a commemorative plaque. His father was Professor Alexander Melville Bell.

Bell, along with his father and brother, became associated with work on elocution and speech - both his mother and wife were deaf, profooundly influencing Bell's life's work. Curiously, Bell's formative years showed rare inkling of the profound scientific breakthroughs to come. He left Edinburgh's Royal High School aged 15, his record blemished by lacklustre grades and truancy. While he was indifferent to many subjects, he was interested in the sciences, eventually enrolling at the University of Edinburgh.

His research on hearing and speech led him to experiment with hearing devices, culminating in him being awarded the first US patent for the telephone, in 1876. Bell considered his most famous invention an intrusion into his real scientific endeavours and he refused to have on in his study.

He emigrated to Canada but continued his work for the deaf in the United States. He constructed the first telephone at Boston in 1875 and introduced his invention to Britain two years later. Many other inventions marked Bell's later life, including groundbreaking work in optical telecommunications, hydrofoils and aeronautics. He became one of the founding members of the National Geographic Society in 1888.

---

Born Edinburgh, 3 March 1847 (ref 685.1/60, Fr 4171)

Sir Charles Bell
(1774-1842)

Surgeon · Neurologist

Charles Bell was born in Edinburgh, the city where he also studied, taking a medical degree in 1799. Charles and his brother were remarkably gifted artists - together they taught anatomy and illustrate and published two volumes of A System of Dissection Explaining the Anatomy of the Human Body. Aspects of his success incurred the jealousy of other local physicians and he was barred from practice at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Moving to London in 1804, he set up a private surgery and school of anatomy.

He served as a military surgeon, making elaborate recordings of neurological injuries at the Royal Hospital Haslar and famously documeting his experiences at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. He was instrumental in the creation of the Middlesex Hospital Medical School and, in 1824, became the first professor of Anatomy and Surgery at London's College of Surgeons. 'Bell's palsy' is one of the neurological conditions that he described.

Bestowed with honors and international recognition, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1826, knighted in 1831 and elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Wishing to return to Scotland he became Professor of Surgery at the University of Edinburgh in 1836. He died travelling to London in 1842.

---

View will and testament:
Transcript · Page 1

Joseph Black
(1728-99)

Scientist

Joseph Black was born in Bordeaux. His mother was Scottish and his father was a wine merchant from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

He attended university at both Glasgow and Edinburgh from the age of sixteen. He graduated as a Doctor of Medicine and it was in his thesis that he first described what would later be known as carbon dioxide.

His academic career included the posts of Professor of Anatomy and Chemistry at Glasgow University as well as Medicine and Chemistry at Edinburgh. His discovery of specific and latent heat were greatly to influence his pupil, James Watt.

---

View will and testament:
Transcript · Page 1 · Page 2 · Page 3 · Page 4 · Page 5 · Page 6 · Page 7 · Page 8 · Page 9 · Page 10 · Page 11 · Page 12 · Page 13 · Page 14 · Page 15 · Page 16 · Page 17 · Page 18 · Page 19 · Page 20 · Page 21 · Page 22 · Page 23 · Page 24 · Page 25 · Page 26 · Page 27 · Page 28 · Page 29

James Boswell
(1740-95)

Advocate · Biographer

James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck, is best remembered for his biography The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791). His diaries provide frank insights into post-Union Britain.

When the Earl of Bute became Prime Minister in 1760 an anti-Scottish element prevailed. Boswell wrote: "I wished another Bannockburn". But he also championed 'Kings English' and expunged colloquial Scots from his work. Proud of his social rank, his ancestor Thomas, the first Earl, died alongside King James IV at Flodden in 1513. Boswell claimed descent from a cousin of Lord Darnley (second husband of Queen Mary and father of James VI). He professed a romantic attachment to the Stuarts but was also a loyal Hanoverian. His will refers to his father Alexander's classical manuscript collection, including the Auchinleck Chronicle (c. 1460), containing contemporary information about James II, including the murder of political opponent, William, 8th Earl of Douglas. Ironically, the manuscript is also the earliest example of Scots prose.

---

Born Edinburgh, 18 October 1740 (ref 685.1/22, Fr 102)

---

Married (to his cousin Margaret Montgomery) Stewarton,
26 November 1769 (ref 616/5, Fr 982)

---

View will and testament:
Transcript · Page 1 · Page 2 · Page 3 · Page 4 · Page 5 · Page 6 · Page 7 · Page 8 · Page 9 · Page 10 · Page 11 · Page 12 · Page 13 · Page 14 · Page 15

---

Further reading
Pottle, Frederick A (ed): Boswell's London journal 1762-1763 (Edinburgh, 2001)
Milne, Hugh M (ed): Boswell's Edinburgh journals 1767-1786 (Edinburgh, 2001)
Weis, Charles McC and Pottle, Frederick A (ed): Boswell in extremes 1776-1778 (London, 1971)

Sir Thomas Bouch
(1822-80)

Civil Engineer

Born in Cumberland, Bouch married in Edinburgh and died in Moffat in 1880. His claim to fame, or rather notoriety, was his design of the ill-fated Tay Bridge.

He designed the bridge while working for the Edinburgh and Northern Railway. Queen Victoria travelled over it at the official opening in 1878, and Bouch was knighted in recognition of his achievement in 1879. However, during a ferocious storm on 28 December 1879, strong side winds caused the bridge to collapse. A train was crossing at the time and all were lost. A tally of 75 victims was deduced from the ticket count at St. Fort Station in Fife, although not all were recovered from the Tay.

A public inquiry revealed an age-old issue: safety had been compromised by the railway company over costs. Sloppy working practices such as poor smelting and the re-use of girders dropped into the estuary during construction were also contributory factors. Bouch's design for the Forth Rail Bridge, which had progressed as far as the foundations, was abandoned (he had favoured a suspension bridge as opposed to the eventual cantilever design).

Bouch died at the age of 58 shortly after the enquiry into the Tay Bridge disaster condemned him.

---

Marriage to Margaret Ferrie Nelson, proclaimed Edinburgh (his parish), 24.7.1853 (685.1/70, Fr 7260) Married Glasgow (her parish), 28 July 1853 (ref 644.1/44*, Fr 823)

---

Died Moffat, 30 October 1880 (ref 842, 43)

James Braid
(1870-1950)

Golfer

Braid was a professional golfer, one of the late 19th century's 'Great Triumvirate' along with Harry Vardon and John Henry Taylor. The trio combined to win The Open Championship 16 times out of 21 between 1894 and 1914. Braid won 5 (the first competitor to accomplish this feat).

Born in Kilconquhar, Fife, he played golf from an early age, turning professional in 1896. Initially hampered by his putting, after a switch to an aluminium putter in 1900 there was no turning back. His winning streak included the Open in 1901, 1905, 1906, 1908 and 1910, as well as the British PGA Matchplay Championships in 1903, 1905, 1907 and 1911. He also won the French Open in 1910.

Returning from tournament golf in 1912, he became a club professional at Walton Heath in Surrey. He was also a course designer and is sometimes credited as having invented the dogleg. Among more than 200 designs are the King's and Queen's Courses at Gleneagles.

Braid remained at Walton Heath until his death in 1950.

---

Born Kilconquhar, 6 February 1870 (ref 436/00, 9)

Sir David Brewster
(1781-1868)

Inventor · Natural philosopher

Brewster made major discoveries in relation to the polarisation of light, and was the inventor of the kaleidoscope (1816). He was Principal of the University of Edinburgh; a writer on optics and astronomy; a corresponding member of the Institute of France and the Royal Academies of Russia, Prussia, Sweden and Denmark; first director of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts (1821) and editor of the Encyclopaedia Britannica for 22 years. He also made alterations to the stereoscope invented by Wheatstone.

---

Baptised Jedburgh, 23 December 1781 (ref 792/4, Fr 1399)

---

Died Melrose, 10 February 1868 (ref 799/1, 8)

John Buchan
(1875-1940)

Writer · Journalist · Politician

Born in Perth and raised in Fife, Buchan was the first child of John Buchan, a Free Church of Scotland minister and Helen Jane Buchan. Spending summer holidays with his grandparents in the Borders he developed a love of the scenery and wildlife that were to feature in his novels.

After a brief career in law he entered the diplomatic service, serving as a private secretary to the colonial administrator Lord Milner in South Africa (1901-03). In 1907 he married Susan Charlotte Grovesnor, a cousin of the Duke of Westminster.

During World War One he wrote propaganda for the British war effort. After 1918 he was elected Member of Parliament for the Combined Scottish Universities, but spent most of his time on his other main passion: writing fiction. His most well-known work was The Thirty-Nine Steps, a yarn about a plot to destabilize Britain on the eve of the war.

He was appointed Governor General of Canada by King George V, on the recommendation of Canada's Prime Minister, Richard Bennett. The same year The Thirty-Nine Steps was adapted for the big screen by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Robert Donat (the first of 4 versions). Buchan also received the Order of St Michael and St George this year and was elevated to the position of Baron Tweedsmuir of Elsfield in the County of York. He occupied the Canadian post until his death in 1940.

Buchan was enthusiastic about literacy, as well as the evolution of Canadian culture. He received a state funeral in Canada before his ashes were returned to the UK and interred at Elsfield, Oxfordshire.

---

Born Perth, 26 August 1875 (ref 387/604)

Robert Burns
(1759-96)

Poet

Scotland's national bard. Born in a small cottage in Alloway, Ayrshire, he was first of six children to William Burns and Agnes Brown. All the children were baptised in Ayr:

Robert 28 Jan 1759 (ref 578/4, Fr 388), Gilbert 2 Oct 1760 (ref 578/4, Fr 402), Agnes (Burnes) 4 Oct 1762 (ref 578/4, Fr 416), Annabella 17 Nov 1764 (ref 578/4, Fr 434), William 6 Aug 1767 (ref 578/4, Fr 457), John 21 Jul 1769 (ref 578/4, Fr 475), Isobel 2 Jul 1771 (ref 578/4, Fr 488)

He developed a love of reading at an early age, inspired by country tales, songs and superstitions, as well as the poetry of Ramsay and Fergusson. It was while farming at Mossgiel that he started to write poetry and first met his 'Bonnie Jean'.

Following publication of the famous Kilmarnock editions of his poetry in 1786 he was welcomed by Edinburgh society. His most popular poems include Scots Wha Hae, Auld Lang Syne and Tam O'Shanter.

He died aged 37, and was buried in Dumfries where he had worked as an excise officer. The Dumfries death register for 1796 has not survived.

---

Irregular marriage (to Jean or Joan Armour) Mauchline, 5 Aug 1788 (ref 604/2, Fr 379)

---

View will and testament:
Transcript · Page 1 · Page 2

William Burrell
(1861-1958)

Ship owner · Art collector

Burrell was the third of nine children born into a Glasgow shipping family. Taking over the business after his father's death, William and his brother ordered modern ships during market downturns, making large profits when the market peaked. The brothers sold off their entire fleet for three times the building cost during World War I, allowing William to retire. He was then free to devote all his time to his passion for collecting art and antiques.

He was an eclectic collector, amassing thousands of treasures, spending as much as £20,000 a year. Burrell married Constance Mitchell in 1902 and following their daughter's birth they moved to a grand house in Great Western Road designed by Alexander "Greek" Thomson. In 1916 Burrell bought Hutton Castle in the Borders to house his vast collection. He was knighted in 1927.

In 1944 he donated nearly his entire collection, some 6,000 items, to the city of Glasgow along with £250,000 to construct a building to house it. By the time of his death he had donated more than 8,000 items to the city. The terms of the bequest were that his collection should be housed in a rural setting but within easy reach of the city centre. Pictured above, the exhibition opened in 1983 in Pollok Park. Only 3,000 items can be displayed at any one time meaning visitors can enjoy repeat visits.

Glasgow City Council museums and galleries service care for the collection and it is open to the public all year round with free admission.

---

Born Blythswood, Glasgow, 9 July 1861 (ref 644/6, 526)

---

View 1901 census entry

Matt Busby
(1909-1994)

Football Player · Football Manager

Sir Alexander Matthew "Matt" Busby, CBE, KCSG (26 May 1909 – 20 January 1994) was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–1971 season.

Born to Alexander and Nellie Busby in a two-roomed pitman's cottage in the mining village of Orbiston, Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, when he was born, Busby's mother was told by the doctor "A footballer has come into this house today". Busby's father – a miner – was killed by a German sniper during the First World War at the Battle of the Somme.

Busby would often accompany his father down into the coal pits, but his true aspiration was to become a professional footballer.

Busby was a player for two of Manchester United's greatest rivals, Manchester City and Liverpool. During his time at City, Busby played in two FA Cup Finals, winning one of them. After his playing career was interrupted by the Second World War, Busby was offered the job of assistant coach at Liverpool, but he took the vacant manager's job at Manchester United instead.

His team at Manchester United picked up the affectionate nickname the Busby Babes, because of the youthfulness of many of the players he fielded. They won the league in both 1956 and 1957, and were runners-up to Aston Villa in the 1957 FA Cup Final.

Busby and his team began the 1957–58 season full of ambition for an assault on the Football League title, FA Cup and European Cup. On the way home from a European Cup tie against Red Star Belgrade on 6 February 1958, their plane crashed on the runway at Munich Airport. Seven players and three club officials were among the 23 people who were killed at the scene. Busby suffered multiple injuries and twice received the Last Rites, but he recovered from his injuries and left hospital after nine weeks.

The biggest success of his career came on 29 May 1968 when the team won the European Cup. He retired as manager a year later but remained at the club as a director, handing over managerial duties to trainer and former player Wilf McGuinness. When McGuinness was sacked in December 1970, Busby briefly returned to his managerial duties, but there was never any question of his returning as manager permanently. He carried on as a club director for 11 more years, before being made president in 1982.

Busby was awarded the CBE in 1958 and was knighted following the European Cup victory in 1968, before being made a Knight Commander of St Gregory by the Pope in 1972.

He died of cancer, aged 84, in January 1994 at The Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle, Manchester. He was buried in Southern Cemetery, Manchester, alongside his wife Jean.

---

Born Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, 26 May 1909 (ref 625/3, 362)

---