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Famous Scots Exhibition

During the year of Homecoming Scotland 2009 we explored the family history of six well-known Scots in a series of free exhibitions that were open to the public.

We are delighted to retain their family histories as a permanent record of each exhibition, and an example of the wealth of information available to anyone wishing to research their Scottish ancestry at the Centre.

Billy Connolly CBE	Sir James Black OM	Shirley Manson
(Photograph: Tony Lyon) 26 January-27 March	(Image: King's College, London) 30 March-22 May	(Photograph: Steve Jennings) 25 May-17 July

Brian Cox CBE	Tilda Swinton	Sir Jackie Stewart OBE
(Photograph: Eric Raptosh) 20 July-18 September	(Photograph: Rob McDougall) 22 September–6 November	(Photograph: Sean Bell, courtesy of National Museums Scotland) 9 November–31 December
Each exhibition revealed aspects of the Famous Scot's past - their ancestors' occupations, where they lived, and how their lives were shaped by the changing society to which they belonged. Using documents that are publicly available, we also showed customers how to use the ScotlandsPeople Centre as the starting point for discovering more about their own Scottish ancestry. Visitors had the opportunity to see original registers and records on display which are not normally seen. The exhibitions were staged in New Register House, the very centre of Scotland's family history archive - surrounded by the hundreds of thousands of registers in which the lives of Scots from the 16th century to the present are recorded. Part of the exhibition included the Interactive resource available on this website, allowing customers to learn research techniques using a step-by-step guide.

Famous Scots Exhibition

(Photograph: Tony Lyon)

(Image: King's College, London)

(Photograph: Steve Jennings)

(Photograph: Eric Raptosh)

(Photograph: Rob McDougall)

(Photograph: Sean Bell, courtesy of National Museums Scotland)