Well-known people who have made Edinburgh their home
The is the home for Scotland's literary and historical treasures. It preserves and shares Scotland's
- history
- literature
- cultural heritage.
The library has been working with us to share stories of people who have made Edinburgh their home, enriching our cultural diversity as well as our city’s achievements.
Did you know these well-known people from a variety backgrounds made Edinburgh their home over the centuries?
- The paternal grandparents of (née Camberg) were from Lithuania
- Prominent academic and human rights campaigner , who was born in Devon to German refugee parents, lived in Edinburgh from the 1960s.
- was of Irish descent.
- Elias Fürst, born to an immigrant rabbi, was one of the longest serving chairmen of Heart of Midlothian Football Club at a time when football remained the bastion of locals and gentiles. He helped the club rise for crisis to financial security and oversaw the development of Tynecastle.
- , a Jewish-German zoologist and geneticist, fled Nazism in Germany and pursued a PhD in genetics at the University of Edinburgh.
- Rabbi Salis Daiches and his sons, , and David Daiches, a prolific literary historian and critic, came from Lithuania
- was enslaved man from Guyana. Brought to Scotland where he as emancipated and moved to Edinburgh. He became a commercial taxidermist and worked with the University of Edinburgh. He is renowned for teaching Charles Darwin the skill of taxidermy.
- And well-known milkman and actor was descended from people from Wexford, Ireland.