#1Famous people · Brechin, Angus
26 famous people from Brechin, many of them leaders
Robert Watson-Watt, the physicist, is the most widely known, written about in 33 languages. Second and third on the list are Thomas Guthrie and Robin Orr. 13 of them were born in the Victorian era, more than in any other period. The earliest on the list is George Rose, born in 1744, and the youngest Kirstene Hair, born in 1989.
Born here
26
notable people
Best known
Robert Watson-Watt
in 33 Wikipedia languages
First
1744
George Rose
Youngest
1989
Kirstene Hair
Most common field
Sports
9 people
What stands out about Brechin’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Brechin is known for
No other field is as far above the usual share as leaders, at 3.5 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Brechin
First, Robert Watson-Watt (33 languages), then Thomas Guthrie (9) and Robin Orr (8).
#1
#2Politics & Law
Thomas Guthrie
1803–1873Scottish social reformer and founding father of the Free Church of Scotland (1803-1873)
9 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
RO#3
Through the years
When Brechin’s famous people were born
Births peak in the 1890s, with 5 people born in that decade.
SportsPolitics & LawScience & MedicineMusicMilitaryWriting & ArtsFaithNotable
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Brechin
23 more, 9 of them athletes.
Kirstene Hair
born 1989British politician, Conservative Party MP for Angus, elected June 2017
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
John Kidd
1838–1919Politician, store-keeper and dairy farmer in New South Wales, Australia
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
The best known from each town within 12 miles of Brechin, with how many people each has.
Questions about famous people from Brechin
Who is the most famous person from Brechin?
Robert Watson-Watt (physicist (1892-1973)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 33 languages. Next come Thomas Guthrie and Robin Orr.
How many famous people were born in Brechin?
26 people born in Brechin have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 37 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Brechin known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 9 of the 26. That is 35% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Brechin?
George Rose, born in 1744. The youngest on the list was born in 1989.
Who counts as from Brechin?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Brechin’s locality (the NRS 2022 locality boundary), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a bigger area (“London”), another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by National Records of Scotland’s Census 2022 locality boundaries (Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (15)
- Robert Watson-Watt: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Guthrie: Hill & Adamson, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Douglas Alexander Graham: Ian Eadie, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Anne Begg: Gavin Donoghue (GavinDonoghue at en.wikipedia), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kirstene Hair: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- George Rose: Sir William Beechey (died 1839), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Peter Smith Michie: Frederick Hill Meserve, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Adam Thom: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Alexander B. Bruce: Herndon, Richard, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Alexander Small Matthew: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Kidd: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- David Dunbar Buick: Unknown, possibly J. W. Hughes, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Bon Scott: Elfast, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert Brown: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James Beattie: Engraved by Ridley from a painting in the possession of James Beattie, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.