#1Famous people · Forfar, Angus
Scientists and doctors stand out among the 52 famous people born in Forfar
The best known is the Australian singer Bon Scott, with articles in 50 languages. Behind the leader come A. S. Neill and George Don. Forfar ranks 2nd of the 7 towns in Angus with anyone listed. From Patrick Abercromby in 1656 to Owen Stirton in 2007, the births cover 351 years.
Born here
52
notable people
Best known
Bon Scott
in 50 Wikipedia languages
First
1656
Patrick Abercromby
Youngest
2007
Owen Stirton
Most common field
Sports
26 people
What stands out about Forfar’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Forfar is known for
Set against the usual town, business people come out 3 times as common.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Forfar
Scientists and doctors take two of the three places.
#1
#2Science & Medicine
A. S. Neill
1883–1973Scottish educator and theorist (1883-1973)
43 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
GD#3
Through the years
When Forfar’s famous people were born
Count by decade and the 1950s come out on top, with 8 births.
SportsScience & MedicineWriting & ArtsPolitics & LawBusinessMilitaryFilm, TV & StageMusicFaith
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Forfar
Still to come: 49 more, from 1656 to 2007.
Eilley Bowers
1826–190319th century Nevada pioneer and mining millionaire (1826–1903)
BusinessWikipedia ↗
James Anderson Scott Watson
1889–1966Scottish agriculturalist (1889 – 1966)
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Dundee has the longest list next door: 627.
Questions about famous people from Forfar
Who is the most famous person from Forfar?
Bon Scott (Australian singer (1946–1980)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 50 languages. Next come A. S. Neill and George Don.
How many famous people were born in Forfar?
52 people born in Forfar have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 54 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Forfar known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 26 of the 52. That is 50% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Forfar?
Patrick Abercromby, born in 1656. The youngest on the list was born in 2007.
Who counts as from Forfar?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Forfar’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 (16)
- Bon Scott: Elfast, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- A. S. Neill: Zoë Readhead, CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- Joseph Wedderburn: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ian Hudghton: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Enn Reitel: Pebble Bay Entertainment, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Gregor Fisken: Dave_S. from Witney, England, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Howe: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Eilley Bowers: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Caroline Doig: OlwenOlwen, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David Ireland: Sarah Gath (sgath92), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- William Balfour: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- David Robbie: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Brian Cox: Amy Martin Photography, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert Watson-Watt: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ian McDiarmid: Miguel Discart, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- J. M. Barrie: Herbert Rose Barraud, 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.