#1Famous people · Annan, Dumfries and Galloway
Hugh Clapperton tops a list of 15 famous people born in Annan
Articles in 29 languages make the Royal Navy officer and explorer Hugh Clapperton the best known. The list runs from Thomas Blacklock, born in 1721, to Ashley Jensen, born in 1969. The largest group, 6, was born in the 20th century. Per 10,000 residents, the town has 17.2, close to the 18.1 of the typical Dumfries and Galloway town.
Born here
15
notable people
Best known
Hugh Clapperton
in 29 Wikipedia languages
First
1721
Thomas Blacklock
Youngest
1969
Ashley Jensen
Most common field
Sports
4 people
What stands out about Annan’s famous people
★ What stands out · Through the years
When Annan’s famous people were born
More of them were born in the 1950s than in any other ten years, 4 in all.
SportsMilitaryWriting & ArtsFilm, TV & StagePolitics & LawFaith
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
The best known
Born in Annan
Counted by languages, Hugh Clapperton is ahead of Ashley Jensen and Edward Irving: 29, 25 and 17.
#1
#2
#3Known for
What Annan is known for
Soldiers and sailors stand out most, at 5.5 times the usual share.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Annan
The rest number 12, with 4 athletes among them.
Jim Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness
1954–2026Scottish politician (1954–2026)
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
George Johnston
1764–1823British Marines officer and Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales (1764 - 1823)
MilitaryWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Close by, the fullest list is Wigton’s, at 9 names.
Questions about famous people from Annan
Who is the most famous person from Annan?
Hugh Clapperton (Royal Navy officer and explorer) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 29 languages. Next come Ashley Jensen and Edward Irving.
How many famous people were born in Annan?
15 people born in Annan have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 16 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Annan known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 4 of the 15. That is 27% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Annan?
Thomas Blacklock, born in 1721. The youngest on the list was born in 1969.
Who counts as from Annan?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Annan’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 (14)
- Hugh Clapperton: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ashley Jensen: Dominick D, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Edward Irving: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jim Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness: Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David Leslie: Darren, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Russell Brown: Contains Mild Peril, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Thomson: unknown, dates from 1874, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Nigel Stuart Lockyer: Fermilab, Reidar Hahn, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- George Johnston: Robert Dighton. 1752-1814, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James Kerr: Thebees1889, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Thomas Blacklock: William Bonnar, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Irving: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Claire Hamilton: Krazytea, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cecil Leitch: Agence Rol. Agence photographique (commanditaire), 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.