#1Science & Medicine
David J. Thouless
1934–2019British physicist (1934–2019)
71 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire
11 famous people were born in Bearsden, most of them in the 20th century
Most widely known is David J. Thouless, the British physicist, with articles in 71 languages. Jessie M. King is second and Michelle Thomson third. The list comes to 3.9 for every 10,000 residents, below the 8.5 of the typical town in East Dunbartonshire. The biggest group are writers and artists: 3.
Born here
11
notable people
Best known
David J. Thouless
in 71 Wikipedia languages
First
1875
Jessie M. King
Youngest
1990
Stephanie Davis
Most common field
Writing & Arts
3 people
What stands out about Bearsden’s famous people
★ What stands out · The best known
Born in Bearsden
Three names lead: David J. Thouless (71 languages), Jessie M. King (15) and Michelle Thomson (7).
#1
#2
#3Politics & Law
Michelle Thomson
born 1965Scottish politician (born 1965)
7 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years
When Bearsden’s famous people were born
More of them were born in the 1900s than in any other ten years, 3 in all.
Writing & ArtsFilm, TV & StageSportsScience & MedicinePolitics & LawMilitaryNotable
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Bearsden is known for
No other field is as far above the usual share as writers and artists, at 2.4 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Bearsden
Of the other 8, 2 are writers and artists.
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Close by, the fullest list is Glasgow’s, at 3,720 names.
Glasgow · 5 miAlex Ferguson & 3,719 more
Paisley · 7 miGerard Butler & 372 moreKGClydebank · 3 miKevin Gallacher & 48 moreAFLennoxtown · 6 miAlex Ferns & 16 more
Bishopbriggs · 5 miAmy Macdonald & 10 more
Milngavie · 2 miGreg Docherty & 7 moreBFBowling and Old Kilpatrick · 5 miBobby Finan & 7 moreMBLenzie · 7 miMargot Bennett & 6 moreQuestions about famous people from Bearsden
Who is the most famous person from Bearsden?
David J. Thouless (British physicist (1934–2019)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 71 languages. Next come Jessie M. King and Michelle Thomson.
How many famous people were born in Bearsden?
11 people born in Bearsden have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 18 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Bearsden known for?
Among its famous people, writers and artists: 3 of the 11. That is 27% of the town’s list, against 12% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Bearsden?
Jessie M. King, born in 1875. The youngest on the list was born in 1990.
Who counts as from Bearsden?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Bearsden’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 (9)
- David J. Thouless: Mary Levin, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jessie M. King: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Michelle Thomson: Scottish Parliament, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Francis Reid: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Moultrie Kelsall: Crown Film Unit, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Alex Ferguson: Austin Osuide, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Gerard Butler: Gordon Correll, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Amy Macdonald: Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Greg Docherty: Timmy96, CC0, 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.