#1Science & Medicine
Peter Guthrie Tait
1831–1901Scottish mathematical physicist (1831–1901)
31 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Dalkeith, Midlothian
33 famous people were born in Dalkeith, more of them soldiers and sailors than in most towns
Peter Guthrie Tait, the Scottish mathematical physicist, is the most widely known, written about in 31 languages. In the Georgian era, 11 were born, the most of any period. No other town in Midlothian lists as many. The oldest name on the list belongs to David Calderwood, born in 1575, the newest to Ryan Porteous, born in 1999.
Born here
33
notable people
Best known
Peter Guthrie Tait
in 31 Wikipedia languages
First
1575
David Calderwood
Youngest
1999
Ryan Porteous
Most common field
Sports
11 people
What stands out about Dalkeith’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Dalkeith is known for
No other field is as far above the usual share as soldiers and sailors, at 3.3 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Through the years
When Dalkeith’s famous people were born
Births peak in the 1830s, with 3 people born in that decade.
SportsPolitics & LawScience & MedicineMilitaryWriting & ArtsBusinessFilm, TV & StageFaithMusic
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
The best known
Born in Dalkeith
Three names lead: Peter Guthrie Tait (31 languages), Ryan Porteous (20) and Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll (15).
#1
#2
#3Politics & Law
Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll
1629–1685Scottish politician
15 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Everyone
Everyone else born in Dalkeith
30 more names, born between 1575 and 1994.
Robert Turnbull Macpherson
1814–1872Scottish artist and photographer (1814-1872)
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Bobby Smith
1953–2010Scottish footballer who played most notably for Hibernian and Leicester City (1953-2010)
SportsWikipedia ↗
George B. Aitken
1928–2006Scottish professional footballer and football club manager (1928-2006)
SportsWikipedia ↗
James Fletcher
1834–1891Politician coal miner and newspaper proprietor in New South Wales, Australia
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
Alexander Brown
1877–1947Scottish-born mathematician and educator in South Africa (1878–1947)
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Thomas Hastie Bryce
1862–1946Scottish anatomist, medical author and archaeologist
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns nearby, 8 have famous names listed.
Edinburgh · 7 miArthur Conan Doyle & 2,694 more
Musselburgh · 3 miHenry Yule & 70 more
Tranent · 5 miGelie Duncan & 10 more
Mayfield · 2 miBilly Ritchie & 9 more
Bonnyrigg · 2 miMichael Leslie & 9 moreACGorebridge · 3 miAnnette Crosbie & 9 moreAYLoanhead · 4 miAlex Young & 8 more
Wallyford · 4 miMargaret Oliphant & 5 moreQuestions about famous people from Dalkeith
Who is the most famous person from Dalkeith?
Peter Guthrie Tait (Scottish mathematical physicist (1831–1901)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 31 languages. Next come Ryan Porteous and Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll.
How many famous people were born in Dalkeith?
33 people born in Dalkeith have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 40 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Dalkeith known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 11 of the 33. That is 33% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Dalkeith?
David Calderwood, born in 1575. The youngest on the list was born in 1999.
Who counts as from Dalkeith?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Dalkeith’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 (22)
- Peter Guthrie Tait: George Reid, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ryan Porteous: Timmy96, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll: Kim Traynor, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kirsty Smith: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lord Walter Kerr: Leslie Ward, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Danielle Rowley: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David Mushet: obscurasky. original painter unknown., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert Turnbull Macpherson: Template:Robert Turnbull Macpherson, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Brown: C. Limprecht, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert Aitken: Charles Willson Peale, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- David Hamilton: Scottish Labour, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Fletcher: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- David Brown: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Lord Mark Kerr: Leslie Ward, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Mark Kerr: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Bob Pringle: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Arthur Conan Doyle: Walter Benington, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Henry Yule: Theodore Blake Wirgman, c. 1890, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Gelie Duncan: Carolyn Sutton, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Billy Ritchie: Behrens, Herbert / Anefo, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Michael Leslie: Benutzer:Bill da Flute, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Margaret Oliphant: No photo credit, 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.