#1Science & Medicine
Charles Thomson Rees Wilson
1869–1959Scottish physicist and meteorologist (1869-1959)
90 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Penicuik, Midlothian
Charles Thomson Rees Wilson and 13 more famous people were born in Penicuik
The Scottish physicist and meteorologist Charles Thomson Rees Wilson is written about in 90 languages. Tom Walkinshaw and Cargill Gilston Knott follow. 6 of them were born in the Victorian era, more than in any other period. Among the 6 towns in Midlothian with famous people on record, the town ranks 2nd.
Born here
14
notable people
Best known
Charles Thomson Rees Wilson
in 90 Wikipedia languages
First
1771
James Finlayson
Youngest
2002
Jenny Smith
Most common field
Sports
7 people
What stands out about Penicuik’s famous people
★ What stands out · The best known
Born in Penicuik
Scientists and doctors take two of the three places.
#1
#2
#3Science & Medicine
Cargill Gilston Knott
1856–1922British mathematician and physicist
14 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Through the years
When Penicuik’s famous people were born
The 1940s saw the most births of any decade: 2.
SportsScience & MedicineBusinessWriting & Arts
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Known for
What Penicuik is known for
No other field is as far above the usual share as business people, at 11.1 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Penicuik
Another 11, 7 of them athletes.
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
The best known from each town within 12 miles of Penicuik, with how many people each has.
Edinburgh · 7 miArthur Conan Doyle & 2,694 more
Musselburgh · 10 miHenry Yule & 70 more
Dalkeith · 7 miPeter Guthrie Tait & 32 more
Bonnyrigg · 5 miMichael Leslie & 9 moreACGorebridge · 7 miAnnette Crosbie & 9 more
Mayfield · 7 miBilly Ritchie & 9 moreAYLoanhead · 4 miAlex Young & 8 more
Wallyford · 11 miMargaret Oliphant & 5 moreQuestions about famous people from Penicuik
Who is the most famous person from Penicuik?
Charles Thomson Rees Wilson (Scottish physicist and meteorologist (1869-1959)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 90 languages. Next come Tom Walkinshaw and Cargill Gilston Knott.
How many famous people were born in Penicuik?
14 people born in Penicuik have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 17 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Penicuik known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 7 of the 14. That is 50% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Penicuik?
James Finlayson, born in 1771. The youngest on the list was born in 2002.
Who counts as from Penicuik?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Penicuik’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)
- Charles Thomson Rees Wilson: The American Institute of Physics credits the photo [1] to AB Lagrelius & Westphal, which is the Swedish company used by the Nobel Foundation for most photos of its book series Les Prix Nobel., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Tom Walkinshaw: Ltosnar, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cargill Gilston Knott: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James Cossar Ewart: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James Finlayson: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- David Ewart: William James Topley, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Colin Noble: United Autosports, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Alexander Cowan: Stephencdickson, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Arthur Conan Doyle: Walter Benington, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Henry Yule: Theodore Blake Wirgman, c. 1890, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Peter Guthrie Tait: George Reid, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Michael Leslie: Benutzer:Bill da Flute, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Billy Ritchie: Behrens, Herbert / Anefo, CC0, 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.