DM#1
Famous people · Bellshill, North Lanarkshire
261 famous people were born in Bellshill, more of them athletes than in most towns
Articles in 52 languages make the British chemist David MacMillan the best known. The next two names are Matt Busby and Robin Cook. More than half were born since 1970, 140 in all. Among the 19 towns in North Lanarkshire with anyone listed, none has more.
Born here
261
notable people
Best known
David MacMillan
in 52 Wikipedia languages
First
1848
Henry Dyer
Youngest
2001
Jamie Semple
Most common field
Sports
222 people
What stands out about Bellshill’s famous people
Still making names196 were born since 1950, the youngest in 2001.Known worldwideDavid MacMillan has an article in 52 languages, more than anyone else from here.A town of athletes222 of the 261 people born here are athletes, 1.7× the usual share.261 notable peopleBellshill lists 261 notable people, more than most towns.
★ What stands out · Through the years
When Bellshill’s famous people were born
Count by decade and the 1980s come out on top, with 63 births.
SportsPolitics & LawWriting & ArtsMusicFilm, TV & StageScience & MedicineNotableMilitary
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
The best known
Born in Bellshill
By how many languages cover them, David MacMillan comes first (52), then Matt Busby (46) and Robin Cook (43).
#2Sports
Matt Busby
1909–1994Scottish football player and manager (1909–1994)
46 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
RC#3
Politics & Law
Robin Cook
1946–2005British Labour Party politician (1946-2005)
43 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Known for
What Bellshill is known for
The field furthest above the usual share is athletes, at 1.7 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Bellshill
258 more; the 197 best known are listed here.
Catherine Stihler
born 1973Scottish politician, member of the European Parliament 1999-2019
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
George Little
1937–2021Party leader of New Brunswick New Democratic Party in the 1980s
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
Ian MacFarlane
born 1968Scottish footballer who played for Hamilton, Dumbarton and Clydebank (born 1968)
SportsWikipedia ↗
James Cleland Richardson
1895–1916Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross (1895–1916)
MilitaryWikipedia ↗
James Henderson Naismith
born 1968Professor of Structural Biology at the University of Oxford
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Jamie Fullarton
born 1974Scottish association football player and manager (born 1974)
SportsWikipedia ↗
Jonathan Lindsay
born 1992Energy justice researcher at the University of Strathclyde
Politics & LawWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Of the towns around it, Motherwell has the most on record: 138.
Motherwell · 2 miGary McAllister & 137 more
Coatbridge · 3 miMark Millar & 108 more
Blantyre · 3 miDavid Livingstone & 29 more
Bothwell · 2 miJoanna Baillie & 15 more
Holytown · 2 miRobert Crosser & 11 moreJBUddingston · 3 miJames Black & 10 moreJCChapelhall · 3 miJohn Clark & 7 moreWWNew Stevenston · 2 miWillie Watson & 3 moreQuestions about famous people from Bellshill
Who is the most famous person from Bellshill?
David MacMillan (British chemist (1968-)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 52 languages. Next come Matt Busby and Robin Cook.
How many famous people were born in Bellshill?
261 people born in Bellshill have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 274 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Bellshill known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 222 of the 261. That is 85% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Bellshill?
Henry Dyer, born in 1848. The youngest on the list was born in 2001.
Who counts as from Bellshill?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Bellshill’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 (59)
- Matt Busby: Kurt Nielsen © Scanpix, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Ally McCoist: The original uploader was Dudesleeper at English Wikipedia. (Original text: Dudesleeper), CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Sheena Easton: djnaquin67, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Billy McNeill: Nationaal Archief, Den Haag, Rijksfotoarchief, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, Wikimedia Commons
- John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan: ©House of Lords / photography by Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Stephen O'Donnell: Andrew Hendo, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Alex James: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Malky Mackay: Jon Candy, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lee McCulloch: Alasdair Middleton, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Paul McGuigan: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Chris Maguire: Jonesy702, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kirsty Gilmour: Pierre-Yves Beaudouin, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Catherine Stihler: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Chris Cadden: Olga Shcherbytska, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lee Erwin: Amir Sadeghi, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David Clarkson: Alasdair Middleton from Rothesay, Scotland, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Christie Murray: joshjdss, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Natalie J. Robb: Loki841990, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Nicky Clark: Jim Easton from Bathgate, Scotland, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ethel MacDonald: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Gregory Clark: Cniel, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Mike Denness: PaddyBriggs, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Paul McGowan: Alasdair Middleton from Rothesay, Scotland (www.a-middletonphotography.com), CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Gary Irvine: Ian Dick from Glasgow, UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kyle Waddell: Words in the Wind, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Henry Dyer: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John McCusker: Secondarywaltz, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Megan Sneddon: AlanGBurrows, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Shaun Rooney: Qpfc, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ayesha Hazarika: ©House of Lords / photography by Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kenny Arthur: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ingythewingy/, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Leigh Nicol: joshjdss, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Scott Fox: Andrew Hendo, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Scott Gallacher: Steindy 00:54, 7 September 2009 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Brian Irvine: Jarrett Campbell from Cary, NC, USA, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David Lilley: Alasdair Middleton from Rothesay, Scotland, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Doug Cameron: Bidgee, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Graeme Smith: Alasdair Middleton from Rothesay, Scotland (www.a-middletonphotography.com), CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Graham Lyle: NotAdele, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Joe Malin: photographer, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Mackin: Mattythewhite, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Stuart Carswell: Fragglerock52, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- William Niven: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jackie Plenderleith: Hilton Teper, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Monica Lennon: Scottish Parliament, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Peter Cherrie: Bully Wee at English Wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Stephen O'Donnell: Bully Wee at English Wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Bryan Kirkwood: Pam, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Craig Easton: Robeves, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James Cleland Richardson: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James Henderson Naismith: Royal Society uploader, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Sean McKenna: Bully Wee at English Wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Stephen McGuire: Scottish Government, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Stephen Wright: Stuartp1213, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
- Gary McAllister: Pangalau, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Mark Millar: Luigi Novi, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- David Livingstone: Thomas Annan / Adam Cuerden, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Joanna Baillie: Mary Ann Knight, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Robert Crosser: Harris & Ewing, 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.