#1Science & Medicine
Andrew Smith
1797–1872Scottish surgeon, explorer, ethnologist and zoologist (1797–1872)
32 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Famous people · Hawick, Scottish Borders
More famous people were born in Hawick than in any other town in Scottish Borders: 76
Best known of all is Andrew Smith, written about in 32 languages. Most were born in the 20th century: 42 of them. Soldiers and sailors are unusually common here: 5, 1.8 times the usual share. Births since 1970 account for 3 of the names.
Born here
76
notable people
Best known
Andrew Smith
in 32 Wikipedia languages
First
1729
William Turnbull
Youngest
1983
Stuart Easton
Most common field
Sports
46 people
What stands out about Hawick’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What Hawick is known for
Compared with the usual town, soldiers and sailors are the most over-represented field, at 1.8 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
The best known
Born in Hawick
Ranked by languages covered: Andrew Smith with 32, then James Wilson with 18 and Peter McRobbie with 15.
#1
#2Business
James Wilson
1805–1860Scottish businessman, economist and Liberal politician (1805-1860)
18 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
PM#3
Through the years
When Hawick’s famous people were born
No decade has more births than the 1940s, at 8.
SportsScience & MedicinePolitics & LawWriting & ArtsMilitaryBusinessMusicFilm, TV & StageNotableFaith
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
Everyone
Everyone else born in Hawick
73 more, best known first.
William Walter Smith
1852–1942New Zealand gardener, naturalist, conservationist (1852–1942)
Science & MedicineWikipedia ↗
Andrew Tennant
1835–1913Pastoralist, businessman and politician in South Australia (1835–1913)
BusinessWikipedia ↗
Dave Valentine
1926–1976Scottish rugby union footballer, and rugby league footballer and coach
SportsWikipedia ↗
Alex Fiddes
1914–1998Scottish rugby union footballer, and rugby league footballer and coach
SportsWikipedia ↗
John Douglas Pringle
1912–1999Scottish-born Australian journalist and editor (1912-1999)
Writing & ArtsWikipedia ↗
Rob Valentine
1941–2024Scottish rugby union footballer, and rugby league footballer and coach (1941–2024)
SportsWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
Jedburgh has the longest list next door: 25.
Questions about famous people from Hawick
Who is the most famous person from Hawick?
Andrew Smith (Scottish surgeon, explorer, ethnologist and zoologist (1797–1872)) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 32 languages. Next come James Wilson and Peter McRobbie.
How many famous people were born in Hawick?
76 people born in Hawick have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 79 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is Hawick known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 46 of the 76. That is 61% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from Hawick?
William Turnbull, born in 1729. The youngest on the list was born in 1983.
Who counts as from Hawick?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside Hawick’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)
- Andrew Smith: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James Wilson: Sir John Watson-Gordon (died 1864), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- James Paris Lee: Webeditorusa, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Blackwood McEwen: Reginald Grenville Eves, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Alison Suttie: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Jimmie Guthrie: Mark Hope, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ken Laidlaw: Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-72777-0001,_Friedensfahrt,_Mannschaft_aus_England.jpg: Wendorf derivative work: Materialscientist, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, Wikimedia Commons
- Steve Hislop: Christof Berger, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Wilson: S P Andrew Ltd, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Scott MacLeod: Charlie from UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Stuart Easton: Stuart Bassil from Norwich, England, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Walter Armstrong: E Onslow Ford (27 July 1852 – 23 December 1901), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- William Walter Smith: Photographer: Oakley Studios; published in Supplement to the Auckland Weekly News, 24 May 1933, p. 46, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Jack Miles: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Andrew Barclay: No coneguts, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Andrew Tennant: William H. Hammer & Co., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Waldie: Unknown photographer, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Willie Welsh: Unknown (Crown Studios of Wellington), Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Helen Wilson Fell: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John Daykins: Victuallers, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- John James Scott-Chisholme: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- David Brewster: 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.