As part of the 150th anniversary of the Edinburgh Evening News, we’ve taken a look at the 150 most famous faces to have emerged from the Capital in the past 150 years.
In alphabetical order, we will be looking at the most popular names from Edinburgh over the coming days, to mark 150 years since the Evening News was first published in 1873. In this first installment, from A-B, we delve into the lives and careers of some of the Capital’s most well known faces, including the inventor of the telephone Alexander Graham Bell, Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle and children’s author Aileen Paterson who brought Maisie the cat MacKenzie to the world. We also shine the spotlight on Scotland’s biggest ever music stars The Bay City Rollers, Olympic champion runner Allan Wells and a penguin from Edinburgh Zoo who is the mascot and colonel-in-chief of the Norwegian King's Guard.
9. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Born on May 22, 1859 at 11 Picardy Place, Edinburgh, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a writer and physician who studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh Medical School. As a writer, he created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. Doyle was a prolific writer; other than Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the Mary Celeste. He passed away in 1930 aged 71. Photo: Bettmann/ Getty
10. Barry Martin
Barry Martin's wife has described him as a remarkable man who was exhilarated to be a firefighter. The 38-year-old sadly died on Friday, January 27, 2023 following the serious injuries he sustained while tackling a large-scale fire at the former Jenners building in Edinburgh earlier that week. Firefighters from across Scotland joined his family and friends in paying tribute at his funeral service at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh on Friday, February 17, 2023. The father-of-two from Fife, was the beloved husband of Shelley and much-loved father of eight-year-old twins Oliver and Daniel.
Prior to joining the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Barry was a Pest Control Technician and set up his own company with Shelley. He was passionate about health and fitness and had a particular interest in the tattoo industry. Photo: Contributed
11. The Bay City Rollers
Arguably Scotland's greatest ever musical export, Edinburgh band The Bay City Rollers took over the pop world in the 1970s with a string of chart hits including Saturday Night, Bye Bye Baby and Shang-A-Lang. Fronted by singer Les McKeown (pictured left), the pop rock band were often called the "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh" and one of many acts heralded as the "biggest group since the Beatles". The Bay City Rollers have sold 120 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling artists of all time. Sadly, the band never got to properly enjoy the fruits of their labour with all band members left penniless due to a long-running financial dispute which eventually saw the band members receive £70,000 each in 2016. Photo: Unknown
12. Boogie and Arlene
Boogie and Arlene have been delighting Edinburgh folk for years on the airwaves. The radio presenters are part of the popular Boogie in the Morning breakfast radio show on Forth 1, playing tunes and specialising in general good natured banter with each other and the people of Edinburgh. Photo: Greg Macvean