Pre 1000 • Saint
Wilfrid (633–709) - 7th to early 8th century English
bishop and
saint; imprisoned for a time in Dunbar • Saint
Cuthbert (634–687) - early
saint and
evangelist of the
Northumbrian church,
Bishop of
Lindisfarne, at a time when
Northumbria was a leader in promoting and spreading the message of Christianity in a British and wider European context and, he was, according to some authors, born in and initially brought up in Dunbar to a local noble family, before being fostered in the
Melrose area with a related or allied family as per the traditions of his class and time.
1001-1500 •
Black Agnes (1312–1369) - Countess of Dunbar and heroine of local folklore •
Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots (1404–1445) - wife of
King James I of Scotland, who served as the
Regent of
Scotland in the immediate aftermath of his death and during the minority of her son
James II of Scotland, before being engulfed in a power struggle with members of the nobility. In desperation she took refuge in
Dunbar Castle, where she was subsequently besieged by her opponents, in which place and circumstances she died in the year 1445. •
Alexander Stewart, Duke of Albany (1454–1485) - second son of
King James II of Scotland and
Mary of Guelders, was
Duke of Albany,
Earl of March, Lord of
Annandale and
Isle of Man and the
Warden of the Marches, which altogether gave him an impressive power base in the east and west borders, centred on Dunbar Castle, which he owned and lived in. He attempted to seize control of Scotland from his brother
King James III of Scotland, but was ultimately unsuccessful. •
John Stewart, Duke of Albany (1482–1536) - de facto ruler of Scotland and important soldier, diplomat, and politician in a Scottish and continental European context, was the only son of the above
Duke of Albany, and managed where his father had failed and became
Regent of
Scotland, while he also became
Count of
Auvergne and
Lauraguais in France and, lastly, inherited from his father the position of
Earl of March, which allowed him to likewise use
Dunbar Castle as his centre of power in Scotland.
1501-1900 •
James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell (1534–1578) - notorious third and last husband of
Mary, Queen of Scots, and owner of Dunbar Castle •
Alexander Dow (1735–1779) - influential
Orientalist, author and British
East India Company army officer; resident and educated in Dunbar for part of his boyhood •
Robert Wilson (1803–1882) - one of the inventors of the ship's
propeller, born and bred in Dunbar from a local family • Sir
Anthony Home (1826–1914) - British soldier who was notable as a recipient of the
Victoria Cross and the eventual achievement of the rank of
Surgeon-General of the
British Armed Forces; born and bred in Dunbar from a local family •
John Muir (1838–1914) - important conservationist, geologist, environmental philosopher, and pacifist; one of the founders of the United States system of National Parks and
Sierra Club, born in Dunbar •
Walter Runciman, 1st Baron Runciman (1847–1937) - major shipowner and maverick
Liberal politician, born in Dunbar to parents from Dunbar •
General Sir Reginald Wingate (1861–1953) - 1st Baronet, army officer and colonial governor, 'the maker of the
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan',
Governor-General of the Sudan (1899–1916), British High Commissioner in Egypt (1917–1919), commander of military operations in the
Hedjaz (1916–1919), for many years the senior general of the British army, long-time resident in Dunbar •
Jack Hobens (1880–1944) - Scottish-American
professional golfer •
John Turnbull (actor) (1880) • Dr
James Wyllie Gregor (1900–1980) - botanist, born in Dunbar
1901-present •
William Alexander Bain (1905–1971) - pharmacologist •
Sadie Aitken (1905–1985) - Scottish actor, theatre manager, film critic for BBC •
Hugh Trevor-Roper (1914–2003) - renowned English historian who boarded at
Belhaven Hill School •
Davy Henderson (b. 1962) - Scottish musician (
The Fire Engines,
The Nectarine No. 9) •
Maria Lyle (b. 2000) - para-sprinter, won medals at both the Commonwealth and Paralympic Games ==Twin towns==