Editing List of Scots (section)

==Explorers==
* [[Albert Armitage]] (1864–1943), [[Royal Navy Captain]] who was part of the [[Jackson–Harmsworth expedition|Jackson–Harmsworth Expedition]], which explored [[Franz Josef Land]] and rescued [[Fridtjof Nansen]] and his men from certain death; later part of the [[Discovery Expedition]] in [[Antarctica]]
* [[John Arthur (missionary)|John Arthur]], OBE (1881–1952), British Army Captain and medical missionary for over thirty years in [[Kenya]]; known simply as ''Doctor Arthur'' to generations of [[Ethnic groups of Africa|Africans]]
* [[William Balfour Baikie]] (1824–1864), naturalist, philologist and surgeon on the 1854 [[Niger River|Niger]] Expedition; explored the [[Benue River]] and helped open up [[Nigeria]] to [[British Empire|British]] trade while supporting the abolition of the [[Slavery in Africa|slave trade]]
* [[Peter Belches]] (1796–1890), Royal Navy Lieutenant who explored the [[Swan River (Western Australia)|Swan River]] and its surrounding area while aboard Admiral [[James Stirling (Royal Navy officer)|Sir James Stirling]]'s {{HMS|Success|1825|6}}
* [[Alexander Berry]] (1781–1873), merchant and surgeon who established the first [[Ethnic groups in Europe|European]] settlement on the south coast of [[New South Wales]]
* [[Henry Robertson Bowers]] (1883–1912), Royal Navy Lieutenant who was part of the ill-fated [[Terra Nova Expedition]], which attempted to be the first to reach the [[South Pole]]
* [[Robert Brown (Scottish botanist from Caithness)|Robert Brown]] (1842–1895), scientist, explorer, and author
* [[James Bruce]] (1730–1794), traveller and travel writer who spent more than a dozen years in North Africa and then [[Ethiopia]], where he traced the origins of the [[Blue Nile]]
* [[William Speirs Bruce]] (1867–1921), naturalist, oceanographer, polar scientist and leader of the [[Scottish National Antarctic Expedition]]; established the first permanent [[weather station]] there and became the first to widely explore the [[Weddell Sea]]
* [[David Buchan]] (1780–1838), Royal Navy Captain who conducted expeditions in [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] and [[Spitsbergen]]
* Sir [[Alexander Burnes]] (1805–1841), diplomat and explorer of [[Afghanistan]]
* [[Colin Campbell (Swedish East India Company)|Colin Campbell]] (1686–1757), entrepreneur, merchant and co-founder of the [[Swedish East India Company]], the largest trading company in [[Sweden]] throughout the 18th century; [[Frederick I of Sweden|King Frederick I of Sweden]]'s ambassador to the [[Emperor of China]]
* [[Hugh Clapperton]] (1788–1827), Royal Navy Captain and traveller who explored many lakes and rivers in Africa; one of the first [[white people]] to see [[Lake Chad]]
* [[John Dundas Cochrane]] (1793–1825), Royal Navy Captain and traveller who crossed [[Eurasia]] on foot to reach the [[Kamchatka Peninsula]]
* [[William Cormack]] (1796–1868), agriculturalist, author and philanthropist; first European to explore the interior of Newfoundland and Labrador, while also building friendly relations with the native [[Beothuk people]]
* [[Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham]] (1852–1936), ''Don Roberto'', adventurer, journalist, politician and writer who carried out many activities in [[Argentina]], Mexico, [[Morocco]], Spain and the United States
* [[David Douglas (botanist)|David Douglas]] (1799–1834), botanist and gardener who explored parts of the remote [[Scottish Highlands]], as well as North America and Hawaii; second person to summit [[Mauna Loa]] volcano; introduced hundreds of plants to Great Britain, including the [[Douglas fir]]
* [[Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton|Douglas Douglas–Hamilton]] (1903–1973), ''Lord Clydesdale'', aviator and the first to see [[Mount Everest]] from above while carrying out the first detailed scientific survey of the [[Himalayas]], the extremities he endured also helped demonstrate the need for [[Cabin pressurization|pressurised cabins]] inside aircraft
* [[Alexander Forbes (explorer)|Alexander Forbes]] (1778–1862), author and merchant; first British consul to [[Mexico]]; published one of the first accounts in English of California (then a province of Mexico)
* [[Henry Ogg Forbes]] (1851–1932), botanist and ornithologist in both the [[Maluku Islands]] and [[New Guinea]]; director of the [[Canterbury Museum, Christchurch|Canterbury Museum]] in New Zealand for three years
* [[Simon Fraser (explorer)|Simon Fraser]] (1776–1862), fur trader who was employed by the [[North West Company]] and charted much of what is now the [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Canadian province]] of [[British Columbia]]; built the area's first trading ports; explored the 854-mile [[Fraser River]]
* [[George Glas]] (1725–1765), adventurer, merchant and seaman who traded between [[Brazil]], the [[Canary Islands]] and north-western Africa
* [[Sandy Glen|Sir Alexander Richard Glen]] (1912–2004), explorer of the Arctic, and wartime intelligence officer
* [[Robert Gordon of Straloch|Robert Gordon]] (1580–1661), antiquary, cartographer, geographer, mathematician and poet who created and revised many maps, including the first [[atlas]] of Scotland after being asked via a letter from [[Charles I of England|King Charles I of England]]
* [[James Augustus Grant]] (1827–1892), British Army Lieutenant who accompanied [[John Hanning Speke]] in the search and discovery of the source of the [[Nile|River Nile]]; the [[Grant's gazelle]] is named in his honour
* Sir [[James Hector]] (1834–1907), geologist, naturalist and surgeon on the [[Palliser Expedition]], the main goal of which was to find possible routes for the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]]; went on to manage what is now the [[Royal Society of New Zealand]] for thirty-five years
* [[Isobel Wylie Hutchison]] (1889–1982), Arctic traveller and botanist
* [[Alexander Keith Johnston (1844–1879)|Alexander Keith Johnston]] (1844–1879), cartographer and geographer to a commission for the survey of [[Paraguay]]; died while leading the [[Royal Geographical Society]]'s expedition to [[Lake Malawi]]
* [[John Kirk (explorer)|John Kirk]] (1832–1922), botanist, naturalist and physician; British administrator in [[Zanzibar]]; supported the abolition of the slave trade along with his associate David Livingstone
* [[Alexander Gordon Laing]] (1793–1826), British Army Major who was the first [[Western culture|Westerner]] to discover the ancient city of [[Timbuktu]]
* [[Macgregor Laird]] (1808–1861), merchant and shipbuilder; pioneered British trade on the Niger River; his ship ''Sirius'' was the first to cross the Atlantic Ocean run entirely on steam power; supported the abolition of the slave trade
* [[William Lithgow (traveller and author)|William Lithgow]] (1582–1645), alleged spy, traveller and writer who claimed to have peregrinated over 35,000 miles throughout various parts of the world
* [[David Livingstone]] (1813–1873), medical missionary and one of Africa's most celebrated explorers; discovered [[Victoria Falls, Zambia|Victoria Falls]], among other things; strongly opposed the slave trade; his meeting with [[Henry Morton Stanley|H. M. Stanley]] gave rise to the quotation "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"
* [[Gregor MacGregor]] (1786–1845), adventurer, coloniser, land speculator and soldier who fought in South America during the [[Spanish American wars of independence]], before later helping to colonise parts of the continent
* [[John MacGregor (sportsman)|John MacGregor]] (1825–1892), artist, barrister, philanthropist and travel writer; descendant of [[Rob Roy MacGregor]]; developed [[canoe sailing]] and popularised [[canoeing]] as a recreational sport, paddling and sailing them in both Europe and the Middle East
* [[Alistair Mackay]] (1878–1914), doctor and polar explorer, one of the first expedition to reach the [[south magnetic pole]]
* Sir [[Alexander Mackenzie (explorer)|Alexander Mackenzie]] (1764–1820), merchant who traced the 1,080-mile [[Mackenzie River]] and completed the first east to west overland crossing of the Americas (north of Mexico) to reach the Pacific Ocean; this predated the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] by a decade
* [[Harry McNish]] (1874–1930), carpenter on [[Ernest Shackleton|Sir Ernest Shackleton]]'s [[Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition|Imperial Trans–Antarctic Expedition]]; later responsible for much of the work that ensured the crew's survival after the ship was destroyed
* [[Archibald Menzies]] (1754–1852), botanist, naturalist and surgeon on the [[Vancouver Expedition]], which circumnavigated the globe, touched five continents and changed the course of history for the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|American indigenous people]] and the continent's [[European colonization of the Americas|European colonisation]]
* Sir [[Thomas Mitchell (explorer)|Thomas Mitchell]] (1792–1855), British Army Lieutenant Colonel and surveyor in south-eastern [[Australia (continent)|Australia]] who became the [[Surveyor General of New South Wales]]; led several expeditions along the [[Darling River]] and beyond
* [[John Muir]] (1838–1914), author and naturalist whose conservation and preservation activism led to the creation of many [[national park]]s in the United States; founded the [[Sierra Club]] in California, one of the most important conservation organisations in America
* Sir [[John Murray (oceanographer)|John Murray]] (1841–1914), pioneering limnologist, marine biologist and oceanographer who assisted Charles Wyville Thomson on the [[Challenger expedition]]; first to note the existence of [[oceanic trench]]es, as well as the [[Mid-Atlantic Ridge|Mid–Atlantic Ridge]]
* [[W. H. Murray|William Hutchison Murray]] (1913–1996), mountaineer and writer who helped discover a route through the ice fields of [[Khumbu Glacier]] to the [[South Col]] of Mount Everest's summit, later used by Sir [[Edmund Hillary]] and [[Sherpa people|Sherpa]] [[Tenzing Norgay]] during their [[1953 British Mount Everest expedition|historic ascent]]
* [[Walter Oudney]] (1790–1824), physician and African explorer, one of the first Europeans to accomplish a north–south crossing of the [[Sahara Desert]]
* [[Mungo Park (explorer)|Mungo Park]] (1771–1806), botanist and surgeon who conducted many journeys to Africa and was the first Westerner to encounter the central portion of the Niger River
* [[William Paterson (explorer)|William Paterson]] (1755–1810), botanist, British Army Colonel and lieutenant governor, best known for leading early settlement in [[Tasmania]]
* [[John Rae (explorer)|John Rae]] (1813–1893), physician who explored Northern Canada, mainly surveying parts of the [[Northwest Passage]]; later reported the fate of the [[Franklin's lost expedition|lost Franklin Expedition]]
* Sir [[John Richardson (naturalist)|John Richardson]] (1787–1865), naturalist and naval surgeon; traveled with [[John Franklin|Sir John Franklin]] in search of the Northwest Passage on the [[Coppermine Expedition of 1819–1822]]; they later surveyed 1,878&nbsp;miles of previously unmapped coast and made many natural history discoveries
* Sir [[James Clark Ross]] (1800–1862), Royal Navy Admiral who led the first successful expedition to reach the [[north magnetic pole]]; discovered the [[Ross Sea]], [[Victoria Land]], and volcanoes [[Mount Erebus]] and [[Mount Terror (Antarctica)|Mount Terror]] in Antarctica
* Sir [[John Ross (Arctic explorer)|John Ross]] (1777–1856), Royal Navy Admiral who discovered the [[Boothia Peninsula]], the [[Gulf of Boothia]] and [[King William Island]] while exploring the Arctic
* [[John Ross (explorer)|John Ross]] (1817–1903), drover who explored deserts, mountain ranges and rivers in [[South Australia]], before later leading an expedition to establish a route for the [[Australian Overland Telegraph Line]]
* [[Alexander Selkirk]] (1676–1721), sailor who spent four years as a [[castaway]] after being [[Marooning|marooned]] on the [[Juan Fernández Islands]] off the coast of [[Chile]]; his story is the inspiration behind [[Daniel Defoe]]'s well-known character and novel ''[[Robinson Crusoe]]''
* [[Henry I Sinclair, Earl of Orkney|Henry Sinclair]] (c. 1345–c. 1400), nobleman rumoured to have explored [[Greenland]] and North America one hundred years before [[Christopher Columbus]]
* Sir [[James Stirling (Royal Navy officer)|James Stirling]] (1791–1865), colonial administrator and Royal Navy Admiral who established the [[Swan River Colony]] and became the first [[Governor of Western Australia]]
* [[John McDouall Stuart]] (1815–1866), surveyor and one of Australia's most famous explorers; led the first expedition to successfully traverse the continent from south to north and return
* Sir [[Charles Wyville Thomson]] (1830–1882), marine zoologist, natural historian and the chief scientist on the pioneering Challenger Expedition, which lay the foundation for modern [[oceanography]]
* [[Joseph Thomson (explorer)|Joseph Thomson]] (1858–1895), geologist and an important figure in the [[Scramble for Africa]]; headed many expeditions, including taking over one following the death of [[Alexander Keith Johnston (1844–1879)|Alexander Keith Johnston]]; the [[Thomson's gazelle]] is named in his honour
* [[Tom Weir]], MBE (1914–2006), author, broadcaster and climber who is best known for his long-running television series, ''Weir's Way'', which helped popularise [[hillwalking]] and the [[Wilderness|great outdoors]]
* [[Thomas Braidwood Wilson]] (c. 1792–1843), surgeon and explorer in Australia
* [[John Wood (explorer)|John Wood]] (1812–1871), cartographer, naval officer and surveyor who explored many [[List of the longest Asian rivers|Asian rivers]] and compiled several maps of South Asia, which remained standard for most of the 19th century
* Sir [[James Wordie]] (1889–1962), geologist, chief of scientific staff on [[Sir Ernest Shackleton]]'s Imperial Trans–Antarctic Expedition