Robert Burns – Greatest Scot of all time…?
Scotland’s Greatest?
As part of the Homecoming Scotland celebrations, a poll was held by STV to see who the public believes the greatest ever Scot is. Thousands of people were said to have voted from the list of 35 nominees, with Robert Burns, perhaps aptly, generating the most popularity.
Homecoming Scotland 2009 has Burns as its focus, celebrating the 250th anniversary of his birth, so it is maybe no surprise that the national bard was at the forefront of most peoples minds when it came to this vote.
The list of nominees was split up into six different categories (Arts and Entertainment, Invetors and Entrepreneurs, Leaders and Thinkers, People’s Choice, Scientists and Engineers, and Sport), making sure that Scots from all walks of life were covered.
The top 10 greatest Scots as voted by the public is as follows:
1 ) Robert Burns
4 ) Jock Stein
5 ) David Tennant
6 ) Robert the Bruce
7 ) Andrew Carnegie
8 ) Sir William Alexander Smith
9 ) Billy Connolly
10 ) Alex Harvey
However, for many, not only the actual outcome of the top-10 is considered as controversial, but also of the list of nominees, and some of the notable Scots omitted from it, such as nurse Mary Seacole, medical missionary Dr. David Livingstone as well as missonary Mary Slessor, leader of the Protestant Reformation John Knox, and even writer Sir Walter Scott.
What do you think?
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