Alumni
As an Edinburgh graduate, you will have the opportunity to stay involved with the University and with fellow students.
You will become a member of the General Council, a key voice in all matters affecting the wellbeing and prosperity of the University.
We will send you information, including the University magazine, Edit, to keep you informed about what’s going on at your University.
Development and Alumni
Development and Alumni helps graduates to keep up with the University and their classmates through an up-to-date database of all former students of the University.
It offers a range of services and activities and acts as point of contact for the world network of alumni clubs and groups.
The department also runs the Alumni Fund, where philanthropic gifts from graduates support a wide range of academic and student initiatives throughout the University.
Distinguished former students
Our former students have been at the forefront of knowledge since the founding of the University in 1583.
Graduates of Edinburgh join a distinguished list of past students, including:
- Charles Darwin - naturalist and author of “The Origin of Species”
- David Hume - philosopher and leading figure of the Enlightenment
- James Clerk Maxwell - physicist
- James Simpson - pioneer of chloroform in midwifery and surgery
- Authors Sir Walter Scott, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Robert Louis Stevenson
More recent well-known alumni include:
- Dr Piers Sellers - third Briton to go into space in 2002
- Stella Rimington - former MI5 director
- Gordon Brown - former UK Prime Minister
- Sir Chris Hoy - cyclist
- Ian Rankin - novelist
This article was published on Jun 4, 2010