Famous Scots
- John Buchan (1875-1940)
Born in Perth, the son of a minister, John Buchan had two careers, first as a politician and secondly as a writer. He studied law at Glasgow and Oxford Universities. He performed well in a government post in South Africa in the aftermath of the Boer War and later became war correspondent for the Times newspaper in the First World War.
He was appointed Governor General of Canada in 1935 and was highly regarded in that role. He became Baron Tweedsmuir in 1936 and died in Ottawa in 1940.
His career as the author of adventure stories began in 1910 with "Prester John" set in Africa and "The Thirty-Nine Steps", set partly in Scotland, appeared in 1915. He published 30 novels as well as biographies of the Marquis of Montrose and Sir Walter Scott.
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