John Muir
John Muir was born in Dunbar in 1838. He left Scotland at the age of 11 in 1849 from Helensburgh, destined for America, where he went on to become a pioneering environmentalist. He was known as ‘Father of the National Parks‘, founding the Sierra Club and playing an instrumental role in preserving the Yosemite Valley and Sequoia National Park.
California celebrates April 21 as John Muir Day, and numerous things are named after him, including three Mount Muir’s, Muir Glacier in Alaska, a college, a highway, an asteroid belt, a species of butterfly and, in Scotland, a country park in East Lothian. He also features on 2 US Commemorative stamps.