Inner Hebrides
The poet Sorley MacLean was born on Raasay, the setting for his best known poem, "Hallaig". George Orwell wrote much of the novel "1984" whilst living at Barnhill on Jura and J.M. Barrie wrote a screenplay for the 1924 film adaptation of "Peter Pan" whilst on Eilean Shona. Cressida Cowell, the author of "How to Train Your Dragon", spent childhood summers in the Inner Hebrides and has stated that they are "one of the most beautiful places on Earth" and "the kind of place where you expect to see dragons overhead".
Ewen Maclean
He was born on 15 October 1865 the second son of John Maclean of Kilmoluag on the Isle of Tiree, one of the most westerly of the Scottish islands. His father was a "master cordwainer" (shoemaker). His mother was Agnes Macmillan. The family were Gaelic speakers. His older brother was the politician, Donald Maclean.
Around 1870 the family moved to Haverfordwest in Wales, where Ewen was educated, before attending Carmarthen Grammar School. He then studied Medicine at Edinburgh University graduating MB CM with honours in 1889. In 1891, he received with honours the Edinburgh MD.