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".
William N. MacLean
Born in 1907 at Inverness, Nova Scotia, MacLean was a businessman. He married Jane Roberts in 1939. From 1933 to 1945, he was the chief of police for Inverness. He also served a term as mayor of Inverness. MacLean entered provincial politics in a 1962 byelection, winning the seat left vacant following the death of his brother, Roderick MacLean. He was re-elected in the 1963, and 1967 elections, representing the dual-member riding with Progressive Conservative Jim MacLean. In the 1970 election, MacLean was defeated for the second seat by fellow Liberal John Archie MacKenzie. MacLean died at Inverness on August 4, 1997.