Aberdeen city has immortalised its already immortal son and football hero, the immortal Dennis Law. And it did so in epic style – gigantic murals on two sides of a 10-storey block of flats. Brilliant! Now, let’s see Scotland’s Eighteenth century heroes immortalised in the same way. My suggestion for Aberdeen would be the city’s Enlightenment figure, who revolutionised classical scholarship, Thomas Blackwell (1701-1757).

Great example: Mural of footballer Dennis Law in Aberdeen

As one drives along Great Northern Road, into the Printfield neighbourhood of Aberdeen, the striking figure of Dennis Law, surely measuring 20m+ high, appears above the traffic like a dynamic action pic snapped at one of his matches. There are two murals, on adjacent faces of Clifton Court, an otherwise ordinary block of apartments. They’re brilliant. They were unveiled in 2025, the same year Law died, aged 85, and they’re an amazing tribute to one of the city’s most-cherished sons and one of Scotland’s best-loved players, top goal scorers and national sporting…I’ll say it again, heroes.

Comparing achievements: Thomas Blackwell and Dennis Law

Thomas Blackwell was born in Aberdeen, like Dennis Law, but Blackwell was born in 1701, while Law was born in 1940. Blackwell became an influential classical scholar, unlike Dennis Law, who became a famous footballer. Blackwell wrote some classic studies which were authoritative and significant for many decades after publication (eg. An Enquiry into the Life and Writings of Homer, 1735; Letters Concerning Mythology, 1748; and Memoirs of the Court of Augustus, 1753-1763), while Law was regarded as one of the greatest goalscorers in football history, was the only Scottish player to win the Ballon d’Or and is nicknamed “The King” by Manchester United fans. But while Law is honored with two statues at ManU football ground, Old Trafford, Thomas Blackwell has no statue and only an ink sketch of his head and shoulders.

Murals and promoting history and culture

Law’s football career was mainly at Manchester United, today one of the world’s most famous teams, and brands. He’s never been forgotten by the city he left. But there are many sons of the Granite city that have been forgotten. Football’s great ‘n’ all (though I’m not a fan), but imagine what a city that muralled (I think I made that word up. Muralled: ‘To make something intro a mural’) its Enlightenment heroes would be saying to the world. If you can’t imagine, I’ll tell you. They would be saying things like:

• Look at our amazing history and contribution to civilisation
• Consider the amazing men and women born from this city
• Our city places value on historical people and events
• Our city promotes learning of all kinds
• Come to our city, follow the trail and experience the Enlightenment
• Etc

Tiny list of Scottish Enlightenment figures worth muralling

The Scottish Enlightenment was a flourishing of intellectual and artistic endeavour which last from mid-1700s to the very early 1800s. A list of worthy candidates to be muralled would include:

1. Auchinleck: James Boswell (of course, I was always going to say that)
2. Edinburgh: David Hume, Philosopher
3. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith, Economist
4. Alloway: Robert Burns, Poet
5. Langholm: Thomas Telford, Civil engineer
6. Greenock: James Watt, Engineer
7. Hamilton: William Cullen, Chemist
8. Laurencekirk: James Burnett (Lord Monboddo), Jurist
9. Ruthven, Inverness: James Macpherson (Ossian author)
10. Aberdeen: Thomas Blackwell, Classical scholar

The images used could be copies of original artworks or, like those of Dennis Law, could be designed into a photo-realistic representation. Portraits could be brought up to date in design and appearance so they’re better suited to general tastes. They could be black and white, or colour, big or small, realistic or cartoon-style. We wouldn’t even have to paint them onto the walls. We could project them. We’ve all seen these kinds of effects before. Let’s paint or project as many Scottish Enlightenment figures on walls in towns and cities across our country as we can.