Sir Hugh Thomas Munro (1856-1919) was born in London, but brought up in Scotland on the family estate of Lindertis near Kirriemuir.

He was an avid hillwalker, and was a founder member of the Scottish Mountaineering Club in 1889. He is best known for the list of mountains in Scotland over 3000ft (914.4m) which he produced two years later in 1891. This list caused much surpise in mountaineering circles, as until his list was produced many thought that the number of mountains exceeding this height was around 30, rather than the nearly 300 that he listed. These mountains are now known as Munros and it is a popular hobby to attempt to climb them all.

Munro did not manage to complete his aim of climbing them all himself. He was unable to climb the Inaccessible Pinnacle in Skye, and also had kept one mountain in the Cairngorms (Carn Cloich-Mhuillin ) to be his last. The first person to achieve the feat was the Rev. A. E. Robertson in 1901.

In addition to his mountaineering interests, Munro was well travelled, and made trips to Europe, Asia and Africa during his lifetime.