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Post by LLady on May 2, 2008 6:38:36 GMT 10
May 1 Beltane's Day - ancient fire festival celebrating start of summer.
May 1 1522 England declared war on both Scotland and France.
May 1 1690 Battle of Cromdale, Jacobites defeated by government troops.
May 1 1707 Act of Union of English and Scottish parliaments proclaimed.
May 1 1873 Missionary and explorer David Livingstone died.
May 1 1966 First civil aircraft (a Handley-Page Herald which had left Renfrew airport six minutes earlier) landed at Glasgow airport at Abbotsinch, formerly HMS Sanderling, a Royal Naval Air Station.
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Post by LLady on May 2, 2008 6:39:00 GMT 10
May 2 1316 Edward Bruce, brother of King Robert the Bruce, crowned High King of All Ireland.
May 2 1424 King James I crowned at Scone.
May 2 1568 Mary Queen of Scots escaped from Loch Leven castle.
May 2 1901 Glasgow International Exhibition in Kelvingrove opened.
May 2 1933 The story of the Loch Ness Monster first appeared in the press, starting off a long-running debate on whether or not some unknown animal or fish inhabits the murky depths of the loch.
May 2 1959 The first nuclear power station in Scotland, at Chapelcross, opened.
May 2 1963 Rootes car factory opens at Linwood, making the Hillman Imp.
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Post by LLady on May 2, 2008 6:39:23 GMT 10
May 3 1557 John Knox began the Reformation in Scotland.
May 3 1926 General Strike began at midnight, the first in British history. It lasted until 12 May.
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Post by LLady on May 2, 2008 6:39:44 GMT 10
May 4 1645 Marquis of Montrose victorious at Battle of Auldearn.
May 4 1658 General George Monk proclaimed the Protectorate at Mercat Cross.
May 4 1949 Twelve girls died in a fire at Grafton's fashion store in Glasgow.
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Post by LLady on May 2, 2008 6:40:16 GMT 10
May 5 1646 King Charles I surrenders to Lord Leven and was later passed to the Parliamentary forces.
May 5 1758 James Taylor who developed the steamboat was born.
May 5 1975 The "Scottish Daily News", the first workers' co-operative national newspaper was published.
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Post by LLady on May 2, 2008 6:40:43 GMT 10
May 6 1870 Sir James Young Simpson advocate of chloroform, died.
May 6 1941 Last major bombing attack on the Clyde area by the Luftwaffe; Greenock was badly hit with 280 dead.
May 6 1959 Icelandic gunboats fired live rounds at British fishing trawlers, many of them from Scottish ports, during the "Cod War" over fishing rights.
May 6 1999 Election for the new Scottish Parliament. Results were Labour 56, SNP 35, Conservatives 18, Liberal Democrats 16, Greens 1, Scottish Socialists 1, Independent 1.
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Post by LLady on May 2, 2008 6:41:10 GMT 10
May 7 1544 Earl of Hereford invaded Scotland on behalf of Henry VIII in an attempt to force the Scots to agree to the marriage of Mary to Henry's son, Edward. This is known as the "Rough Wooing".
May 7 1890 James Naysmith, engineer and inventor of steam hammer, died
May 7 1906 Historian Henry Gray Graham, author of "Social Life of Scotland in the 18th Century" died.
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Post by LLady on May 2, 2008 6:41:40 GMT 10
May 8 1945 Victory-in-Europe Day, end of World War II in Europe.
May 8 1701 Scottish-born pirate "Captain" William Kidd tried for piracy at London's Old Bailey. He was hanged on 23 May.
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Post by LLady on May 2, 2008 6:42:10 GMT 10
May 9 1943 Viscount Cunningham, British admiral and C in C in the Mediterranean, issued his command "Sink, burn and destroy; let nothing pass".
May 9 1860 J M Barrie, author of "Peter Pan" born
May 9 1918 John MacLean, socialist revolutionary, first Soviet Consul in Britain in 1917, honorary president of the first Congress of Soviets, tried in the High Court for sedition.
May 9 1957 A spectacular blaze at Bell's Brae, Edinburgh, destroyed the premises of one of Britain's largest theatrical costumiers; around 90,000 costumes were lost.
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Post by LLady on May 2, 2008 6:42:45 GMT 10
May 10 1307 Battle of Loudon Hill, near Darvel. King Robert I comprehensively defeated English forces under de Valence.
May 10 1809 Andrew Bell, co-founder of Encyclopaedia Britannica with Colin MacFarquhar, died.
May 10 1810 Rev Henry Duncan opened the world's first savings bank in Ruthwell, near Dumfries.
May 10 1850 Sir Thomas Lipton, founder of the Lipton's grocery chain who was a millionaire by the age of 30, was born in Glasgow.
May 10 1941 Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy, descended by parachute into Scotland at Eaglesham.
May 10 1967 Breath tests for motorists suspected of drinking and driving introduced under the Road Safety Act.
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Post by LLady on May 2, 2008 6:44:05 GMT 10
On this day in 1685 Covenanter martyrs, Margaret Lachlane, or McLachlan, and Margaret Wilson, refused to take an oath of loyalty to Charles II that acknowledged his authority on everything, including religious matters. They were tied to stakes in the Solway near Wigtown where they drowned as the tide rose. A reprieve had been sent from Edinburgh but never reached Wigtown.
The replica stake sits on machair about 100 yards from the parish church, where the women's graves are clearly marked. The water's edge is now a fair distance away from the site of the drownings, as gradual silting of the river has caused the water level to drop.
Today in 1941 Rudolf Hess crash-landed in Scotland after his bizarre solo flight from Nazi Germany.
Hitler's most trusted official and friend, he crash-landed a stolen plane at Eaglesham in an inexplicable effort to negotiate an end to the war. Hitler labelled him insane, and many agreed, but this did not keep him from judgment at Nuremberg for war crimes. He was sentenced to life, eventually becoming the sole prisoner at Spandau.
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Post by LLady on May 2, 2008 6:44:38 GMT 10
May 12 563 Community of Iona founded by Colum Cille (St Columba) from Ireland.
May 12 1725 The Black Watch regiment was commissioned under General Wade to police the Highlands.
May 12 1937 Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth took place at Westminster Abbey.
May 12 1994 Rt Hon John Smith, leader of the Labour Party died.
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