Elly
Administrator
Posts: 29,887
|
Post by Elly on Sept 17, 2005 21:30:26 GMT 10
September 15
September 15 - St Mirren Day (patron saint of Paisley). September 15 1595 - City Baillie shot when Edinburgh High School pupils rioted when refused a holiday. September 15 1773 - The "Hector" leaves Loch Broom, near Ullapool, to sail to Pictou, Nova Scotia, carrying emigrants escaping from the "Clearances".
|
|
Elly
Administrator
Posts: 29,887
|
Post by Elly on Sept 17, 2005 21:33:36 GMT 10
On this day in 1745, Jacobite forces routed Hanoverian dragoons on the outskirts of Edinburgh in what was known as the Canter of Coltbrig. At the beginning of September Charles had entered Perth. He had then crossed the Forth unopposed at the Fords of Frew and, after passing through Stirling and Linlithgow, he arrived within a few miles of Edinburgh.
|
|
Elly
Administrator
Posts: 29,887
|
Post by Elly on Sept 17, 2005 21:35:12 GMT 10
17 September
On this day in 1771, Tobias Smollett, Scottish novelist and playwright, died. Author of 'The Adventures of Roderick Random' and 'The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle', Smollett is considered to be the first Scottish novelist and was one of the favourite authors of Charles Dickens. Born near Renton in Dumbartonshire, he studied medicine at the University of Glasgow before moving to London and becoming a surgeon's apprentice. He sailed on one of the vessels of the Carthagena expedition of 1741 as a surgeon's mate. On his return, he embarked upon his literary career. 'The Adventures of Roderick Random', based largely upon his experiences at sea, was published in 1748 and became an instant bestseller. In addition to his novels, he translated Voltaire, and wrote satires, plays and history. He was frequently involved in personal disputes, and was imprisoned at one point for libel. Smollett's health worsened from 1763 onwards due to tuberculosis and he travelled extensively in France and Italy in search of a cure, chronicling his experiences in 'Travels and France and Italy'. He did not live to see himself fully appreciated critically, and 'Ode to Independence', his most famous poem, was published posthumously. Death in 1869 of John Elder, marine engineer and shipbuilder. Elder invented the compound steam engine in 1854 which, by using the same steam twice, reduced the coal consumption of steam ships and increased the payload. Earlier in 1869, he had been unanimously elected as President of the Institute of Engineers and Ship Builders in Scotland. However, he died before he was able to attend his presentation. David Dunbar Buick was born at 26 Green Street, Arbroath on this day in 1854.He emigrated to the USA with his parents at the age of two. Although he founded the Buick Manufacturing Company which later became General Motors, it was William C. Durant who insured that the company grew successfully.
|
|
Elly
Administrator
Posts: 29,887
|
Post by Elly on Sept 17, 2005 21:36:08 GMT 10
This day in 1818 saw the pioneering Theatre Royal, Glasgow, become the first theatre in Britain to be lit by gas. The Gas Company had been incorporated in June, 1817, and was ready to supply gas, but had much difficulty in finding customers. The Queen Street Theatre's consent to be "illuminated with sparkling gas" in the presence of a large and fashionable audience was a significant advance. On this day in 1959 forty seven miners were killed in Scotland's worst pit disaster of the century at Auchengeich Colliery, Chryston, Lanarkshire. The smoke from a fire caused by electrical fault 1,000 ft below the surface engulfed the bogies carrying the miners to work. Only one man escaped. Rescue workers were unable to reach the trapped men because of the persistence of the fire, and later that evening the decision was taken to flood the pit.
|
|
Elly
Administrator
Posts: 29,887
|
Post by Elly on Sept 17, 2005 21:37:12 GMT 10
19 September
On this day in 1778, Henry, Lord Brougham, the Scottish Whig statesman and jurist was born in Edinburgh. Educated in Edinburgh, Brougham was called to the Scottish Bar in 1800. He moved to England in 1805 and spent the rest of his working life there. Entering Parliament in 1810, he became Lord Chancellor in 1830. An active campaigner against slavery and for law reform and national education, he helped set up the Central Criminal Court and helped pass both the Reform Bill of 1832 and the act abolishing slavery in Britain. Whilst in Edinburgh he helped found the Edinburgh Review and was a prolific contributor. Brougham also played a part in the founding of London University, and in 1820 acted as defence for Queen Caroline. In later life he retired to Cannes to write his memoirs, which were published posthumously in 1871. 19th September 1806 saw the birth of William Dyce, the painter and educator. Dyce was born in Aberdeen and studied in Edinburgh and London. He twice visited Italy, where he gained an appreciation of early Italian art and was also influenced by the German Nazarenes who were at that time settled in Rome. He was a precursor of the Pre-Raphaelites in both subject and style, painting with a highly detailed realism as illustrated by his best known work, Pegwell Bay, Kent, now held in the Tate Gallery in London. Dyce also pioneered the teaching of art education in state schools.
|
|
Elly
Administrator
Posts: 29,887
|
Post by Elly on Sept 29, 2005 8:01:07 GMT 10
20 September
On this day in 1842 Sir James Dewar was born in Kincardine on the Forth. Dewar was a student and later a lecturer at Edinburgh University. He then moved south to England; first to Cambridge and then to London. At the time, the facilites in London were much better for conducting experiments, and he did most of his most well known work there. He is principally remembered for his work on the liquefication of gases at low temperatures. By 1891 he was able to produce liquid oxygen, and by 1898, liquid hydrogen. In order to store liquefied oxygen, in about 1872 he invented a double walled flask, the Dewar flask, which was an early version of the thermos flask. From about 1891 he became interested in the study of explosives and produced, together with Frederick Abel, the smokeless explosive cordite. In 1967, the last of the great passenger liners, the QE2, was launched by the Queen at John Brown's Shipyard in Clydebank. The ship was not named after the Queen, but rather was the second ship to bear that name. This is why the Arabic '2' is used in the name rather than the Roman numerals used by the Queen. The ship made its maiden voyage in 1969. Still in service today, the ship logged 5 million miles at sea in August 2002.
|
|
Elly
Administrator
Posts: 29,887
|
Post by Elly on Sept 29, 2005 8:04:18 GMT 10
21 September
On this day in 1756 John McAdam, the surveyor who introduced the 'macadam' system of road surfacing, was born in Ayr. MacAdam spent his childhood in New York but returned to Scotland in 1783 having made enough money to purchase an estate in Ayrshire. He noticed that the roads on the estate were in very poor condition and undertook a series of experiments to find a better material to surface roads with. MacAdam moved to the south coast of England in 1798 after being forced to sell his estate to pay business debts, where he continued his experiments and in 1815 was appointed Surveyor to the Bristol Roads. His works "Remarks on the Present System of Road-Making" (1816) and "A Practical Essay on the Scientific Repair and Preservation of Roads" (1819) document his work and a parliamentary enquiry of 1823 led to the adoption of his ideas by public authorities. The picture shows a silhouette by Augustin Edouart from 1827, the year that McAdam was appointed general surveyor of roads. The novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott died aged 61 on this day in 1832. Walter Scott was born in Edinburgh in 1771 but was sent to live on his grandfather's farm near Kelso after he contracted poliomyelitis at the age of 18 months. He stayed there until 1777, and it is thought that it during his period of convalescence that he absorbed the historical and literary culture of the Borders, having heard the traditional ballads and legends about the Border heroes and reivers. Scott is best known for his novels such as The Heart of Midlothian, Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, and The Fair Maid of Perth. However, he also published translations, reviewed extensively, and wrote historical tracts. Regarded in his day as one of the greatest writers, Scott's reputation since then has been subject to intense scrutiny and he has been criticised for presenting a mythical, overly romantic image of Scotland. On September 21 1745 Prince Charles Edward Stuart emerged victorious at the Battle of Prestonpans. The Jacobite army of just over 3,000 under Bonnie Prince Charlie heavily defeated the English Royal forces led by Sir John Cope. This episode gave rise to the famous Jacobite song "Johnnie Cope."
|
|
Elly
Administrator
Posts: 29,887
|
Post by Elly on Sept 29, 2005 8:05:38 GMT 10
September 22
On this day in 1931 the politician George Younger (Viscount Younger of Leckie) was born. Under Margaret Thatcher Younger served as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1979 to1986. He was then appointed as Secretary of State for Defence following Michael Heseltine's resignation over the Westland affair. Later, Younger became Chairman of The Royal Bank of Scotland. He died in January 2003 aged 71 after a battle with cancer. On this day in 1990 Alex Salmond defeated Margaret Ewing by 486 votes to 186 to become National Convenor of the Scottish National Party. Born in Linlithgow in 1954, Salmond joined the SNP in 1973, entering the House of Commons in 1987 as member of Parliament for Banff and Buchan. After becoming SNP leader in 1990, he stayed in the post for 10 years. Salmond is credited with improving the credibility of the SNP by projecting a moderate image and presenting the party as a realistic alternative to the Labour Party. He supported the Labour Government's proposals for devolution, viewing it as a stepping stone to full independence.
|
|
Elly
Administrator
Posts: 29,887
|
Post by Elly on Sept 29, 2005 8:07:39 GMT 10
September 23
On this day in 1880, John Boyd Orr, Nobel Peace prize winner in 1949, was born in Kilmaurs, Ayrshire. Orr studied at Glasgow University before being appointed as director of a nutritional research unit near Aberdeen. However, when the war broke out Boyd Orr joined the army, where he won the MC and the DSC before joining the Royal Navy. He was an advisor to the government on nutrition during the Second World War, and in 1945 he was appointed Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. He argued for an international food policy based on need rather than trade but failed to persuade the FAO to set up an international body to supervise food production. Orr was knighted in 1932, granted a baronety in 1949 and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1961- only the second awarded to a Scot. On this day in 704 St Adamnan died. St Adamnan was the successor to Columba as the Abbot of Iona and, in about 690, he wrote 'Life of Columba' which described in detail the life of his predecessor, many of them crediting Columba with performing miracles. As such Adamnan helped to establish the cult of Columba. Although he is primarily remembered as Columba's biographer, he seems to have had a large impact on the spread of Christianity, particularly in the Pictish lands of the North East. He also drew up the 'Law of Innocents' which attempted to protect women, children and those in Holy Orders from war. Admanan managed to get this agreement signed by the Irish Kings as well as those of the Dalriada and Picts. In his time, he was probably as important as Columba, but by so effectively establishing the historical reputation and cult of Columba, his contribution is now somewhat overlooked. On September 23 1973 Alexander Sutherland Neill, the Scottish educator, died. A pioneer in the self-development of children, he founded Summerhill School, Suffolk, where pupils govern themselves and attendance at lessons is optional.
|
|
Elly
Administrator
Posts: 29,887
|
Post by Elly on Sept 29, 2005 8:09:12 GMT 10
24 September
On this day in 1332 Edward, the son of John Balliol, was crowned at Scone. After imprisonment in England and his subsequent release to France, he was recalled to England in 1324. Many Scots regarded him as rightful heir to the throne, and during an Anglo-Scots peace in 1332 he sailed from the Humber to Fife and overcame a Scots army at Dupplin. He was chased out and took refuge behind English armies. He ruled as a puppet king during the reign of David II until 1356 when he was dismissed by Edward III.
|
|
Elly
Administrator
Posts: 29,887
|
Post by Elly on Sept 29, 2005 8:12:50 GMT 10
25 September
On 25th September 1703 Archibald Campbell, 10th Earl and 1st Duke of Argyll, died. One of two commissioners who offered the Scottish Crown to William and Mary, he organised the Massacre of Glencoe when 38 of the MacDonalds were killed.
|
|
Elly
Administrator
Posts: 29,887
|
Post by Elly on Sept 29, 2005 8:13:43 GMT 10
September 26 1290 Queen Margaret, Maid of Norway ("Eiriksdotter") died, en route from Norway to Scotland.
September 26 1860 First Open Golf Championship held at Prestwick. There were eight entrants and the championship was won by Willie Park of Musselburgh.
September 26 1934 Liner Queen Mary launched at John Brown's shipyard, Clydebank. She went on to break the Atlantic record (the "Blue Riband") four times.
|
|