Elly
Administrator
Posts: 29,887
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Post by Elly on Dec 9, 2005 7:19:58 GMT 10
a great job, I never seem to get around to it lately, was a lovely surprise #ssmile#
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Post by LLady on Dec 12, 2005 1:26:16 GMT 10
December 11
On December 11 1710, William Cullen, the first professor of chemistry at Glasgow University, was born. Cullen was keen to maintain the link between chemistry and medicine, and on his move to the University of Edinburgh he gave lectures on clinical medicine at the Royal Infirmary. He also published the first modern Pharmacopia in 1776, and he remained an important member of Edinburgh society throughout the Enlightenment period. Cullen's pupils included Joseph Black, perhaps the greatest chemist of the era. On 11 December 1928 Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the Scottish designer and architect, died. Although in his lifetime Mackintosh was more feted on the continent than in his native land, he did achieve success with the firm of Honeyman and Keppie for most of his career, and some of his greatest works include the House for an Art Lover, the Scotland Street School, and the Glasgow School of Art.
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Post by LLady on Dec 12, 2005 1:28:07 GMT 10
December 12
On this day in 1574, Anne of Denmark, the wife of King James VI, was born. Anne and James were a devoted couple, despite James' attachments to men. They had married by proxy in Oslo in 1589 and had a total of eight children together. Anne was very fond of the entertainment at court, particularly masked balls in which she was often a keen participant. Her husband was to outlive her by six years after her death in 1619.
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Post by LLady on Dec 12, 2005 1:29:48 GMT 10
December 13
Today in 1585 saw the birth of William Drummond of Hawthornden, the noted Scottish poet. Drummond was one of the first notable Scots poets to write exclusively in English after the Union of the Crowns in 1603. He became a close friend of the English playwright, Ben Johnson, who visited him at Hawthornden, in Midlothian. His works include the elegy, 'Tears on the death of Meliades', and the poem, 'Forth Feasting'. Drummond also wrote critically of the Covenanters. 13 December 1911 saw the death of Thomas Glover, an industrial pioneer in Japan. Born in Fraserburgh, Glover is little known in his native land, but is considered a national hero in Japan. He played a major role in dragging the country into the modern world, bringing the first steam train to Japan, and creating the huge shipyard in Nagasaki which would eventually form the bedrock of the giant Mitsubishi Corporation.
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Post by LLady on Dec 13, 2005 8:24:25 GMT 10
December 14
December 14 1542
On the 14 December 1542, James V died at the age of 30. The monarch's death left the crown to his six-day-old daughter Mary. After a succession of regents, power passed to James' widow, Mary of Guise, who was to be the champion of the Catholic cause during the Reformation period.
On this day in 1730, James Bruce, the Scottish explorer, was born. Bruce travelled extensively through north Africa in search of the source of the Nile, even becoming a respected friend of the Abyssinian royal family, and in 1790 he published a lengthy account of his travels. Due to a self-confidence bordering on arrogance he made many enemies, notably Samuel Johnson, who criticised his writings and cast doubt on their veracity. Very little was known about Africa at the time, and this lent credence to the claims that Bruce had embellished his account. Although he turned out to be mistaken about the source of the Nile, the descriptions of Bruce's travels in Africa have since proven largely accurate. December 14 1896 Glasgow District Underground opened, powered by electricity.
December 14 1947 Will Fyfe, comedian, died.
December 14 1967 University of Stirling instituted by Royal charter.
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Post by LLady on Dec 13, 2005 8:27:54 GMT 10
December 15
The Zoological Society of Glasgow was founded on this day in 1936. The Society was formed with the aim of establishing a zoo within the city of Glasgow. Initial plans were for this to form one of the attractions of the 1938 Empire Exhibition. However, this proposal was rejected by the exhibition organisers and so the society had to look further afield for locations. Calderpark was identified as a suitable location and, although the Second World War postponed developments for several years, the zoo was finally opened in July 1947. On 15 December 1951 the Scotland striker Joe Jordan was born. At Hampden in 1973, Jordan came on as a second-half substitute and scored the winning goal in Scotland's 2-1 defeat of Czechoslovakia, allowing Scotland to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1958.
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Post by LLady on Dec 13, 2005 8:31:37 GMT 10
December 16
Today in 1263 the Norwegian king, Haakon the Old, died in the Bishop's Palace, Kirkwall, Orkney. He had used Kirkwall as a base for his fruitless attempt to maintain Norse rule over the Western Isles. After a crushing defeat at the Battle of Largs on October 2 1263, Haakon's battered fleet returned to Kirkwall where the King, dispirited and fatigued, fell ill and died in the early hours of the morning of the 16th.
On this day in 1653 Cromwell became Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland. Cromwell was the only invader of Scotland to conquer the whole country.
December 16 1838 Thomas Blake Glover, founding father of Japan's industrialisation (including Mitsubishi) and Japanese Navy, born Fraserburgh
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Post by LLady on Dec 15, 2005 7:14:11 GMT 10
December 17
December 17 1502 Marriage contract between James IV and Margaret Tudor signed by King James.
On December 17 1907 the great scientist William Thomson, Lord Kelvin, died. Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow from 1846-1899, he was one of the greatest scientists of his day. As well as being instrumental in the invention of the telegraph machine, Thomson proposed the absolute scale of temperature now known as the Kelvin scale and also established the second law of thermodynamics.
December 17 1956 Petrol rationing was imposed following the Suez crisis and the closure of the canal
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Post by LLady on Dec 15, 2005 7:16:35 GMT 10
December 18
On 18 December 1661 the ship "Elizabeth", of Burntisland, was lost off the English coast. Among the cargo lost were the Scottish records being returned from London. The archives had been removed to London on the instructions of Oliver Cromwell.
Today in 1745 the last battle ever fought on English soil occurred. The skirmish took place at Clifton between retreating Jacobite troops on their way back to Scotland under the command of Lord George Murray, and Hanoverian forces under General Bland. The Jacobites were triumphant. December 18 1780 Society of Antiquaries founded.
December 18 1870 Birth of Hector Munro. He wrote short stories under the pseudonym "Saki".
December 18 1969 Death penalty for murder was formally abolished in Britain.
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Elly
Administrator
Posts: 29,887
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Post by Elly on Dec 16, 2005 6:36:48 GMT 10
On this day in 1653 Cromwell became Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland. Cromwell was the only invader of Scotland to conquer the whole country.
he managed the unmanageable eh #happy#
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Post by LLady on Dec 18, 2005 8:18:22 GMT 10
Too true! #happy#
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Post by LLady on Dec 20, 2005 4:06:01 GMT 10
December 19
On this day in 1887 Balfour Stewart, the Scottish meteorologist and geophysicist, died. He was noted for his studies of terrestrial magnetism, and his research on radiant heat contributed to the foundation of spectrum analysis: he made the important discovery that objects radiate and absorb energy of the same wavelength. In 1887, Stewart suffered a stroke while crossing to spend Christmas at his estate in Ireland and died soon after at the age of 59.
December 19 1904 The "Scotsman" newspaper moves to new offices at North Bridge in Edinburgh, remaining there until 1999
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