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January
Jan 24, 2006 4:22:32 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jan 24, 2006 4:22:32 GMT 10
January 22
On January 22 1570 James Stewart, the Regent Moray on the abdication of Mary Queen of Scots, was murdered in Linlithgow. The assassination by James Hamilton of Bothwellhaugh triggered civil war.
January 22 1689 William of Orange and Mary become joint sovereigns of the UK.
January 22 1777 saw the birth of Joseph Hume, Scottish politician and social reformer. A leading advocate of free trade, he was responsible for the repeal of laws that banned the export of machinery, and the emigration of skilled workmen. He campaigned for the legalisation of trade unions, Catholic emancipation, the admission of non-confirmists to university, and the ending of draconian punishments in the armed forces.
January 22 1788 Robert Byron (later Lord Byron) born. He moved to Aberdeen at the age of four and attended Aberdeen Grammar School.
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January
Jan 24, 2006 4:24:26 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jan 24, 2006 4:24:26 GMT 10
January 23
January 23 1570 James Stewart, the Regent Moray on the abdication of Mary Queen of Scots, murdered in Linlithgow, triggering civil war.
Today in 2000 William Hamilton, the Scottish Labour politician, died. He was MP for Fife West, 1950-74, and Fife Central, 1974-87. He became a controversial public figure due to his outspoken advocacy of Scottish independence and his dislike of the Royal Family.
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January
Jan 24, 2006 4:28:34 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jan 24, 2006 4:28:34 GMT 10
January 24
January 24, 76AD, is the probable date of birth of Publius Aelius Hadrianus, who built Hadrian’s Wall to cut off Scotland from the rest of Britain.The wall was built in 122AD and stood as the northern frontier of the Roman Empire for over two hundred years.
Today in 1890 saw the first train cross the Forth Rail Bridge. The structure was built by Sir William Arrol and cost £2.5 million. An earlier design by Sir Thomas Bouch had been abandoned after his Tay Bridge collapsed in a storm in 1879.
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January
Jan 24, 2006 4:32:10 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jan 24, 2006 4:32:10 GMT 10
January 25
On 25 January 1759 poet Robert Burns was born. Scotland's National Bard entered the world in a clay biggan at Alloway. Although born into a poor family, Burns's father enrolled him at a local school and the poet's love of language was born.
January 25 1817 First edition of the Edinburgh-based "Scotsman" newspaper, published by its founders, Charles MacLaren, William Ritchie and John MacDiarmid.
Today in 1915, Ewan MacColl, Scottish folk singer-songwriter and playwright was born. During the 1960s he was famous for his protest songs about various social and political issues, including the atomic bomb, Vietnam War, and apartheid. He composed and wrote the lyrics for Roberta Flack's best known hit, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face".
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January
Jan 26, 2006 4:35:33 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jan 26, 2006 4:35:33 GMT 10
January 26
On January 26 1861 the one o’clock gun was fired for the first time from Edinburgh Castle. The gun was commissioned to act as an audible signal of the time during bad weather. The gun was connected to an electric clock in the Royal Observatory on Calton Hill by an electric cable over 4,000 feet long.
January 26 1878, Kirkpatrick McMillan, inventor of the bicycle, died. The thought of patenting his invention or trying to make any money out of it never crossed MacMillan's mind, but others saw its potential, and soon copies began to appear. However, Macmillan was quite unconcerned with the fuss his invention had prompted, preferring to enjoy the quiet country life he was used to.
January 26 1908 The 1st Glasgow Scout troop was registered, the first to be formed.
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January
Jan 26, 2006 4:37:22 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jan 26, 2006 4:37:22 GMT 10
January 27
On January 27 1783 the Glasgow Herald newspaper was first published. It is the longest continuously published daily newspaper in Britain. It began its life as the 'Glasgow Advertiser' in January 1783, changing briefly to the 'Herald and Advertiser and Commercial Chronicle' in 1803, before becoming the 'Glasgow Herald' on 26th August 1804.
On this day in 1926 the first public demonstration of TV was made by John Logie Baird. In 1927 his television was demonstrated over 438 miles of telephone line between London and Glasgow, and he formed the Baird Television Development Company, Ltd. In 1928 Baird achieved the first transatlantic television transmission between London and New York, and the first transmission to a ship in the mid-Atlantic. He also gave the first demonstration of both colour and stereoscopic television.
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January
Jan 28, 2006 4:45:38 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jan 28, 2006 4:45:38 GMT 10
January 28
Today in 1580 King James VI signed the Confession of Faith. "The King's or Negative Confession" was later incorporated into the National Covenant of 1638.
On January 28 1829, William Burke, murderer and body snatcher of "Burke and Hare" fame, was executed. Hare escaped the gallows by turning King’s evidence against his former partner.
January 28 1908 Jimmy Shand, Scottish country dance band leader, born.
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January
Jan 28, 2006 4:48:05 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jan 28, 2006 4:48:05 GMT 10
January 29
January 29 1848 saw the first adoption of GMT by Scotland. The subject has been the source of controversy ever since.
Today in 1928 Earl Haig, the Commander in Chief of British forces 1915-18 and founder of the British Legion, died. One of the leading military commanders of World War One, Haig was Commander in Chief of the British forces for most of the war. He was the architect of the controversial and bloody strategy of attrition which resulted in huge losses of men and little material gain.
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January
Jan 30, 2006 8:26:16 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jan 30, 2006 8:26:16 GMT 10
January 30
On January 30 1649 King Charles I was executed. His execution caused a change of sides by most of the Scots who had previously supported the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War as, for all his faults, Charles was still a Scottish Stuart king.
Today in 1999 Mick McGahey, Scottish mining trade unionist died. He was Vice-President of the NUM during the 1970-80s, the country's most powerful and influential trade union. McGahey was the rightful heir of Joe Gormley as President, but he was unable to take up the succession through the introduction of a rule that no-one over 55 could be a candidate for the national, full-time office.
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January
Jan 30, 2006 8:29:28 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jan 30, 2006 8:29:28 GMT 10
January 31
January 31 1761 Lachlan MacQuarie, "Father of Australia" born Ulva.
Today in 1788 Prince Charles Edward Stewart, "The Young Pretender", died in Rome. After leading the ’45 rebellion Stuart slid into a life of obscurity. He ended his days as an alcoholic in Rome, known as the Duke of Albany, with a failed marriage behind him, and his dreams of a Stuart restoration unfulfilled. On January 31 1918, the Battle of the Isle of May occurred - 100 men died in a series of collisions in the Firth of Forth, involving submarines and surface ships. The exercise was so secret that not even Royal Navy minesweepers patrolling the sea just a couple of miles away were aware of it. On a misty night, with all navigation aids switched off, it was not surprising that disaster resulted. Among several fatal collisions two K-class submarines were sunk. The K-4 was rammed by the K-6 and sank with all on board. The K-17 was hit by HMS Fearless and, although her 56 crew managed to escape, only eight survived in the chaos which followed. Surface vessels soon arrived on the scene, passing over the area so fast that many of the men swimming in the water were sucked under and drowned. January 31 1919 "Bloody Friday" Riot - mass rally of strikers in Glasgow's George Square repeatedly charged by police.
January 31 1953 Princess Victoria, Stranraer-Larne ferry, sank in a storm with the loss of 133 lives; 44 were rescued.
January 31 1953 66 crew were saved from the cargo vessel Clan MacQuarrie after it went aground near Borve, Lewis. In winds gusting to 100mph, it was the biggest ever carried out using breeches buoy in a single operation.
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