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Post by LLady on Feb 2, 2006 3:46:47 GMT 10
February 1
February 1 1708 Alexander Selkirk, a sailor from Lower Largo, Fife, rescued after four years on the island of Juan Fernandez, 400 miles off the coast of Chile; his story inspired Daniel Defoe to write "Robinson Crusoe".
February 1 1865 Highland Railway formed from the amalgamation of Inverness and Perth Junction and the Inverness and Aberdeen Junction Railways.
On this day in 1918, the author Muriel Spark was born. She is most well known as the author of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, written in 1961, a touching and funny portrait of an individual and eccentric Edinburgh teacher during the inter-war period, and the effect she has on her pupils.
On 1 February 1919, tanks and soldiers patrolled the streets of Glasgow after "Bloody Friday" when 20,000 strikers gathered in George Square. By the time the strike ended in early February, up to 10,000 troops had been sent to the city. No Scots troops were deployed, as the government feared they would join the workers if a revolutionary situation had developed in Glasgow. The strike had been called to demand a 40-hour week. After it ended, strikers in the shipbuilding industry negotiated a 47-hour week settlement.
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Post by LLady on Feb 2, 2006 22:42:17 GMT 10
February 2
February 2 Feast and legal Quarter Day of Candlemass.
February 2 1424 James I married Lady Jane Beaufort, daughter of the Earl of Somerset, in London
On 2 February 1645 a Royalist army led by James Graham, 5th Earl and 1st Marquis of Montrose, routed the Earl of Argyll's Covenating forces in the Battle of Inverlochy. The events of the battle were recorded by the MacDonald Bard of Keppoch. Much of the blame for the Covenanters' defeat has been attributed to the disputes between the two commanders, the Marquess of Argyll and General Baillie. Both men thought themselves the senior officer, and carried a deep personal enmity for one another.
February 2 1782 Birth of James Chalmers in Arbroath - he devised the adhesive postage stamp
On February 2 1987 novelist Alastair MacLean died. His books "The Guns of Navarone", "Ice Station Zebra" and "Where Eagles Dare" were all made into successful films.
The 2nd February 1998 saw the death of Dr Robert McIntyre, who became the SNP's first Westminster MP by winning the Motherwell by-election in April 1945. The SNP's success was short-lived however, as Labour retook the seat in the General Election three months later.
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Post by LLady on Feb 3, 2006 22:42:18 GMT 10
February 3
On 3rd February 1660 General Monck’s regiment entered London, having marched from Coldstream in the borders. The regiment kept order during the period of the restoration of Charles II. The regiment escaped being disbanded as a reward for their service during this time. It continued as a standing regiment of the British Army, becoming known as the Coldstream Guards. The 3rd February 1900 saw General Hector MacDonald lead the Highland Light Infantry in the battle of Koedoesberg Drift during the Boer War. Although the battle was viewed as a victory for the British, the Boer leader, De Wet was allowed to escape and regroup his forces.
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Post by LLady on Feb 6, 2006 20:16:16 GMT 10
February 4
Today in 1685 King Charles II died and James VII was crowned. James's Catholicism created a revival of the religious conflicts that had plagued the previous century, and led to his being deposed in 1688. His sympathisers left in the country became known as Jacobites, after Jacobus, the Latin for James.
On the 4th February 1818 Sir Walter Scott supervised the rediscovery of the Honours of Scotland, the Scottish Crown Jewels, in Edinburgh Castle. The jewels consist of a sword, crown and sceptre. The three items were first used together during the coronation of Mary, Queen of Scots and last used for the coronation of Charles II in 1651. During the Second World War, they were hidden in different parts of Edinburgh Castle in case of German invasion.
February 4 1941 SS "Politician" ran aground on Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides, creating the basis for Sir Compton MacKenzie's novel "Whisky Galore".
February 4 1953 Rationing of chocolate and sweets finally ended. It had to be re-introduced in 1949 after a short spell due to excessive demand.
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Post by LLady on Feb 6, 2006 20:19:59 GMT 10
February 5
John Boyd Dunlop, who patented the first practical pneumatic tyre, was born in Ayrshire on February 5 1846. He worked as a veterinary surgeon in Edinburgh for almost a decade before moving to Ireland. He found the rough roads and the solid wheels an uncomfortable way of travelling. Having experimented with his son's tricycle, he came up with a design based on an inflated rubber tube and patented it the following year. This was not the first time someone had tried this. Another Scot, Robert Thomson had patented the idea in 1845. He established what would become the Dunlop Rubber Company but had to fight and win a legal battle with Thomson. Dunlop retired to Dublin and died there in 1921.
On this day in 1881 the writer and historian Thomas Carlyle died in London. Carlyle was a great student of the German "Sturm und Drang" school of romantic literature and was convinced that nations needed a strong leader. His best known work, On Heroes and Hero Worship, is deeply concerned with this idea. Carlyle's influence waned in the 20th Century, as his ideas were often seen as foreshadowing the totalitarianism prevalent at the time. In fact, it is reputed that, during the last months of the Second World War, Joseph Goebbels read Carlyle's history of Frederick II of Prussia to Hitler.
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Post by LLady on Feb 6, 2006 20:22:04 GMT 10
February 6
Today in 1665, Queen Anne, last of the Stuart monarchs, was born. Anne had seventeen children during her life but not one survived to succeed her. In 1707, she presided over the union of the parliaments of Scotland and England into the parliament of Great Britain, which first sat on 1 May 1707.
February 6 1685 King Charles II, the "merry monarch" died. His last words to his brother James were "Don't let poor Nellie starve" - a reference to his favourite mistress, Nell Gwynne.
February 6 1918 Representation of the people Act received Royal assent, granting votes to women over the age of 30.
February 6 1952 King George VI dies and Queen Elizabeth II becomes monarch.
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Post by LLady on Feb 7, 2006 8:14:22 GMT 10
February 7
February 7 1313 Robert the Bruce captured Dumfries.
February 7 1592 Earl of Moray murdered at Donibristle
This day in 1603 saw the Battle of Glenfruin when the MacGregors slaughtered a number of Colquhouns. The victors did not enjoy their triumph for long however, as government reprisals saw the origins of the banning of the MacGregor name. On the 3rd of April 1603, only two days before James VI left Scotland for England to take possession of the English throne, an Act of Privy Council was passed, by which the name of Gregor or MacGregor was forever abolished.
On 7 February 1716, the Old Pretender’s Jacobite army disbanded at Aberdeen, ending the 1715 uprising. James, the Old Pretender, had set sail for France three days earlier. The revolt had been badly led by the Earl of Mar and was doomed to failure after the inconclusive result of the Battle of Sherriffmuir. Thirty years later his son, Charles, would try again to recapture the throne for the Stuarts.
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Elly
Administrator
Posts: 29,887
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Post by Elly on Feb 7, 2006 15:24:08 GMT 10
This day in 1603 saw the Battle of Glenfruin when the MacGregors slaughtered a number of Colquhouns. The victors did not enjoy their triumph for long however, as government reprisals saw the origins of the banning of the MacGregor name. On the 3rd of April 1603, only two days before James VI left Scotland for England to take possession of the English throne, an Act of Privy Council was passed, by which the name of Gregor or MacGregor was forever abolished.
Was finally repealed in 1775, a long time to be running aroon withoot a name #embarrassed# #saltire#
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Post by LLady on Feb 7, 2006 22:06:49 GMT 10
This day in 1603 saw the Battle of Glenfruin when the MacGregors slaughtered a number of Colquhouns. The victors did not enjoy their triumph for long however, as government reprisals saw the origins of the banning of the MacGregor name. On the 3rd of April 1603, only two days before James VI left Scotland for England to take possession of the English throne, an Act of Privy Council was passed, by which the name of Gregor or MacGregor was forever abolished. Was finally repealed in 1775, a long time to be running aroon withoot a name #embarrassed# #saltire# A very long time.
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Post by LLady on Feb 7, 2006 22:11:15 GMT 10
February 8
On the 8th February 1429 a contingent of a thousand Scots, commanded by the brothers John and William Stuart, headed to the relief of the beleagured French garrison at Orleans. The expedition ended in disaster when the force was defeated by the English at Rouvray Saint Denis and both Stuarts were killed.
On this day in 1587 Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded at Fotheringay Castle. Mary had been imprisoned in England for the best part of twenty years, and had taken to depserate measures to regain her crown. A plot was discovered in 1586 which would involve a Catholic revolt and the assassination of Elizabeth. This sealed Mary's fate. At the time of her death, Mary was 44 and had outlived three husbands.
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Post by LLady on Feb 9, 2006 7:26:09 GMT 10
February 9
Today in 1739 saw the publication of the first edition of the Scots Magazine. The magazine was originally founded as a current affairs journal, and was often the first source of news for many Scots. It was deeply Hanoverian in its sympathies at the time and was highly regarded for its coverage of world affairs.
February 9 1958 Golfer Sandy Lyle born.
Today in 2002 saw the death of John Noble, co-founder of Loch Fyne Oysters and Loch Fyne Restaurants. In 1978, he was looking for a way to help support his estate of Ardkinglas, on the shores of Loch Fyne, which he had inherited along with considerable debts. When Andrew Lane, a marine farmer, suggested the idea of growing oysters in the unpolluted waters of Loch Fyne, he jumped at the idea. The venture grew from a few hundred seed oysters to the millions that are laid down today. In 1980, Noble and Lane set up an oyster bar at the head of Loch Fyne. It began as an umbrella and a trestle table and then transferred to a cowshed. Soon the venture became a restaurant, and then evolved into a chain of oyster bars.
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Post by LLady on Feb 9, 2006 22:49:18 GMT 10
February 10
Today in 1306, Comyn, a leading claiment to the vacant Scottish throne, was murdered by his arch-rival, Robert the Bruce, whilst in a Dumfries church. Bruce quickly travelled to Scone where, on 25 March, he was crowned King . Later, Bruce was forced to seek papal absolution for committing murder on sacred ground. Years later, when he contracted leprosy many considered this divine retribution for Comyn's murder.
February 10 1495 A bull from Pope Alexander VI confirmed the foundation of Aberdeen University.
On 10 February 1567 Henry, Lord Darnley, estranged husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, was murdered in Kirk O' Field. Darnley's death was almost certainly at the hands of the Earl of Bothwell, whose subsequent marriage to Mary led to a state of civil war in Scotland. Bothwell ended his days insane and imprisoned in Malmo.
February 10 1723 Rev John Witherspoon, President of Princeton College, signatory to the US Declaration of Independence, baptised at Yester.
On February 10 1868 David Brewster, scientist and inventor of the kaleidoscope died. He originally intended the kaleidoscope as a scientific tool but it soon started a craze as a toy, as did his next invention, the 3-D stereoscope. It is little known that Brewster was also a licensed Church of Scotland minister. Also on a scientific note, today marks the death in 1912 of Lord Lister, the pioneer of surgery and antiseptic at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
February 10 1912 Death of Lord Joseph Lister, pioneer of surgery and antiseptic at the University of Glasgow and Glasgow and Edinburgh Royal Infirmaries.
February 10 1972 The uninhabited island of Rockall, 290 miles out in the Atlantic from the Western Isles, was formally incorporated as part of Scotland. It had been annexed by a boarding party from HMS Vidal in 1955. It was on the flight path of rockets being test flown from Benbecula.
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