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MARCH
Mar 1, 2006 7:53:59 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Mar 1, 2006 7:53:59 GMT 10
MARCH 1
On this day in 1546, George Wishart was burnt at the stake as a heretic by Cardinal Beaton. Born c1513, Wishart was a close friend and mentor of John Knox, and was the first to translate the Helvetic Confession into English. On the day of his execution, the captain of the guard gave Wishart bags of gunpowder to hide in his clothing in order to ease his suffering on the pyre. The executioner fell prostrate before him, asking forgiveness, which Wishart granted. Cardinal Beaton famously watched the execution from his window, turning many Scots against him, and on 29 May, a Protestant gang, enraged by the execution of Wishart, broke into the Cardinal's residence and murdered him.
March 1 1682 The Advocate's Library (known as the National Library of Scotland since 1925) opened by its founder, Sir George Mackenzie, the Lord Advocate.
On March 1 1910, David Niven, the Scottish film actor and author, was born. His films include 'A Matter of Life and Death', 'Around the World in 80 Days', 'The Guns of Navarone' and 'The Pink Panther'. He is also well known as the author of the bestselling autobiography, 'The Moon's a Balloon'.
March 1 1979 Scots voted in favour of Devolution, but failed to reach the required 40% of the population in favour of implementing it - due to 36% of the electorate not voting.
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MARCH
Mar 2, 2006 8:15:24 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Mar 2, 2006 8:15:24 GMT 10
March 2
On March 2 1316, Robert II, the first monarch of the House of Stewart, was born at Renfrew. He was the son of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert the Bruce, and Walter, High Steward of Scotland. Robert acted as regent three times during the reign of his uncle, David II, and acceded to the throne in 1371. He died in 1390 and was succeeded by his son Robert III.
March 2 1838 Clydesdale Bank founded in Glasgow
On this day in 1873, Robert Buchanan, the Scottish philosopher, poet and playwright, died. Buchanan was Professor of Logic at Glasgow University for more than 40 years. He is also known as the author of 'Tragic Dramas from Scottish History'.
March 2 1990 The Queen officially inaugurated Glasgow's year as Cultural Capital of Europe
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MARCH
Mar 3, 2006 8:39:20 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Mar 3, 2006 8:39:20 GMT 10
March 3
On 3 March 1792, Robert Adam, the Scottish architect, furniture and interior designer, died. Born in Kirkcaldy, Adam is regarded as one of Europe's great architects. Inspired by the Roman ruins he had studied whilst on a tour of France and Italy, Adam became one of the leading lights of the neo-classical movement. One of his many masterworks is Culzean Castle in Ayrshire. The 3 March 1847 saw the birth of Alexander Graham Bell in Edinburgh. As well as inventing the telephone, Bell was passionate in his work with the deaf, setting up the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf. He was also keen to spread knowledge of geography to the masses and became president of the National Geographic Society.
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MARCH
Mar 4, 2006 9:23:19 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Mar 4, 2006 9:23:19 GMT 10
March 4
Today in 1756, the artist Sir Henry Raeburn was born in Edinburgh. Raeburn painted many notables, including Sir Walter Scott and David Hume, but he is most well-known today for his portrait of The Reverend Robert Walker skating, painted in 1784, which hangs in the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh.
March 4 1890 Forth Rail Bridge opened by Prince of Wales.
March 4 1936 Jim Clark, Formula I World motor racing champion, born Fife.
Today in 1951 saw the birth of Kenny Dalglish, probably Scotland's greatest ever footballer. Dalglish started his career at Celtic before moving to Liverpool, scoring the winning goal in the 1978 European Cup Final for them. He managed to amass a record 102 Scotland caps, scoring 30 goals to equal Denis Law's record.
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MARCH
Mar 4, 2006 9:26:08 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Mar 4, 2006 9:26:08 GMT 10
March 5
March 5 1323 King David II born.
March 5 1787 Deacon William Brodie executed for theft - on a grand scale.
On this day in 1790, Flora MacDonald, the Jacobite heroine, died. Flora is famous for helping Bonnie Prince Charlie escape from Scotland after the defeat at the Battle of Culloden, disguising him as her maid, Betty Burke. She died in Kingsburgh, Skye, in the same bed in which Bonnie Prince Charlie had slept during his escape. Her funeral was said to have been attended by over three thouasnd mourners, and three hundred gallons of whisky were drunk at it.
March 5 1929 David Dunbar Buick, founder of the Buick Manufacturing Company which later became General Motors, died in Detroit. He was born in Arbroath in 1854.
5th March 1953 saw The Maid of the Loch, the last Loch Lomond paddle steamer, lowered into the water. She was a replacement for the elderly Princess May and Prince Edward, and she remains the largest vessel to have sailed Britain's inland waterways. Built by the Glasgow firm of A & J Inglis, she was dismantled and taken by rail to Balloch where she was reassembled.
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MARCH
Mar 7, 2006 4:43:54 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Mar 7, 2006 4:43:54 GMT 10
March 6
On 6 March 608, St Balfred, the hermit monk of the Bass Rock, died. The Bass Rock was later to become the Scottish version of Alcatraz, with Covenanters imprisoned there throughout the Killing Times of the Seventeenth Century. The island has a more peaceful vocation today as a bird sanctuary.
March 6 1457 King James II decreed in an Act of Parliament that there should be regular target practice and military parades and that "football and golf be utterly cried down and not used". This was the first time that the games had been mentioned in Scottish documents.
On 6 March 1923, Scotland’s first radio broadcast took place. The broadcast took place from Rex House, 202 Bath Street in Glasgow. The BBC's founder, Lord Reith of Stonehaven, opened the station. Orchestra, pipe band, choir, solo singers, actors and speech makers were all squeezed into a small attic for the first broadcast. By the summer of 1924, stations had opened in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, and, by the eve of the Second World War, over 90% of the Scottish population were served by BBC transmitters.
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MARCH
Mar 8, 2006 4:37:05 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Mar 8, 2006 4:37:05 GMT 10
March 7
On 7 March 1744, the world's first golf club was founded in Edinburgh.The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers held their first meeting on Leith Links and petitioned the Edinburgh Council to provide a silver club for competition. John Rattray was the first winner. He joined the Jacobites after the Battle of Prestonpans and became Bonnie Prince Charlie's personal surgeon. He escaped beheading after the uprising thanks to the intercession of his golfing friend, Lord President Forbes. On this day in 1924, Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, the renowned sculptor and artist, was born in Leith. Paolozzi's early work is regarded as crucial to the development of the Pop-Art movement. His later work is heavily influenced by the philosophy of Wittgenstein.
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MARCH
Mar 9, 2006 6:46:41 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Mar 9, 2006 6:46:41 GMT 10
March 8
March 8 1702 King William III died and Queen Anne acceded to the throne at the age of 37. She was the daughter of King James VIIOn this day in 1824, John Elder, the Scottish marine engineer and shipbuilder, was born. Elder invented the marine compound steam engine which enabled ships to cut fuel consumption and made longer voyages possible without the need to refuel. Elder was also a noted philanthropist who cared deeply for his workforce, establishing and contributing to an accident fund at the shipyard. At his death, he was working on a scheme to found a school for his workers' children.
March 8 1859 Kenneth Grahame, author of "The Wind in the Willows" born in Edinburgh On 8 March 1899, Eric Linklater, the novelist and playright, was born. Although born in Wales, Linklater always considered himself an Orcadian, and commanded the Orkney garrison during the Second World War. Perhaps his greatest work is 'Magnus Merriman,' a political satire based on his own unsuccesful campaign as a National Party of Scotland candidate.
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MARCH
Mar 10, 2006 4:33:31 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Mar 10, 2006 4:33:31 GMT 10
March 9
March 9 1566 David Rizzio murdered by Ruthven in the Palace of Holyrood.
On 9 March 1649, James Hamilton, the 1st duke of Hamilton and Scottish Royalist soldier, died. His weak and vacillating leadership of the Royalist cause in Scotland did great damage to Charles I in his northern kingdom. Captured by Oliver Cromwell at the Battle of Preston in 1648, he was executed after trying to escape captivity.
March 9 1770 Haggis was served on board Captain James Cook's ship "Endeavour", anchored off New Zealand, in celebration of the birthday of a Scottish officer who was on board. (Captain Cook was born in Yorkshire of Scottish parents).
March 9 1776 "Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith published
March 9 1895 Soprano Dame Isabella Baillie, opera star, born in Hawick.
On this day in 1907, John Alexander Dowie, the Scottish-born religious leader, died. Dowie, a highly controversial but charismatic faith healer, founded the Christian Catholic Church at Zion, Illinois, where around 5,000 followers created a unique community and followed his teaching. This included a belief in the power of prayer to heal disease. Zion existed without any doctors or pharmacists. Smoking, drinking and the eating of pork were banned. The self-proclaimed apostle "Elijah the Restorer" was expelled from the Church in 1905 after he had become increasingly eccentric, and the community fell into financial ruin.
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MARCH
Mar 11, 2006 6:38:50 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Mar 11, 2006 6:38:50 GMT 10
March 10
On 10 March 560, St Kessog, the Irish missionary in the Lennox area and southern Perthshire, was killed. Kessog was Scotland’s patron saint before Andrew, and his name was used as a battle cry by the Scots. Son of the king of Cashel in Ireland, St Kessog is said to have worked miracles, even as a child. He left Ireland and became a missionary bishop in Scotland. Using Monks' Island in Loch Lomond as his headquarters, he evangelized the surrounding area until he was martyred, supposedly at Bandry, where a heap of stones was known as St Kessog's Cairn.
March 10 1615 St John Ogilvie, a Banffshire-born Jesuit priest, was hanged for refusing to renounce the supremacy of the Pope. He was the only Roman Catholic martyr in Scotland and was canonised in 1976.
March 10 1748 John Playfair, clergyman, geologist, mathematician, born in Edinburgh.
March 10 1916 Birth of James Herriot, author of "All Creatures Great and Small"
On 10 March 1998, Alberto Morrocco, the Scottish painter noted for his murals and portraits in oil and watercolours, died. Morrocco's most famous work is probably that of the Queen Mother, painted while she was Chancellor of Dundee University. In 1993, he was awarded the OBE for his services to art in Scotland.
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MARCH
Mar 11, 2006 6:42:11 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Mar 11, 2006 6:42:11 GMT 10
March 11
March 11 1820 Death of Sir Alexander Mackenzie (of Dunkeld), explorer of North America and in 1793 became the first white person north of Mexico to reach the Pacific by crossing overland.
On 11 March 1911, Sir Fitzroy MacLean, the Scottish soldier, diplomat, politician and author was born. A founder member of the SAS and reportedly the inspiration for Ian Fleming's character, James Bond, he is probably best known for his exploits during the Second World War. In 1943, Churchill chose MacLean to parachute into German-occupied Yugoslavia as his personal representative to the partisans of Tito, who became leader of Yugoslavia after the war. MacLean was instrumental in gaining Allied support for the Communist partisans instead of their rivals, the right-wing Chetniks. 11 March 1932 saw the birth of Binkie Stuart, the child film actress, in Kilmarnock. Born Elizabeth Alison Fraser, she was hailed as Britain's answer to Shirley Temple and enjoyed huge fame as a child star. However, her career was over by the tender age of 7, brought to an abrupt halt by the onset of the Second World War. An attempted comeback as a serious actress in her twenties failed and Stuart retired from showbusiness, working as an assistant in an electrical shop. March 11 1955 Sir Alexander Fleming, discoverer of penicillin, died.
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MARCH
Mar 11, 2006 6:44:21 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Mar 11, 2006 6:44:21 GMT 10
March 12
March 12 1286 Queen Margaret, Maid of Norway (daughter of King Erik II) crowned.
On the 12th of March 1852, the last salmon was caught in the River Kelvin. The salmon population in the river had been in decline due to the rise of industrial pollution in the area. However, in February 1999, after £43 million of investment, salmon again spawned in the river and anglers were allowed back.
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