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JUNE
Jun 3, 2006 6:48:07 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jun 3, 2006 6:48:07 GMT 10
June 1
On this day in 1679 the Battle of Drumclog was fought in Avondale Parish, Lanarkshire, between Covenanters attending a Conventicle and Royalist troops under Graham of Claverhouse. The Covenanters easily routed the government forces. However, the euphoria which followed this victory was short-lived, as the authorities brought in a large Royalist army, which defeated a largish Covenanter force at Bothwell Bridge, exactly three weeks later.
On 1 June 1841 Sir David Wilkie, the Scottish painter, died. Noted for his portraits and genre subjects, his most famous works include "Chelsea Pensioners Reading the Gazette of the Battle of Waterloo". Wilkie was born in Cults manse in Fife in 1785. His 1806 painting "The Village Politicians" was a great success and he then left to settle in London. In 1817, he painted Sir Walter Scott at Abbotsford, which now hangs in the Scottish National Gallery. His painting is mainly in the Dutch style, although he later changed his style, choosing more historical subjects, like "The Preaching of John Knox before the Lords of Congregation, 10 June 1559". In 1840, for health reasons, he took a tour of Egypt and the Holy Land, but sadly died on the voyage home.
June 1 1843 Dr Henry Faulds, who established the uniqueness of fingerprints, born in Beith, Ayrshire.
Today in 1872 James Gordon Bennett, the Scottish-born American journalist, died. Bennett was the founding editor of the 'New York Herald', the first newspaper to carry regular financial articles on Wall St. He was one of a core group of publishers and editors who transformed and modernized journalism in the mid-nineteenth century. James Gordon Bennett was born in Keith, to a Roman Catholic farming couple. After an unsuccesful time training for the priesthood, he renounced his faith. In May 1835 Bennett began publishing the New York Herald, which combined public-interest stories, sensational reports of crimes and disasters, and coverage of national and international news. In April 1836 the Herald shocked readers with front-page coverage of the murder of a prostitute, Helen Jewett. During this episode, Bennett is credited with conducting the first newspaper interview. That same year the Herald initiated a cash-in-advance policy for advertisers, which would soon become standard newspaper practice. By the end of the decade the Herald and the Sun were the two highest-circulation dailies in America, a distinction the Herald carried until Bennett’s retirement.
June 1 1878 First Tay rail bridge opens. It was to collapse 18 months later in the Tay Bridge Disaster.
June 1 1946 First TV licences issued in Britain, costing £2.
June 1 1957 First Premium Bond prizes were drawn by the computer "Ernie" (Electronic random number indicator equipment).
June 1 1982 Pope John Paul II in Glasgow.
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JUNE
Jun 3, 2006 6:50:29 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jun 3, 2006 6:50:29 GMT 10
June 2
June 2 1398 Prince Henry St Clair (Sinclair) landed in Nova Scotia, having sailed from Orkney.
On this day in 1581 James Douglas, the Earl of Morton, died. Morton played a leading role in the overthrow of Mary, Queen of Scots, and then ruled the country as Regent for her young son, James VI, between the years 1572-78. His ruthless efficiency alienated many nobles, but his downfall came about after he refused to support Presbyterianism in its fight against the Episcopy. In 1581 he was forced out of office and belatedly accused of complicity in the assassination of Mary's estranged husband, Henry, Lord Darnley. He was found guilty and executed. He was in the following year executed by being beheaded on the Maiden, ironically the form of guillotine which he himself had imported into Scotland from France.
On 2 June 1926 Sir William Leishman, the Scottish bacteriologist, died. Leishman discovered the protozoan parasite responsible for dumdum, or kala-azar, fever, now known as Leishmaniasis. He also developed the clinical technique known as the Leishman stain, which is still used today to detect protozoan parasites such as plasmodium (the cause of malaria). Leishman is also noted for his work with Sir Almroth Wright on the vaccine for typhoid.
June 2 1941 Clothes rationing introduced as a war-time measure. It was not lifted until 1949.
June 2 1953 Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Objectors who said that Scotland had never had a "Queen Elizabeth I" were told that in future the "highest number will be used" where there is such a conflict.
June 2 1994 25 top intelligence officers and the crew of four were killed when a Chinook helicopter in which they were travelling from Northern Ireland crashed into a hillside on the Mull of Kintyre.
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JUNE
Jun 3, 2006 6:54:21 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jun 3, 2006 6:54:21 GMT 10
June 3
On this day in 1726 James Hutton, the chemist and geologist, was born. Hutton is regarded as a pioneer of modern geology. At the time of his research, people still widely accepted The Bible's account that the world was only about 6,000 years old. Geologists believed that rock layers had been laid down during the Biblical floods. Hutton, however, refused to accept that one single event was responsible for the formation of the world as we know it. In his work, 'Theory of the Earth', he proposed that the Earth's crust had been created through a continuous, gradual process called "uniformitarianism
On 3 June, 1774, Paisley poet, Robert Tannahill, was born. Author of such poems as 'The Flower of Dunblane' and 'Gloomy Winter's Noo Awa', Tannahill was frail and shy. Despite having a deformed right leg, he was inspired by the countryside around Paisley, where he often went walking. Tannahill became friends with James Hogg, the Ettrick shepherd, after he appeared as a guest at Tannahill's Paisley Burns club. A collection of his works was published in 1807 and they were well received, selling out within weeks. However, Tannahill was prone to depression and, when another group of poems was rejected by the Edinburgh publisher Archibald Constable, he consigned many of his writings to the flames. Tannahill committed suicide by drowning himself in a Paisley canal shortly after, in May 1810.
June 3 1863 Writer Neil Munro born Inveraray.
On 3 June 1882 James Thomson, the Scottish poet who wrote under the pen-name, BV, died. Thomson's most famous work is the Gothic epic 'The City of Dreadful Night'. His pseudonym was used to distinguish him from another James Thomson who wrote "Rule Britannia". "The City of Dreadful Night" is inspired by Thomson's own experiences while living in London, where he was raised as an orphan in an asylum. Thomson became an army teacher in Ireland. However, he gave up his post and moved to London on the death of a friend's daughter, with whom he was in love. Thomson’s life never recovered from this blow, and his time in in London was lonely and impoverished, where he suffered from insomnia, and battled alcoholism for the remainder of his life.
June 3 1931 The company formed by John Logie Baird televised the Epsom Derby which was then transmitted by the BBC.
June 3 1978 Peru defeated Scotland 3-1 in the football World Cup in Argentina.
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JUNE
Jun 3, 2006 6:56:45 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jun 3, 2006 6:56:45 GMT 10
June 4
June 4 1694 The Merchant Maiden Hospital, later known as The Mary Erskine School, was founded by Mary Erskine in the Cowgate, Edinburgh.
The King’s Birthday riots happened in Edinburgh on 4th May 1792. The decade saw repeated outbreaks of civil unrest in Scotland, with the King's Birthday riots being the most serious. Usually seen as a time of celebration, the King's birthday became the main focus for discontent in the country. The riots were almost certainly planned well in advance of the date, with pamphlets attacking the Lord Advocate, Dundas, widely distributed throughout the country. An effigy of Dundas was burned in Edinburgh as the rioting reached its peak. The riots lasted for over three days and nights, with at least one rioter shot dead. One theory blamed rising food prices as the cause of the unrest, after the introduction of the unpopular 1791 Corn Law, which prohibited grain imports until prices reached a certain point.
June 4 1818 First recorded inter-club golf match - between Edinburgh Burgess Golfing Society and Bruntsfield Links Golf Club.
June 4 1832 Great Reform Bill, which disenfranchised rotten burghs, came into force.
June 4 1940 Evacuation of Dunkirk (which began on May 27) was completed. 338,226 soldiers were brought back to the UK by the "little ships."
June 4 1940 Winston Churchill made his speech to the nation saying: "We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets. We shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."
On this day in 1977 Wembley Stadium was vandalised by jubilant Scottish fans after a thrilling 2-1 victory over the Auld Enemy. Following the match, Scottish supporters invaded the pitch and caused an estimated £15,000 worth of damage. One of those on the pitch was pop star Rod Stewart
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JUNE
Jun 6, 2006 6:27:18 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jun 6, 2006 6:27:18 GMT 10
June 5
June 5 1592 An Act of the Scottish Parliament came into force "concerning the Office of Lyoun King of Armes and his brether Heraldis" creating the best regulated system of armorial bearings in Europe.
On 5 May 1646 King Charles Stewart surrendered to Scottish Covenanters besieging Newark on Trent. The Scottish forces took him to Newcastle to bargain with him. The English Parliamentary army threatened to take the King from the Scots by force.
June 5 1723 Adam Smith, author of "The Wealth of Nations" born Kirkcaldy.
June 5 1868 James Connolly, Irish revolutionary, born in Edinburgh.
June 5 1916 HMS Hampshire sank off Orkney after striking a mine. Lord Kitchener, conqueror of Sudan
On 5th May 1938, King George VI officially opened the Empire Exhibition in Glasgow. Glasgow's Bellahouston Park played host to over 13 million people who came to visit the Empire Exhibition, a celebration of the achievements of the British Empire. It cost £11 million to mount and was a monument to the art deco style.
June 5 1975 Referendum held on British Membership of the European Community. In Scotland the vote was "Yes" 1,332,286; "No" 948,039. Turnout was 61%. Only Shetland and Western Isles had majorities against.
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JUNE
Jun 6, 2006 6:29:13 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jun 6, 2006 6:29:13 GMT 10
June 6
June 6 1560 Treaty of Edinburgh between France and England, recognising sovereignty of Mary Queen of Scots and her first husband Francis II.
Today in 1870 Sir James Simpson, Scottish physician, died. A pioneer of obstetrics, gynaecology, and childbirth anaesthetics, he was the first British physician to use chloroform and ether as anaesthetics during childbirth. He provoked much controversy at the time because many believed the pain of childbirth had been decreed by God as the curse of Eve. His victory was assured when, as personal surgeon to Queen Victoria, he used anaesthetic during the delivery of her seventh child.
Today in 1999 saw the election of the first Scottish Parliament since 1707. Elections were held for the Scottish Parliament and the 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament - MSPs - took their seats on 12 May 1999. State of the parties: Labour 56; Scottish National Party 35; Conservatives 18; Liberal Democrats 16; Greens 1; Scottish Socialist Party 1; Independent 1.
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JUNE
Jun 7, 2006 6:31:59 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jun 7, 2006 6:31:59 GMT 10
June 7
June 7 1329
On this day in 1329 Robert the Bruce died at Cardross Castle in Dunbartonshire. The cause of his death remains unclear, but there is a suspicion that Bruce suffered from leprosy for a long period and that this is what killed him in the end. He was buried in Dunfermline Abbey ,and in 1819 his tomb was discovered and opened. Bruce had always wanted to take part in the Crusades, and in death he got his wish. Bruce's right hand man, the Black Douglas, took his embalmed heart to Spain to fight the Moors. After Douglas's death, the cask containing the heart was returned to Melrose Abbey.
June 7 1690 The Scots Parliament ratified the establishment of a Presbyterian religious system, rejecting Episcopacy.
June 7 1811 Sir James Young Simpson, pioneer of anaesthetics and chloroform, born.
On 7 June 1868 Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the celebrated architect, painter and designer, was born. Regarded as one of the foremost British figures in the art nouveau movement, and as the principal exponent of the 'Glasgow Style', Mackintosh was born in the Townhead area of the city. Famous for his fusion of traditional Scottish forms and simple Japanese styles, Mackintosh attended the city's art school, later winning the commission to redesign the building. Some of his other notable works include the Willow tea rooms and the Hill House in Helensburgh, although he is equally renowned for his furniture designs, in particular his famous high-backed chairs.
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JUNE
Jun 9, 2006 6:19:32 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jun 9, 2006 6:19:32 GMT 10
June 8
June 8 1333 King Edward III orders the capture of the Isle of Man from the Scots.
June 8 1724 Birth of John Smeaton, civil engineer and lighthouse builder.
June 8 1772 Robert Stevenson, engineer, who constructed 18 lighthouses around Scotland, born Glasgow.
On 8 June 1778 Robert Stevenson, the noted Scottish civil engineer, was born. Stevenson is best known as a builder of lighthouses, such as Bell Rock or Eddystone. He is credited with practically inventing the Scottish lighthouse system, and was the inventor of the intermittent and flashing-light system now universally used by modern lighthouses. Stevenson was also the grandfather of the novelist, Robert Louis Stevenson. On this day in 1778 the Earl of Seaforth raised a regiment for the American War from the MacKenzies and MacRaes of Ross-shire and Sutherland. In 1961 the Seaforth Highlanders amalgamated with the Camerons to form the Queen's Own Highlanders.
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JUNE
Jun 13, 2006 6:02:48 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jun 13, 2006 6:02:48 GMT 10
June 9
On 9 June 597 St Columba died in Iona. Born in present-day Donegal, Columba moved to Scotland after victory over the Irish king Dermott at the battle of Cooldrevny in 561. His spritual father, St Molaisi, commanded that Columba perform the penance of bringing as many souls to the Church as he had caused to die. Two years later Columba founded a monastery on Iona which was to become one of the leading centres of Christianity in Western Europe, and the base from which Columba launched his successful mission to convert the Pictish nation. On this day in 1573, William Maitland, Scottish statesman, died. Known as 'Secretary Maitland', he was Mary, Queen of Scots' Secretary of State, and one of the country's ablest administrators. He sought to bring about the union of England and Scotland through the recognition of Mary as Elizabeth I's heir.
June 9 1942 First US troops (over 10,000 men) disembark from Queen Mary on the River Clyde.
June 9 1982 The 20p coin came into circulation.
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JUNE
Jun 13, 2006 6:05:53 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jun 13, 2006 6:05:53 GMT 10
June 10
On this day in 1688 James Edward Stuart, "the Old Pretender", Anglo-Scottish prince, was born. James was the son of King James VII, and father of Charles Edward Stuart, "the Young Pretender", popularly known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie". James made repeated attempts to regain the throne for the Stuarts, failing to land in 1708 and being forced to concede defeat after a few weeks in 1715. In 1745 the Jacobite uprising, led by his son, succeeded in getting as far south as Derby, but its eventual defeat at Culloden signalled the end of Jacobite ambitions.
The 10 June 1719 saw the Battle of Glenshiel, the final act of a minor Jacobite rising. The Jacobite side, under the command of the 10th Earl Marischal, consisted of only 1,000 men. After some hours of engagement with a Hanovarian army under General Wightman, the Jacobite forces disbanded and the revolt was over.
June 10 1727 Death of King George I and accession of George II.
June 10 1768 Construction of the Forth and Clyde canal started. It was to take 22 years to complete.
On this day in 1858, Scottish botanist, Robert Brown, died. Brown had sailed on many early missions to Australia, and his work with the flora and fauna of the new continent had made him eminently respected in his field, becoming a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Linnean Society. Brown is also famous for his death, as it led to a free date at the Linnean Society which was filled by Charles Darwin's lecture on the theory of evolution. June 10 1903 The floral clock in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, began operation - driven by clockwork and with only an hour hand. But it was the first of its kind in the world.
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JUNE
Jun 13, 2006 6:08:06 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jun 13, 2006 6:08:06 GMT 10
June 11
On this day in 1488 the Battle of Sauchieburn took place, where King James III and the Royalist army fought against his son and a collection of disgruntled nobles. James was wounded falling from his horse after fleeing the battle and was subsequently killed by one of the rebels who was pretending to be a priest.
11 June 1560, Mary of Guise, Regent of Scotland, died. Mary was the wife of King James V and the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary replaced Arran as regent during her daughter's infancy and arranged her betrothal to the French dauphin. Her main aim was the union of her native France and Scotland, under French leadership. This, coupled with her unswerving support for Cardinal Beaton's repressive policies toward Scottish Protestants, made her a hugely unpopular figure within the country
On June 11 1939, Formula One champion, Jackie Stewart, was born in Dumbartonshire. The winner of 27 Grand Prix and World Champion three times, Stewart remains one of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport.
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JUNE
Jun 13, 2006 6:11:35 GMT 10
Post by LLady on Jun 13, 2006 6:11:35 GMT 10
June 12
On 12 June 1843 Sir David Gill, Scottish astronomer, was born. Gill was noted for his measurements of solar and stellar parallaxes, which accurately revealed the distances of the Sun and other stars to Earth. He was also a pioneer in the use of photography to map the heavens. On 12 June 2001 Thomas Wilson, the Scottish composer, died. His works include the three-act opera, "Confessions of a Justified Sinner", which was commissioned by Scottish Opera. The libretto, by John Currie, is based upon James Hogg's 1825 novel of the same name.
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