On this day in Scottish History

MadWelshie · On this day in Scottish History

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.

of the BBC

MadWelshie

31 January

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.

MadWelshie

1st February

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.

MadWelshie

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.

MadWelshie

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.

MadWelshie

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.

MadWelshie

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.

MadWelshie

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.

MadWelshie

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.

MadWelshie

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.

MadWelshie

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.

MadWelshie

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.

MadWelshie

On this day in 1659 William Carstares, the radical Scottish Presbyterian cleric was born.

Carstares was exiled because of his involvement in the "Rye House Plot" to overthrow King Charles II. He became chaplain to William of Orange, and after the Glorious Revolution in 1688, he headed the Church of Scotland during the reigns of William and Mary, and later Queen Anne. Carstares was instrumental in securing Scottish support for the Act of Unification between England and Scotland.

MadWelshie

Today in 1624 George Heriot, goldsmith to King James VI and founder of Heriot's School, died.

The school was originally founded as Heriot's Hospital, Edinburgh. He is thought to be the inspiration for the character, Georgie Heriot, in Sir Walter Scott's novel, Fortunes of Nigel.

MadWelshie

On This Day in 1692, a Royalist force, under the command of Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, carried out the Massacre of Glencoe.

The massacre of 38 MacDonalds was carried out on direct orders from Dalrymple of Stair, orders which were counter-signed twice by King William. Scotland was shocked when news of the massacre reached the general public. Dalrymple lost his position but no action was taken against William and Dalrymple soon returned to favour. The massacre undoubtedly helped the Jacobites gain more support, particularly in the Highlands.

MadWelshie

Today in 1876 Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone, patent no. 174461.

Two hours after it was lodged, his rival, Elisha Gray, applied for a similar patent. Bell's was granted. Over 600 law suits followed before the Supreme Court decision ruled in Bell's favour in 1893. Within a year the first telephone exchange was built in Connecticut and within the decade more than 150,000 people in the US alone owned telephones. At this point Bell was not yet thirty. In his later life, Bell experimented with sheep, convinced that sheep with extra nipples would give birth to more lambs.

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On February 14 1565, Mary Queen of Scots met Lord Darnley for the first time. They were married in July 1565. Darnley did not prove to be the husband that Mary had hoped for however, and his participation in the murder of Mary's secretary, Rizzio, made their differences irreconcilable .

MadWelshie

On February 15 1848 the Caledonian Railway company opened.

The Caledonian Railway ran trains from London to Glasgow and was in fierce competition with the Edinburgh based North British Railway. Caledonian trains were painted a distinctive colour of blue, later called Caledonian blue, and carried the Royal Arms of Scotland on the trains. Later it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish group.

woodysdad

Hence the most expensive hotel in Edinburgh.....

CALEY HOTEL

MadWelshie

On this day in 1796 poet, James MacPherson, died.

He was the author of The Works of Ossian, Fingal and Temora, who gained international fame through his translations of early Gaelic poems. However, although they caused a sensation in Britain and Europe, where they were credited with influencing the European Romantic movement, he was also charged with composing the works himself. This accusation gave rise to the so-called "Ossian controversy". The true story behind the poems has never been resolved.

MadWelshie

I forgot to do yesterday, so here it is

Today in 1746 Government forces under Lord Louden attempted to capture Prince Charles Edward Stewart at Moy Hall.

The plan was unsuccessful as the Hanoverians were surprised and routed by a handful of Jacobites. The only death in the Rout of Moy was Duncan Bam MacCrimmon, Hereditory Piper to the MacLeods of Dunvegan, who took the Hanoverian side in the '45.

MadWelshie

On this day in 1954 the writer Iain Banks was born in Dunfermline, Fife.

His first novel, The Wasp Factory, established him as one of the most distinctive voices in Scottish literature. His 1996 novel, The Crow Road, spawned a very successful television adaptation. Banks is also a highly regarded science fiction writer under the name Iain M. Banks.

MadWelshie

19 February 1972 saw the death of John Grierson, the film director and producer.

He was a pioneer of documentary film making, and founder of the British documentary film movement. In 1926, he is credited with being the first person to use the word "documentary", in an article he wrote about Robert Flaherty's film, Moana, adapting it from the French word, "documentaire", which was used to describe travelogues.

In 1928, he founded the Empire Marketing Board, the first British film company devoted to documentaries. In 1933, he began working for the GPO's film unit, during which time he produced two of British cinema's most famous documentary films, Song of Ceylon and Night Mail.

In 1939, he left Britain for Canada, setting up the National Film Board of Canada. Grierson later produced the Oscar winning film Seawards the Great Ships.

x-swords

20th Feb.

Nothing happened apparently

MadWelshie

King James I was murdered in Perth, by a group led by Sir Robert Graham, today in 1437.

Had it not been for his love of tennis James would have escaped his assassins. Fleeing his killers, he hid in the drain under his tennis court, however this offered no means of escape for the monarch, as he had only recently ordered it to be blocked after losing balls in it.

Sorry I was having a wee nap

MadWelshie

On this day in 1945 Eric Liddell, winner of the 400 metres at the 1924 Olympics, died.

Liddell was born to missionary parents in China and became a noted sportsman while studying at Edinburgh University. He was not only a top sprinter but a noted rugby player as well, representing Scotland on seven occasions. Liddell is most well known for his refusal to run in the heats of the 100 metres, his favoured distance, at the Paris Olympics, as they were being held on a Sunday, then going on to win in the 400 metres. After his retiral from athletics Liddell returned to the Far East as a missionary and died in a Japanese internment camp in China.

MadWelshie

Today in 664 St Boisel, second prior of Melrose Abbey, died.

He followed St Aidan as prior and was succeeded by St Cuthbert. The modern village of St Boswells is named after him.

MadWelshie

On February 24 1923, the world famous steam train, the Flying Scotsman, went into service with LNER.

It was the first train to run non-stop between London and Edinburgh, and also the first steam train to reach the speed of 100mph.

MadWelshie

On this date in 1888 a conference advocated the adoption of leaving certificates in Scottish schools.

The conference was held in Edinburgh and attended by officials of the Scottish Education Dept and Secondary School Rectors, although representatives of universities declined the invitation to attend. The first Leaving Certificate exam was sat by pupils on Monday 18 June 1888 and the certificate remained a fixture of Scottish education until 1962.

MadWelshie

Today in 1935, Robert Watson-Watt demonstrated radar for the first time.

Watson-Watt was first approached by the Air Ministry regarding the possibility of building a "death ray". The chain of radar stations subsequently built along the coast of England, known as Chain Home, were to go on to play an important part in winning the Battle of Britain.

torryloon73

Keep 'em comin' Welshie...Learnin something new every day....
How do you remember it all ??

MadWelshie

Now TorryLoon I would be letting you into a wee secret. The BBC website is very interesting source of info, I get it from here

All information is

of the BBC

MadWelshie

On this day in 1735, John Arbuthnot, Scottish mathematician, physicist and author died.

He was a close friend of Johnathan Swift and Alexander Pope. His work, History of John Bull, popularised Bull as the proto-typical Englishman, although he probably did not invent the character. Arbuthnot was also co-founder, along with Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, John Gay and Thomas Parnell, of the satirical Scriblerus Club, founded "to ridicule false learning and bad teaching".

MadWelshie

Today in 1638, the Second Covenant was signed in Greyfriars Churchyard.

The Covenant was signed and inaugurated by Scottish Protestant churchmen in Edinburgh. The document was a direct response to Charles I's attempts to introduce a Book of Common Prayer across the whole of Britain, as presbyterians were incensed that the General Assembly had not been consulted. Copies of the document were sent to churches around the country and soon over 300,000 Scots had signed the Covenant.

BoB

Nothing happened last three days then

MadWelshie

I retired

MadWelshie

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.

MadWelshie

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.

MadWelshie

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.

MadWelshie

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.

BoB

That's a bottle each

MadWelshie

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.

MadWelshie

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.

MadWelshie

On 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.

MadWelshie

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.

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.

MadWelshie

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.

MadWelshie

The morning of March 15 1941 saw the end of two nights of heavy German bombing of Clydebank.

The Clydebank Blitz, as it became known, destroyed a third of the buildings of Clydebank, leaving 35,000 people homeless. A thousand German bombers were used in the raid and the devastation of the town was so complete that only eight buildings remained entirely unscathed after the bombing. To further compound Clydebank's misery, only two enemy planes were shot down.

MadWelshie

On 16 March 1914, Sir John Murray, the noted Scottish oceanographer, died.

Murray pioneered the science of oceanography. He was one of the naturalists on the "HMS Challenger" expedition of 1872-76, and edited the expedition's reports.

He invented a device for sounding and registering the sea's temperature at great depths, and also completed the first biological survey of the lochs of Scotland.

MadWelshie

March 17 1780 saw the birth of Rev Thomas Chalmers in Anstruther.

Chalmers was the leader of the dissenting ministers in the Great Disruption of 1843. In all, 470 ministers walked out of the General Assembly over the matter of who had the right to pick a minister for a parish. Chalmers then became the first Moderator of the new Free Church of Scotland, expending much energy on ensuring the new church had a solid base on which to build.

eloise

Have to say I am loving this thread.

woodysdad

Mad Welshie just makes them up!

MadWelshie

On 18 March 1286, Alexander III, King of Scots, set off on the journey that led to him being killed accidentally at Kinghorn, Fife.

The last of the MacAlpine dynasty and the Celtic line of Scottish Kings, his reign was known as "The Golden Age". His successor, Margaret, known as the 'Maid of Norway', died on her way home from Norway to claim the throne. Margaret's premature death precipitated the disastrous involvement of Edward I of England in Scotland's affairs.

MadWelshie

Thank you Eloise.

Mr WD

woodysdad

MadWelshie

That is a very interesting bit of history showing there WD!!!

MadWelshie

On this day in 1813, Dr.David Livingstone, the famous Scottish missionary and explorer, was born.

Livingstone, from Blantyre, became well-known for his exploration of central and southern Africa. He was the first European to see the Victoria Falls in present-day Zimbabwe. The whereabouts of Livingstone became the subject of the famous search by American journalist Henry Morton Stanley.

woodysdad

MadWelshie

On 20 March 1936, Robert Cunninghame-Graham, the Scottish nationalist politician and author, died.

The first President of the National Party of Scotland, and first Chairman of the Scottish Parliamentary Labour Party. George Bernard Shaw reputedly used Graham as a model for characters in his plays, Arms and the Man and Captain Brassbound's Conversion. Graham was also a noted traveller, particularly of Central and South America, and wrote extensively of his travels there.

MadWelshie

On this day in 1729, John Law, the Scottish economist, died.

In his best known work, Money and Trade Considered with a Proposal for Supplying the Nation With Money, he argued that increased money supply resulted in an expanding, healthy economy. Rejected in Britain, he moved to France where the government, deep in debt, adopted his plans to develop its vast territories in North America with disastrous results. The resulting financial disaster became known as the "Mississippi bubble" and had such an enormous impact on France that it would be 80 years before France would again introduce paper money into its economy.

MadWelshie

On this day 1875, Alexander "Greek" Thomson died in Glasgow.

Thomson is considered one of Scotland's greatest architects, and his impact on the look of Victorian Glasgow was enormous. In fact, many buildings in the city cannot even be definitively identified as his, as his style was so routinely copied. Holmwood House in Cathcart is regarded as one of his greatest works and is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland.

MadWelshie

On 23 March 1923, Roddy McMillan, the Scottish stage and TV actor, was born.

His credits include the TV series, The View From Daniel Pike, and the play, The Revellers. However, he will be most fondly remembered for his portrayal of Para Handy, the captain of the Vital Spark in the much loved television series of the 1960s.

On this day in 1848, the Free Church of Scotland settlement at New Edinburgh, New Zealand was founded under Rev Thomas Burns, a nephew of the poet Robert Burns. The settlement later became Dunedin, one of the largest towns in the country, and one which still retains a distinctive Scottish character.

MadWelshie

On 24 March 1603, King James VI of Scotland was proclaimed King James I of England.

James acceded to the English throne on the death of Queen Elizabeth I. His accession, and the union of the crowns, marked the start of the Stuart dynasty in England. However, although James liked to refer to himself as a beast with one head and two bodies, neither the Scots or the English showed much inclination for further union, each retaining a seperate parliament, legal code and church.

MadWelshie

On this day in 1306, Robert the Bruce, Earl of Annandale, was crowned King of Scots at Scone.

Bruce was crowned in the presence of four bishops, five earls and the people of the land by the Countess of Buchan, performing the hereditary duties of her brother, the Earl of Fife, who was imprisoned at the time. Bruce was forced into hiding soon after his coronation, however, and the Countess of Buchan was imprisoned in a cage on the walls of Berwick castle.

MadWelshie

On 26 March 1797, James Hutton, the Scottish chemist and geologist, died.

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 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 (1795), he posited that the Earth's crust had been created through a continuous, gradual process called "uniformitarianism".

MadWelshie

On this day in 1923, Sir James Dewar, the inventor of the vacuum flask, died.

Dewar's discovery was a by-product of his lifetime's work on cryogenics. However, the flask was not manufactured for commercial or domestic use until 1904 when two German glass blowers formed Thermos GmbH. Dewar also discovered superconductivity and, with Sir Frederick Abel, invented the explosive, cordite.

MadWelshie

On March 28 1642, the Scots Guards Regiment was formed.

The regiment was formed when King Charles I issued a commission to the Marquess of Argyll, Chief of Clan Campbell, authorizing him to raise in Scotland a regiment of 1,500 men, forming what was to become the King's "Lyfe Guard of Foot" and ultimately the Scots Guards. The 2nd battalion of the Scots Guards fought the decisive action at Mount Tumbledown, during the Falklands War, which broke the resistance of the Argentinian forces.

MadWelshie

On 29 March 2002, Longannet, Scotland's last deep coal mine, closed, ending centuries of mining tradition.

The Fife mine was put into liquidation after being flooded on the 23rd, when a dam separating old workings from new seams under the river Forth collapsed. The water poured into the five-mile mineshafts, 600m (1,870ft) below ground, in less than ten minutes. After examination by engineers, it was decided that it would be too expensive to rescue the pit, even though there was an estimated 40 million tons of coal still to be extracted. 500 men were expected to lose their jobs as a result of the closure.

MadWelshie

On this day in 1635, General Patrick Gordon was born.

Gordon led a remarkable life. Upon leaving Scotland, he entered the Russian army as a major and soon rose to become a close advisor to Russian Tsar, Peter the Great. Gordon rose to the rank of General-in-Chief and was made an admiral of the Russian navy. It is even said that Peter entrusted Gordon take charge of his empire while he visited Western Europe. The two became such close friends that Tsar Peter kept vigil at Gordon's deathbed.

MadWelshie

On this day in 1820, the proclamation which sparked the Radical War was distributed around Glasgow.

The uprising was led by weavers and commanded a lot of support throughout the west of Scotland. However, the Radicals had been infiltrated by Government agents and the rising was soon quelled, with the ringleaders executed.

MadWelshie

April 2 On 2 April 1593, the College of New Aberdeen was founded.

The college was founded by the Earl Marischal of Scotland, George Keith of Inverugie, and became known as Marischal College. The site of the College was formerly occupied by a Franciscan Priory which was disestablished during the Reformation of 1560. Marischal College was the second university in Aberdeen, following the foundation of King's College in 1495 by Bishop William Elphinstone. The two universities were united in 1860 as the University of Aberdeen.

Today also saw the birth, in 1688 of John Smibbert, the Scottish-born American painter and architect who was noted for his portraits of American colonials.

Jack Buchanan, the film actor, producer and singer, was born this day in 1890. His films include, Monte Carlo, The Band Wagon and Yes, Mr.Brown.

MadWelshie

On 3 April 1603 King James VI travelled to London to take up the English throne.

James moved his court to Whitehall Palace in London, where they settled around the palace in an area which became known as "Scotland Yard". On his way to London he knighted 300 people, and in the space of four months in England had knighted more people than Queen Elizabeth had in her entire reign. James returned to Scotland only once, in 1617, and he liked to boast that he now ruled his northern kingdom with a stroke of his pen.
Andrew Keir

On this day in 1926 Andrew Keir, the Scottish film, TV and theatre actor, was born. Keir specialised in playing bluff, sometimes taciturn figures of authority. Keir's films include "Quatermass and the Pit", where he played Professor Quatermass, "The Maggie", "Cleopatra", "Dracula, Prince of Darkness" and "Rob Roy".

MadWelshie

On April 4, 1406 King Robert III died, he once described himself as, "the worst of kings and the most miserable of men".

The eldest son of King Robert II and grand-son of Robert the Bruce, he was crippled following a riding accident in 1388. Robert succeeded his father to the throne in 1390, but was not really suited to being monarch, with his ambitious brother, the Duke of Albany, in reality running the kingdom. Robert's eldest son, the Duke of Rothesay, was imprisoned at Falkland by Albany, where he starved to death. Robert sent his younger son, who would become King James I, to safety in France, but the news that James had been captured by the English killed Robert. Robert is buried in Paisley Abbey where, in the 19th century, Queen Victoria paid for the construction of a memorial to him.

MadWelshie

On 5th April 1820 government forces defeated Radical weavers at the Battle of Bonnymuir.

The Radicals had marched from Glasgow and were heading towards the Carron Iron Works in Falkirk. However, their ranks had been infiltrated by government agents and they were in fact being guided to an ambush outside the village of Bonnybridge. During the battle a Lieutenant of the 10th Hussars received a wound to the hand and a sergeant was severely wounded, four Radicals were wounded and a haul of five muskets, two pistols, eighteen pikes and about 100 rounds of ball cartridges were taken. Hardie and Baird, the leaders of the Radicals were hanged at Stirling, with Hardie declaring "I die a martyr to the cause of truth and liberty".

MadWelshie

On this day in 1320, the Declaration of Arbroath was drawn up by the monks of Arbroath Abbey.

The declaration was a letter, in Latin, from the Scottish nobles to Pope John XXII, affirming their determination to maintain Scotland's independence. The document is also seen as the first example of a contractual monarchy, with the nobility asserting the right to dethrone King Robert I should he submit to England. The Declaration of Arbroath is widely regarded as being the inspiration behind the American Declaration of Independence in 1776.

MadWelshie

On 7 April 1934, the Scottish National Party was founded.

The SNP was created out of the merger of a number of parties; the "National Party of Scotland", formed in 1928 from an amalgamation of a number of small parties following the rejection of a Home Rule bill, and the "Scottish Party", a breakaway section of the Cathcart Conservative Association. The party enjoyed its first success in 1945, when Robert MacIntyre was elected to represent Motherwell.

MadWelshie

On 8 April 1783 John Loudon, the Scottish architect, landscape gardener and journalist was born.

Loudon had a profound influence on the aspiring middle classes through his books on architecture and gardening. Co-author with his wife, Jane Webb, of The Suburban Gardener and Villa Companion, and author of An Encylopaedia of Gardening, British Trees and Shrubs, Encyclopaedia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture, he also founded Gardener's Magazine.

His designs can be seen at Scone Palace and Castle Kennedy, near Stranraer.

MadWelshie

On 9th April 1817, Alexander "Greek" Thomson was born in Balfron, Stirlingshire.

Thomson was the seventeenth child of over twenty offspring. His style of using classical architectural features led to his nickname of "Greek", but he used many other styles in his architecture, including Indian and Egyptian influences. Some of his most well known works include, the Caledonia Rd Church, Holmwood House and the United Presbyterian Church in St Vincent St.

MadWelshie

On this day in 1512, King James V was born at Linlithgow Palace. He was the only surviving son of James IV and Margaret Tudor and inherited the throne at the age of 18 months. Between 1526 and 1528, he was held prisoner by his step-father, Archibald Douglas. Once he escaped James set about asserting control of the country, and was unswerving in his hatred of the Red Douglas clan and their English allies. His second marriage was to the French Mary of Guise, who was to bear him a daughter, the future Mary, Queen of Scots.

However, James cannot have been too confident in his heir as he uttered the famous quote, "It cam wi' a lass and it will gang wi' a lass", at her birth, believing that a female heir spelled the end of the Stuart dynasty.

MadWelshie

On 11 April 1839 John Galt, the Scottish novelist, died.

Much of Galt's work revolves around the North Ayrshire and Inverclyde areas of Scotland where he was born and lived, although some of his later works include novels set in Canada and the United States, among the first novels to be located there, and a pair of ironic political novels, entitled, The Member and The Radical.

Apart from his work as a novelist, Galt was also a friend of Lord Byron and wrote the first biography of the tragic poet.

MadWelshie

On this day in 1945 the SNP won their first electoral victory.

Dr Robert D. MacIntyre won the Motherwell and Wishaw by-election in a straight fight with Labour by a majority of 617 votes. MacIntyre lost the seat at the general election, but carried on contesting elections throughout central Scotland, and later became Provost of Stirling.

George Robertson, the Scottish Labour politician, was born on this day in 1946. After serving as MP for the Hamilton South constituency, he became Secretary of State for Defence between 1997-99. After the end of this tenure he rose to become Secretary-General of NATO, also receiving a life-peerage in 1999, becoming Lord Robertson of Port Ellen.

MadWelshie

On 13th April 1951 the "Stone of Destiny" was returned to Westminster Abbey.

The Stone, removed from Scone by Edward I and taken to Westminster Abbey, was removed from its resting place of over 700 years on Christmas Day 1950 and smuggled north of the border. After a few months of hide and seek with the authorities, the conspirators left the Stone in Arbroath Abbey to be discovered. The Stone finally returned permanently to Scotland in 1996, where it now sits in Edinburgh Castle.

On 13 April 1827, Hugh Clapperton, the Scottish explorer, died. Clapperton was the first European explorer of northern Nigeria. He explored the region with two fellow Scots, Dixon Denham and Walter Oudney, after crossing into the region from the Sahara desert. He returned to Britain to tell of his discoveries, but died in Africa on a subsequent journey, trying to trace the source of the Niger river.

MadWelshie

On 14 April 2001, Jim Baxter, the noted Scottish footballer, died.

"Slim Jim" Baxter was regarded as one of the finest wing-halves in Europe in the early 1960s, making 254 appearances for Glasgow Rangers, and scoring 24 goals. He won 34 caps for his country, and represented the Rest of the World in a 1963 match to celebrate the centenary of the Football Association.

MadWelshie

On this day in 1865, children's poet Walter Wingate was born in Dalry, Ayrshire.

Wingate was the son of David Wingate, a noted local poet in Ayrshire, known as the "Collier Poet". Walter was also a noted watercolour artist in his lifetime, but is best remembered today for his volume of children's poetry which was published in 1919. His poems such as Sair Finger are much loved for their gentle humour.

MadWelshie

On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army was defeated by Hanoverian forces in the Battle of Culloden.

The defeat marked the end of the last Stewart attempt to regain, by force, the throne forfeited by James VII. Bonnie Prince Charlie refused the advice of his most able general, Lord George Murray, over the positioning of the Jacobite forces, letting himself be persuaded into placing his troops on an open moor, which gave all advantages to the Hanoverians. Charles compounded this error by choosing this moment to take personal charge of his force for the first time. In less than an hour the government force, outnumbering the Jacobites two to one and with a vast advantage in artillery, defeated them for the first and last time.

MadWelshie

On 17 April 1932, Sir Patrick Geddes, the Scottish biologist and social scientist, died.

Geddes is regarded as the founding father of town planning. Although he was trained as a biologist, he applied biological knowledge to striving to create an ideal environment for human existence. The author of City Development and Cities in Evolution, Geddes was greatly troubled by the plight of refugees of the war between Armenians and the Ottoman Empire in 1896. His response was to travel to Cyprus, helping the displaced people to resettle there in small agricultural and industrial units.

MadWelshie

On this day in 1914, Harbourne Stephen, the Scottish World War II fighter pilot, was born.

Stephen was a Battle of Britain fighter ace who went on to forge a career for himself as a newspaper executive. On his way to a tally of 23 registered kills (though it was almost certainly higher) he shot down five enemy aircraft in a single day in August 1940. That December he became the first airman to be awarded a DSO in the field. Returning after the war to the field of newspapers, in which he had been a junior before he was called up in 1939, Stephen worked successively for the Beaverbrook press and for "Thomson Newspapers" before becoming managing director of The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph in 1963.

torryloon73

Culloden Commemoration day the day.

Bollox tae the butcher !!

..................................................................................................
Oh flower of Scotland, when will we see, your likes again

MadWelshie

On this day in 1905, Jim Mollison, the pioneering Scottish aviator, was born.

Mollison held many individual records for distance, endurance, and speed flying, and jointly set several others with his wife, the aviatrix Amy Johnson. In 1932, he became the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic from East to West. In the same year, his wife broke his record for the fastest flight from London to Cape Town.

MadWelshie

On 20th April, 1934, the first public meeting of the Scottish National Party was held.

The meeting was held in the Central Hall, Tollcross, Edinburgh with Compton Mackenzie, the Lord Rector of Glasgow University, and W. Oliver Brown, prospective Nationalist candidate for East Renfrewshire, as guest speakers. The Scottish National Party was formed by the amalgamation of The National Party of Scotland and The Scottish Party.

MadWelshie

On this day in 1908, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Scottish politician and Liberal Prime Minister from 1905-08, died.

His cabinet included David Lloyd George and Henry Herbert Asquith, both of whom later became Prime Ministers. Sir Henry resigned prematurely due to poor health and died just days later.

MadWelshie

Today in 2001, Jan Sundberg, an explorer specialising in unusual species, arrived at Loch Ness in a bid to trap the legendary monster.

The Swede planned to install a massive creel to catch Nessie, a move which led to Scottish Natural Heritage drawing up a voluntary code preventing environmental damage caused by monster hunters. Although recorded sightings of Nessie stretch back to the days of St Columba, the public obsession with Nessie really began with a sighting in 1933 by the late Donaldina Mackay. Since then the loch has been inundated with monster hunters, and many thousands have claimed to have spotted him in the waters of the loch.

MadWelshie

On 24th April, 1633, Sir John Hepburn raised a regiment of 1200 men which ultimately became the Royal Scots.

A warrant from the Privy Council ordered Hepburn to raise the regiment to fight in the French service. The recruits came mainly from Scottish mercenaries of Gustavus Aldolphus in the Thirty Years' War.

BoB

25th April

On this day in 1946, the Royal Navy's last battleship, HMS Vanguard, was accepted for trials by the navy.

The ship was built at John Brown's in Clydebank. It was originally intended to be part of the Far Eastern Fleet fighting the Japanese but was not completed until after the war, and so became the only British battleship never to fire her guns in anger.

BoB

26th April

The Scottish philosopher Thomas Reid was born on this day in 1710. Reid founded the Scottish school of "common sense philosophy" in reaction against David Hume's teachings of sceptical empiricism.

His most noted work, titled 'An Enquiry into the Human Mind, on the Principles of Common Sense', was published in 1764. It considered "common sense" in linguistic, metaphysical and mundane contexts, and blended philosophy and science. Hume's response to Reid's critique was a recommendation that Reid avoid "Scottishisms" and improve his English.

BoB

27th April

James Bruce, the Scottish explorer, died on this day in 1794.

Bruce became the first European to discover Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile, in 1770. His experiences were described in the classic "Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile", published in 1790.

BoB

28th April

The poet, William Soutar, author of The Diaries of a Dying Man, was born in Perth on this day in 1898.

After changing from studying medicine to literature, Soutar's first volume of poetry, Gleanings of an Undergraduate, was published in 1923, within a year of his graduation from Edinburgh University.

Soutar suffered from a gradual immobilising illness, ankylosing spondilitis, and from November 1930 he was permanently confined to bed. He spent his bed-bound days composing poetry, escaping through his imagination, and holding court to his many visitors and fellow writers, dressed in jacket and bow tie. Soutar died from tuberculosis in October 1943, at the age of 45. The house where he lived and composed his poetry, the "Soutar Hoose" in Perth, is now home to a writer in residence.

MadWelshie

29th April

Lonnie Donegan, the Scottish skiffle singer, composer and guitarist, was born on this day in 1931.

Considered by some to be Britain's first pop superstar, James Anthony Donegan burst onto the scene in the mid-1950s with a distinctive, lively sound called "skiffle", which was based loosely on American folk music. His first big hit, Rock Island Line, achieved the then rare distinction of soaring up the US hit parade, and he was rarely out of the charts from then until "The Beatles" era.

Donegan's hits included Does Your Chewing Lose Its Flavour, My Old Man's A Dustman, Cumberland Gap and Puttin' On The Style.

MadWelshie

30 April

On this day in 1873, David Livingstone, the renowned Scottish missionary and explorer, died.

Born in Blantyre, Livingstone was famed for his exploration of central and southern Africa. He was the first European to see Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The mysterious whereabouts of Livingstone in Africa became the subject of the famous search by Henry Morton Stanle

MadWelshie

1st May

On this day in 1707, the Act of Union between Scotland and England came into force.

Scottish church bells played the tune "Why am I so Sad on my Wedding Day?" - the Union was brought about in spite of opposition by the majority of Scots. The image is of James Ogilvy, 1st Earl Seafield, on occasions M.P. for Banffshire and Lord Chancellor of Scotland. He promoted The Act of Union of 1707, but moved the repeal of the Act in 1713. Bribery was prevalent, with £20,000 sterling being despatched to Scotland for the payment of spies and agent provocateurs.

Today in 1690, the last organised Jacobite forces are beaten by government troops at Cromdale, near Grantown on Spey. The battle of the Haughs of Cromdale completely eliminated any Jacobite threat to William in Scotland, and enabled him to concentrate his forces in Ireland for another decisive victory over James at the Battle of the Boyne two months later.

MadWelshie

2nd May

Today in 1779, John Galt, Scottish novelist, was born.

As well as writing the first biography of his acquaintance, Lord Byron, Galt's main achievement lies in his thirteen innovative and entertaining novels. A group of them, which Galt called Tales of the West, is set mainly in the Scotland of his youth, and they give a complete picture of Scottish life from about 1760 to 1820. Galt spoke of the Scottish people as "Possessing the whole range of the English language as well as their own, by which they enjoy an uncommonly rich vocabulary", and indeed he used the Scots tongue for dialogue and sometimes narrative.

MadWelshie

3 May

On this day in 1679, Archbishop James Sharp, Primate of Scotland, was attacked and killed.

The murder happened while he was travelling through Fife to St Andrews. The attackers were probably waiting for the Sheriff of Fife, but were happy to kill instead the man leading the forces suppressing the Covenant in Scotland. It sparked a wider uprising, leading to what is known as the "Killing Time".

Today in 1860, John Haldane, Scottish physician and physiologist, was born. Noted for his work on respiration, it was Haldane who demonstrated the role of carbon dioxide, and the change in temperature of the human body at extreme pressures. Author of 'Causes of Death in Colliery Explosions,' he was also father of the great population geneticist, JBS Haldane.